Here is some general information to help get started on learning the run. It's probably going to turn into a rambling mess halfway through.
DISCLAIMER: The following notes are specifically for the Story Mode Easy category. Not all things mentioned here apply to Medium and Hard difficulty.
GENERAL NOTES:
-Bunny-hopping. It's Shaq's fastest mode of travel when he's not holding a weapon. Basically, hit jump before landing and the delay of Shaq's landing animation disappears.
-Weapons in this game each have a set amount of times they can be used before breaking. Even if you swing and hit nothing, that counts as a use. Most weapons are extremely useful as they can knock out grunts in a single shot and have a wide swing to hit multiple attackers. Also, ones that are part of the environment will respawn after a set amount of time. Just don't get knocked down or knocked out of the air or the weapon will break.
-If you want to get rid of a weapon, like when a screen is cleared and you need to move to the next one, just Shaq Smash and the charge will instantly break the weapon.
-The biggest time sink across the entire run is Shaq's tendency to do mini-cutscene kills where the camera zooms in and he knocks someone out in slow motion. Each time this happens it adds a few seconds to your time. These only happen to the generic grunts for each stage and their slightly stronger variants, like the soda zombies in Baby's Crib or the soldiers that grow in size in Fiji. Also, these can trigger even if the enemy has full health. There are a few ways to avoid these:
- Defeat enemies with a weapon.
- Keep your distance and use a Size 22 attack.
- Shaqwave them to death. And the most efficient way,
- Use the Shaq Smash to group enemies together. Not only is it good for crowd control, the mini-cutscene won't happen if you're attacking more than one enemy at the same time.
-The Size 22 attack comes in four different varieties, depending on when in Shaq's combo you use it: 0 attacks - Shaq steps forward and does a light shoulder attack. 1-2 attacks - A giant foot comes down from the sky. This can knock down or stun enemies. 3-4 attacks - A giant foot launches out in front of Shaq, knocking enemies back. 5-6 attacks - A giant foot sweeps in a roundhouse kick in front of Shaq. The hit box for this is usually quite generous, catching enemies off to either side of shack at a certain distance.
-Shaq's combos allow for a slight delay between each attack. By that I mean you could, say, throw two punches, take a moment to move into position, then keep attacking and you'll be on the third attack in the combo. Combo buffering comes in handy to, for example, build up to the roundhouse Size 22 as enemies are still making their way on screen so you can knock most of them out immediately.
-Shaq Diesel sections. Just hold punch all the time. Even if you're not hitting anything, you'll build up the heat meter and, by extension, be able to use multiple Shaq Waves at a time. A bell rings three times when you're about to overheat (when the meter is completely full)... most of the time. If too many sounds are going on at once, sometimes the bell noise won't play.
-Shaqtus sections. Shaq has two attacks in this mode: throwing needles and throwing red needles with the Size 22 button. The red needles will hit and fly through all enemies in their path, so they're handy for when multiple stronger enemies show up at once.
-In some cases, enemies can be hit before they're even on screen. Take for example the Shaq Diesel sections. When enemies are jumping in from off-screen, technically their hitbox appears before they do, so a well-timed Shaq Wave can cause them to instantly appear and die.
-You start every stage with a full Shaq Wave meter, allowing for two Shaq Wave uses. Don't be afraid to use them early on; it will build back up pretty fast.
Now for some stage-specific notes.
STAGE 1 - Hunglow
-Be careful after the first enemy encounter. If you get the mini-cutscene kill on the last enemy and immediately start jumping right, you'll bypass a couple enemy encounters. That's good, except those encounters are needed to unlock the Shaq Smash and Size 22 attacks. This is an instant reset.
-Missiles drop at certain points. Since they're based on where you're standing, these can be aimed into groups of enemies on either side of the screen.
-MINI BOSS: Frizzle Moving forward almost always causes him to do a jump kick followed by a swipe. When bosses do their close-range attacks in this game, there's enough of a delay that you can jump over them, turn in mid-air and land a jump kick on the way down before going back into combos and Size 22s. Also, ideally, you'll have at least one Shaq Wave to spend when he does his spin attack. Barring that the Size 22 has enough range that it can reach Frizzle while out of his range.
-NOT A MINI BOSS: Shappy No fanfare for this guy. There are plenty of weapons laying around, but if you break one and he's got less than half health it might be faster to use a Shaq Wave or two if you have them.
-BOSS: Arthur HOW THE FIGHT IS SUPPOSED TO GO: Three generators drop to the ground. Unless all of these are destroyed, Arthur will knock you back with a saw blade if you try to get close to him. WHAT I DO: Run to the bottom of the screen and to the right, below the breakable box and next to the cart. If positioned just right, your attacks will hit Arthur and he won't be able to reach you. This is much faster than running around smacking generators, which you'd have to do twice to kill him otherwise.
STAGE 2 - Baby's Crib
-The Devotees will summon a few extra enemies if they finish their cheering animation, so it's best to deal with them ASAP.
-Soda zombies have an anti-air attack, so be careful if you're jumping from one side of the screen to the other.
-Soda on the ground can cause Shaq to slip when using the Shaq Slam.
-Mall cops will counter any Size 22 attacks, but are susceptible to everything else. I try to group them up with a Shaq Slam and Shaq Wave them if it's available.
-After busting down the gates, walk through them and immediately walk all the way to the bottom of the screen, then bunny-hop to the right. You'll pass a limo and some idle enemies. Closely walk around the pillar and move forward normally. Congratulations! You skipped an enemy encounter and a mini boss!
-Sugar Slingers can be used to your favor. When you get close to them, they'll fire a charged red shot all the way across the screen which can damage other enemies. Also, this causes a button prompt to appear which can deal extra damage to them and stun them for a bit. for this section though, it's better to use the barrel to the upper left whenever it appears.
-Regular grunts hit by the Sugar Slinger's ranged attack will turn into soda zombies, another reason to make sure they only use their close-range attack.
-BOSS: Babyface If this fight goes on for too long, Babyface starts a dance battle which takes way too long. On Easy however, the barrels do enough damage that he can be killed before it starts. You basically can't miss more than one to get it, but there's one thing working in Shaq's favor. If he's throwing or picking up a barrel, he won't get knocked back or knocked down by the Ovulation Time attack. So grab a barrel, stand next to another barrel, and when he moves in on you toss both and Shaq won't move.
STAGE 3 - Sunset Strip
-Lipstick Lizards, moreso than their other variants, can be easily stunlocked by using the one-attack Size 22 attack over and over. This can come in handy if you don't have a weapon and they keep jumping out of the way of other attacks.
-Motorcycle guys can be dealth with a few different ways. If you're behind them you can do a button prompt to one-hit kill them. A Size 22 attack also works. Or, if you want to take out several at once, a well-placed Shaq Wave can knock off several of them at once. The motorcycle guys have generous hitboxes for the Shaq Wave and can be hit by it even a second or so after it goes off.
-After the cutscene in the bar, throw a punch before picking up the barrels. For some reason the game might not let you grab them if you don't.
-BOSS: Diamond Diamond can be an annoying fight. She's constantly backing up as you're trying to hit her and, if the fight goes too long and she does enough regular attacks, she can scream and freeze you in place for a bit. The key is being as aggressive as possible to get her stunned. When she is, keep attacking with either a Shaq Wave or a Size 22, usually a three-hitter at least, then do the button prompt to maximize damage. It takes practice, but if you get the damage output just right you can skip an entire phase where she disappears and summons other enemies.
STAGE 4 - Bel Air
-The lawyer's ranged attack is a fireball, which Shaq can catch and throw back across the screen, damaging every other enemy in its path and stunning the lawyer. Handy for when the lawyer and a group of enemies are on opposite sides of the screen.
-MINI BOSS: Chang Chang is just those guys from the first stage which shoot fireworks at you, but with more health and a taller hitbox. Just try to stay on one side of him so he doesn't keep backing up out of range and (hopefully not) teleporting away.
-Beware of cars. Leading enemies into their path can help slow them down, but oddly don't do much damage compared to Shaq's fists. It's good for keeping the groupies from summoning more enemies though.
-BOSS: Kandy
-I'm sorry, what?
-Use any Shaq Waves immediately. When the fight gets going with Kandy's special attack, you won't have much use for them.
-In a nutshell, do as much damage as possible to induce her Brownbeard's Cannon attack. When she does this, jump kick her over and over. On Easy the fire won't do enough damage to Shaq for you to worry about not getting hit. Do the button prompt when it shows up and, when she gets back up, she'll go right back into the special attack. Jump kick until dead.
STAGE 5 - Fiji
-Once the blue glowing soldiers grow to full size, they become immune to the Shaq Smash. Get them while they're normal sized or use other attacks.
-In groups, the Fiends are the enemies I go for first. After a couple attacks they use an electrified whip which stuns Shaq for a few seconds.
-Neros, even while floating in the air, can be hit with Shaq Waves and weapons. However, you have to wait until they bob down closer to the ground. Barring that, a jump kick will knock them down.
-After the bridge, taking too long at the next screen can lead to missile carpet bombing almost the entire area.
-Hooligans are absolute damage sponges, but being close to them causes a counter prompt to appear which takes off about a third of their health.
-After the Shaqtus section, the mines roll down the hill according to your position. Slightly moving side to side is enough to not get hit. It's possible to time jumps so you clear the mines without doing so, but the window for it is pretty tight.
-The mine-rolling sections are agony. Keep rolling the mines as soon as they pop up as enemies spawn and walk in from off-screen. Take out any enemies that spawn at the top of the hill ASAP to help shorten the length of each screen. Also, don't try jumping ahead of the mines to grab health or power meter blobs from below. If Shaq lands on or gets hit by a mine he started rolling, it's a one-hit kill.
-BOSS: Benedict Benedict's sword swings are heavily telegraphed and always indicate whether he's doing a horizontal or vertical attack. It doesn't matter; if you're fast enough, you can still jump over him and land a kick on the way down. Like with Diamond, aggression is key. When he starts to drink, land a Size 22 combo and do the button prompt. If he drinks for too long he'll do an attack called Tequila Sunrise where he flies out of range and fires heat beams at Shaq. Doing the button prompt sends him into a rage, during which he can still be hit before he starts swinging his sword wildly. I back off, work up a Size 22 attack and land it right as Shaq takes a hit or two; he can take a few shots before getting knocked down. After a few rage modes he'll do the Tequila Sunrise attack anyway, but if you deal enough damage he'll go down before you ever see it.
STAGE 6 - Hell
-Not much I can add about the stage proper, except in the Shaqtus section when two portals pop up at the same time, just use a red spine to destroy both of them in one go. The same goes for the Shaq Diesel section when three portals appear; hop in the middle and use a Shaq Wave.
-BOSS: Yen Lo Wang A pretty simple fight, though health can be a concern depending on strategy. I stay away from each fist before it lands and sends out a shockwave, them move in and get off as many Shaq Waves and Size 22s as possible. The hitbox of the fist stays there shortly after she pulls it back, so it's possible to land an extra Size 22 as she goes back to her neutral position. When she slams her head into the ground you can take damage even after the shockwave is gone. Here there are two options: one is to do the button prompt and get some health back in the process, the other is to do a short Size 22 combo before she goes back to slamming fists. Doing the button prompt triggers her special attack, Hot Flash, during which she can't be damaged. It's faster to just do a short combo and avoid the special attack. On harder difficulties you might have to trigger Hot Flash just to stay alive, but otherwise avoid it whenever possible.
RANDOM EXTRA THING -There's a way to get out of bounds on the first stage. Right before the Frizzle fight there are some breakable items at the bottom of the screen. Shaq Slamming into them can push Shaq out of bounds, at which point you can bypass every enemy encounter in the stage. The catch is that I don't know how to get back inbounds, or at least trip one of the checkpoints to load in later in the level. Finding a way to do either could shave several minutes off the final time.
Just adding a couple notes here after my most recent runs:
Stage 1 -When I picked up the Shaq Diesel power-up, I spammed Shaq Slams (the shoulder charge move) into it. For some reason, it caused almost the entire first wave of enemies to spawn immediately instead of gradually walking out at the beginning of the fight.
Boss: Arthur -When trying to spam attacks in the corner Arthur eventually gets just close enough to land one hit, sometimes two. I remedy this by doing a roll toward the bottom of the screen every two or three Size 22 attacks to not get hit at all.
Stage 2 -For whatever reason, I've been cursed on the power shovel sections lately. Hitting the lever and not moving at all doesn't get Shaq one-hit killed, but sometimes just moving slightly gets me a one-way trip to the last checkpoint.
Stage 5 Boss: Benedict -It's possible to be way more aggressive than I previously thought against this guy. Basically, it's possible to have him only go for a drink twice, sometimes not even finishing the second Rage Mode before ending the fight.
Stage 6 -Right before the final boss, there's a weird chance to have the mini-cutscene not play at all. I think it's tied to holding a weapon after destroying the last portal, but I'm not certain.
