Before we get to the B stories for Leon and Claire (and the remaining collectibles), we'll get the S Rank achievements out of the way. We will use New Game (NOT 2nd Run, if you were to choose 2nd Run you'd have less time to beat the game which results in a harder playthrough) and play on STANDARD difficulty. You could save yourself a couple playthroughs and stack the HARDCORE playthrough achievements with the S Rank, but it'd be that much harder to get the S Ranks. For starters, HARDCORE mode strips an entire hour off of your allowance. And there are more enemies and less resources, so we'll use STANDARD difficulty and do the HARDCORE playthroughs later. It'll also be easier to do HARDCORE once we unlock some of the rewards for these playthroughs.
S Rank might sound daunting, but it isn't. It's basically a speedrun, with a generous amount of time to complete each side of the story. If you can complete the game in a couple hours, you're almost guaranteed an S Rank. That said, I don't recommend dying a lot (or at all, if you can help it), as I believe that could lower your rank. And don't save 30+ times or anything crazy like that, try to do each playthrough all in one shot if possible. Saving a handful of times (like 5 or 6) is fine, and you should do that before boss fights and tricky parts like those hallways with Lickers in them or long stretches with lots of enemies. You get autosaves on Standard mode, just like you did in your regular playthrough. So if you go down or start to die, dashboard, quit the game, restart the game and load your most recent autosave. The only issue with this is that sometimes the autosave remembers how much time you had spent playing up until you died, and when you reload, it'll display that time (even though it set you back to an earlier part of the game). It's usually only a couple of minutes, but if you're hurting for time you should just reload your manual save and avoid this issue entirely.
Despite what the video below will say, I checked, and cutscenes DO NOT add to your time. But pretty much everything else does add up: using the Item Box, combining items (or managing inventory in general), solving puzzles, everything except the pause menu and cutscenes counts as time spent. If you need to refer to the video, make sure you pause the game. Pause the game anytime you're not actively moving towards the end so you don't waste any time.
As for the times you're aiming to beat, you need to reach the credits in 3 hrs 30 mins or less, and you have to do this as both characters for two seperate achievements. You can pause the game at any time and see your total time spent thus far in the upper right corner. In my experience, speedrun guides are more effective as a visual instead of a text guide, so I'll include a video for both characters. I do not claim credit for either video, and the content therein is not mine.
Let's start with Leon S. Kennedy...
*credit goes to CJacobsSA, be sure to leave him a like on YouTube!
As you can see, he finishes the game in just under 2 hours, and that includes some mistakes here and there. One notable mistake (something you should avoid) happens at 39 mins into the video, and continues to about 41:30. He goes down the wrong hallway, and takes a ton of damage before turning around and heading back to the Main Hall. When you reach this part at 39 mins, stay in the Main Hall and wait for him to come back at 41:30. Then continue. Also, he skips over some of the Hip Pouch items. The only one I grabbed that he didn't was the one in the Nap Room (you use the Signal Modulator to get it towards the end of the game). If you're doing good on time, it's an easy grab and only takes a couple minutes to get. The more items you can carry into a boss fight, the better!
After successfully making it to the end in 3 hrs 30 mins or less, you'll pop this achievement:
You'll also unlock the Samurai Edge (Original Model), which is the basic Samurai Edge with Infinite Ammo!!
Next, Claire Redfield...
*credit goes to PowerPyx for this one, be sure to like the video!
Again, the playthrough takes about 2 hours. No commentary this time. The player also finishes in 14,000 steps or less, which is another achievement to unlock. It's not overly important that you get the 14,000 steps achievement during this speedrun. If you follow the video and get the achievement, that's great! If not, don't worry about it. We'll get that one in another playthrough along with a couple other achievements. Focus on getting S Rank for now. And on that note, my biggest tip for this one is to use the Samurai Edge that you unlocked by completing your Leon speedrun. The Samurai Edge (Original Model) can be found in the Item Box as soon as you get inside the RPD. Once you have it, you can stop carrying around any other Handguns and Handgun Ammo. The only time you should be carrying another Handgun is to use High-Powered Rounds (or because the gun is a Magnum).
If you successfully finish the game in under 3 hrs 30 mins, you'll pop the following achievement:
Now we'll start a New Game [2nd Run] as Claire Redfield on ASSISTED mode. This is the easiest difficulty the game has to offer. Enemies will be weaker, your aim will have some "assistance" from the game, and you'll recover a certain amount of health automatically (from DANGER to CAUTION status). We'll be going for three achievements here: the 14,000 steps or less (Small Carbon Footprint), no healing items (Frugalist), and no Item Box usage (Minimalist). You might have unlocked the 14,000 steps one already, but if not you'll do so here. As for the other two, the automatic bit of healing you get from ASSISTED mode WILL NOT negate the achievement (you'll see him use a Blue/Red Herb combo here and there, that won't negate the achievement either since the effects of that mixture do not heal you!), so you won't have to worry about your health as much. Unfortunately, not using the Item Box means no infinite weapons, but the video plays like another speedrun and it's on ASSISTED Mode, so it should be a cakewalk even without the Infinite Samurai Edge.
The biggest one of the three you need to be concerned about is saving your steps so you can end below 14,000. The steps really add up, so this can be difficult if you make too many mistakes. Even a short trip back to get something you missed can add a ton of steps. You'll have room for some error, so don't stress it too much but keep it in mind all the same. Also, walking into walls or objects still adds steps, so try to avoid that. And no joke, the quick turn ( +
) is your best friend!
You can check how many steps you've taken thus far by pausing the game, choosing Records, and scrolling down towards the bottom of the list (hit to start at the bottom). Find 'A Small Carbon Footprint' and you'll be able to see how many you've taken. I'll take note of how many I had at certain points in the game, and the video will show you at a couple points, as well. I will list those below so you can see compare your stats and gauge how well you're doing. As long as you're close to that number, you should be okay.
One final thing to note, this is the first 2nd Run you'll play. There are three new collectibles to grab. Fortunately for us, they are right in our way, so we won't have to waste steps to grab them. I'll be showing you one of them, the video will show you the other two, so you don't miss them. Also, the intro to the game is a bit different, as you'll see in the video. You start outside the RPD (just after the car explosion) and have to get inside. After that, everything is pretty much the same, save for a couple more minor differences and an extra boss fight at the end.
Here's a video to walk you through it:
*credit goes to Optinoob for this VERY efficient video!
The first collectible is the last Mr. Raccoon (15/15). You can find him almost immediately after you start. You'll run forward, past the graves. Down some stairs, then straight ahead and up the other side. Keep an eye on your left hand side, the last Mr. Raccoon is setting near the bushes on that side (across from where he grabs the Blue Herb in the video). Here's a screenshot in case you have trouble spotting him:
Pop him with the Handgun, and you'll also pop this achievement (and unlock the infinite Combat Knife as a reward for capping all of them, which will come in handy in your HARDCORE playthroughs):
Now there's only two Files left to grab as Claire, and we'll be nearly done with the collectibles! File (53/58): Leon's Memo is in the S.T.A.R.S. Office; the video will show you where it is. The last one, File (54/58): Leon's Note, is by the cable car towards the end of the game. And again, the video will show you where it is.
I would like to note here that he uses Hand Grenades more often than I wanted to, I tried to save them for boss fights. I ended up running low on ammunition for the Quickdraw Army way sooner than he did, and had to use Flame Rounds more often. You might find yourself in a similar situation, but the game is on ASSISTED mode and the enemies/bosses are going to go down faster than you think. Below I'll post some "checkpoints" so you can keep track of how you're doing:
-at 15:37 in the video, he has 1,676 steps (this is inside the S.T.A.R.S. Office, after grabbing the Battery and the showing where the File is).
-at 18:52 in the video, he has 1,987 steps (this is just before the first boss fight against G).
-at around 38 mins in the video, i had 4,447 steps right before using the Power Panel Parts to solve the puzzle and start the Sherry segment.
-at around 50 mins in the video (entering the Orphanage as Claire) i had 5,457 steps.
-at 52:35 he has 5,626 steps (right when he shows you where the last File is).
-at around 1 hr 6 mins in the video i had 7,490 steps.
-when i defeated G (Stage 3) and collected items (at around 1 hr 22 mins in video) I had 10,060 steps.
-when i started the G (Stage 4) fight, i had taken 10,669 steps.
If you get that close to the end of the game and you're around 10,000 steps, you'll have more than enough to finish the game under the 14,000 limit. You'll pop the following achievements (the Broken Umbrella achievement is for finishing both a normal playthrough and a 2nd Run):
You should only have four collectibles left to grab (within Leon 2nd Run), and two more playthroughs: one as each character on HARDCORE. Let's get to it!
6. HARDCORE Mode4. Claire Redfield PlaythroughFind anything you think is wrong with this walkthrough? Help us fix it by posting in its Walkthrough Thread.This walkthrough is the property of TrueAchievements.com. This walkthrough and any content included may not be reproduced without written permission. TrueAchievements.com and its users have no affiliation with any of this game's creators or copyright holders and any trademarks used herein belong to their respective owners.
