Cave Story+ Boss Attack S-rank by a lot (6'35"0) but I deliberately mash slowly

"Boss Attack is an uninteresting speedrun, it's entirely just about how fast you can mash."
"Trying to get a better Boss Attack time? You just gotta mash faster."
"Boss Attack S-rank is so ridiculous, I don't think I can mash fast enough to get it."
"I've watched a few Boss Attack speedruns and they kill the bosses so quickly; are they all using a turbo button???" (nice macro btw)
I've been saying for years that the key to getting good Boss Attack times is not necessarily to mash *faster*, but to mash *smarter*. I figured now it was about time to put my money where my mouth is, and actually do a run proving this.
In this run, I've deliberately tried to limit my mashing to about ~7 cps, which I think most people should reasonably be able to attain. Nevertheless, the final time ends up being well over a minute under the time requirement for the S-rank achievement on Steam (sub-8 minutes). (My sum of best under these conditions is another 30 seconds faster still.)
So yeah, consider this a PSA: You neither need to be a mashgod nor have the best RNG to get top-level times on Boss Attack. What's far more important is the movement, execution (i.e., aim well and minimize the number of missed shots) and the overall strategy on each of the bosses.
Twitch highlight with commentary: / 1236335262
If anyone happens to use this video as a strats reference for improving your own Boss Attack times, here are some of the fights that went poorly in this run along with a clip of what I intended the fight to look like. (Also let me know if you want to see an analysis/tutorial-like video that goes more in-depth on what I do in this run.)
• Toroko+: / silkythoughtfulsmoothi...
• Sisters (needs good RNG): / modernpunchychipmunkho...
• Undead Core: / victoriouslazycattlewo...
Here's the full attempt session of this challenge as well, if you want to gauge the consistency of anything you see in this video: / 1236419278

[@starstriker7622]

Ok I'm bookmarking this to help me get S rank, damn

[@periwinkle.]

Good luck! Feel free to ask if you have any questions!

[@Varahkas]

HOO, just S-ranked this!! Thanks for the video, some really good tricks in it!!

[@Starlisity]

this is honestly really impressive

[@milkopilko]

that's pretty impressive and inspirational, maybe I'll have to have another try at it

[@boncuk1677]

MasterCard

[@link_z]

how do you shoot swords backwards at 3:34?

[@periwinkle.]

The Blade naturally starts slightly behind you, so if you're close enough then you can hit an enemy from behind.

[@cutefox8319]

1:07 Defeated Balrog?

[@HackGameX294]

this hurts to watch

[@xcryptic2308]

it really does

[@gmdrandom6287]

How?