-Play Cornell's quest
-Play normal difficulty
-Play Lycanthrope only
-Uses luck manipulation
-Uses out of bound
-Uses various skip
-Take damages to save time
-Beat the game as fast as possible

Castlevania legacy of darkness is a mirror game of Castlevania 64 released in 01/26/1999 (LoD released in 11/30/ 1666), 10 month later for just a new quest (Henry for me isn't a quest it's just a bonus for unlock Carrie, Reinhardt, hard difficulty & goodies!) and some changes in the levels, collisions was corrected and you pay more expensive for a big s**t Castlevania game.
I choose to make this TAS, for make revenge of the poor reputation of this game ( I'm a big fan of Castlevania!) and for the Cornell quest, who's an interesting character! Ho! I know zggzdydp's run is more short, but for me it's not a true quest of Castelvania, in this quest you must save 6 children, almost all of the doors are open and you have a guns, it's a joke, after the laser's gun technologies (in the level, tower of science vampires are best scientist, why not!), you can play "Panpan the knight"!
Big thank to zggzdydp to make this TAS, he/she make a good job and it's not a comparison , just my opinion of this game & this quest who's very poor, because it's just a bonus for unlocking.

Why you choose normal difficulty?
Because it's the only difficulty you can choose at the start of game, if you want unlock hard difficulty, you must finish the Henry's quest, who's unlockable only when you finish the Cornell's quest.
Hard difficulty increase the enemy's damages and don't have a chicken when you kill some bosses, else nothing more, i don't take damage by the enemies and when you take damages after an fall, in normal difficulty it's like a hard difficulty, no changes.

Why you choose to play Lycanthrope only?
Haha! With Cornell the secondary arms are very bad!
I searched long to know how to make more damages & in reality it's the wolf form who cause more damages and you'll have viewing this in this run.
after have search, I found it's possible to make ultra damages with a luck manipulations, you can too make a double dammages it's as well as ultra!

How to obtain easily the shield "power up" with manipulate luck?
I found than it's possible at 100% to obtain this, when enemies attack you must kill it before then he'll can hit you, if you make this setup, you got a shield.

I shall explain all of tricks because you must understand that, for have a best analysis of this run.
I searched long, to found all of this tricks who permitted me to skip a numerous part of levels and created a very entertaining run, i hope.
If you are not informed, then you believe than all is normal, but in reality, it's all invert!

To reach some distant platform, impossible to reach habitually, it's possible with the slid move & a jump to last moment.
Indeed, the slid move have capacity to can start jump after a platform, it's only possible if you have a good timing because you can't jump into the slid move, you must wait a precisely moment at the end of this move.
If you jump, before this moment, you can't jump, and if you jump after, you lose your speed and... you die!
In this example, it's an pixel perfect extra long jump, it's impossible to reproduce this with a pad, I have uses this move for skip the BOSS and go directly to the next stage!

haha! It's very good for entertained and save time!
It' a hard setup to obtain this jump perfect, because you must doing half turn with a good direction degree, be in the air and jump, after jumping, hold the direction for go back to your position before the jump!
Warning: don't make this at your home, you risk of damage your pad, and to become crazy!

Some platforms and objects are in movement and move more quickly than Cornell, if you jump to good time, you increase considerably your jump speed.
It's easy to uses that, but difficult to find a good spot for won time.

The difficulty is to found a good camera angles and to jump back for to land at the end of ground and make half turn for jump out of ground, if you have precisely make this jump series, then you had can catch this platform before than the water started an ascension.

It's simple; stop your move, jump & hold the forward direction instantly for obtain a long jump.
It's the jump I use generally after an loading or when the doors have closed, indeed, after the loading you are stopped and if you try running move, it's very slow, then the best and unique solution is the jump.

You fall and search to reach a pillar for don't rest in peace? you are at a good spot!

Ok, I don't explain you all of basic jumps, it is so interesting than you'll sleep before the end of this submission text!

It's very difficult to find "Oob" in Castelvania LoD, because some collisions are be reworked in this game, for example you have the possibility to make anymore easy "Oob" in Castlevania64 to beat the game fast (but you don't have Cornell's quest!)...
For make an "Oob", you must have specific angle, to be in height, fall on 2 wall with an angle at 90 degrees, to be push by an object or an wall, have a big speed and adjust camera's angle!
This is a long shopping list!

Kill the fish soldier to create new route, skip the first lever, activate the second, take the key and go to the door.
Kill 4 fish soldier and skip the water upping with out of ground jump to gain height, then go to the BOSS.

Climb the cliff and make 2 hits to open the door, meet the giant skeleton for first time.
Action the lever and meet Panthera, don't use the lycanthrope power, because Cornell make a great damages on this mid boss (it's only possible with this mid boss!), make half turn and go to skip the descent with the slide to Undead fall and go to kill the Giant skeleton.

In this level, i made numerous calculus for obtain a perfect climb, the loading order to objects in move is create in level start and don't stop, I choose to sacrifice rubies and lose time in the 1st phase to the boss fight, to save more time to climb and create more entertainment, indeed, if you take a rubies, you'll can't climb fast, because you must wait than the objects who move have a correct position for continue to climb or you can jump and catch the ground for lose time!
Take rubies, to break the run, it's not a good solution and don't creating entertainment!

Ok, explain the level!

Yes of course...
Climb fast, kill the double Snake and take Moon & Sun cards for the future levels, take the lever and go back in the boss room for use.
Go to the Moon door, climb fast and use the lever to open the second gate.Activate the levers uniquely in this order, else you must restart operation!
Go to the next level.

Kill the chihuahuas for open the door and access at the villa.
This level is major skipped, because i use an "Oob". Normally, it's a very long level and if you are interest, I give a link, who explain, how to make this level normally and have a comparison:

all explanation: https://www.gamefaqs.com/n64/196883-castlevania-legacy-of-darkness/faqs/24406
After "Oob", kill the vampire and go to the outer wall.

Classic level, skip a great part at the start of level with a jump.
Go to kill Phoenixia and enter in the art tower.

Arrrg! This level isn't good, because you must make pause menu to use cards and can open the doors.
But with a good cards management, cameras angle and unlikely jumps, i hope is will more entertaining to watch, because i try hard long to obtain this result.
Else it's a classic level...
The knights are manipulated for have ultra damages, because in reality they are a strong enemies.

I go directly activate the last switch, who in reality is only possible after you activate the second.
This level is very classic and have a numerous doors, I skip a big part with a long jump (at frame 76873) for do not activate 2 switch and access directly at the end of this level.

Classic level, kill the turret gun, for open door, go to search the boss's key. I kill 2 Gobelins (at frame 85850) for won time to the back tracking. Kill the crystal power and go to the next stage.

Skip the 1st boss, manipulate comportment and luck to kill the Bogeyman and Taurus quickly.
avoid the trigger zone to skip movie and the final boss, use extra long jump to exit this level.
This is a .png to look the trigger:

Classic level.

Classic level.

Kill the BIG BOSS!

Classic level, skip (at frame 120787) to avoid a big climb for take the elevator's key, then go back to enter in the elevator. it's a good skip!
After this take the numerous key, open the doors, find and activate 2 levers and go to exit to fight Mr big tooth!

Climb to search the final fight.

-Water-Dragon-
Use luck manipulation to have ultra damages.

-Giant Skeleton-
This boss is scripted, don't use the lycanthrope power, not possible to make more damage, you can just manipulate luck for make damage quickly.

-Snack-
Use luck manipulation to have ultra damages.

-Vampire-
Use luck manipulation to have ultra damages and manipulate comportment.

-Phoenixia-
Use luck manipulation to have ultra damages and manipulate comportment.

- Crystal Power-
Use luck manipulation to have ultra damages and very good move for kill fast.

-Griffon-
This boss is for me the true Big boss of this game!
Welcome to hell...
... After very long searches to understand how to kill fast this war machine and avoid this 3 very long phases, I have a solution now.
When i started work on him, i wanted just make ultra damages, but it's not a good idea, because in fact, this boss is scripted and if you make ultra damages, then he become invincible and flown to hit you or start a scripted attack and you lose time!
I have found how to the script work, in fact, the value RAM address decrease when you hit the boss, when the value is equal to a some value, then you trigger the hit of head cutter, after the head die, boss go to fly and trigger a new scripted attack, then back to the ground, you hit, ect...
The only solution consist to cancel the hit of head cutter, it's possible but very, very, very difficult!
You must have a perfect position close to the first head, who you must cut in first and manipulate luck when you hit the boss (don't lock for hit the boss, it' very important!), some moment later, the value of this script address, is more low than expect and the boss's head isn't fall, (Don't watch boss's Health Points) you can continu to hit, always in luck manipulation, move slower to other side and make a slid & hit (it's very important to slide, because it cause a damage added), after this, the value of this script address, is very more low than expect, and the second head isn't fall, like the first, boss is in airs, you must to have a good position and good camera angle for lock the second head who must fallen (warning: not the first head) and make 2 hit for kill the second head before the boss become invincible, after this he back to the ground, make a frame perfect damage to kill the first head, now you must wait a precise frame for make a ultra damage and cancel the boss's special move, it's the end for him, repeat hitting frame perfect and say bye bye at this monster!
This is an .png for understood how the the boss's heads must fall, in normal order:

This is a videos to make comparison:

-Count-Draculesku-
Use luck manipulation to have ultra damages and manipulate comportment.

You must have obligatory 10 rubies for transform Cornell to a Lycanthrope.
You can't stop this!
This power is immediately stopped, when your number of rubies is equal to "0".

Have a good position to open the doors, save time, indeed if you are not correctly positioned, Cornell walk slower to open the door.

I play hard with the camera for have a beautiful run and i hope you'll appreciate this effort.

Special thank to Fsvgm777 & phoenix1291, for have explain me, how to make a beautiful encode.
And you, to read and watch this.

feos: Judging...

feos: Great game, great run, great execution and all sorts of platforming complexity. No doubt this is a moon. But there's also a Henry run, that only exists because the Japanese version allows him right from the start, so it's vaultable.

Now shall we obsolete the Henry run now, as proposed by mmbossman and arukAdo? Usually obsoletion would mean content of a run is obsolete, it doesn't only depend on which run is more entertaining.

So while the Henry run is really bad, empty, boring and abrupt, it still features some unique levels and the quest of rescuing the children. It feels like a DLC that someone might want to have after he has beaten the main category. Also, none of the viewers really thinks one should obsolete another anymore.

So I'm accepting this as the "Cornell" branch, and the other one should be "Henry". Dropping "lycanthrope only" since it's an optimal route already.

Fog: Processing.