Shadow Man: My Strangest Speedrunning Journey

[@codysullivan2531]

Three Accumulators not Four. The fourth and fifth will give you spare ammo for the Violater. And while you can get three of five Accumulators in the County Jail. Thanks to time and memory issues leading to Marco and Pikes levels being scrapped and them tossed into the prison. To get to those accumulators, I think you need to beat the bosses. To beat the bosses, you need Le Eclipser. To get Le Eclipser, you need at least Shadowpower level seven. Which comes at a whopping fifty-one or fifty-two dark souls, maybe more. Though since this is the original N64 version, the Dark Souls are more contained in smaller areas. Unlike the Remaster, where the addition of the cut levels allowed the Dark Souls, Accumulators and Retractors to be more spread out. You would also need at least one retractor. As while you start off with the Retractors to Marco and Pikes area off the bat. You need to place a third retractor for another boss level. I would recommend either Victor or Avery as Jack's area is dark and is easy to drown in. Sorry for the long comment. I am rather passionate about Shadowman.

[@oxyacetylene_]

The trick to pronouncing difficult French-looking words is that you almost never have to pronounce the last letter in a word.

[@rot_ta]

For anyone else wondering: "somehow the GoldenEye Wouter Jansen and the Shadow Man Wouter Jansen are in fact different people with the same name." -SDA

[@osukarui]

I just checked and it seems you are correct! I had no idea! Thanks for the info

[@VivaLaRazsa]

Will the real Wouter Jansen please stand up

[@raafmaat]

I was indeed wondering! this got soo confusing! since on this WMJ's channel you can barely find anything about goldeneye! so then i looked up the golden eye wouter, he goes by w00ter007 nowadays on twitch (with a profile picture to confirm)

[@MDLuffy1234YT]

​​@@VivaLaRazsa the search for other Wouter Jansens confuses me greatly. There are at least 4 more and the first 3 look like the same guy.

[@Kellestial]

Damn I’m binging all your videos, they are all so chill and a lot of them are games from my childhood :). Wish I could make vids like yours

[@veejay_hypo]

Great video. You always tell a compelling story.

[@BlueScreen18]

Looks like a fun game but it looks complicated to speedrun. Also this game takes like 72 blocks just to save on N64 xD

[@BlueScreen18]

Well, looks like I contradicted myself.

[@mrwess1927]

Itsa great game

[@xBrainDEAD9000]

Needs its own card .

[@Ricardo_Lucero]

It a great game one of my favorites but very hard to follow

[@freakishtech2310]

You also forgot to mention There is also the remastered version of shadowman. Which would have its own set of speedrun categories. The record for it is likely very different for it due to old cut content being added back into the game for the remastered such as Milton pike and Marco Cruz having their own locations with their accumulator also moved into these new locations

[@Szriko]

Bizarrely high-quality for the size of the channel and number of views. Shadowman good, speed good

[@cicabeot1]

I’ve seen this game at a certain store of mine a few times but never actually picked it up. And this video is kinda making me wanna do that now. Good work on parsing out a route for a game you had never beaten before. And luckily you now have your wish to see your time beaten.

[@BrainDamageComedy]

100 NEW subs since last night! darn tootin'! your channel ought to be huge. only time needed.

[@Uzeybug]

It’s wild seeing that you must have had less then 100 subs when you made this video considering the effort and planning you go to to present visuals to your audience. It’s better than any speed running channel I’ve seen including tomatoanus and summoning salt. No reason why you couldn’t be up there with them. Keep it up man!

[@lolaway2580]

Great video as always, can't wait to see the next one!

[@BusterBeachside]

I am greatly looking forward to your video on Buck Bumble. That game holds a lot of nostalgia for me! I've been enjoying your other videos in the meantime. Toy Story 2 is also a nostalgia bomb for me. Keep it up!

[@EggmanDrCuckooMan]

The recent advances in N64 emulation are really going to make this sort of glitch hunting/testing less painful, I feel - Ares still has some ways to go, but already it's been a lot better about accurately emulating game speed and physics in a lot of games that normally run too fast on emulator, and hopefully at some point in the future we'll have N64 emulators that can basically perform identically to original hardware. N64 has really lagged behind a lot of other systems in terms of emulation accuracy for a long time now (even Gamecube and Wii games are a lot more likely to play accurately on Dolphin than any given N64 game on most emulators, and that's a generation ahead), and it's nice to see developers finally starting to close that gap.

[@osukarui]

Yes, a friend of mine has sometimes mentioned an emulator called simply64 which he says emulates the lag quite precisely. I haven't tried it yet but will do so soon

[@EggmanDrCuckooMan]

@@osukarui In my personal experience, Ares is the only emulator I've tried where Shadows of the Empire doesn't run entirely too fast - even the PC port suffers from a number of speed and physics issues, such that basically anyone playing it today is guaranteed to eat a few deaths to randomly sliding uncontrollably off slopes (on modern hardware at least, can't be sure about how it played on then-current computers), so it's really only Ares that's managed to give an experience close to console for that game. It's a similar story for many other games I've tried, including the other N64 Star Wars games - it's exciting to see these games finally start to run accurately after so many years of running, at the best of times, too fast. There's still other compatibility issues with Ares that mean it's not really an option for certain games (for instance, the dedication to accuracy means that a few games that could run via emulator hacks and other such things won't run on Ares yet until further accuracy improvements are made), but I'm optimistic about where it's headed and the games that do work on it tend to work great.

[@codysullivan2531]

Yeah, Legion's second phase was and is a nightmare on original versions of Shadowman. Even going into his fight with all the Voodoo weapons and nearly all health upgrades. Did not prepare me for how he kicked my ass worse than any other boss enemy in the game.

[@caimdrakengard]

I loved this game growing up and as I was replaying it recently I started to wonder if there were any speedruns of it, happy to see my thoughts were answered! this was a really well done video and I hope it reaches an audience that can do some crazy runs of this game! can't wait to see more speedrun videos from you!

[@Erik-iw3ek]

Just found your channel with the indiana jones video. Absolutely awesome work! Seriously enjoy your videos!

[@codysullivan2531]

I am really impressed with the route you created based on nothing more than trial and error, research, a few glitches, and some prior building from another runner. Shows just how non-linear the game is and how if you are creative enough you can play it however you wish.

[@SonnsStorytelling]

Really appreciate this shadow man has always been a childhood favorite, I will definitely invest in this I love this content!

[@jeremyf1901]

I love these longer videos you make on speedrunning!

[@CCNeverender]

This was really well done! I hope that this video inspires someone to pick up this game

[@rubbertoe64]

This honestly makes me wanna glitch hunt and find setups for this game. Great video :)

[@osukarui]

Go for it, there is still plenty to be found. There have also been some developments. A glitchhunter called Bluescreen18 found a consistent method to do piston skip shortly after this video was made and has the WR now at around 30 minutes.

[@codysullivan2531]

Craving out your own "Paths of Shadow" through this run is both fitting and poetic given the character. And it is very inspiring to boot. For years, I have watched speedruns, and there are plenty of games that I have played through that I have played similar to a speedruner in regards to could I make certain sections faster or skip them entirely? I wish you the best with this channel, and thank you for giving obscure games like this a fair shot. As for myself, maybe I really should look into giving speed running a try?

[@osukarui]

Go for it! Also, feel free to join the speedrun discord in the description of the video

[@shawkorror]

*Marrow Gates, *Accumulator, and Cadeux would be pronounced "KAD-oh"

[@osukarui]

Ah, thanks for the corrections. Kind of goes to show how little I actually know about this game.

[@DrMeowingtonMD]

you make these so interesting. very funny and entertaining

[@petpolitics]

Always an interesting watch. Seems like there’s heaps of room left for the WR in this category. Keep up the good work 👍

[@gerardopratico5136]

Man I love your videos and general aesthetic. Thanks for the delicious content 😋

[@Imgema]

Shadowman is an amazing game and the N64 version is great. I would expect it to be more popular for speedruns.

[@wind2536]

Playing Shadow man? Absolutely based. Love this game.

[@Visuwyg]

Wait. Did I never beat Shadowman? It's one of my favorite game but I completely forgot this end boss.

[@jamesanderson6580]

Hey mate, grew up with this game, great to see a video on it, another game you gotta try is body harvest, has an any%, 100%, and hero%

[@Q27Forever]

I’m starting to love your videos

[@jamesgraham3789]

Was streaming this video to my friends. One said he has been to this game store in Reykjavík. Apparently there are buttcheeks under that part of the wall that says GAMES.

[@ImSeriously]

Bluscreen18 has a 32 minute WR in this category as of 5 months ago. INSANE knowing the story behind it all.

[@osukarui]

Yes, after this video some speedrunning friends got interested in the speedrun and we found some new stuff, including consistent piston skip. Might make a follow up video at some point.

[@ImSeriously]

@@osukarui HYPED! Your videos are always presented so beautifully and are such a fascinating watch. I look forward to more!

[@JM-gu7jx]

Commenting in hopes you cids show up on my recommended

[@Smari123]

Skemtilgt tvist að íslenskt speedrun video í recommended!

[@TheLazyComet]

Really like how you show the 3D environment. Is that blender?

[@osukarui]

Yes, these videos are almost just an excuse for me to play around in blender :)

[@codysullivan2531]

I was not expecting Emulator to be faster, though you likely were using the outdated 1.6 version for speed running. (Even though later builds are more console accurate with fewer bugs, and the speed running community is far too stubborn to change. Because "original hardware better.") My disdain for that thinking aside, good job in figuring out how to overcome the lag on original hardware. This game sure does live to challenge the player intentionally and otherwise.

[@osukarui]

Just for clarity I was using Mupen65plus for the footage in this video

[@GreeneryForTheScenery]

Can’t wait for you to cover winback

[@osukarui]

If I ever end up running Winback I will cover it, but so far I havent run it, nor am I planning to, but I guess you never know

[@MissRavengaming]

We really need a full comparison between ALL the ports with piston skip lol such a jank trick.

[@justavian]

I don't know anything about this game, other than what i've seen in this video. When you were doing the backwards long jump, could you not then shoot the surgeon? You mentioned that sometimes he would kill you even after making the jump, but maybe i missed the reason why killing him after the jump was not viable. Does he have too much health? Is it just more likely that you'll take more damage? Or is it for the failsafe, in case you fall down and have to go back to the checkpoint or something? Anyway, despite not knowing this game, this was fun to watch. Nice work.

[@osukarui]

Yeah, it is a very viable strat. He has a lot of health but you can drain all except the last shot and shoot him after you cross. It can be slightly risky since you could kill him accidentally too early. but non of that actually matters anymore since an alternate method to do piston skip has been found (I will most likely make a follow up video to this one at some point explaining stuff. A lot happened after I made this video.)

[@Luke_Freeman]

Dude. Quality video

[@idontwantahandlethough]

great stuff dude!

[@ENNEN420]

Tbh man, this run would probably be best on PC. Console versions are gimped and awkward to play and PJ64 1.6 is a remote code execution nightmare since it's the speedrun equivalent using windows xp in 2024 and I am actually really upset that leaderboard managers still push such a dangerous piece of software. The PC version is a lot more consistent overall and has the potential for training mods to be made. I'd pick the game up again, just casually and on PC. I think you'll come around to agree with me on this one.

[@flagainst3]

So cool! Thank you!

[@hayjay9028]

21:16 so you never tried using side ways jumping tp inrease your natural slow run speed and try rolling on the ledge make it easy to dodge the surgeons bullets. It propells you forward and i think it increases speed for a couple of seconds before a split second halt. If rolling is to risky then ducking could suffice for dodging bullets without slipping off the edge. I mean i woulda tried to substitute a side jump for the blj just to see if it works.

[@osukarui]

Well, there was probably more stuff to test with this method but shortly after I made this video a player called Bluescreen18 actually found a consistent method to do piston skip by running up the wall

[@dimitriuss]

how tf do you get some of the footage for these vids? like the camera showing the game landscapes and stuff are so awesome

[@PatSpeedruns]

He uses a software called Blender! I honestly don't know the exact specifics though

[@codysullivan2531]

I know in the remaster all you need to do to immediately start a boss fight again is save in the arena. And when you die, you quickly pause the game and load the save. A neat trick, which, while slow, can save time. Arguably, I have only beaten the original PC version. This is, of course, vastly different from the N64 version. Though, since the N64 utilizes a memory card, save that, of course, pauses the game to save and load. Would it not be doable to replicate this saving and loading? If possible, it would certainly cut down on BLJ piston room attempts.

[@osukarui]

I'm pretty sure that if you save in the boss fight, you will respawn in the last checkpoint, which is in the piston room on the other side, meaning you have to do the piston skip again, but I might be wrong.

[@MissRavengaming]

@@osukarui It depends on the boss fight. All the mini bosses will just load you into the fight wherever you saved. The final boss will offer to load you where you saved, or in the engine room. If you die on the final boss however, a cutscene begins, then it kicks you to the title screen. I have no idea what glitch this original comment is talking about, there are no time saving glitches with saving/loading except for 1.0 keeping the final boss from attacking as far as I'm aware in the remaster.

[@byMDRM]

loved this ngl

[@MittensOnly]

It's always so wild when people speed run games that they've never played casually Like, shouldn't you enjoy the game you decide to run for hours on end? Lol

[@bunnybreaker]

I played the hell put of this on PC back in the day. Also, ShadowMario when? Nintendo plz

[@GentielioGaming]

I played it and finished the game on dreamcast. Looks better then N64. Was the 2nd game great??

[@osukarui]

What do you mean by 2nd game? Shadow man 2? If so I never played it

[@GentielioGaming]

@@osukarui Shadow Man 2econd Coming, only on PS2, year 2002.

[@colonthree]

The original (dark) soulslike...? OwO

[@ridjobradikapetantrokuka3834]

Why not kill the surgeon after making the jump? Why not use a weapon that might not be the strongest in game but might be faster to obtain?

[@nonAehT]

Was that the same Wouter Jansen that set a ton of Goldeneye records?

[@osukarui]

I recently discovered that they are in fact not the same person. When making this video I thought they were.

[@luminousnutria3555]

Why couldn't you just shoot the surgeon after making the jump?

[@mRhea]

cadeaux is french for gifts, pronounced "cadu"

[@NinjaContravaniaManX]

Ah yes, Shadowman... the game I really wanted to love, but ultimately ended up uninstalling and never touching again. It started so promising with the early to mid areas like the swamp, fire temple etc., but then you realize you have go through that ugly, poorly designed Asylum... again... and again... and again... so much brown and grey, so much wasted potential...

[@ilovemonkeyos]

Shadow Man is the Dark Souls of Shadow Man games.

[@basedbrody1170]

Sarge’s heroes 2 plz

[@rockleesmile]

Why don't you just... play Shadow Man?

[@PatSpeedruns]

Why don't you just... let people do what they want with games. They're still playing the game anyways, just a different way

[@FuneraillesDuMonde]

vin diesel BLJ

[@khhnator]

supposedly this is not a bad game thou

[@JuanSanchez-rg9ov]

I don't think this is a horror game m8