Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis is an attempt to bring the first Sonic outing to the Game Boy Advance, but while many art assets are shared, the game engine is completely different and much of the audio far simpler. Content-wise it is similar to the first game, however the Spin Dash move from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 can be used in a new "anniversary mode". The game also includes battery back-up saving, allowing for players to easily revisit finished stages.
This TAS is finished "100%" with all 6 chaos emeralds
Joined: 10/12/2011
Posts: 6438
Location: The land down under.
Due to the branch being 100% it means that it's a bit harder to compare to per-existing IL runs of this version on certain levels to this TAS.
In saying that. Green Hill Zone Act 1 is just a sprint to the end and can be compared to pre-existing videos.
Your run completes Green Hill Act 1 in 17 seconds (IGT).
There's an RTA run which achieves this in 12 seconds.
Link to video
You do appear to be using the tools provided in BizHawk but you're not using them to the full extent as there's times where you are slowing down due to you bonking on the scenery which is noticeable by eye.
I suggest going at it again, taking your time, find the speed values that Sonic has and exploit his movement and use the userfiles.
Go again when you've optimized all you can.
Edit: I was reminded that a submission was made and is comparable to your movie in the stages that matter: #7998: Tuffcracker's GBA Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis in 16:46.89
Disables Comments and Ratings for the YouTube account.Something better for yourself and also others.
Hey Eduardo! I just finished watching this, and I just wanted to say that since (as far as I can tell) this was your first attempt at this, I would say this is a pretty decent template for this type of run! Like Spikestuff said, this could definitely be improved, and I wanted to share a couple things you could use to improve upon this with.
First, I noticed that you don't really take advantage of the physics to build up a ton of speed. The physics are so horribly broken in such a way that jumping won't take any momentum from you while in the air, and combining this with jumping on downward slopes can lead to gaining some insane speed. You would also want to avoid bonking on ledges as much as you can. This may require you to go back through certain sections to redo jumps in order to avoid bonking on that one ledge further into the level. You can also immediately come to a stop when landing by turning the opposite direction of where you're headed, then pressing the direction you ARE heading when you land, which will allow you to come to a dead stop and immediately be able to spindash. This would definitely speed up areas where you need to stop and spindash in order to get your speed back.
Second, I would probably change some of the levels that you obtained 50 rings in. Green Hill 1, Green Hill 2, and Spring Yard 2 are good candidates for getting 50 rings, but I would probably change the other three levels to be levels that you can get 50 rings in without losing too much time. Especially in Marble Zone, where you went for the ring monitors in the secret rooms. I would also recommend routing a level so that you don't get more than 50 rings, since getting more than 50 can lead to losing time since you're spending precious frames getting all those rings.
Third, lag management. This may be a more advanced thing, but there are certain things you could do to reduce lag in certain areas. When you're going at high speeds, jump as often as you can, and as soon as you can. Not only can you build up speed by jumping on downward slopes, but it also reduces the amount of lag you generate. At points like Spring Yard 3 and Star Light 3, there's lag that you will not be able to do anything about, and there's also lag that generates when you move. In the latter scenario, your best bet is to only move if absolutely necessary, otherwise just stand and wait.
Finally, I think the special stage routes could be improved. I think the routes you did use are pretty decent considering the astronomically bad physics in the special stages, but you may want to develop a more straightforward path towards the emeralds. Remember that every frame counts!
A little tip I would give if you're starting out on making TASes is to start small. Go on SRC (speedrun.com) or Youtube and look up the real-time world record run of the game you want to TAS. Study it, take notes on what could have been improved, use it as a reference of what you should do, and try to save as much time as you can over it. Once you make a run or two (or three!) and get some experience under your belt, you can try following the tool-assisted world record, and do everything within your power to attempt to beat it! And don't be afraid to experiment! Maybe you can find a faster route by changing what path to take, or find an area where better execution could save time. You can also use inputs from the tool-assisted run if you are struggling to replicate a trick. Just make sure to give credit in your submission if you do! This is how I started out making TASes, and I found it to be a good way to start out for newcomers.
I think that's all I have to say for now. Good luck on improving this!