MGS4 Platinum Speedrun

[Zolkovo]

I'm planning on speed running the platinum for this game, but there are some very impressive times to compete with. So far I've just had the game idling in ACT I with all powersave features turned off in order to accumulate the time needed for the 35 hour emblem (before earning a single trophy), and catching up on sleep and household chores in the meantime. Flashback mania will be the most time consuming of "active" playtime I think, since I'll have to watch all cutscenes. The remaining 7 playthroughs should be fairly breezy unless I've forgotten to account for something else that's lengthy.

 

Are there any other neat little tricks that could help chop a tidy chunk off the playtime?

Edited January 19, 2018 by Zolkovo

[demonoutcast]

Be prepared to save and reload ALOT.

[Zolkovo]

Alright so I've just finished this and before I slip into a mini-coma, thought I'd leave any future speed runners some tips.

 

1. Be well-rested and fed

 

2. Your 1st playthrough needs to be the chicken run. Start off by leaving the game running on idle after you meet up with Metal Gear Mk. II in Act 1, Red Zone. Ensure you don't go for Handle With Caution as tempting as it may be. While idling, make sure to periodically change Snake's position between prone/crouch/wall hug etc to get those respective emblems out of the way too. I'd recommend at least 27 hours, since it is possible to gather all collectables, misc trophies and flashbacks within 8 hours. Depending on your knowledge and expertise you can decide for yourself whether to idle for less or longer. Once you're ready to play, start off by farming the alerts you need right off the bat before doing anything else. This will save some extra valuable time.

 

3. This swiftly leads me on to a great farming spot with infinite spawns. Soon after meeting with Metal Gear Mk. II, you'll need to head down into the Militia Safe House. Before you go, find a spot to prone behind the nearby sandbags, and kill kill kill as they keep running out of the tunnels. You can also force a checkpoint by running in and out of the tunnels if you want to save progress and prevent You enjoy all the killing, that's why. popping early. Use this spot to farm the majority of the alerts/kills you need so you can rush through the rest of the game.

 

4. I found that Act IV had the best spots for continues, both of which didn't have any loading screens. The first is when you defend Metal Gear Mk. III from the Gekko as it is opening the gate that leads to the Crying Wolf boss. Simply blast it with the Railgun, although this won't work on your 1st playthrough as you won't have the Railgun just yet. The other spot is shortly after the fight with Crying Wolf. You'll eventually reach a small area with dwarf Gekkos and two bottomless gaps in the floor. Just fall down them, rinse and repeat. Not as fast as the first method but still a good spot for getting continues without alerts/kills.

 

5. Not all cut-scenes need to be watched. I can't stress how important this is as they take up so much time. Only around 50% of them actually have flashbacks (since many cut-scenes are split up into several skippable segments). Unfortunately I didn't document exactly which cut-scenes can be skipped but I'm sure that information is out there somewhere. You can also skip a cut-scene as soon as all the available flashbacks in the current sequence have been viewed. Make sure to get Flashback Mania on your chicken playthrough otherwise you'll be wasting a lot of time later on.

 

6. You should only have two lengthy playthroughs. The chicken run will probably take around 7-11 hours to complete after your first trophy popping. The other prolonged one will be the BBE run, which actually with the right know-how will only take you around 4-5 hours real time. It took me roughly 4 hours, although the in-game counter displayed 2 hours 29 minutes on the final results page. Your remaining 6 playthroughs should each take between 2-3 hours and no more, including the opening sequence and end credits. Use the farming spots mentioned earlier for alerts/kills/continues so you can steamroll through the rest of the game.

 

7. As the above poster mentioned, save at every checkpoint during the BBE run. Don't be ashamed to save scum, especially on some of the trickier sections. For some reason I got through the bike chase on my first attempt, but kept failing when getting Rex out of the hangar... you win some, you lose some.

 

8. Prepare to be sick of the end game credits. It's impossible to skip and you have to sit through the god damn thing 8 times. That's 2 hours of your plat time. Theoretically the whole thing can be done in 24 hours, but you'd have to execute everything perfectly and likely forfeit sleep/food entirely for a day. In real time that's 24 + 28 hrs of idling at the start.

 

Apologies if none of that many any sense, I'll probably proof-read it when I'm feeling more alive. Good luck and happy hunting.

[S_y_n_e_IR_g_Y]

Congrats!

 

You really deserve #1 in the fastest Archievers Leaderboard

[Nabeel_of_Steel]

I'm just here to congratulate you on that Plat Speedrun :D. 1 day 14 hours is absurd for this game, you lead the closest people in 2nd and 3rd place by over a full DAY ?

 

Also, getting the Elite trophy from MGSV as your 1337th trophy was a really nice touch lol truly LEET. I never actually thought of that back then, personally I just wanted to have MGRR's plat Revengeance on there somewhere so I made that my 1337th trophy ?

Edited March 21, 2018 by ZEUS_OfThe_AEGIS

[Zolkovo]

@ZEUS_OfThe_AEGIS It's actually a lot easier than it looks and 2nd and 3rd place would have had similar times if they went for the chicken emblem first with stalling. I actually spent like an hour chatting with a staff member during the run and also had to take a small nap! Even though it's one of my all time favourites, it did get boring in the later playthroughs - especially in one sitting.

 

Thanks for your comment though, appreciate it!

Edited March 22, 2018 by Zolkovo