I am new to sm64 speedrunning. I just want to know why they use the English version rather than the Japanese version in the 70 star category. Thanks. Also is there is discord server? Thanks again
Most speedrunners use English but a few use Japanese, it's just a matter of which version a runner has.
Directly from the SM64 discord: USA: Text boxes scroll faster. 15 star MIPS runs slower. Faster for 0 Star and 70 Star JP: Shorter intro. Less text overall. Small differences in a few stages. Faster for 1 Star, 16 Star, and 120 Star JP Shindou Version: Less lag. Longer loading times. BLJs patched out of game. Faster for a variety of single star runs, not to be used in RTA PAL: European/Australian Version of the game. Not suitable for speedrunning since the framerate is locked to 25fps
For RTA runs, the difference between USA and JP versions is minimal enough that it doesn't really matter what version you run on until you are at a top level.
Exact differences can be found in this spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16oPkb3dESBR3RQ1DthNDV5ECu5zIM3kc4ZVMwdN7_DI/
We would like to announce that VC and EMU subcategories are now active on the Stage RTA leaderboards (under "Levels"). Stage RTA involves collecting all the stars in a given stage including the 100 coin star. Timing starts on star select and ends upon collecting the final star. You are allowed to us
