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: 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:

• 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

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:

• 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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