To get fire power or not to, that is the question.
-17 @ Iggy's castle (idealy only 13)
-54 @ Water level (Viper you posted 49, I don't have that vid.)
+73 @ Ghost House (including transformation back ofcouse)
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+2, Fire power is 2 frames faster woot (this is conservative though).
Reasoning:
In iggy you lose 13 (32 to get fire power but 20 faster boss kill), but I lost 4 more from the fadeout, you can dl at
here. It would be greatly appreciated if someone could help me reduce that fadeout.
In water level this is based purely on Viper's 96 exit video versus Viper's
test
In ghost castle this is based on Viper's test versus the jump through stairs glitch and then bouncing very high off of the big ghost allowing you to switch back to cape before you enter the first door without losing any speed.
file
So there you have it, pretty likely that fire power is the way to go, still some uncertainty, if you want to reduce uncertainty try beating one of the following areas faster:
Reducing fadeout in Iggy's castle (62.smv v 45.smv)
Getting from pipe in water level to key hole with cape (viper's test)
Getting from pipe in water level to key with fire power (vipers 96 exit)
Getting to the first door in ghost house with cape (viper's test, this I think can actually be improved by 1 frame by spin jumping over the ghost instead of regular jumping)
I am sure that all other spots are either the same in both or have been perfected already. Good night.