The World Ends With You (NDS) Any% Normal tutorial/notes

**THIS IS OUTDATED BUT CAN STILL BE A GOOD RESOURCE FOR GENERAL LEARNING, PLEASE REFER TO GIPPY'S GUIDES AT https://www.speedrun.com/twewy/guides FOR SOME UPDATED STRATS**

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***                      HI                    ***
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This is a complete, updated speedrun route for The World Ends With You Any% Normal by Herreteman.
An average run with this route should be under 5:30:00 RTA, with a perfect run being close to 4:40:00.
You can play in emulator but I wouldn't recommend it, console is much better to control. The Android version is completely different and this route doesn't work for it.

You can use my current World Record VOD (as of writing this in July 5th 2017) as reference to follow this route: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/106014468

Leaderboards: http://www.speedrun.com/twewy

If you see any typo, gramatical error, or you have any doubts about what this pastebin says, you can contact me on Twitter (@herreteman), Discord (Herreteman#5270) or on a thread I'll make on speedrun.com for this.
Sorry if bad englando.




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***              GENERAL KNOWLEDGE             ***
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ROUTE
- This route gets one pin slot (other than the 2 you get from story), Shiki fusion to level 2, Joshua's fusion to level 3 and no fusion upgrades for Beat.
- Play in EU/NA version, JP is faster for text but harder and small differences make the route impossible and lose more time than it'd be worth routing.
- The category rules state that every battle with a results screen must be played in Normal difficulty unless strictly necessary. The difficulty will be changed twice: to Easy in Joshua day 4 to get a specific pin and to Hard in Beat day 6 to intentionally die to Taboo Minamimoto.
- Saving is slow but I recommend doing it for first runs, although you should only save at the end of a day to avoid the menuing timeloss. I'd recommend saving before the shark fight at the end of Shiki day 4 until you have the fight down, since you will not get battle retries until day 5 and it's easy to die to the shark.
- Movement is not too complicated but you can use Dpad/ABXY to move straight to some exits, most notably areas like Center St. Entrance that are a literal hallway.
- Food is very important. I'll detail the ideal food route but you may need to adapt it to any unexpected extra battles (or having less battles than expected). As long as Neku eats everything as expected, by Beat day 2 he will have enough Bravery to equip Pi-Face's Cap for a nice attack boost in the final battles.
- Timing ends when the game finishes saving after credits. During this save, hold L+R to see the final in-game timer. IGT will be around 55 minutes under RTA.

PARTNERS
- Shiki will start fairly normal until day 5/6, when she can have actual equipment. Her jump attack is very powerful to use against raven enemies, and most importantly Cornix Canor.
- Joshua will start extremely OP and just get better with Levitation. Just spam directions and don't worry about numbers, the huge amount of combos he can finish in a short amount of time will get Fusion easily unless you're extremely unlucky.
- Beat will start very bad but we buy a BRAVE+ specifically for him so he can equip good things. He doesn't have the raw power of the other partners and can't really get Fusion easily, and on top of that he has the roughest battles by far. Uzuki is his worst nightmare. You'll really need to split your attention instead of mostly spamming like other partners.

BATTLE
- The most important element in battle is the puck. On the first days you can get away with spamming Shockwave and maybe getting puck before ending the combo, but once the puck speed goes up you'll need to use it efficiently. Normally desyncing your attack between Neku and the partner (attack with one at a time, never both) will work, unless one of them gets interrupted.
- Healing is pretty useless until week 3, so instead of a healing pin weeks 1 and 2 will use Poison Bones for extra damage. When healing in week 3, always do it with puck because it also increases the amount you heal.
- Don't lower your level unless strictly necessary. First days are fine for this, to get some possible extra money pins, but after starting the Red Skull battles in Shiki day 6 you shouldn't ever need those extra drops. Any necessary or recommended level down will be noted on the route.
- Keeping a high sync rate with the partner will make battles faster. This is pretty easy to do until week 3, since random Reaper battles can mess it up.
- Don't use Fusion unless it's at least level 2 and on a chain, or if it's used in a boss strat as noted in the route. The exception is using it for an emergency heal, since it'll be your only real way of healing for most of the game.

MENUS
- It's important to reduce the times you enter the menu, the route will describe a minimal amount of menus.
- Every first time on a menu will show a tutorial. These are always closed the same way, so just remember to do that.
- Don't enter any phone menu option other than equipment and pins, or you'll eat a real nice tutorial wait and lose time.
- When on a multiple options dialogue, remember to not mash text at the center of the touchscreen, or you may select an option twice.
- When selling pins, if you have more than one (which is usually the case for money pins) you should uncheck the instant selling and press down on the number to sell them all at once; if you're selling single pins, however, have it checked.
- Equipment menu will start almost empty, but by the end of week 2 it'll be too crowded to access the food you want directly. Remember to scroll down.
- Of course, shop auto-buy is very fast so it has to be activated on the first shop (Ramen Don on Shiki day 3) and remain that way throughout the run.




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***                   LEGEND                   ***
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	-[text]
Item name, the brackets separate them from the normal text to make them easy to see. Important when learning equips.

	-// text
Comments about the route, things you should know or things I want to note like strategies for minor fights or reasons for using certain items.

	-shop name -> Nx [item] (X)
Indicates shopping. The shop name is to differentiate between shops in a mall or when there are multiple shops in an area (which only happens in Cat Street). N is the number of items of that type you need to buy. X is the item's position in the shop, to make it easier to find them; items are displayed in rows of 6, so a 7 or higher means second row.

	-Menu:
		-section: action
Menus are very specific and will be displayed as such. The section is the submenu you need to be in (Items or pins), if there isn't any it's amain menu action, like changing your level. Multiple actions in the same section will be completely separated but still prefaced with their section.

	-FEED -> character [item]
This may sometimes be used outside of menu descriptions, for times where you only need to enter the menu to feed. In week 3 sometimes FEED will be used alone with no specifics, more infoon that in Beat Day 2.



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*****                             ROUTE                                  *****
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***                 SHIKI DAY 1                ***
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Intro sequence
After dialogue, touch Player Pin and cancel immediately
Frog battle, wait a bit and Start + Escape
Anime intro
Frog battles
	// For the first one, stay away and just keep pressing at the frog's position.
	// For the second one, try to group them by staying at the center, then go away and hit them both. Beware of the jump attack, it messes up positioning.

Hold right to SCRAMBLE CROSSING
Dialogue, go to N exit, Reaper cutscene, 104
Mash Select to skip tutorials
Tutorial battles
	// For these battles, whenever Shiki doesn't have puck, cancel her combos early by pressing any other direction.
	// This makes it so you can get more damage while waiting for puck or pin reboot, and will ultimately make the fights faster.
	// On Neku's side, just use all the pin gauge whenever you can.

Day end, close saving tutorial and cancel


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***                 SHIKI DAY 2                ***
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Dialogue, attempt W
Scan and cancel, tutorial noise
In any given order:
	-For Touching tutorial, a full [Thunderbolt] and almost full Force Rounds will kill one frog, but the initial position will make Neku miss [Force Rounds], so remember to move to the side after using [Thunderbolt].
	-For Obstacles tutorial, find the largest object and time bounces back and forth against the frogs. Mildly affected by RNG, be aware of your [Psychokinesis] gauge and use [Pyrokinesis] for cleanup.
	-For Slashing tutorial, slash the closest frog to more consistently hit both. Do two full combos, then slice twice, stop for a moment, and do another full combo to finish.

Go W to WEST EXIT BUS TERMINAL, Beat dialogue options, phone unlocked
Menu:
	-Close general tutorial, set partner to MANUAL
	-Pins: close tutorial, equip [Shockwave] and [Force Rounds] or [Psychokinesis].
	// [Psychokinesis] has a higher damage output than [Force Rounds] but only if you get good obstacle RNG.
	// On the other hand, with [Force Rounds] + [Shockwave] it's easy to stunlock most early game enemies, and it's way more consistent.
	// Both are respectable options but I usually go for [Force Rounds], specially because [Psychokinesis]'s usefulness will decrease over the days and you should never have it equipped by day 4.

Attempt N wall, Reaper cutscene, Moyai Noise
	// From now on, you NEED at least one [500 yen] drop before day 4.
	// It's easy to get it in the fights you need to advance, but if you don't get it you'll need to grind for it and that loses a lot of time.
N to HACHIKO, go to left of the statue, scan and cancel
Examine Hachiko, "Scout for more info", go back to BUS TERMINAL

Don't move, scan and read the Moyai guy, cancel, go back to HACHIKO
Examine Hachiko, "Polish Hachiko", clean, wolf fight
Hedgehog:
	-Start by using [Force Rounds] on him, then focus all your attacks and ignore the wolfs. After this, just try to stunlock him with both pins.
	-Wolfs will die when the hedgehog dies.
	-Be aware of where he is on Shiki's screen.
	-Puck doesn't really matter for this, just attack as fast as possible.

Day end

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***                 SHIKI DAY 3                ***
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Intro cutscene, hold SW until Shiki, then S to exit
Don't move, talk to 777, go through first dialogue options, then "Find him yourself"
S Reaper, Hanekoma options, fusion tutorial (don't use, just get damage fast)

DOGENZAKA, defeat pig on the road S for [5000 yen]
Menu:
	-Pins: equip [Ice Blow] in free slot and set it in a subslot (L/R while selected), sell [5000 yen]
	-Lower level to 1 for a few money drops later
Enter RAMEN DON, cutscene, activate shop autoconfirm:
	RAMEN DON -> 1x [Shoyu Ramen] (1), 1x [Shio Ramen] (3), 1x [Tonkotsu Ramen] (4)
	// [Shoyu Ramen] and [Tonkotsu Ramen] will be used as initial food to digest through the many forced battles coming up.
	// [Tonkotsu Ramen] is also important to close Neku's Bravery route.
	// [Shio Ramen] is needed to clear a wall in Joshua day 5.
Menu:
	- Items: close tutorial, FEED -> Shiki [Shoyu Ramen], Neku [Tonkotsu Ramen].
Talk to the tech and fight yellow noise
	// [Ice Blow] is a very important pin from now on until nearly the end of the run, make sure to always use it when Neku has puck for huge damage.
	// The reason it's in subslot is to isolate it from other commands whenever you have puck.

A-EAST, talk to 777/tech
N wall Reaper, kill 2 wolf noises
	// These kind of missions can lose time thanks to Noise RNG, always do a first scan after talking to the Reaper and move around if there aren't enough Noise.
	// You'll get another level up during this, I'd recommend lowering it back to 1 in the next menu for a possible [5000 yen] drop from the boss, but it isn't necessary for the route to work.
Go N to SHIBUKYU, talk to Beat/Rhyme about memes

Scan and beat nearby pig, menu:
	-Pins: sell both [5000 yen] pins
Enter shop:
	MUS RATTUS IV -> 1x [Brown Baby Tee] (6)
	// This is just to get the ability for this tee, but Shiki can equip it already so we're buying it now.
	SUNSHINE -> 5x [Hamburger] (1), 5x or 6x [OJ] (4), 9x [Vanilla Soft Serve] (5)
	// [Vanilla Soft]s ([Soft Serve] from now on) are extremely important, Neku has to eat all of them throughout the route.
	// [OJ] is spammed for easy sync later this week, [Hamburger] are just for stat boosts and partners will eat them.

Go W to A-EAST, enter STAGE, go NE and scan the guy for "Fuse" meme
Go out and S to DOGENZAKA, scan girl next to Cosmic Corner for "Cough drops" meme
Go NW to A-EAST, N to SHIBUKYU, meme the bussinesman with any option, imprint "Cough drops" on tech
Go back to DOGENZAKA, enter Cosmic Corner, imprint "Fuse" on tech (in front of Ramen Don) and reenter Cosmic Corner
Go NW to A-EAST, talk to 777 (get [Lucky Star])
Menu:
	-Pins: sell [Lucky Star]
	// Day 4 will start with some shopping, and Lucky Star sells for a lot of money.
	- Items: equip [Brown Baby Tee] on Shiki.

Enter STAGE, NE and talk to tech, bat fight:
	-When dark, attack the boss with Neku just to pass puck.
	-If you're efficient passing puck when the boss is paralyzed, you can do a lot of damage with [Ice Blow].
	-May be possible to one cycle this boss with perfect puck passing, but I've never managed to do so.
	-Save fusion for 2nd cycle, as it clears all the small bats in one hit.

Day end

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***                 SHIKI DAY 4                ***
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Talk to Beat/Rhyme and go through cutscene
Enter 104, dialogue options
104 shopping:
	D+B -> 1x Shiki Fusion Boost (1), 1x [Star Cap] (6)
	// [Star Cap] gives 1 fusion star to Shiki so it's pretty useful until we can have a full build.
	MUS RATTUS I -> 1x [Peach Turtleneck] (3), 1x [Nylon Waist Pack] (4)
	// Like last day's Mus Rattus shopping, this is to get abilities for the items.
	EDOGA -> 1x [Safe Landing] (1)
	// Just a useful ability for a lot of fights.

Hold S to SCRAMBLE CROSSING, go through dialogue about pigs and erase 2+ frog noise for 2x [1000 yen]
Talk to E Reaper, go E to SHIBU DEPT STORE, very dumb pants scene
Talk to E Reaper, if you've gotten enough [500 yen] drops you'll clear the wall, go E to CADOI CITY
Menu:
	-Items: Equip Neku with [Peach Turtleneck]
	-Items: Equip Shiki with [Nylon Waist Pack], [Star Cap]
	-Items: If you had an extra battle anywhere (probably frogs in SCRAMBLE CROSSING), FEED -> Shiki [Hamburger]
	-Pins: Equip [Poison Bones] in empty slot
	// [Poison Bones] has a very high chance of raising our damage output every fight, so it'll be a fixed pin up until the end of week 2.
	// You may want to equip [Cure Drink] instead if you're struggling with the shark fight, but equip [Poison Bones] later or you'll lose a lot of DPS.

Talk to Beat/Rhyme, go E to TOWA RECORDS
BibleThump RIP Rhyme BibleThump
Random frogs battle, shark fight:
	-To make this fight fast, it's important to stunlock him as much as possible with Neku. If you're efficient enough the shark will never attack.
	-He moves around in Shiki's screen a lot, try to hit him as much as possible.
	-If he escapes the stunlock he'll most likely eat a frog, this powers him up A LOT and he can easily kill you.
	-Use [Ice Blow] ahead of where he's moving so he walks (swims?) into it, use this hit as a setup for more stunlock.

Day end

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***                 SHIKI DAY 5                ***
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	// If you didn't feed Shiki a [Hamburger] last day, do it now.

Go W and talk to the bussinessman, Reaper Creeper to The Gate (red) for "Reaper Creeper" meme
	// For Reaper Creeper, choices don't really matter, but The Gate/Red/Middle is the closest to the initial position.
	// You have to move it kinda slowly still, don't get too greedy or you'll trigger an extra cutscene and start again.

Go E to AMX, shopping:
	AMX -> 1x [(CD) Track 1] (1)
	// For a Reaper wall coming up.
Go back to TIPSY TOSE, talk to Reaper, chain 2 bear noises and talk again
Go N to SPAIN HILL, go to the end and talk to Reaper

Go E to MOLCO, menu:
	-Pins: Change [Force Rounds] to [Murasame]
	// [Murasame] is a very good pin for the fast puck build we're starting to get in this day.
	// When the puck is as fast as it will become today, you can start [Murasame] and finish a partner combo during the animation to instantly return the puck.
	// It has the same command as [Ice Blow], but it's not on subslot, so just hold L/R when you want to use that.
	- Pins: Sell all your money pins between 500 and 10k, need at least 45000 yen

Molco shopping:
	TIGRE PUNKS -> 4x [Purple Sneaks] (8), 1x [Cotton Biker Vest] (2)
	// [Purple Sneaks] are arguably the most important equipment in this build, so we'll use one for every character. Be sure to get their ability!
	// Neku can't equip them yet, we'll have to wait for a bit of digestion.
	// The Vest is to buy the [Biker Jacket] later.
	D+B -> 1x [Cupid Tee] (5), 1x [Knit Casquette] (6), 1x [Stronger Cap] (7)
	// These are mostly just for a mission in Joshua day 5, but they'll be useful for stats for a bit. You also get their abilities in this shop.
Menu:
	-Items: Equip Neku with [Knit Casquette]
	-Items: Equip Shiki with [Purple Sneaks]

Go W to SPAIN HILL, stand near Mexican Dog and chain 3 noise
	// Puck passing will be way faster now with Shiki having extremely short combos + improved puck speed.
	// If possible, FEED -> Shiki [Hamburger], Neku [Soft Serve]. If not do it after the next chain.
	// From now on, Neku will only be eating Soft Serves, until they're all gone.
Chain 3 yellow noises, talk to girls and imprint "Reaper Creeper", "Sounds like fun"
Select Gate x3, feed if possible, fight yellow noise.

Bear fight:
	-Shiki will take a beating in this fight, and the bear hits hard.
	-On Neku's screen, time your attacks to the puck and try to interrupt any attack he does.

Day end

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***                 SHIKI DAY 6                ***
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Dialogue, go E twice to CADOI, menu:
	- Pins: Change [Shockwave] to [Sexy D]
	// Sexy D is pretty OP for the nearly complete build and it'll be essential to the Red Skull fights.
	-Pins:	Sell all your money pins between 500 and 10k, need at least 9285 yen.
Cadoi shopping:
	MUS RATTUS III -> 4x [Green Warm-ups] (1), 2x [Brown Baby Tee] (5), 2x [Nylon Waist Pack] (6), 1x [Beach Sandals] (3)
	// Make sure to get the [Green Warm-ups] ability, most Mus Rattus stuff is bought here because this ability requires a bit of afinity.
	// All these clothes have low BRV requirements and have beneficial abilities to our build.
Menu:
	-Items: FEED -> Neku [Soft Serve], Shiki [OJ] (if possible).
	-Items: Equip Neku with [Green Warm-ups] and if possible [Purple Sneaks] or [Nylon Waist Pack] if not
	// If you couldn't equip [Purple Sneaks], remember to do it whenever you digest the current Soft Serve!
	-Items: Equip Shiki with [Green Warm-ups] in place of [Star Cap].

Go back to CROSSING, talk to Makoto in SE, scan and read him, cancel and fight yellow noise
	// The puck becomes super fast now, [Sexy D] can suspend very damaging obstacles above the Noise and pass it immediately.
	// This can annihilate most battles very fast if you get lucky with obstacles.
Marketing 1: imprint "Totally Gnarly" (1)
NE wall, Reaper Test: "Edoga" (3), "High heels" (1), "Bubbles" (3)
Go NE to CENTER ST, marketing 2: imprint "Unreal, bro!" (3)

Set level to 1, chain 4 Raven noises
	// For this route, 10 [Rare Metal] are needed to buy everything, and this is the best place to farm them, even if there's a few fights later that can drop a Rare Metal.
	// If you get very lucky you'll get 10 [Rare Metal] in this first chain, either way continue after the chain.
Menu:
	-Items: FEED -> Neku [Soft Serve], Shiki [OJ]
N Reaper, AMX shopping:
	AMX -> 1x [Daruma] (5)
	// [Daruma] has pretty high damage output and it's specially good and big, immobile targets like Ovis Cantus at the end of the week.
CENTER ST. ENTRANCE, do more Raven chains if necessary and keep feeding the same, SCRAMBLE CROSSING

Go E to SHIBUKYU, CADOI, MOLCO, shopping:
	TIGRE PUNKS -> 1x [Biker Jacket] (1)
	// This jacket gives an amazing +18 attack to Neku, but he can't equip it yet.
Talk to W Reaper, go W to SPAIN HILL, marketing 3: imprint "Come get some hot stuff!" (2) x2

Go to CROSSING through TIPSY TOSE, AMX, CENTER ST, cutscene, S to Shiki, W to Shiki, E to Makoto
Menu:
	- Pins: Change [Poison Bones] to [Red Skull]
	- Items: Neku should have enough bravery to equip [Purple Sneaks], equip it now if you haven't already
	- Set level to max
Chain 3 noises, FEED -> Neku Soft Serve, Shiki OJ, N to 104
	// [Red Skull] fights are a bit annoying, but really depend on RNG.
	// Try to use the obstacles in the field with [Sexy D] as efficiently as possible because it's your storngest long-range attack option.
	// Puck is almost instant at this point so just release the obstacles immediately to save their durability + pin energy.
Chain 3 more noises, S to CROSSING, talk to Shiki on SE

Day end

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***                 SHIKI DAY 7                ***
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Menu:
	-Pins: Change [Red Skull] to [Poison Bones]
	-Items: FEED -> Shiki [OJ]
Go W to HACHIKO, talk to Reaper, chain 3 battles and retalk
FEED -> Neku [Soft Serve], Shiki [OJ]

Go NW to BUS TERMINAL, go S and talk to Reaper to start Cornix Canor:
	-For the first wave of ravens, don't use [Sexy D], attack with different pins and focus on building puck multiplier.
	-Cornix Canor will fly above Neku 3 times and then descend, keep building multiplies while he does this.
	-When he descends, make sure Neku has the puck and use [Sexy D] with the best vehicle in sight to hit him, finish combos with Shiki for extra puck hits.
	- After descending on Neku's screen he'll go the opposite way on Shiki's screen, time a jump attack with puck (hitting ravens in the same direction will also hit the boss) for extra damage.
	- If you get both attacks he should die, unless you mess up something. Extra cycles are basically the same unless he picks up a bus from the upper part of Neku's screen; in that case you'll have to wait for him to drop it and that's slow.

Go SE to UNDERPASS, menu:
	-Pins: Change [Sexy D] to [Daruma]
	// Sexy D will be useless for this upcoming fight since there's no obstacles, and Daruma has very good burst damage that is easy to use against a non-moving boss like this.

Go E to enter Ovis Cantus:
	-Pretty straightforward fight, build multiplier as fast as possible and avoid attacking when he's doing Taste Test.
	-5x puck is easy to get, time [Daruma] and [Ice Blow] to pass it immediately
	-Be aware of Higashizawa's attacks, specially the electric one, he can stunlock you into oblivion.

Day end



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***                JOSHUA DAY 1                ***
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Cutscenes, go W to HACHIKO
Crab fight
	// Use [Ice Blow] to hit all crabs, then wait for Joshua's first puck pass and start using [Daruma].)
After dialogue, scan, read Joshua and cancel

Menu:
	-Items: Equip Joshua with [Brown Baby Tee], [Green Warm-ups], [Nylon Waist Pack], [Purple Sneaks].
	-Items: FEED -> Joshua [Hamburger].
	// Joshua is already OP with this loadout, the puck speed and short combos completely negate his shortcomings. He'll also finish our burger supply for some extra HP.)
Go E to CROSSING, talk to the Reaper, tutorial
	// Just spam, easy.

Go N to 104, Rhino fight:
	-This is surprisingly easy. Just get behind him and hit him with puck [Daruma], he'll die fast.

Day end

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***                JOSHUA DAY 2                ***
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Cutscenes, scan, read Joshua, cancel and prepare to mash more cutscenes
Go E to DEPT STORE, shopping:
	PEGASO ATELIER -> 1x Joshua Fusion Boost (1)
Talk to E Reaper, go to center and chain the two orange Noise

Talk to the Reaper, go E to CADOI, cutscenes, menu:
	-Items: FEED -> Neku [Soft Serve].
	-Items: If possible, change Neku's [Peach Turtleneck] to [Biker Jacket].
	-Pins: Switch to deck 2, equip [1 yen], switch back to deck 1.
	// You could technically equip any pin in this deck, [1 yen] is just one you'll probably never need, and it's also the ultimate disrespect pin.
	-Pins: Sell all your money pins between 500 and 10k, need 74260 yen.
	-Lower level (about 4-6 levels)
Attempt N to MOLCO, Taboo kangaroo fight
	// This fight is actually stupidly easy, just attack with whoever has the puck.

Go N to MOLCO, menu:
	-Pins: Switch to deck 2
Enter Molco, Tin Pin.
	//The reason we're entering the Tin Pin tournament with only one pin equipped is that you're not required to win any Tin Pin match in the main days.
	// When it starts, just go down to suicide and end the match. Do this for both matches in this day.

Cutscenes, mash until outside of Molco, menu:
	-Pins: Switch to deck 1, change deck 1 to:	[Tin Pin Custom] (in Mastered), [Ice Blow], [Ichimonji], [Poison Bones].
	// [Tin Pin Custom] has the psych that carries this build and route. Burst Rounds has incredible efficiency, meaning it hits very very hard with puck.
	// Most enemies will not survive two shots from this pin, so from now on this is the main pin you should be using for damage.
	// On the other hand, [Ichimonji] is a very fast attack to catch distant enemies so it's pretty good to use as an starter and while the rest of the deck is rebooting.
Go S, cutscene

Day end

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***                JOSHUA DAY 3                ***
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Go E to DEPT STORE, CADOI, talk to E Reaper and chain 3 wolves, talk again
Go N to TOWA, UNDERPASS, lower level if you didn't already
Chain two frog (crab) Noise for [Pop Pendulum], talk to Reaper

Go E to MIYASHITA, CAT STREET, cutscenes, shopping:
	JUPITER OF THE MONKEY -> 1x [Murasame] (1), 3x [Naraka] (12, ability)
	// Naraka's ability makes the puck start with a higher multiplier, we'll be equipping these in a bit.
	// To unlock Naraka's ability you need some affinity. Murasame is the cheapest thing to buy and it gives enough, so buying it is necessary.

Enter WildKat, cutscenes and options, shopping:
	WILDKAT -> ~9x [House Blend] (2), ~4x [Bouillabaisse] (6)
	// These are all for safety and for sync during week 3, the amount you need to buy isn't really fixed.
	// You can survive the third week with only 4-5 [House Blend]s, but if you get a lot of encounters you may run out of them and get very slow fights.
	// I would recommend buying at least 7, or just 9 every run.

Go W to MIYASHITA, UNDERPASS, TOWA, attempt S, dodge Reaper Beat until the end.
	// These Beat fights are optional, so as long as you don't die, which is surprisingly easy to do, it doesn't matter what you do.
	// You should focus on Joshua, dodging with Neku is easy but for him you have to time your sidesteps.

CADOI, shopping:
	LE GRAND -> 2x [Brown Jeans] (7), 2x [Positive Polo] (6)
	// A mission to make Natural Puppy the most popular brand is coming up.
	// You could always go check the popylarity of the brand in Scramble Crossing first, but it's not worth the potential timeloss.
	// You should have enough pins for a Natural Puppy deck, but in case you don't you can buy more pins in the NATURAL PUPPY store in this same shopping hall.

Go W to DEPT STORE, CROSSING, menu:
	-Check the popularity of Natural Puppy. If it's in first place, close the menu and ignore the rest of this menu, and the fights.
	-Items: Unequip both characters, equip them with [Positive Polo], [Brown Jeans].
	-Items: FEED -> Neku [Soft Serve], Joshua [Hamburger]
	-Pins: Switch to deck 3. Equip any combination of Natural Puppy pins and unbranded pins. The most common deck will be:
		[Pop Pendulum] - [Happy Beam] - [Cutie Beam] - [Cure Drink]
	-Set level to max.
Scan and do enough battles: 1 if Natural Puppy was top 3, 2 if it wasn't, 3+ if it was last place.

Talk to N Reaper, menu.
	-Pins: Unequip Cure Drink if you had it, switch to deck 1.
	-Items: Unequip Neku, equip [Green Warm-ups], [Purple Sneaks], [Naraka], [Biker Jacket]
	-Items: Unequip Joshua, equip [Green Warm-ups], [Purple Sneaks], [Naraka], [Brown Baby Tee]
Go N to DOGENZAKA, enter SHADOW RAMEN, cutscenes, go next to Ken Doi and fight yellow Noise
Enter RAMEN DON, enter SHADOW RAMEN, go W to A-EAST
Talk to Makoto/Prince, fight yellow Noise for "Simple" meme
Go back to DOGENZAKA, cutscenes, imprint "Simple" on Ken Doi, enter RAMEN DON

Day end

==================================================
***                JOSHUA DAY 4                ***
==================================================

Go NE to CENTER ST, menu:
	-Lower level to 1, change difficulty to Easy
	// This is the only fight in the run that must be done in Easy for a drop.
	// Reminder: the rest of the run must be done in Normal according to the rules.
Scan and fight one Raven Noise to get [Sexy +], talk to Reaper

Go N to AMX, menu:
	-Change level back to max, change difficulty to Normal
Talk to Reaper, chain any 4 Noise, talk again and go W to TIPSY TOSE
Go W, talk to 777, "Not now, we're busy", talk to 777 again and go through all options
Go NE to SPAIN HILL, talk to Tenho and go through all options

Go E to MOLCO, cutscene, menu:
	-Items: Unequip Neku, equip [Knit Casquette], [Cupid Tee]
	-Items: Unequip Joshua, equip [Stronger Cap]
	-Items: If possible, FEED -> Neku [Soft Serve], feed Joshua [Hamburger]
	-Pins: Switch to deck 4, equip [Sexy D] (in Mastered), [Sexy +], [Earthquake], and [Ice Blow] or [Cure Drink]
	// All this is for a wall in the next day that needs D+B to be the most popular brand.
	// It's optimal to do this now since you have to sell money as well and there aren't any more menus or fights this day, so you're saving a menu by doing it now.
	//Ideally, it would be faster to ignore all this until next day and check D+B's rank before equipping, but this is unlikely to happen.
	-Pins: Sell all 500 to 10k pins, and also [Tin Pin Golem], need 70000 yen.

Examine the phone booth, go to SCRAMBLE through CADOI, DEPT STORE
Talk to BJ, "Got an alibi?", attempt NE, cutscene
Go to TIPSY TOSE through CENTER ST, AMX, talk to 777, "2:02 PM", "1:55 PM", "None of the above!"

Go W to SHIBU-Q, dodge Reaper Beat until the end, shopping:
	2F -> 3x [Cozy Down] (7), then 1x [Tektite] (9)
	// This Tektite is needed to buy Joshua's 2nd Fusion Boost later this week.
	NISHIMURA DRUGS -> 2x [BRAVE+] (4)
	// These are for the third week, to make Beat able to have an actual build, and to round up Neku's BRV.
Go W to Udagawa, keep going to the mural and mashing cutscenes, talk to Joshua, scan, read Joshua and cancel

Day end

==================================================
***                JOSHUA DAY 5                ***
==================================================

Attempt E to DEPT STORE, check D+B's position in the ranking. If it's #1, skip the fights.
Scan and do enough battles: 1 if D+B was top 3, 2 if it wasn't, 3+ if it was last place.

Talk to E Reaper, menu:
	-Items: Unequip Neku, equip [Brown Baby Tee], [Green Warm-ups], [Beach Sandals], [Nylon Waist Pack]
	// All Mus Rattus for a wall coming up.
	-Items: Unequip Joshua, equip [Brown Baby Tee], [Green Warm-ups], [Purple Sneaks], [Naraka]
Go E to DEPT STORE, talk to E Reaper
	// He wants a Shio Ramen, which we already bought in Shiki day 3.
Go E to CADOI, talk to E Reaper, Reaper Test: "Ken Doi" (1), "Insta-noodles" (3), "580 yen" (1)
Go E to TOWA, talk to N Reaper
	// He wants Neku to dress in all Mus Rattus.

Menu:
	-Items: Unequip Neku's [Brown Baby Tee], [Beach Sandals], [Nylon Waist Pack]. Equip [Purple Sneaks], [Naraka], [Biker Jacket].
	-Pins: Unequip [Cure Drink] or [Ice Blow] from deck 4, and re-equip [Ice Blow] to deck 1 if needed.
	-Pins: Switch to deck 2 (the Tin Pin deck).
	-Pins: Sell any possible pins except the ones you have equipped, need 12000 yen
Go N to UNDERPASS, talk to E Reaper, accept to duel him in Tin Pin and suicide as usual
Go E to MIYASHITA, talk to E Reaper and accept, prepare your mic
	// This fight in particular can be a pain, the yellow crabs will mass Joshua like he's a basketball.
	// Try to stun them with Joshua's camera and then start farming for a level 2 Fusion. Neku should only attack on puck. Good luck.

Go E to CAT STREET, enter WildKat, go through cutscenes and return to UNDERPASS through MIYASHITA
Dodge Reaper Beat until the end 3: ultimate disrespect edition ft. 1 yen

Go back to SCRAMBLE through TOWA, CADOI, DEPT STORE, cutscene, go to SHIBUKYU through 104, shopping:
	DRAGON COUTURE -> 1x Joshua Fusion Boost (1), 1x Extra Slot (4), 2x [One Stone Many Birds] (5)
Menu:
	-Pins: Switch to deck 1, equip [One Stone Many Birds], [Tin Pin Custom], [Ice Blow] (subslot), [Ichimonji], [Cure Drink]
	// This is the penultimate form of the deck that will be used all the way through the rest of the game until the last day.
	// [One Stone Many Birds] is also a Burst Rounds pic, but stronger, so we'll be using two of them.
	// However, Pork City is a thing and [Tin Pin Custom] is unbranded so it can be used there, we'll keep it just for that.
	// Of course, looking to the end of the game having healing is invaluable, so [Cure Drink] is now necessary.

Go to STATION UNDERPASS through 104, SCRAMBLE, HACHIKO, BUS TERMINAL, attempt E, attempt W, Taboo rhino
	// This Noise is invincible, just put Neku behind an obstacle so the rhino gets stuck and dodge with Joshua until the fight ends.

Day end

==================================================
***                JOSHUA DAY 6                ***
==================================================

	// Starting today, Joshua can levitate, and of course it's better than the grounded attacks in every way, so always remember to levitate at the start of a fight.
	// Keep an eye on him because there are many enemies designed to hit him and return him to the ground, mainly the shield crabs.

Attempt NE to CENTER ST, Taboo fight
	// Easy, just attack on puck.
CENTER ST, N to AMX, "Keep moving", TIPSY TOSE

Sota "Help him"(both options do the same, but this one has less dialogue), crab fight
	// This is the only fight in this day that may be problematic. The crabs have very little health but they can turn invincible and hit Joshua while flying.
	// Go to the left with Neku, pass puck quickly and aim Burst Rounds carefully, the crabs should die with one or two hits of that.

Go W to SHIBU-Q, "Keep moving", go W to UDAGAWA, bear fight
	// Extremely easy, go left and spam Burst Rounds while doing combos with Joshua.

Day end

==================================================
***                JOSHUA DAY 7                ***
==================================================

Menu:
    -Items: FEED -> Neku [Soft Serve]
Go to PORK CITY through 104, DOGENZAKA, talk to Reapers, talk to the red Reaper
Erase yellow Noise with [Tin Pin Custom] and fusions, talk to red Reaper, go to 2F

Menu:
	-Items: FEED -> Joshua [Bouillabaisse]
Talk to Reaper, talk to red Reaper, chain two noises and FEED -> Neku [Soft Serve], kill last noise
Talk to red Reaper, menu:
	-Pins: change [Tin Pin Custom] to a second [One Stone Many Birds].

Enter elevator, Sho Minamimoto:
	-The main objective in this fight is getting Joshua's level 3 fusion, which does a ton of damage and will chew through most of Sho's HP. This may take some time or be extremely fast depending on the luck you get. Also, make sure to use the fusion WHEN SHO IS VULNERABLE (not in a teleport animation) or you'll waste a LOT of time. It's possible to finish the fight quickly without it but it's not likely to happen.
	-First he'll send some Taboo noise, fight them as usual and try to build the puck multiplier. You want to have x5 before Sho descends.
	-When he transforms he becomes Taboo, save your attacks for the puck.
	-On Neku's screen, it may be hard to hit him with Burst Rounds. A good strat to have him always at a good position to shoot is going to the down-left corner of the arena. If he isn't collaborating, just use the rest of the attack pins.

Day end




==================================================
***                 BEAT DAY 1                 ***
==================================================

Cutscenes, go W to HACHIKO, beat tutorial fight
	// Just spam for now

More cutscenes, menu:
	-Items: FEED -> Beat [BRAVE+], Neku [BRAVE+] or [Soft Serve] if you still have any
	-Items: Equip Beat with [Knit Casquette], [Peach Turtleneck], [Beach Sandals], [Nylon Waist Pack]
	// Beat is extremely weak compared to Joshua, if possible try to air combo often with him because his air combos are shorter.
	// However, doing only air combos has overall lower DPS in many scenarios, so just spamming ground combos is ok with him.
	// He lacks BRV to equip the usual build, so we're giving him the BRAVE+ and fighting some pigs on this day to help digest.

Go SE to UNDERPASS, wall cutscene, attempt E to RIVER, erase SW Pig
	// He's invisible in Neku's side, hit him with Beat to reveal its position.

Go W to BUS TERMINAL, erase pig near Moyai
	// Only one pig is real, use [One Stone Many Birds] on open groups or [Ice Blow] on closed groups.

Go to SCRAMBLE through HACHIKO, talk to Reaper, tutorial (Don't use fusion), go N to 104

Day end

==================================================
***                 BEAT DAY 2                 ***
==================================================

Konishi cutscene, go N to 104, go NW to DOGENZAKA, Reaper fight
Menu:
	-Items: Unequip Beat, equip [Purple Sneaks], [Naraka], [Brown Baby Tee], [Green Warm-ups].

	// Starting from now, every time you enter another area you have a chance to get a Reaper fight. This means the number of battles from now to the end of the run if random, it can really mess up sync rate and food, and of course each one is a sizable timeloss.
	// Fortunately we bought a lot of [House Blend], which is pretty good at giving sync rate for both Neku and Beat.
	// Assuming the food route was correct up until now, Neku doesn't need to eat anything else to increase BRV, and both characters can eat freely.
	// I will mark the recommended spots to feed from now on, but adapt the route to the Reaper RNG.

Go NW to A-EAST, talk to 777 and fight, go E to STAGE, FEED, inspect ground
Pteropus Canor:
	-The strat for this is pretty much the same as when we fought its weaker version with Shiki.
	-Clear the bats with Beat and pass the ppuck by attacking the boss in the dark to build multiplier.
	-This time Neku has incredible damage output, so a second cycle should never happen. Blast him with puck [One Stone Many Birds] and he'll die easily.
	-If you do enough damage on your last hit, you'll skip the golden bat part, but if the golden bat appears just wait with puck and obliterate him with Neku.

Day end

==================================================
***                 BEAT DAY 3                 ***
==================================================

Cutscenes, go E and talk to businessman
Go to TIPSY TOSE through CENTER ST, AMX
Talk to businessman/Makoto, "I can't decide for him", FEED, try N to Spain Hill

Uzuki:
	-This is by far the hardest boss in the run. You're almost entirely relying on getting good RNG.
	-Beat is sadly useless in this fight. Uzuki can DESTROY him and she moves so much you can barely finish combos on her. If she gets close to Beat, she'll do the multihit pattern, make sure to block it or you'll take a lot of damage. Also, if she starts floating from one side to the other, cancel your combo by hitting the opposite direction and finish it on the other side.
	-On the touchscreen, Uzuki teleports way too much and getting solid hits with puck is basically impossible. If you can follow her and bait the 3-shot attack, you'll get precious seconds to hit her with everything you can. Use [Ichimonji] when she's moving around because [One Stone Many Birds] takes way too long to charge up and she'll teleport away before you can shoot it.
	-Don't hesitate to heal! If you're not careful, dying is pretty easy.

Day end

==================================================
***                 BEAT DAY 4                 ***
==================================================

Talk to Beat, attempt W to activate box quest
	// Just in case, remember: to open the boxes, stay still until you can talk to Beat and select "Open it"
Go to the center of the area, chain NW and SE Noise, open the box

Go E to MIYASHITA, examine center for another box, chain bear Noise in pairs of two
	// There are 2 bear Noise in the far right and 2 near the center. Do the center ones last to get a better position for the next box.
	// These battles have rhinos rather than bears, they're pretty tanky so focus them first with attacks on the back.

Open the box, scan and chain the two center Noise
	// This part is pretty deceptive, the leftmost Noise looks like it's on the exact center of the screen but it isn't.
	// If you scan right where the last box was found you should see three noise, erase the center and right one and you should be good to go.
Go W to UNDERPASS, erase center Noise, open the box

Attempt W near the upper end of the screen, talk to Beat, go W to TOWA
FEED, scan and cancel, Kariya:
	-Considerably easier than Uzuki, he doesn't teleport every second so you can follow him easily.
	-He tends to go to the corners of the arena, if you know which one he's at you can just spam [One Stone Many Birds] into him and win.
	-When he says "Ready to clock out?" he'll start charging he's special attack. It hurts a lot but you can hit him in the air while he charges it.
	-Whenever he uses the electric orb attack (AKA "What a pain"), avoid getting hit because there's a chance you'll get paralyzed. You can place an [Ice Blow] in his path to stun him safely and combo into other attacks.

Kariya + Uzuki:
	-This is also easy compared to solo Uzuki, ironically. Beat fights Uzuki and Neku fights Kariya, which is ideal since you can just focus on damaging Kariya and keeping Beat alive
	-Previous strategies for the inidividual fights still apply here.

Day end

==================================================
***                 BEAT DAY 5                 ***
==================================================

Go to TIPSY TOSE through CENTER ST, AMX
Talk to NW Reaper and fight him, scan and cancel, go NW to SHIBU-Q

FEED, attempt W, multi-Reaper fight
	// This fight can go horribly wrong. Reapers keep appearing so you must defeat them at a good pace.
	// The Reapers can lower your defense so they may kill you if you're not careful.
	// The only reliable strat I've found for this fight is moving to the lower left corner and shooting the Reapers from there. They tend to group at the center if you do this.

Go W to UDAGAWA, examine floor, "Four days ago", go SE and talk to Kariya and Uzuki
Kariya + Uzuki berserk:
	-This is pretty similar to yesterday's fight, except they hurt a lot. Stick to the same strats, but this time Beat has Aerial Recovery so you can hit any button to recover from a knockdown.
 	-Try to finish as fast as possible because they now have a sync attack that will most likely kill you. There isn't really a cue for when they get it or are close to getting it, so you just win before they can have it.

Day end

==================================================
***                 BEAT DAY 6                 ***
==================================================

	// This day is...particular. You can barely lose time except for Reaper Battles, and there are a lot of area transitions, so good luck on RNG.

Go to CAT STREET through DEPT STORE, CADOI, etc, enter WildKat
Go back to CADOI, menu:
	-Change level to 1, change difficulty to Hard
Examine the heap, die intentionally to Taboo Minamimoto
	// This battle doesn't have to be won and it doesn't have a results screen, so letting him kill you is faster

Day end

==================================================
***                 BEAT DAY 7                 ***
==================================================

Menu:
	-Change level to max, change difficulty to Normal
	// THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. If you forget to change it and get a Reaper encounter your run is dead.
Go to STATION UNDERPASS through HACHIKO, BUS TERMINAL, enter RIVER
	// Reaper encounters will stop appearing when you enter the Shibuya River

Go E to RUBICON, FEED, talk to Sho, Tigris Cantus:
	-Phase 1: Keep your attention on Beat and try to damage her as much as possible. As Neku, focus on attacking the Noise that appear to pass the puck, and be sure to defeat any non-Taboo Noise before they reach the vortex or the boss will heal, or just try to knock the back with [Ichimonji].
	-Phase 2: You'll see the bosses position on the lower screen, use that to know where to attack instead of spamming directions. When Beat finishes a combo, charge a [One Stone Many Birds] to hit her immediately with Neku. This phase ends when the yellow bar is depleted, and all your pins will be taken away, heal before this happens.
	-Phase 3: Just stay on her shadow as much as possible with Neku, and spam combos with Beat.
	-Phase 4: She actually starts this phase on a specific position, if you spam touch right below the bottom of the boss's life bar you can hit her. After that, go in the opposite direction of your shadow to find her, hit her, combo with Beat and repeat until she dies.

Attempt NE, "Go on anyway", keep going E and mashing cutscenes, inspect the heap to get [Pi-Face's Cap]
Menu:
	-Items: Change Neku's [Green Warm-ups] to [Pi-Face's Cap].
	// This item's +15 attack is massive and more useful then the faster puck that [Green Warm-ups] gives us, specially going into the final boss
	-Pins: Change [Ichimonji] to [Rhyme]
	// [Rhyme] is actually broken, she has very high efficiency and is already mastered, so she's extremely good for the next fights.

Go E to DEAD GOD'S PAD, talk to Kitaniji, Kitaniji fight:
	-Your main method of attack should be [Rhyme] with puck, tap at his legs when he's not moving, use [One Stone Many Birds] for any other stray hits.
	-To hit the obligatory timestop ability quota of Japanese media, Kitaniji can do his own Za Warudo. This wastes some time but it takes a lot of time to cast, save your [Ice Blow] and use it when he's about to do it to cancel it.

Menu:
	-Change [Ice Blow] to [Lightning Rook], put it on a subslot
	// The properties of [Ice Blow] won't be useful anymore, and furthermore [Lightning Rook]'s multihit and screen-wide range make it extremely good for the final boss
Scan, touch door, go E mashing cutscenes until ROOM OF RECKONING, go N, choose any option

Anguis Cantus:
	-Find his body in the corners of the lower screen and hit it with [Rhyme] until the head comes down.
	-Stay to the side of the head to avoid all his basic attacks, which can lower Neku's attack and make the fight slower.
	-When the head is down the upper screen is completely safe so you can just time puck passes and hit him with [Rhyme] or [One Stone Many Birds] if it's rebooting. Avoid using [Lightning Rook] unless you have no attacks available.
	-If you get caught in the bubble attack, just ignore it and keep spamming attacks at him.
	-Remember that he switches sides when the partner changes. Attack to the right with Shiki and to the left with Beat.

Draco Cantus:
	-Move below the rightmost head and shoot [Lightning Rook] diagonally to hit 3 heads at once. Attack the rightmost head with [Rhyme] if [Lightning Rook] is rebooting.
	-Remember to press the corresponding direction when a partner cutscene happens for extra puck multiplier.
	-The bubble attack is bad if he uses it at the start, dash through it to break it. However, if he uses it after you get puck multipliers you can just spam [One Stone Many Birds] against it to destroy it while also hitting the heads.
	-Don't miss the final attack.

Credits
Save, look at IGT with L+R, end time

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