Introduction

The Hero Story speedrun category of Sonic Adventure 2 entails completing all 16 stages and defeating all 8 bosses that embody Sonic, Tails and Knuckles' storyline prior to the Last Story. The 16 stages are broken down into 6 action stages (Sonic), 4 mech stages (Tails), 5 hunting stages (Knuckles) and one driving stage involving Tails.

Real-time attacks (RTA) are timed from the selection of Hero Story in the main menu to the final hit on Shadow 2. Traditionally Sonic games have been timed through their in-game timers and as such an accumulation of the individual level times in your speedrun can equate towards an in-game time (IGT) for that run. Although an universal in-game timer exists in the Emblem List, adding the times yourself provides definite accuracy for IGTs.

The current record is 36:05.29(RTA)/24:52.24(IGT) by Talon2461.

Preliminary Notes

With the exception of Knuckles' stages, each stage will be broken down and discussed in segments separated by "checks" (short for checkpoints). Each segment will have a fundamental overview of the intended accomplishments within that segment followed by an explanation into major time saves and minor optimisations you can attempt. Additionally, segments that would normally be bypassed as a result of achieving major time saves will be discussed to aid those who are unable to execute the aforementioned skips.

The following are minor optimisations and notes on mechanics that should be applied throughout the course of the speedrun where necessary:

Sonic

As a rule of thumb you should always be aiming to spindash as the initial speed is considerably faster than running. Spindashes however decelerate rapidily and leaves you going slower than Sonic's running speed if left uninterrupted, so chaining spindashes together prevents this from happening. This is achieved with the input of the action button to cancel out of the spindash animation after releasing to spindash and then proceeding to hold it again to initiate another (in short, assuming action button is B, hold B > release B > tap B > hold B > release B > tap B etc.). This does not need to be performed if Sonic is rolling downhill as deceleration does not take significant effect.

After obtaining the Bounce Bracelet in Pyramid Cave you can go from stationary to top running speed quickly by performing a homing attack just before touching the ground from a bounce attack (in short, assuming jump is A and actions are B, A > B > A).

Bounce attacking onto a rail makes your grind speed significantly faster than your speed from simply jump onto it. Similar speeds can be achieved by homing attacking onto the rail, however this requires a short gap between Sonic and the rail making it tricky and made more difficult if the rail has a downward trajectory.

Additional videographic resource by Moustache.

Tails

Maintaining momentum is a key aspect of speedrunning Tails' stages as interruption immediately brings Tails to a stop and acceleration is slow. This can be difficult in stages such as Prison Lane as corridors are narrow and obstacles are aplenty, especially when the camera proceeds to go into a cinematic angle. As a result it's helpful to study the camera angles and learn to adjust your directional inputs accordingly.

Jumping during turns negates the animation where Tails adjusts the Tornado (the name of his mech) which would otherwise halt momentum; if the angle is acute enough then this can be avoided. If you're in a position where you're waiting for an obstacle to clear (for example the descending gates in Prison Lane) you can build momentum by walking and snapping the directional input into the opposing direction (as oppose to circling around) which initiates an animation which doesn't negate momentum.

Be sure to avoid going too close to enemies and performing a melee attack; not only does this halt momentum but there is a cooldown period which prevents you from moving straight away.

Additional videographic resource by Moustache.

Knuckles

Although memorising item locations play a pivotal role in successfully speedrunning Knuckles' stages, it is also important to learn of hint monitor locations and their proximity to the missing items. For this reason it is more beneficial to play these stages repeatedly and build up experience in collecting the missing items and proceeding to the nearest hint monitor as oppose to memorising the item location spreadsheet. Should you fail to recognise a hint, it is better to activate the additional hints and go from there as oppose to roaming the stage in hope of the detection meter pinging.

Running is faster than gliding so attempt to suppress the urge to glide everywhere. Should you need to glide then be sure you drill claw to descend as oppose to letting Knuckles free fall; avoid the ensuing dig into the ground by briefly gliding momentarily before hitting the ground. Additonally you can punch following the descend from a glide to reach top speed instantly; this can be applied to a technique to go from stationary to top speed quickly by performing a short jump with a brief glide and punching as you land (this can also be done after digging from ground underneath you).

Talking to Omochao prevents the activation of a hint monitor during the message so avoid it at all costs. Should you need more than one hint be aware of the cooldown period between each hint monitor activation.

Additional videographic resource by Moustache.

City Escape

Big Foot

Wild Canyon

Eggman 1

Prison Lane

Metal Harbor

Shadow 1

Green Forest

Pumpkin Hill

Mission Street

Aquatic Mine

Route 101

Hidden Base

Pyramid Cave

Death Chamber

King Boom Boo

Egg Golem

Eternal Engine

Meteor Herd

Rouge

Crazy Gadget

Eggman 2

Final Rush

Shadow 2

External Links

Talon2461's Commentated run - A Hero Story speedrun with post-commentary by Talon2461 (this run does not incorporate the Eternal Engine out-of-bounds clip).
BrokenArthritis' Hero Story Tutorial (Part 1|Part 2) - Live-commentary tutorial by BrokenArthritis which provides insight on some of the more prominent time saves in the route.