A highly optimized Tool-Assisted Speedrun of Resident Evil (Remake) for Nintendo Wii, played on the Japanese version as Chris Redfield.
After a long process of route planning, testing and frame-by-frame optimization.
This is a new record for this category, and also the first time I have completed a Resident Evil Remake TAS at this level of optimization.
🕹️ Game objectives
- Aims for fastest completion (RTA and IGT)
- Manipulates RNG
- Manipulates enemy behavior
- Takes damage to save time
- Optimizes movement and positioning
- Optimizes inventory management
- Uses the Japanese version for technical optimization
📊 Run Attributes
- In-game time: 1:20:16
- Doors opened: 271
- Zombies killed: 1
🔧 Emulator Settings
- Dual Core OFF
- Wii Remotes: All set to none.
Although this is the Wii version of the game, the Wii Remote was disabled in Dolphin and the TAS was performed entirely using a GameCube Controller.
The Wii Remote should be disabled when reproducing the TAS, as leaving it enabled may cause unexpected behavior or desyncs during playback. The GameCube Controller is the only input device used by the TAS.
💡Comments
Resident Evil Remake has always been an interesting candidate for TASing because, unlike some games where one large glitch completely determines the route, a large part of its optimization comes from hundreds of small decisions.
The game has a lot of movement through fixed-camera rooms, frequent door transitions, enemy positioning, inventory management and scripted events.
This creates a situation where saving a few frames in one room is not necessarily an improvement.
Sometimes the slightly slower option produces a better game state for the next room, a better enemy position, or even a better RNG outcome.
🎬Encode note (Doorless)
The video encode was made without in-game cheats or AR Codes. Door transitions were cut manually during post-production editing to create a "doorless" viewing experience. The gameplay itself is 100% unchanged and fully synchronized with the input file, which means only the video presentation was modified.
🧠 Why use the Japanese version?
The Japanese Wii version of Resident Evil Remake was chosen as the version for this TAS. Although the game is fundamentally the same as the original GameCube release, the Wii port provides the environment used for this run and has become the basis for the route and optimizations developed throughout the TAS.
As with my previous Resident Evil TASes, the version of the game is an important part of the optimization process. Small differences in timing, loading behavior, controls and game states can affect the route, enemy behavior and the way certain strategies can be executed. Because of this, the run was optimized specifically for the Japanese Wii release rather than being treated as a generic REmake TAS.
During the development of the TAS, the Japanese Wii version was also compared side by side with an existing TAS of Resident Evil Remake available on YouTube. This comparison confirmed that camera transitions and door transitions are noticeably faster in this version of the game.
I cannot say with certainty whether these differences are caused by the Wii version itself, the Japanese release, or a combination of both. However, the difference is clearly observable when comparing the same situations side by side, and it has a significant impact on the overall optimization of the run. Since door transitions and camera changes occur throughout the entire game, even relatively small improvements in these moments accumulate into a meaningful amount of frames over the course of the TAS.
🏃Character Movement Speed
Movement speed is another important aspect of the optimization in Resident Evil Remake. Chris moves faster when he is unarmed or when only the knife is equipped, compared to when he is carrying a firearm.
Because of this, the TAS keeps Chris unarmed for almost the entire run. Weapons are only equipped when they are actually needed for combat. As soon as the battle is over, the weapon is put away again so that the faster movement speed can be restored.
This may seem like a small optimization, but it has a considerable impact over the course of the run. Chris spends a large portion of the game moving between rooms, and maintaining the higher movement speed during these sections saves time continuously rather than only in isolated situations.
The result is a simple but important rule that is followed throughout the TAS: **keep Chris unarmed whenever possible, and equip a weapon only for the moments where it is required.
🛹 Stairs Skating
Stairs skating is a movement trick that allows Chris to move through staircases faster than with normal movement. The trick is performed by alternating the movement direction while traversing the staircase, allowing Chris to maintain a higher speed than during a regular traversal. It works both when **ascending and descending** staircases.
Since the game contains several staircases throughout the route, this technique was incorporated into the TAS whenever applicable. Every staircase in the game is stair-skated, regardless of its length. Even the shortest staircases were optimized using the trick, as there is no reason to use normal movement when the faster option is available.
There is only one exception: **the specific staircase used during the Plant 42 boss fight**. This was not overlooked or omitted by mistake. In this particular situation, the timing of this staircase is tied to the manipulation of Plant 42's behavior. The plant needs to open at the correct moment for Chris to get the desired shots, so using stairs skating on this specific staircase would interfere with the timing required for the manipulation.
The other staircases in the Plant 42 room are still optimized normally. The exception applies only to the staircase used during the boss fight itself, where preserving the correct Plant 42 behavior is more important than the small movement gain from the trick.
🐟 Neptune Skip
The Neptune Skip is a trick used in the Aqua Ring that allows Chris to bypass the normal method of dealing with the large Neptune guarding the **Gallery Key**.
Normally, after draining the Aqua Ring, Chris would need to activate the electrical system to deal with the Neptune before being able to safely reach the key. With the Neptune Skip, this is no longer necessary.
The trick is performed by manipulating Chris's movement and positioning to pass around the Neptune's **left side**, avoiding its attack range and reaching the Gallery Key directly. This completely removes the need to activate the electrical system, saving the time required for the additional interaction and sequence.
The Neptune Skip is therefore an important part of the route because it turns what would normally be a multi-step sequence into a direct movement section: drain the Aqua Ring, reach the large Neptune, pass around its left side, and collect the Gallery Key.
⚔️ About Bosses
Yawn
The first encounter with Yawn does not require any combat. Since defeating Yawn is not necessary to progress, the optimal strategy is simply to avoid its attacks while reaching the required item.
Chris navigates around Yawn carefully to obtain the Death Mask and immediately leaves the area. Even if Yawn is defeated during this encounter, the second battle with it will still occur normally later in the game. Therefore, defeating it here provides no benefit to the route.
Since the focus of the TAS is achieving the fastest possible completion time, fighting Yawn during this first encounter would only add unnecessary actions without removing the later boss fight. Avoiding it entirely is therefore the natural choice for the optimal route.
Crimson Head Prototype 1
The Crimson Head encounter is optimized around a specific interaction that allows the boss to be defeated with a single handgun shot.
The grenade used for this strategy is picked up earlier in the Mansion specifically for this encounter. As the Crimson Head attempts to grab Chris, the grenade is placed into its mouth during the grab interaction. Once the grenade is inside its mouth, a single handgun shot is enough to trigger the explosion and destroy its head, killing the Crimson Head immediately.
There is also a specific positioning requirement for the final shot. Chris must maintain enough distance from the Crimson Head when firing, otherwise the explosion can also damage him. The TAS therefore combines the grenade setup with precise positioning, allowing the grenade to detonate safely while still killing the Crimson Head with a single shot.
This strategy eliminates the need for a conventional fight and makes the encounter extremely short, with the grenade pickup earlier in the Mansion being justified entirely by the time saved here.
Lisa Trevor
The first encounter with Lisa Trevor is another encounter where combat can be completely avoided. Lisa knocks Chris unconscious at the beginning of the sequence, and after he wakes up, there is no need to fight or defeat her.
The optimal strategy is simply to avoid Lisa and move through the area as quickly as possible. Since defeating her does not provide any benefit during this encounter, engaging in combat would only add unnecessary actions and time to the route.
The TAS therefore focuses entirely on movement and positioning, allowing Chris to pass through the encounter without attacking Lisa.
There is also a second encounter with Lisa Trevor later in the game, during the sequence involving Wesker. This encounter is also handled without fighting Lisa. Chris simply progresses through the area while avoiding her. To continue onward, he must push the rocks that block the path, which opens access to the tomb. This allows the sequence to continue without spending time on unnecessary combat.
Neptune
The Neptune encounter is another section where no combat is required. The Neptunes can simply be avoided while Chris reaches the Control Room, making it unnecessary to spend time fighting them.
Inside the Control Room, Chris must complete the water drainage sequence as quickly as possible. The timing is important because a Neptune will eventually break through the glass and attack Chris if the sequence takes too long. Solving the puzzle quickly allows the water to be drained before this happens.
After the water is drained, Chris proceeds to the Large Aquarium 1F, where the Gallery Key is obtained. Normally, the large Neptune guarding the key would require using the electrical system to deal with it. However, by using the Neptune Skip, Chris can simply avoid the Neptune by passing to its left and reach the Gallery Key without having to activate the electrical system.
Plant 42
Plant 42 is one of the more interesting boss optimizations in the TAS because its starting HP can vary between encounters. During the development of the run, I discovered that Plant 42 can have different HP values depending on the game state, particularly the timing of the previous room transition.
The HP value can vary from approximately 3000 to 3600 HP. By controlling the timing before entering the boss encounter, the TAS can manipulate Plant 42 into the lower end of this range.
This makes a significant difference during the fight. With a favorable HP value, Plant 42 can be defeated with only **10 shotgun shots**, while higher HP values can require 12 shots or more.
The optimization therefore begins before the fight itself. By manipulating the timing of the previous transition, the TAS establishes a favorable HP value and then takes advantage of it during the battle. This is also why the specific staircase used during the fight is not stair-skated, as preserving the required timing is more important than the small movement gain from the trick.
The resulting 10-shot Plant 42 fight is a record-setting battle. To the best of my knowledge, no comparable Plant 42 fight with this combination of HP manipulation and shot count has been recorded before. This makes the encounter one of the key discoveries and optimizations of the TAS.
With the favorable HP value established, Plant 42 can be eliminated with 10 shots, avoiding the additional attacks that would otherwise be required.
Second Yawn
The second encounter with Yawn is another boss fight where a significant optimization was discovered during the development of the TAS.
In other runs found online, only three shotgun shots are fired at Yawn before descending the staircase. Through proper TAS manipulation, I was able to increase this to six shots, while still avoiding damage before descending. This allows significantly more damage to be dealt during the upper section of the room without sacrificing time to recover from an attack.
Once Chris descends the staircase, only two shotgun shots are required to finish the fight. This greatly reduces the amount of time spent in the lower section of the encounter and saves a considerable number of frames compared to the previously observed strategy.
This sequence of six shots before descending and two shots afterward is another optimization that, to the best of my knowledge, has not been seen in any other recorded run of the game.
Black Tiger
Black Tiger is another boss encounter where defeating the boss is not necessary. The objective is simply to reach the exit as quickly and safely as possible.
The Flamethrower is equipped only when Chris is near the exit door, and is then used to quickly burn away the webs blocking the door. The timing is important because remaining in the area for too long increases the risk of being hit or poisoned by Black Tiger.
Tyrant
The first Tyrant encounter can be ended with only 7 shotgun shots. The key to this strategy is finding the correct position around Tyrant and manipulating its movement so that it continuously walks in circles around Chris.
By maintaining the correct positioning, Tyrant can be kept in a predictable movement pattern, giving Chris enough opportunities to get the shots in without wasting time repositioning or reacting to unnecessary attacks.
Once the seven shots have been fired, Tyrant is defeated before Chris proceeds to collect the Master Key left behind by Wesker. The entire encounter is therefore optimized around controlling Tyrant's movement and eliminating it as quickly as possible, rather than engaging in a conventional fight.
There is no second Tyrant encounter in this run. The route used for this TAS leads to what can be considered the bad ending, as no other characters are rescued during the playthrough.
Because the required conditions for the alternate ending are not fulfilled, the second Tyrant encounter does not occur. After completing the remaining objectives, Chris eventually reaches the Helipad, where the ending sequence takes place, without having to fight Tyrant a second time.
📝 Other comments
Once again, I would like to give special thanks to arukAdo for everything he taught me about TASing Resident Evil, as well as for the tools and techniques he showed me that continue to make the TASing process much easier. The knowledge I gained from working with him has remained valuable throughout all of my Resident Evil TASes.
This game also brings back great memories of my first TAS published here. Because of that, this TAS feels like more than just another project to me. In many ways, it is a tribute to where I started, and it is an honor to be back here once again with another Resident Evil TAS.
A Remarkable Prediction
One of the most amusing things I came across while working on this TAS was an old forum thread from 2013. The original post was simply a user asking questions because he was planning to make this very TAS of Resident Evil Remake.
What makes the thread particularly interesting is that someone later commented that they believed a TAS of the game could be completed in 1:20 or less.
I have to admit, when I first read that comment, my immediate thought was: "This guy is crazy." At the time, the world record was around 1:29–1:30, so the idea of getting anywhere near 1:20 seemed completely unrealistic to me. I honestly thought there was no way it could be finished in less than something like 1:25.
At the time, this was nothing more than a casual estimate from someone who had no way of knowing what the actual optimized time could eventually be.
Thirteen years later, I ended up finishing this TAS in 1:20:16.
It is honestly quite impressive to see that someone managed to guess the final time so closely, without even knowing that it would take more than a decade for that prediction to become reality.
I decided not to revive the old thread, but I thought it was worth mentioning here as a fun coincidence.
Original forum post: https://tasvideos.org/Forum/Posts/354867
Suggested Screenshot: 280846