I've taken another stab at improving my published movie.
Here is a video of the first 4 chapters completed.
I'm over 2 minutes ahead of the published movie.
Much of the improvement comes from the ability to automate luck manipulation as opposed to back in the days of using fceu .12. I've written a suite of bots that have aided in having better luck manipulation. Things like getting max damage critical hits, as opposed to just critical hits. Also, the ability to greatly reduce delay times.
My previous attempt was over 100k rerecords, almost all of which are luck manipulation. This time around the bot attempts (not in the rerecord count) are in the millions already.
In addition to luck manipulation, I've made a lot of route improvements. For instance, talking to the boy in chapter 1 instead of the man in jail to learn his name. Chapter 3 has a vastly improved route as well.
One thing worth noting is you will hear a lot of "bumping into the wall sounds". It doesn't cost time, but I think it seems a little sloppy. I can happen without losing time if you press the button at the first non-lag frame to change direction. I try to avoid it just because it feels sloppy but TASing with the sound down I have mistakenly left a few in.
Anyway, let me know what you think! This is a grueling process and a huge undertaking but at least I've managed 4 chapters. I hope to be able to stick with it this time and complete it. It has been over 10 years since the published movie, its amazing how much more I know, and how much the tools have improved since then.