Q: How do you deal with Analog deadzones or controller weirdness?

A: Certain diagonals can cause snake to walk instead of run. Be extra careful that sticks are neutral when plugging in the controller. Also there is a possibility your controller port is shaky or dirty. Thorough cleaning of the ports is a good idea, and deliberate straight smooth insertions at all times are a good practice.

Q: Should I run this on Gamecube or Wii?

A: Gamecubes generally have faster load times than Wii. Loadtimes are quite variable though, depending on your Gamecube/Wii mode, laser condition, disc condition, and other potential factors. You can save a small amount of time potentially on Disc Swap with Gamecube, but it is not a huge amount and requires good hand dexterity. Here's a video comparison of disc swap.

Q: What are suggested splits for livesplit?

A: Cell Fight

Ocelot

M1 Tank

Ninja

Mantis

Wolf 1

Disc 2

Tower A

Hind-D

Wolf 2

Raven

PAL

MG-REX

Liquid

Escape

Q: Why do speedrunners quickly swap their weapon while crawling?

A: It affects the animation of the crawl, moving Snake more quickly. Roughly, for 10 seconds of swapping, you save a second.

Q: Why do speedrunners use Quick Change option Previous?

A: It cuts down on menuing for items and weapons by a considerable amount. Previous also makes certain strategies easier, like Ninja.

Q: What are analog deadzones?

A: When they programmed analog into the game, they didn't properly convert MGS2 analog. On certain diagonal angles, Snake will walk instead of run. This is unforgivable, considering MGS1 had 360 degree analog. Due to this, some runners (e.g. Plywood or Sylvaned) use mostly dpad for movement. Certain rooms are easier on dpad than analog, and vice versa. Certain strategies open up with analog movement as well (e.g. Warehouse North on Normal).

Q: How does the Nuke Bldg skip work?

A: Due to how animations work in the MGS2 engine, you can move Snake through the door and avoid crawling underneath the door. Equip a weapon (ideally the M9 on Very Easy or Easy, the Chaff or the Book), crouch by the door, and begin moving in the opposite direction of the door. While moving, quickly unequip and re-equip the weapon to move past the door. This allows you to skip the Colonel Campbell call, saving about 7 seconds.

Q: How does the prison skip work?

A: When exiting the prison, Johnny is supposed to be knocked out in some way or back in the bathroom through an unskippable cutscene. However, if you pick up the gear with a very precise roll, a bonk setup with a more lenient roll, or throw Johnny to the ground and immediately exit the room and re-enter the room, you will skip a story flag. This story flag skip allows you to avoid the cutscene and codec at Meryl's bloodstain in the Underground Passage

Q: How does the girder glitch work?

A: By placing Snake in a particular position next to the girder, the game thinks Snake is on the opposite side where he can walk when in reality he is not. This causes Snake to fall to the bottom, saving time.

Q: Is this game harder than the original?

A: Casually, it is easier than the original. Speedrun wise, it is debatable.

Q: Why is this debatable?

A: Here's why

• The method of control is different
• The games are on different engines
• Some bosses behave differently or have new gameplay elements
• Some rooms are designed differently
• There are fewer breaks in TTS
• There is more button mashing in MGS1
• The PC run of MGS1 is wildly different

A 1 to 1 comparison isn't very fair to either game. To do an accurate comparison, you would need to go room by room on every difficulty. It also raises the question of difficult in what way? Learning? Mastering? Going for the hardest strategies?

Q: So what are the major differences speedrun wise?

A: Here they are

• Twin Snakes allows Snake to truly aim in first person, unlike the pseudo-FPS of Metal Gear Solid Integral
• Twin Snakes is more forgiving in terms of health, given that max rank is unlocked at the start. You still need to be careful with your HP on Extreme when running Big Boss.
• Twin Snakes features MGS2 weapons, like the M9, Book and PSG1T.
• Twin Snakes allows for hanging mode, which opens up new routes.
• Twin Snakes is designed for the Gamecube Controller, MGS1 is designed for the Playstation Controller.
• Twin Snakes requires less backtracking. No need to go to Armory for PSG1, you can go to Nuke Bldg B1 for PSG1-T. No need to go to Warehouse or Blast Furnace for PAL sequence, you can shoot pipes at Rex to change temperature.
• Twin Snakes Cell Fight, Revolver Ocelot, M-1 Tank, and Psycho Mantis are vastly different, due to the inclusion of First Person shooting.
• Twin Snakes Ninja can be manipulated to end in Phase 2. This is not possible with MGS1 Ninja.
• Twin Snakes features a sequence break in the Medical Room, which is a harder glitch (when going for the fastest version) than any of MGS1's.

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