This movie defeats Bowser 2710 frames (45.17 seconds) faster than the
published run through general optimization and a slightly different route.
Game objectives
- Emulator used: VBA rerecording v22
- Aims for fastest time
The Japanese ROM was used for the same reason that it was in the previous movie (an apparent difference in the fish boss map).
The goal of the game, as usual, is to defeat Bowser, which is accomplished by collecting 4 boss keys to open a gate at the entrance to his castle, then 15 stars to open the door to Bowser's room itself. Almost every room in the game houses either a star or a boss key. There are 7 different items in the game but the only three that are used here are the yoshi egg, which acts as a multiball that can be moved from stage to stage; the lightning bolt, which damages all enemies; and the star, which is used to damage Bowser without having to rely on the intended boss mechanics.
This movie collects two stars in the 'grasslands' level instead of two stars in the circus tent to save time; otherwise the route is the same as the previous run. I don't want to write comments for every single map because they would get very tedious, but here are the highlights:
Fish boss
I spent a lot of time trying to improve the published movie's input and was ultimately unsuccessful. If anybody wants to obsolete this run, this might be the place to start! The yoshi egg is collected to be used in the desert level.
Star 6
The first shot is the same as the previous movie. Mario moves very fast after collecting the star because of hitting the enemy just before he reaches the star.
Star 7
I had trouble improving this map (in my testrun I reused the published run's input) but eventually hit the fourth bird in the same shot as the third bird with a very lucky bounce of the pyramid's edge; this saved almost two seconds.
Star 8
I take the yoshi egg with me through the trapdoor, contrary to the published run. This makes this map take about 30 frames longer. The switch doesn't seem to pop up after collecting the star if Mario is too high up the level, so I can't do the speed trick that I use in the next level.
Star 9
Since Mario is on top of the switch when the star is collected, the animation to open the trapdoor and the pause after collecting the star run concurrently, saving more than a second (this would be impossible to do without the yoshi egg). The multiball also saves time when hitting the shy guys.
Pyramid boss
I don't let the yoshi egg hit the pillars because when both balls are enlarged the game lags every four or five frames. The multiball allows for much faster collection of the lightning bolt.
Big Boo
There is a small window after the boss regains visibility or stops spinning after being hit when you can hit him from the front.
Bowser
Having the star lets you knock Bowser over without having to raise the whomp and hit the ! switch. I have exactly enough coins to purchase one outside of the boss fight (this was not intentional, just lucky).
Bonus game
I complete the bonus game significantly faster than the previous movie by knocking the bob-ombs back into the tent, as I was aiming to reach the "the end?" screen as fast as possible rather than just defeat Bowser. The time saved here doesn't contribute to the total 'improvement' over the published run given its different set of goals.
Special Thanks
NintenKai for having a very good run to try to improve; there's no way I would have been able to make a movie that was this fast without having his route as a skeleton.
igorsson for watching all the WIPs and giving surprisingly helpful feedback.
Thanks for watching!
GabCM: Added Dailymotion module.
Flygon: Replaced with higher quality YouTube module.
mmbossman: Pinball huh? I'll take this one.... Nice improvements, and a fun, entertaining movie! Accepting for publication.
Flygon: Publish this, change my address, then get on with my life. What a life, eh?
