You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
An entirely different route seems a bit much for a tradeoff in my opinion, unless there's some meaning behind why you're taking that route that's more than "Because it looks cool". If you're going out of your way for something that would make the run more entertaining, there actually has to be something that makes the run more entertaining.
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
I just watched the entire video you linked in the first post. While it may be apparent to someone who played the game as to why that path is difficult, as someone who has not, the choice means nothing. I presume there is a lot of behind the scenes manipulation to avoid getting into battles or the like, and there being some absurdly strong enemies on that path and you manipulate them away, but to me the run as a whole was actually pretty uninteresting. Run to point A, collect item. Run to point B, collect item. Repeat for the entire game with no real idea of what's going on until you jump off a building at the end. If there's a visible difference in difficulty of the path chosen (to the watcher) which makes it incredibly difficult for a regular player to get through, then sure, sacrifice some time to show it being breezed through while noting exactly how much time is lost by choosing that path for that purpose. But as it is, to me there would've been no difference either way because at no point are you under any kind of a visible threat.
This seems like the sort of thing that would make for a good YouTube video or the like, rather than a submitted TAS. Especially if the game has no RPG mechanics, it seems like something that can be put up IL style as a "look what you can do" type of thing.
Those circumstances being the version being used, which is a fan translation. I'm still in favor of using the original Japanese version instead since I actually want a submission, but the lack of glitches in that version really sets me off.
