Shadow Complex

Well I haven't been posting any new blog entries for a while but this week I haven't been recording any Phantom Hourglass segmented attempts at all... A month ago I was playing Shadow Complex casually as it all started off when a speed runner named TheEnglishMan asked me if it was possible to go through this specific shaft without the double jump for his Freshfile* any%** run. I gave it a go and it took a while to know (location wise) where it was because, back when I recorded a SDA Published run in 2009 I was playing nothing but New Game+*** Any% which only uses less than 20 percent of the entire map. I had no visual idea on the other 80 percent. So as I was live streaming my attempt, I managed to perform what TheEnglishMan thought was impossible (look at the first video player near the bottom of this post). So a few days later after nailing that trick consistently, I decided to record an attempt and I got a time of 50 something minutes, the attempt was rough but I got better and better, heck at one point I even found a new shortcut through some creative thinking, it enabled me to skip 2 more items, saving a whooping 7 minutes (look at the second video player near the bottom of this post). I finished that run in roughly 35 minutes!


Then in early may I was messing around to see if one of the Foam pickups could be obtained before rescuing Claire, there was one spot in particular that looked like it was possible. Unfortunately it wasn't but I did learn something in that session that changed the speed running meta of Shadow Complex completely.

The kind of exploit is unique that you don't get to see in other games, it wasn't a damage boost or corrupting a save file, it's pretty much unique for 2D gameplay with 3D graphics (aka 2.5D) I'll reveal more of it once I receive my HD recording equipment and break some new records of this game!

EDIT: The flash players were messed up (2 very similar videos) so I added a link for one of my videos. I'll update the text later when I have time.

Notes for readers not familiar with speed running terms:

*Fresh file means starting a run with absolutely 0 on every related stat as if you started a new file.

** Any% means completing the game as fast as possible with optional powerups (like the Jet Pack) to complete it even faster.

*** New Game + means starting an new run with your stats brought over from previous playthroughs, in this case having infinite ammo when the player acquire new weapons (Grenade, Foam & Missile) and a room that contain special golden guns to enable the player to use the most powerful weapon much earlier on in the game.



My creative time saver!
http://www.twitch.tv/greenalinksda/b/315004872

The shaft TheEnglishMan asked me to solve.