Most of you probably already know this, but I was watching the current 100% WR by Hayate64 and a comment by YouTube user Ernasis asked Hayate if one isn't allowed to skip cutscenes, which one can do by holding up on the D-pad and pressing L. The runner replied that they simply didn't know that this was a thing, so I figured there ought to be a post on this forum pointing it out for any potential new runners in the 100% category, or even a hypothetical "Save Pluto" category.
I nabbed this game just to check; it does work, including on the Japanese version where a 100% run is actually possible (because you can actually unlock Huey).
That run is still the world record, so in theory, if you were to go for a 100% run of your own, you've got yourself a little over 14 minutes over the world record run for free off the podium cutscenes alone (if I correctly timed them as taking about 43 seconds each), on top of the many cutscenes with Ludwig's computer that vary in length. And, to be clear, that is what you can skip this way: the podium cutscene at the end of every circuit, and every story cutscene, though you may have to hit L more than once for the latter as they sometimes come in batches. What you can't skip is the intro, the points tally, or the map screen.
Problem is? Game's stinkin' hard. I'm not sure I could 100% this thing in a year, let alone 3:44:54, even with this not-so-newfound wiggle room. I have been trying to get the Dakota medal just to unlock Huey (since, y'know, I could never do either as a kid) but after hours of attempts I'm still just under two seconds off. Hayate makes it look so easy! But hey, don't let me discourage you; who says you're not up to the challenge?
This is a great find. As far as I can tell, this wasn't documented on the internet prior to that Youtube comment.
Trophy ceremony scenes were already known to be skippable by pressing START, but only after seeing the trophy ceremony cutscene for that cup + difficulty combination at least once. This trick allows you to skip trophy ceremonies on the first watch, as well as one-off cutscenes that only ever appear once like the Ludwig computer scenes. As such, this trick appears to only have implications for the 100% category in which you delete your save beforehand - in the All Cups category, runners have already been skipping these scenes as they are able to use their existing save files. In addition, the Ludwig and story scenes will have already been seen once, and thus won't reappear during All Cups when running from an existing save.
Another small note: 100% is possible on versions other than the Japanese version, but a Transfer Pak and a copy of Mickey's Speedway USA GBC must be used (or emulated - several N64 emulators have Transfer Pak support) in order to unlock Huey.
I was never aware of D-Pad Up+L either and obviously it should be allowed. Great find! I might give this category another shot in the future. I made it up when I unlocked everything on my Japanese cartridge.
