The leaderboard needs to be revamped for categories. Since the game has 2 separate settings for difficulty and game type, a broad description like "Ultimate Any%" isn't indicative of the difficulty.
I recommend having separate tabs for each difficulty setting (easy, normal, hard, devilish) and then have sub category tabs for game type (normal, ultimate, critical).
When exactly should we begin and end the timer for these runs? I watched Sabatour100's Easy any% run recently and it seemed like the timer started in the middle of a cutscene. The timer stopped on the final hit of nobunaga's demon form and that makes sense.
Also, the ability to skip cutscenes seems to depend on using a save file where the player has completed the game at least once. However, this may only be the case with the PS2 version. How would you feel about starting the timer right as you gain control of samonosuke at the temple?
As well as timing, I also wanted to address the 3 additional weapons you can acquire with samonosuke once he is transported to france in the future. Would those be allowed in any category? I realize that they are not difficult to obtain and would greatly speed up a run. On the other hand, they require use of a previous save file. I don't know if that is considered extra content or whatever but it doesn't quite make a run feel like I'm starting from the beginning.
What are your thoughts on this?