...well, that was unexpected.
This TAS is an improvement of 496 frames and 20.93 game seconds to the
published run. Most of the improvement comes from better manipulation of the other boxers' guards.
As always, this TAS aims for in-game time, then for real time. Because some of Mac's moves (star punches, stunned punches) stop the clock, these don't always go together, and in fact two of the fights are actually slower in real time. The clock stop glitch is not used.
- Emulator: BizHawk 1.5.1
- Aims for in-game time
- Forgoes a time saving glitch (the clock stop glitch)
- Takes damage to save time
- Manipulates luck
The Fights
- Glass Joe: 42.00
- Same as the old fight. There are a couple tricks to get the star faster, but Joe backs up at the same time anyway.
- Von Kaiser: 35.61 (was 35.97)
- On the seventh punch of the fight I throw a random jab (3/16 to connect) to intercept one of Kaiser's, making him attack faster. The rest of the fight is unchanged.
- Piston Honda I: 36.97 (was 40.25)
- The max-damage uppercut trick originally used in the Super Macho Man fight is used to speed up phases 1 and 3. But there's a catch: Honda doesn't lower his guard before the star hits, so the only way for these stars to do max damage is if they hit right as he's about to do an uppercut. So to do this fight without wasting time, I have to manipulate a very specific attack pattern in phase 1. And Honda I's pattern is one of the most complex and random ones in the game.
- Don Flamenco I: 14.97
- The dodges in phase 1 were found by zallard1. If done correctly, they will get the star, which is otherwise frame perfect, every time. Other than that, this fight is the same as before.
- King Hippo: 37.61
- Great Tiger: 47.48
- Bald Bull I: 55.25 (was 57.82)
- Bald Bull's guard doesn't speed up until 0:30, which makes it possible to land one more jab after the first hook in phase 2. This single extra hit completely changes the fight. I no longer need an extra star in phase 1, allowing me to save a second there. It also means I can quickly get 3 stars in phase 2, allowing a much faster phase 3.
- Piston Honda II: 39.97 (was 50.25)
- The first improvement found, and by far the largest. The thing about max damage uppercuts is that in addition to doing, well, maximum damage, they cannot be dodged. This gets rid of a huge delay in phase 2 where normally I'd have to wait for Honda's eyebrows. Combined with the extra damage, the result is that almost half the total improvement is in this fight.
- Soda Popinski: 43.48 (was 45.25)
- Soda's misdirection gutters are used six times in the fight. Four of them are to throw a blocked punch sooner, and the other two are to counter one of his uppercuts. These gutters require tool assistance, and each only has a 25% chance to get past his guard.
- Bald Bull II: 1:08.82 (was 1:08.97)
- This guy has how many different 1:08 strats now...? Anyway, Bald Bull won't do a second ear rub in phase 1 if the clock hits 0:20 before he gets the chance, which is why I have to cancel so many of his rolling jabs.
- Don Flamenco II: 58.00
- Mr. Sandman: 2:16.48 (was 2:18.00)
- By holding up before each of Sandman's rolling jabs, I can answer all of them with a late punch. The extra damage allows a faster knockdown, and the rest of the fight follows from there.
- Super Macho Man: 44.25 (was 45.25)
- In phase 1 I'm able to skip having a punch blocked by delaying the third hit. Also, toward the end I counter his mini-spin punch -- there's only one frame to do this -- to get the last two hits in faster. Unfortunately there's nothing else; whenever Macho does his super spin punch the game sets the clock ahead to the next second, which prevents any other improvements from working.
- Mike Tyson: 1:58.xx
Total time (in-game): 12:58.89 (plus whatever .xx is)
Total improvement (in-game): 20.93 seconds
Total improvement (real time): 496 frames
