"Monsters aren't cool, so why don't you freeze them?"
Run objectives
- Emulator used: BizHawk 1.12.2
- Aims to beat all levels as fast as possible
- Aims for in-game time instead than real time (1 real frame sacrificed at the end of the movie in order to save 7 in-game frames)
- Comes up with new solutions in some levels in order to save time
- Abuses glitches a bit in order to save time.
- Vaultable? Yes
Target categories
- 100% completion
- Uses a game restart sequence
- Genre: Puzzle
About the game
Toki Tori is a puzzle game released in 2001 for Game Boy Color only. It combines a fun gameplay with gorgeous graphics and awesome musics. Unluckly, in the same year appeared the Game Boy Advance, driving away the attention from all the cool GBC games that were released around that time; the game is much more known for its later remake for iOS, PC, Mac and PS4.
About the run
Due to the nature of the game, a run that skips the hard levels would still trigger the credits, but all its contents would be exactly replicated in a full completion run like this one, since the game is 100% lag-free and hex-friendly.
So in the end it would make sense to have only this branch published, but still keeping the branch name "all levels" in order to make it clear from the start why the movie is so long, in order to avoid to mistakenly compare it with the RTA any% branch.
Controls
- You move around with directional buttons.
- You tap twice and keep a direction button in order to make Toki Tori move at double speed.
- You climb 1 tile up by pressinga A button together with the direction.
- You use the selected item with B button.
- You swap item with Select button.
- You open the pause menu by pressing Start button.
Items
- Eyes
- Bridge Builder
- Telewarp
- Brick Switch
- Ghost Trap
- Snail Sucker
- Crate Creator
- Bubble Suit
Tricks
All these tricks save little amounts of frames, but if you sum all of them, the total difference gets noticeable.
Turning left early
When you walk toward the left direction, you can turn only every 8 pixels. Differently, if you're walking right, you can turn at any time. It may make little sense, but it's the game's fault.
Jump up ledges
Always jump up ledges from furthest distance possible.
Jump down ledges
Jump with A instead of just walking over ledges. In some situations is slower. This can't be done only if there is a low ceiling right below Toki Tori.
Quick bridge
When you place a bridge piece, you can avoid losing the running speed by delaying the directional button for 1 frame, on 2 frames before getting X coordinate to a multiple of 8. Sometimes it also needs to release the directional button once before pressing B again. Note that you will still stop moving for 1 frame.
Recoil picking up
When firing with the Freeze-o-Matic, Toki Tori X position gets 1 pixel back for a moment. This allows to pick up eggs faster.
Quick sucking
Sometimes is overally faster to use Snail Sucker from one or more tiles far, because of the Snail motion cycle.
Quick bubble
While you're consuming your last bubble, press B in order to save 2 frames.
Anti-Tricks
These "tricks" don't save frames, they actually waste them. We need to carefully avoid them in TASing.
Be careful when starting running
You need to stopp pressing the directional button for at least 1 frame in order to trigger the running speed, but if you do that at the wrong frame, Toki Tori may start moving 1 frame later.
Don't jump on ditches
The Creepy Castle levels introduce these little ditches that can be walked over without having to press A. You can still jump them by pressing A, and waste some frames.
When you touch the last egg from side, avoid frame precision with the timing of the last directional input, otherwise Toki Tori will continue to walk for another tile before ending the level, and waste 7 frames.
Don't always jump down ledges
As I said above, in some situations is slower, like when you have to jump down after you landed directly on the very edge: if you press A at the right frame, you can waste 1 frame.
Glitches
These glitches are triggered by swapping items during their usage in order to generate unintended results... just like... Zook... Man...
Free Sucker
Pick the Snail Sucker and start keeping B while standing still or, if you are walking, on 1 frame before Toki Tori X position gets to a multiple of 8, and press Select to swap item while you're still sucking. That weapon's usages are gonna be used instead of the Snail Sucker ones; preferibly the Binocular, since it has no usage limit. This also allows to skip the trashing animation that Toki Tori executes when it consumes the Snail Sucker completely. This is the only exploit that can be easily used in a real-time attack.
Crate Sucker
Right after you create a crate with Create Creator, you can swap to a different item before the crate touches the ground, if you used the Crate Creator when Toki Tori X position was a multiple of 8. If you swap to and use Snail Sucker before the crate has touched the ground, the crate will warp in front of Toki Tori and restart falling. If the Snail Sucker is used with the right 1-in-4 frame timing, the crate will get 1 tile under the ground, which can be used in some situations to create unintended level solutions.
Warp-o-Matic
Fire with the Freeze-o-Matic, then swap to Telewarp. If you were able to do this before the projectile hits something, your warping point will travel toward the direction that the shot was facing to, allowing to warp further.
Useful RAM addresses
SystemID GB
0215 w u 0 WRAM Toki Tori X
0217 w u 0 WRAM Toki Tori Y
024E w u 0 WRAM Item X
0250 w u 0 WRAM Item Y
04F4 b u 0 WRAM 1/(60-1) sec left
04F5 w u 0 WRAM seconds left
050A b u 0 WRAM "Directions"
Level timings
This table shows the time the game gives for completing each level and the remaining time I got after beating them.
| Level | Start | Left |
|---|
| Forest Falls |
|---|
| Level 1 | 4:00 | 3:39.1 |
| Bridge Builder | 5:00 | 4:50.25 |
| Level 2 | 4:00 | 3:39.57 |
| Level 3 | 4:00 | 3:34.82 |
| Telewarp | 5:00 | 4:53.13 |
| Level 4 | 3:00 | 2:36.08 |
| Level 5 | 3:00 | 2:45.12 |
| Level 6 | 4:00 | 3:36.43 |
| Freeze-o-Matic | 5:00 | 4:54.25 |
| Level 7 | 4:00 | 3:40.82 |
| Level 8 | 4:00 | 3:32.15 |
| Level 9 | 4:00 | 3:34.65 |
| Level 10 | 4:00 | 3:39.57 |
| Hard 1 | 4:00 | 3:40.6 |
| Hard 2 | 4:00 | 3:21.75 |
| Hard 3 | 3:00 | 2:32.23 |
| Hard 4 | 3:00 | 2:33.12 |
| Hard 5 | 4:00 | 3:31.85 |
| Creepy Castle |
|---|
| Level 1 | 2:00 | 1:47.48 |
| Brick Switch | 5:00 | 4:50.6 |
| Level 2 | 2:00 | 1:42.72 |
| Ghost Trap | 5:00 | 4:44.82 |
| Level 3 | 3:00 | 2:34.93 |
| Level 4 | 6:00 | 5:21.12 |
| Level 5 | 2:00 | 1:34.07 |
| Level 6 | 3:00 | 2:23.08 |
| Level 7 | 3:00 | 2:24.37 |
| Level 8 | 3:00 | 2:35.08 |
| Level 9 | 3:00 | 2:21.37 |
| Level 10 | 3:00 | 2:15.25 |
| Hard 1 | 5:00 | 4:21.17 |
| Hard 2 | 3:00 | 2:28.43 |
| Hard 3 | 3:00 | 2:30.63 |
| Hard 4 | 5:00 | 4:27.67 |
| Hard 5 | 5:00 | 4:19.05 |
| Slimy Sewer |
|---|
| Slime Sucker | 5:00 | 4:51.12 |
| Level 1 | 2:00 | 1:34.02 |
| Crate Creator | 5:00 | 4:52.75 |
| Level 2 | 3:00 | 2:33.38 |
| Level 3 | 3:00 | 1:45.3 |
| Level 4 | 3:00 | 2:21.58 |
| Level 5 | 3:00 | 2:30.47 |
| Level 6 | 4:00 | 3:24.4 |
| Level 7 | 3:00 | 2:19.58 |
| Level 8 | 4:00 | 3:02.92 |
| Level 9 | 3:00 | 2:24.07 |
| Level 10 | 3:00 | 2:17.42 |
| Hard 1 | 3:00 | 2:08.62 |
| Hard 2 | 5:00 | 3:51.43 |
| Hard 3 | 6:00 | 4:49.53 |
| Hard 4 | 5:00 | 4:16.74 |
| Hard 5 | 8:00 | 6:30.3 |
| Bubble Barrage |
|---|
| Bubble Suit | 5:00 | 4:33.92 |
| Level 1 | 5:00 | 4:05.85 |
| Freeze-o-Matic | 5:00 | 4:52.95 |
| Level 2 | 4:00 | 3:09.73 |
| Level 3 | 3:00 | 2:28.23 |
| Level 4 | 5:00 | 3:52.43 |
| Level 5 | 5:00 | 3:37.05 |
| Level 6 | 5:00 | 3:37.62 |
| Level 7 | 5:00 | 3:57.45 |
| Level 8 | 6:00 | 4:32.8 |
| Level 9 | 5:00 | 3:48.92 |
| Level 10 | 9:00 | 6:38.63 |
| Hard 1 | 5:00 | 4:02.43 |
| Hard 2 | 8:00 | 6:24.38 |
| Hard 3 | 5:00 | 4:17.6 |
| Hard 4 | 6:00 | 4:51.8 |
| Hard 5 | 9:00 | 7:25.58 |
Can this run be rivaled with RTA efforts?
No. While it's true that doing most manouvers doesn't require frame precision, the tricks I've listed above require frame precision in order to be optimized to the fullest. I theorize that the best RTA attempt humanly possible will never get less than 10 minutes close.
Possible improvements
None known. It would require to come up with completely new level solutions, or tricks, or glitches.
Special thanks
Suggested screenshot
Frame 94660
ThunderAxe31: Replaced movie file with a 31-frame improvement.
ThunderAxe31: Replaced movie file with a 13-frame improvement.
ThunderAxe31: Replaced movie file with a 15-frame improvement.
Fog: I quite enjoyed this submission, with all of the neat tricks the run has.
Including the extra hard levels was also a good decision in my opinion, as it shows all available content for the game.
Audience reception for this submission was also overwhelmingly positive.
With all that, I'm accepting this to Moons!
ThunderAxe31: Replaced movie file with a 50-frame improvement. Hopefully the last one, sorry for the inconvenience.
Noxxa: Resetting to new - due to the file replacement, this submission must be re-verified and rejudged.
Fog: Verified the updated movie file, previous judgement stands.
