Dying on the first frame of a mission phase starting leads to being able to skip it commonly done on missions 3 and 9. Some even did it on mission 2 with a frame perfect homing launcher shot. I just wanted to announce that it's also possible on mission 8.

The game considers you dead in the All-range mode Arwing when it explodes, not when it starts spinning out of control. So we need to explode the moment the final mission phase starts. Doing so requires:

1. Get health so low we die in one crash
2. Press down on the C-stick just before getting hit (timing varies depending on ?loading?)
3. Shoot the missile after crashing into it, or on the same frame (timing also varies depending on the same variable as before)
4. If you are frame perfect then done. You did it.

This works because as you are in the animation for doing a u-turn you won't enter the death state and can still shoot when your health is 0. Afterwards you'll have 3 seconds where you spin out. So if we delay our death perfectly, literally frame perfectly, you are able to die on the first frame of the final mission phase and skip it. Realistically not RTA viable outside of ILs, but its neat enough to share.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the cutscene that plays at the end of mission 8 will crash if the Arwing is destroyed because its in a state that's normally impossible. Skipping the cutscene bypasses this crash. I also forgot to say this works on all versions of the game, even PAL. It works on PAL unlike other missions because the patch involved making you invincible at the start of any mission phase which does nothing if your health is already at zero like it is here.

Showcase in a TAS video: