I'd say no to allowing one controller to give inputs to multiple controller slots.

Only trick I know is to mash faster :/ It's hard to not drop him no matter what you do, this is one of those cases where you need a little luck to not lose time.

Not making sharp turns seems to help, and you can also hug the wall in some places which makes it more likely you will pick him up again if you drop him, but neither of these really help in the doorways.

This was discussed before on the Discord server and there is a significant problem with a glitchless category.

The most commonly used glitch in the run, animation canceling, happens rather easily in normal gameplay. Whenever you switch to a character it cancels whatever animation that character was currently doing. There are many different applications of this glitch during runs but the most obvious thing it does is allow you to move faster with Donkey and Shrek. Whenever the AI are fighting enemies, they constantly attack, making it so that you couldn't switch characters without doing the glitch.

So a glitchless category that bans animation canceling is not feasible imo. A No OoB category is more compelling but rules would need to be defined about which skips/glitches are OoB.

I figured out how to get fast times for the final part of Final Fight a while back and I realize I never explained it. I found a way of doing it that has worked well for me at not having the fairy godmother sit in her bubble doing nothing for long periods of time.

The main thing is that you should not get too close to her while she is in her bubble shooting things.

You can get sort of close but shouldn't be close enough to hit her until she starts coming down. Once she is ready to start shooting those heat-seeking balls, I start by standing on the left side of the arena about 3/4 of the way to the north boundary of the circle (position doesn't need to be very precise). When she shoots a projectile I run to the other side and stop. Rinse and repeat until her bubble disappears.

Getting hit can sometimes make you lose the fast pattern.

The fastest fight here is about 35 seconds better than the slowest.

I've used this in every run I've done since the 3:42 Final Fight IL run and it works very consistently.

There are at least two different Final Fight patterns in Gamecube Shrek 2. The difference is with the final part of Final Fight (After the 3 trolls). It is my theory that this is caused by there being two different versions of Shrek 2. The time between when the Fairy Godmother shoots her homing attack as well as how many she shoots is different between the supposed versions. The easiest way to tell the two fight patterns apart is the amount of shots fired in the first round. The fast version is around 20 seconds better than the slow version.

Fast version (3 shots in the first phase but short breaks between shots):

Slow (2 shots in first phase with long time between shots):

The fast version examples take 1:03 and 1:08 respectively. The slow versions are 1:36 and 1:35.

Obsolete runs by the same runner show the same patterns as their current PB, whether fast or slow, and this is the main reason I believe it is caused by different game versions. I have tried to replicate the fast version using my disc by getting hit by the homing attack vs. not getting hit, but have never got the fast version AFAIK. Strangely, runners who get the fast version in their Any% PBs have the slow version in their NewGame+ PBs, so it may not work on a completed game file. PS2 and Xbox both appear to have the fast version.

Edit: Also check the text above the model No. on the top side of the disc. Mine is DL-DOL-G3RE-USA. DL-DOL-G3RE-USA-02 has been found but not sure yet if it has the fast Final Fight. USA-01 also exists but seems to be much rarer than the other 2. Testing is still needed to confirm whether or not this is an indicator for version differences.

There are 3 different NTSC versions of Super Smash Bros. Melee in circulation. There is a number on the bottom side of the disc which indicates which version that disc is. Looking in the same place on my Shrek 2 disc I have DOL-G3RE-0-00. The last 0 is the thing to look for with SSBM. I am curious if anyone has a different number on their Shrek 2 disc than mine, especially if they get the fast version of Final Fight. Also if anyone knows a way to get the different patterns that does not involve there being two different Gamecube releases. Edit: So far the bottom of every disc to be checked has 0-00, so it appears likely that if there are different versions the top of the disc is where the version number is recorded.

Shrek speedrunning discord: https://discord.gg/kJ5abQa

There is a channel for Shrek 2 (Console) here.

Edit: Added to sidebar since apparently that's a thing now.

It works on the full game leaderboard now but not on the level leaderboard.

Edit: Fixed it myself because since I am a mod now.

That is about the same thing I do now. I think it might be important to make sure Shrek is running against the wall when you go to pick it up. I think it is Shrek's position that matters as the snail's position does not vary much. (It could be both)

For getting the snail in the fence, there are a few things I do that seem to make it work pretty consistently. First, make sure Fiona is close to Shrek when he puts the snail down. You may have to run in a circle to reorder the CPUs. Then, place the snail down at the angle here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9stl3Vxtdm8&feature=youtu.be&t=28s

Yes. I am pretty sure there is no RNG involved, the fairies just respond to your positioning. In 100%, if you get the magic bean right after the time powerup, they tend to clump together in the middle Like this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSZZlOrZqMc&feature=youtu.be&t=2m4s

In any% (or if you get the fairies before the magic bean), if you wait a moment before slowing down time they tend to clump on the left side. Like this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=exYqxgeB3NE&feature=youtu.be&t=1m14s even better: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW_M3XLz5ro&feature=youtu.be&t=1m15s

Make sure to use Donkey's dash attack cancels to move quickly (Shrek's should be fine as well). I used to get a one cycle around 50% of the time in any%, so it is still not going to work every time. I have not used the 100% method very many times, though it seemed like it might be more consistent.

There is also a way to practice without repeating the beginning of the level. After collecting the fairies, run backward through the level without getting the next checkpoint. Donkey can clip through the corner to the right of the ramp that leads to Robin Hood by using dash attack. He will then fall in the water and the game will pickup at the checkpoint after the Robin Hood fight.

Amazing find! I wonder if this could be used elsewhere?

Edit: After testing, this seems to be a lot less consistent than the previous setup.

Here it is:

Someone on the Shrek speedrunning discord had figured out how to get Fiona across the fence, and I used the same technique to get Gingy past the fence here.

This will only work with multiple players, and the camera needs to be manipulated to allow Gingy to get passed the crocodiles.

I have completed a casual playthrough of the game collecting all 70 snapshots and buying none of the upgrades. The file select screen treats this as 100%.

I suppose the runs (w/Cheats and IL Final Fight) are slightly different. They do both only play through a single level though. I don't think they are different enough to be worth keeping, but if you do that is fine.

Restricting the current w/Cheats category and then adding an unrestricted one if someone does a run sounds like a good idea.

The problem with the first category you suggest is that it is basically a single level run. We already have an individual level leaderboard for single level runs, so it is unnecessary.

A Restircted Cheat% has no glaring problems and the current w/Cheats runs already fit the criteria, though I do wonder if we need a cheats category at all.

The code (Gamecube): 'Left, Up, A, X' (3 times), then Up 5 times. It must be entered in the scrapbook section of the pause menu. I have confirmed that it works in game.

The unlock all levels cheat code is problematic for the w/Cheats run category.

As the rules stand now, there is no obligation to complete all of the levels. This means that the player should enter the code immediately in Shrek's Swamp and then exit the level and beat Final Fight. This is not good because the run is now basically the same as an individual level run of Final Fight.

If the rules are changed so that all of the levels must be completed, then the run will become very similar to the NewGame+ category. The player will enter the code to unlock all levels and the code to gain coins and then complete the levels with attack upgrades first.

Both of these result in runs very similar to existing categories (IL Final Fight / NewGame+). IF we want to keep the w/Cheats category as it exists (which is basically an infinite coins run, because that is the only cheat code worth using), then the unlock all levels cheat code should be banned.

In conclusion, in my opinion, the unlock all levels code should be banned in the w/Cheats category OR the with cheats category should be removed as it will be too similar to other categories.

If you want to see the animation cancel in action, watch the WR any% run. It has several other tricks/glitches I have not seen anyone else do yet as well.

Regarding the Spooky Forest attack upgrade, it saves about 2:30 (EDIT: it looks like it only saves 1:57) on Ogre Killer and probably a few seconds elsewhere, so whatever you do to buy the upgrade needs to take less than 1:57. There is just a little bit over 400G prior to the shop in the first two levels. I do think it is worth looking into in a multiplayer run.

I have recently been considering going back to Spooky Forest immediately after completing it to buy the upgrade with the money collected during Donkey's Hero Time. It takes a little under 2:30 to get to the shop in my run, so it is probably a little bit too slow to save any time.

The second attack upgrade costs 1400G, which will almost definitely take too much time to gather to be worthwhile.

Collecting all of the money to buy the upgrades would probably be tedious and boring. The fastest way to get gold is the second bonus game I think, which will get you between 100-200G per minute (I forget how much exactly). You need about 6000G to buy all of the upgrades.

I am in favor of the category being redefined as something like 'All Snapshots' if you need to buy all the upgrades to reach 100%.

I actually think that three players is better than four. When you have less than four players you can cancel many attack animations by quickly switching between characters. This saves a lot of time throughout the run. While four players would be advantageous during stretches of the run where attack cancels are not needed, I think that three players will be faster overall.

Of course, if you could have a fourth player who plugs in and unplugs his controller multiple times throughout the run, that would be even better.

I have got Shrek in this wall using a different method. I do not think it is possible for him to make the jump needed to reach the other side.