Hey guys.
So this is a run I've been wanting to do for quite some time. It seems to be one of the most obscure and unknown Looney Tunes titles out there (released only in the PAL region), but it happens to be a game that I know quite well. (A game with the same title was also released for the Master System/Game Gear, but it has very different levels and mechanics.)
For a standard platformer, it's pretty damn difficult and unforgiving. The level layouts can be confusing and they are filled with erratic enemies and obstacles that can hurt Daffy pretty bad (killing him in just 4 hits). Moreover, the requirements for the good ending are harsh, meaning that most people who actually played through the whole thing never got to see it!
[You can check out a more thorough review of the game here.]
The game basically consists of six worlds with different themes (Western / Horror / Robin Hood / Kung Fu / Outer Space / Jungle), each with three different levels (or "scenes" as they're called). Each level has three sections, and Daffy progresses to the next section by finding and defusing sticks of dynamite hidden throughout before the time runs out.
You can pick and choose scenes from two worlds at a time, and their completion will trigger a boss fight against the Mad Professor Duckbrain (the one who has stolen Yosemite Sam's golden movie awards, leaving "a trail of deadly dynamite" in his wake), for a total of three boss fights.
In order to get the good ending, you must also find one (very well-hidden) movie award in each world. Otherwise, all you get is a screen where Sam tells you to "go back and find them".
I think this will be an interesting TAS to make and to watch. Daffy can run pretty damn fast, and finding the quickest way to the dynamite and the exit is an interesting optimal routing challenge. There's great variety in the level design and Daffy's weapons arsenal. I've already made maps of most levels to aid me, and I've found a few cool tricks to speed things up (taking damage in the right way, breaking the boss fights etc). I also know of at least one instance where I'll be saving time by killing Daffy off.
Here's a quick WIP I did of the first three levels to demonstrate the gameflow. At this stage I'm quite satisfied with the platforming, but I'm a bit concerned about lag. You'll see me killing off enemies a few times to reduce it but I'm not sure whether it always saves time (particularly in the third level). For the most part I should avoid firing Daffy's weapon since the animation slows him down unless he is running in mid-air. In the end of level 1 I'm especially worried I might actually worsen the lag by firing the fireballs, although they do help in clearing Daffy a path (the second spider would be in the way). I'm also thinking I should grab the magic wand in the very last section, it should be faster to just run through the enemies instead of taking the hits.
Link to videohttp://tasvideos.org/userfiles/info/15464704496575675
Another note: in level 2 you'll see me taking 4 hits without dying, exploiting the fact that Daffy earns a 1up through the points, filling up his health. This happens very rarely in the game, only at the 1mil and 5mil marks if I remember correctly. The points come almost exclusively from the gold orbs at half a mil each. (There are 1ups in the game as well, but they won't appear anywhere with the Difficult setting on.)
Also, in level 3, after finding the movie award, I'm avoiding a hidden pickup on the bridge above which would otherwise take me to a bonus stage.
Anyways, let me know what you guys think. Does this have potential for a good TAS? Any comments, questions, or critique?
If you want to play around a bit with the game yourselves, you might be interested in a secret cheat that was recently discovered by NTxC through reverse-engineering. At the "press start button" screen, enter B A Down Left Up C Down Up C (spelling "Bad Luck Duck"). If done correctly you will hear Daffy say "I'm rich!". When you start the game, the timer will be frozen and you may choose any world at the level select by pressing the Start button.
Want more!
I recommend you uploading the input file here and putting it back in the post.
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Hello,
I'm a developer and I messed around with the original ROM of the beta and retail versions of this game and I managed to put together a ROM which fixes a few bugs with the game.
The bugs/glitches were:
- no sound played when collecting a bubble pickup (any kind)
- Daffy would sometimes get crushed in the middle of a game for no reason, forcing you to reset the game
- Daffy wouldn't play his "Uh-Oh!" sound clip when player was presented with the Continue screen
- Bonus Levels would sometimes loop so that you couldn't quit them
- The Stage Select music was different from the original
- the Bonus Level "B" Bubble pickup in one of the Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century scenes was spawning in the ground (I raised it and now the player can access the Duck Dodgers bonus level)
I fixed every issue listed above, and these are the only changes. I tested the ROM in an emulator numerous times and on a real Sega Mega Drive. I discovered the B,A,D,L,U,C,K,D,U,C,K cheat too! Check it out.
I'd be honored if you could use my Fixed ROM for the TAS! I spent some hours working on it and now is the only chance it wouldn't be wasted.
Inform me please if you're interested in seeing the Proper Final ROM.
Cheers
Patrick
Hello,
I'm a developer and I messed around with the original ROM of the beta and retail versions of this game and I managed to put together a ROM which fixes a few bugs with the game.
The bugs/glitches were:
- no sound played when collecting a bubble pickup (any kind)
- Daffy would sometimes get crushed in the middle of a game for no reason, forcing you to reset the game
- Daffy wouldn't play his "Uh-Oh!" sound clip when player was presented with the Continue screen
- Bonus Levels would sometimes loop so that you couldn't quit them
- The Stage Select music was different from the original
- the Bonus Level "B" Bubble pickup in one of the Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century scenes was spawning in the ground (I raised it and now the player can access the Duck Dodgers bonus level)
Hello NTxC. Were all of these bugs in the retail version? Because I've never gotten stuck in any Bonus Level and sounds are played for bubble pickups as far as I know. About getting crushed, I think you mean something that happens if you let Daffy stand around inactive for a little while. If you don't move him around, he will eventually be killed in some gruesome way, get hit by a bomb or crushed by a rock or similar. Has never forced me to reset though, you just lose a life. Those extra tracks and effects are cool stuff. Isn't he supposed to say "I'm rich!" in the good ending too?
Incidentally, do you know where to find the bonus block in Robin Hood Daffy? I've never seen it.
I'm glad there is some interest in this run. I'll upload a new wip soon.
Hope you're all having a great summer :)
Hello,
I'm a developer and I messed around with the original ROM of the beta and retail versions of this game and I managed to put together a ROM which fixes a few bugs with the game.
The bugs/glitches were:
- no sound played when collecting a bubble pickup (any kind)
- Daffy would sometimes get crushed in the middle of a game for no reason, forcing you to reset the game
- Daffy wouldn't play his "Uh-Oh!" sound clip when player was presented with the Continue screen
- Bonus Levels would sometimes loop so that you couldn't quit them
- The Stage Select music was different from the original
- the Bonus Level "B" Bubble pickup in one of the Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century scenes was spawning in the ground (I raised it and now the player can access the Duck Dodgers bonus level)
Hello NTxC. Were all of these bugs in the retail version? Because I've never gotten stuck in any Bonus Level and sounds are played for bubble pickups as far as I know. About getting crushed, I think you mean something that happens if you let Daffy stand around inactive for a little while. If you don't move him around, he will eventually be killed in some gruesome way, get hit by a bomb or crushed by a rock or similar. Has never forced me to reset though, you just lose a life. Those extra tracks and effects are cool stuff. Isn't he supposed to say "I'm rich!" in the good ending too?
Incidentally, do you know where to find the bonus block in Robin Hood Daffy? I've never seen it.
I'm glad there is some interest in this run. I'll upload a new wip soon.
Hope you're all having a great summer :)
Hey jhp,
I can confirm all of these bugs would trigger in the retail version.
As for the bubble pickup sounds, when you pick up a bubble you should hear two sounds: one when touching the bubble, and a second sound played when the bubble reaches the top left corner of the screen after collecting. The second sound isn't played in the retail version due to a bug. I sent you the Proper Final ROM, compare it, you will definitely hear the difference.
As for the Daffy-getting-crushed scenario, I'm aware it is intentional when you leave Daffy uncontrolled for a while, but I had it happen to me in Robin Hood Daffy - twice, during normal gameplay, with no inactivity involved - on a real Mega Drive console. Getting this bug to trigger is pretty hard as it is rare, but I wouldn't want that to happen to you while you're doing the TAS. This crushing bug triggers randomly when you are walking up a slope in Robin Hood Daffy Scene 2.
As for the good ending sequence, what we are getting in the final retail version is really what we were supposed to get. I originally misread the source code about the "I'm Rich" sound and falsely assumed it was a part of the then-supposedly-broken ending sequence. My bad. It is only being played after you input the Bad Luck Duck cheat code.
As for the bonus pickup in Robin Hood Daffy, yeah I know where it is, I'll edit this post when I'm done writing the directions for you. I'll attach some screenshots as well.
Also have some trivia about the Stage Select music: I spoke to Matt Furniss (the music composer for this game!) and he told me that it was probably cut from the retail version of the game due to licensing issues, he wasn't sure though. The Stage Select music is actually Matt's version of "Hooray For Hollywood" :) I restored it in my ROM.
Thanks for the interest, have a great day -
Patrick
EDIT: I also found out that the Bad Luck Duck cheat also makes you immune from the Robin Hood Daffy flame curse figures!
Also, press A+B+C+Start ingame to get back to Stage Select!
The bonus pickup in Robin Hood Daffy is in Scene 2, first section.
Right after you start the level you will encounter two leaves that you can ride on to get past the spiked floors. As soon as you get on the second leaf, stay on it even after it reaches the far end to the right. It will actually "bounce back" and will ride in the opposite direction.
Wait patiently until you arrive here:
When you get there just jump off the leaf into the hidden passage in the wall, walk left until you get to the bonus chamber:
That's really cool.
Yeah I did notice the difference in the fixed version, never knew every pickup should have its own sound effect! And that Hooray for Hollywood track is really catchy. This ROM should definitely be used for the movie encode of the run, as long as it doesn't desync it somehow (should be no problem).
Hey guys,
Just letting you know that I still intend to finish this run some day! ;) As usual, real life stuff, education and so on has been getting in the way. Here's hoping I will be able to devote some time to it during the coming months.
Unfortunately, it seems that I won't be able to use the "fixed" version of the ROM that NTxC provided, due to desyncs.
Hey guys,
Just letting you know that I still intend to finish this run some day! ;) As usual, real life stuff, education and so on has been getting in the way. Here's hoping I will be able to devote some time to it during the coming months.
Unfortunately, it seems that I won't be able to use the "fixed" version of the ROM that NTxC provided, due to desyncs.
Can't wait to see the finished run. It's a big shame you won't be able to use the fixed version, though.
Wait patiently until you arrive here:
When you get there just jump off the leaf into the hidden passage in the wall, walk left until you get to the bonus chamber:
