I wasn't even testing anything here, just getting all the endings. Basically went through a door (the one leading into the Pyramid Head chase sequence at the end of the Hospital with Maria) and was loaded OOB. I then soft reset the game to start a new game for the next ending, every single save had the same room corruption to the point where I had to actually restart the game fully. From what I can tell, this can happen randomly, and it seems to be quite useless anyway because the room that loads AFTER the current room, seems to have no hitboxes.

HD Collection (PS3)

Same as PS2 - game checks whether you went into the alleyway or not upon returning to this part of town and hangs. There are a couple of differences however:

1. You don't have to pickup something on the ground, on PS2 you had to do this for the game to softlock, and then break out of it by holding guard/run, here you can pickup anything, open the debug save and keep the text on the screen allowing you to bypass any triggers just like PC, without spamming quicksave, simply drop the text to unsoftlock.

This might be useful for other places in the game though!

2. The game actually hard freezes on PS2 requiring a system shut down. Here, the game just infinitely loads, it will freeze if you try to ingame reset, but you can safely exit the game to the XMB.

UPDATE: Okay so its pretty much confirmed now that HDC is the fastest console version even over PS2s Debug Save. The Debug Save in HDC doesn't despawn text on screen, meaning stuff like map skip, Abstract Daddy and Hotel OOB skips with the "It's too Dark to read the map" text, all work in this version, on top of that you have ~60FPS menus similar to OG Xbox (in fact you have unlocked " in "~60FPS" however is that it rarely ever gets anywhere close to that, often dropping into the teens. Good thing IGT is tied to the frames, right?

Videos:

Map Skip: Works just like PC, just a bit tricky to open debug save while bringing the text up.

Scream Skip: Very easy since you already have the plank equipped, just aim it to unsoftlock and go through the door.

Garbage Coin Breakout: You can run back towards the door during the transitions like on PC.

Bypass Cutscene Trigger (after hospital) IF the initial Plank/Radio skip worked, this is what you would do. As of right now, this is useless.

Bug Room Skip For some reason you actually have to save here unlike the PS2 version, which makes a checkpoint just from opening the debug save menu.

Gallows Breakout Save some time running back to the door.

Abstract Daddy Skip Save 2 shotgun shells on Beginner (also saves even more time on Normal/Normal not having to switch around weapons).

Hotel OOB One benefit over PC is that you'll notice you don't lose the text from the falling animation if you fail this however many times. Otherwise its exactly the same as PC.

Music Box Breakout Debug Save screen takes a little longer than usual but its pausing the timer so doesn't matter.

There's a few other places where you can use this to breakout of fades and start running such as the locked box in the hospital, can opener/video tape pickup in Hotel etc.

One final difference to the PS2 version: You may have noticed from some of the videos that, for some reason, the background image from the save screen will be used instead of the background image that's supposed to be there instead, there's one place where this is helpful: It makes numbers a little easier to read.

Had this happen during a run, somehow clipped up onto the top deck and AI wasn't loaded (they weren't shooting at me). I tried to replicate it but couldn't, thought I'd post anyway.

This would save a little time climbing the ladder and also avoid getting killed if it was consistent.

My PAL PS2 (which is a phat model) actually has this Driver:

But I'm pretty sure the slims have the advantage of a faster CD lens, correct?

It's hard to find information about specific PS2 models, but it looks like a lot of PS2s around 2003-2004 had Driver 1.11 (phats and slims) and there's like no info regarding the differences between 70001, 70011 and 70012, they all seem to be the same model, and there's no rerelease of the Japanese 70000?

UPDATE:

Done some digging, turns out there is in fact a NTSC-J + Driver 1.11 console: SCPH-70006. It's actually an Asian model (Asian PS1/2s are NTSC-J and are region locked to Japanese software). According to the following, SCPH-70005 & SCPH-70007 should also be the same:

http://www.ps2-home.com/forum/app.php/page/fmcb-compatible-ps2-models-chart

I'm not able to confirm for those two models, the way I figured out SCPH-70006 was to check the BIOS in PCSX2 and check in the Version Information screen:

Still though, I don't think PS Driver version is what's making it a fast model, more the fact that slims have a faster lens, but also the 70000-70012 models have the actual PS1 hardware (IOP), 75000+ removed it and emulate.

TLDR: 70005-70012 (Driver 1.11 equipped) are the best PS2s for speedrunning (if Driver 1.11 is actually "the best", because later PS2s had Driver 2.00, though this could just be changes needed to work on the newer, non IOP PS2s).

Last night she died when I was halfway down the ladder, but I think once she says "I've got to get to him before anyone else" is when shes safe.

There's a pretty high chance Yasmin will be killed by not taking the Crane, She tends to run to the other end of the ship for some reason to kill those guys first instead of where the door/ladder is.

I think once you get to the bottom of the first ladder the deck unloads and it doesn't matter where she is or what she's doing. So take the Crane for safety unless you really want those ~10 seconds.

There's no progression flag made when dropping off Yasmin at Charlie's, so you can take her to the Crackhouse which will be open, and it still makes a checkpoint too.

I'm guessing because there's no cutscene, which is how the game makes progression flags, that it's all just one "level". I tried it on other missions (for example, going straight to the warehouse on "Filthy Business" and even clipping inside the police station, but because there's a cutscene when you get into the van, or when you kill McCormack, it makes a progression flag, so both places are closed until the flags are triggered and those areas become available).

~10 seconds faster depending if you get shot etc. if you don't take the Crane.

I previously thought knocking the guy out at 0:14 softlocked the mission at 0:38 because that guy will never move until he has talked to the one that goes down the stairs, however it seems you can just shimmy behind him and somehow he won't notice you.

Man if you could have that happen on the Sol Vita...

Actually looking closer at it, most of them are bald, like they've only partially spawned or something, unless the game just so happened to spawn most of them with that particular skin.

You have to go over the threshold (0:51) to make him spawn first, then use free aim. Haven't tried with AK or shotgun but should work (probably faster too).

IIRC shoot/spray the wall with the lights off then mash and James usually stomps like 8 at once.

Cannot reject runs here neither (Chrome).

Either this Scratcher respawns an infinite amount of times or its extremely high chance, but I found this last night while testing the rifle on Scratchers and noticed this guy seems to just respawn A LOT.

He IS dying because I did a few test runs and the kills matched up on the Results Screen, so its probably a good idea to just get most of your kills right here, even for fighting kills with the katana, its like a step forward, slash twice and then run back and repeat but watch out for the other one.

The only issue here is actually your rifle ammo, on the current route we get 3 boxes before this enemy (2 in jewellery store, 1 in 1F sewer + 6 rounds in the rifle to start with, that's 114 rounds total), so now we might want to go into the police station after twin feeler to grab that extra box, making it 150. In addition, NOT using the Hyper Blaster besides the Cafe Airscreamer to save those No Aiming Shots, and use the shotgun on Floatstinger (meaning shotgun for ALL bosses) and save those rifle rounds specifically for shooting kills in the sewer. So basically, don't use the rifle UNTIL the sewer, kill enemies like normal until you get to this guy, then try to have 80-90 shooting kills before the end of the sewer + switch to katana and finish getting your fighting kills. If this really is as consistent as it seems, I wouldn't even bother killing ANYTHING in the school besides Split Head, maybe a few creepers with HB since you won't be switching to the handgun at all. Basically, Any% Hard +150 items until you get to the hospital where you'll begin killing stuff.

Also the distance on this enemy is Middle Range, handgun seems to miss a lot so don't bother trying that.

UPDATE: Further testing has shown this is a thing with ALL Scratchers, not just this specific room/Scratcher. This is still the best/fastest Scratcher to use however (there is actually only one other that is close to being just as fast, which is the one right before you leave the sewer, it is a little further away making fighting kills on it slower, but its distance isn't enough to make it a long range kill either, still, if you somehow have the first one despawn its a good backup).

Getting fighting kills can be difficult, the safest thing to do is to kill the other Scratchers, wait a few seconds so that the game actually unloads them, then you can focus on the specific one you want, otherwise its a risk each time trying to slash twice with the katana and quickturning before the other one is hitting you.

It will increase the Continue count, yes. If you're asking for 10 star, I believe you are allowed 1 continue, so you could do the bug room skip if you wish.

This is sort of useless for speedrunning because of the amount of time you'll be wasting doing this (I did plan on maybe just using Hyper Blaster for like 90% of the run and then doing something like this, but you'd need to literally stand there firing hundreds of shots to counter it). Also, when Harry reloads (which he doesn't in the video because I had Unlimited Ammo + No Reload code enabled) he will no longer aim at the enemy.

You can still do this by mashing the inventory button between shots, seems to be a specific frame where you can open the menu between shots, manually reload and then exit, still holding Aim+Shoot.

Even so, this proves that shooting dead enemies DOES count towards aimed shots and is a good backup if Harry has missed a lot of shots and you want to guarantee 10 Star, you can empty a fully loaded rifle into a few nurses in Nowhere for example. This video excessively uses this as an example:

I think its time to clean up the mods for some of these games a bit because there really only seems to be a couple of people actively verifying runs, a few people don't really run/care for SH speedrunning anymore or aren't even around, so maybe time to remove some non active people and the ones that are actively running the games and are trustworthy given the position instead?

Not trying to be an ass to anyone, just suggesting there are some mods that aren't really active in the community anymore.

New Airscreamer strat, not as quick as the original stunlock (which I couldn't pull off at all) but its way more consistent than trying to slash it and taking hits, you could probably get this from your starting position if you quickturn as soon as Harry gets to his feet after the cutscene. You could get away with no health drink pickups too if you did get it first try.

The setup is pretty simple, when you have your back to an Airscreamer, it descends, simply aim with the knife, quickturn and immediately start the stabbing attack (holding X). It seems to be a frame specific timing however so does take practice.

FYI on Split Lizard

Stabbing Split Lizard in its body does the same damage as stabbing him in the face/head, but mouth stabs of course do much more.

Split Lizard turning into / nudging Harry DOES deal damage.

FMV Breakouts (PS2 only?)

Just found this by accident (yes, a frame perfect trick by accident lol), so if you open the Debug Save menu exactly 1 frame before an FMV cutscene starts, it will let you move around as if the cutscene has played BUT when a cutscene plays, a lot of stuff is unloaded (boundaries, textures etc.) It will put you in a similar softlock state to picking up items on the ground, letting you bypass triggers but also allowing you to interact with doors and items.

Unfortunately there's a problem which makes this totally useless - the cutscene will be stuck in the games' memory waiting to be played, meaning the next cutscene that you trigger (even if you managed to warp to the end and play the credits FMV), the cutscene you skipped will play and instantly freeze the PS2. Even quitting to the main menu and starting a new game will result in the FMV at the start freezing.

Playing while in this state causes a lot of lag, its not my capture.

Thanks to Bobbykaze who tested this on the HD Collection, apparently it does not work.

Finally, saving and loading will "fix" the area. Testing on emulator with save states will be much easier, I had to redo the glitch repeatedly, which I got rather consistent at after awhile).

Graveyard OoB (Part 1) Here I ran into town, the area isn't loaded at all, you must go through the gate (the one which is used on PC for plank/radio skip), its too high to activate.

Graveyard OoB (Part 2) Here I managed to raise myself up enough to interact with the gate and loaded the chainsaw area to make sure that's what wasn't causing the freeze, it still froze entering the gate. All 3 areas (the path after the steps, the graveyard and the chainsaw area seem to all be one area?)

Also yes I ran beyond Toluca Lake, I'm pretty sure the Hotel and even the Boat Landing are infact interiors - not accessible on the overworld map.

Laura / Maria OoB I only posted the Maria one because it allowed you to go further (not much though). Trying to enter the Hospital results in a freeze and as you see in the video running beyond it also does.

The Laura skip will unload the water front, allowing you to run onto the lake and over by the Historical Society. Turns out you can actually get around the map using this FMV by going back to the Apartments rather than through the park (where it will inevitably freeze). Still freezes trying to go into or past the hospital.

Will need to test more FMVs but ultimately this is probably another "cool but pointless" discovery.

Cutscenes and Results: James Toilet (intro) - Freezes upon leaving Angela in Graveyard - see above Eddie in Apartments - Skips as usual Angela in Apartments - Door isn't loaded but has invisible wall Laura on wall - see above Maria at Rosewater - see above Maria in Hospital basement - needs testing (very difficult, need to press X on the ladder and open the save menu 1 frame later) Eddie in Prison - needs testing Maria in cell - needs testing Hotel VCR - Freezes upon leaving Credits - needs testing

Activated using L1+L2+L3+Left Dpad+Left Left Stick+Left Right Stick on PS2 and HD Collection versions.

This lets you open a save menu anywhere except during FMVs. A lot of PC only skips/strats can now be performed as well as other glitches where the PC disables quicksaving.

Here we can post different findings (even if useless in a speedrun such as stuff that requires a save/load - remember this is only allowed in the Bug Room). One nice glitch is the ability to despawn Pyramid Head in the Hospital Basement chase scene - wait until he spawns, open the save menu, soft reset and continue).

Finally, you don't actually have to save, or even have a Memory Card inserted, simply opening the save menu will create a checkpoint right there, allowing you to quit to the main menu, then continue - see my Bug Room skip where I don't have a Memory Card.

#Useful in a Speedrun Plank / Radio Skip (this is now useless because the game will freeze upon re entering the area after the hospital). Opening the Debug Save menu while picking something up from the ground which requires a bend down animation, puts the game into a softlock state allowing you to run through barriers. Guarding will unsoftlock the game in this case (note the car reappearing).

Woodside Apartments Scream Skip (slightly less time save; you need to aim twice or aim+shoot)

Bug Room Skip You don't even need to save, just go into the Debug Save menu (which makes a checkpoint), soft reset and Continue. As you can see I didn't have the Memory Card inserted.

Hotel OoB This probably doesn't save any time because you have to pick up the thinner, go into the Debug Save menu to softlock, and then do the setup on the stairs which is hard enough on PC with full 360 control. Here it is in action on PS2 anyway. You only have one chance at getting the fall in the wall due to there only being one thinner and falling unsoftlocks you.

[PS2] 44:22 using Debug Save Menu Example of a run using this so far, stamina refreshes when opening the menu, which is pretty difficult as you can tell lol

Also fall animations are cancelled (Apartment pool and exiting the well).

Unsoftlocking the game seems to depend on the area. When doing the Hotel OoB, I was hit a few times by the mannequin which managed to unsoftlock me, and also falling, which is why you only get one shot at the OoB before the stairs trigger reappears. So from this, some animations (aiming, guarding, falling, getting hit) depending on the area will unsoftlock you and sometimes won't. Quitting and Continuing will unsoftlock you everywhere although I did have the game freeze doing this at Rosewater before meeting Maria.

If you open the menu during a ingame cutscene, it will stick on either a black or grey screen for like 30 seconds, then the menu will open allowing you to close it and the scene will continue, albeit glitchy and with a fixed camera, like SH1s Amusement Park cutscene. Also the game seems to freeze if you let the cutscene play until the end, this might be specific to some and not all.

Audio plays in the save menu, if SH3 works the same, you could probably do the Borley Mansion thing, because IGT is paused while in this menu.

Also nothing for Abstract Daddy yet.

#Not Useful in a Speedrun Laura & Maria Cutscenes Skip Can also be done on PC by QSing using the Apartment door text (trying to go back). The game will lag and become unstable as it tries to load items/enemies/triggers and will soft freeze at Pete's Bowl-O-Rama (trying to load the cutscene with Maria).

Rosewater Sign Breakout I never use this even on PC since IGT is ticking, you might as well just skip it. Here it is working on PS2 using the Debug Save menu anyway.

Hospital Text Breakout IGT Runs.

Cube Room OoB This is possible on PC and serves no purpose, many rooms can be found including the hallway right before the Eddie boss fight. No hitboxes will be active outside of the Cube Room if my memory is correct.

Hotel Elevator Breakout Fun but Pointless.