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Zanac is a fast-paced shooter genre game that allows incredible amounts of enemies and bullets on the screen "without" lag.
This movie uses a soft reset in order to enable level select and skip directly to the last level Reasons for doing this:
  • playing the previous levels doesn't show off any new techniques or any particularly exciting features of the game
  • SIGNIFICANTLY shortens the movie (37 min versus 3:50)
  • It solves all complaints about the full run of this movie, such as the repititive nature of the game/length of movie vs enteratinment value
  • Unlike many codes and level selects, this one makes the game "harder". Starting on the most difficult level with only a basic weapon and 3 lives in generally suicide.
In addition, the use of frame advance means the making the boss fight faster than the my previous run. Frame advance also made it unneccessary to gather rapide fire power-ups.
  • Uses fceu ultra
  • uses soft reset to enable level select
  • takes no damage
  • does not significantly manipulate luck
The level select is done by recording 13 soft reset. Since FCEU records from soft reset, make sure you re-open the ROM or do a hard rest prior to loading the .fcm file
Bisqwit: Although it's a dubious movie (it begins from un-clean RAM, instead of a power-on), I've decided to accept this movie. The longer version of Zanac does not offer mentionably more entertainment than this movie, and due to playing only the hardest stages in this movie, the skill-to-noise ratio in this movie is higher than in the other.
With this, there's one skeleton less in our closet.

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Posted: 7/28/2005 3:23 PM
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TASVideoAgent
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #764: adelikat's NES Zanac in 03:49.88
Posted: 7/29/2005 5:14 AM
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JXQ
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Interesting that completing this game apparently makes you the Messiah of Earth. Guess we can all stop reading our Bibles and play Zanac. I don't know if this video could get published due to the code it uses, although I understand why. The Zanac video currently is a famtasia full-run with a long long long long description. I'll vote yes here in hopes that it replaces the old run.
<Swordless> Go hug a tree, you vegetarian (I bet you really are one)
Posted: 1/30/2006 1:33 AM
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Vatchern
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Joined: 3/8/2005
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Location: Newfoundland, Canada
Pros: ;Short Movie -;- I found it entertaining -;- Very well played -;-No mistakes that i could see -;- I liked the whole dodging all bullets scene. Cons: ;The background makes it hard to follow. Voting Yes. Nice job Ade!
http://tasvideos.org/Vatchern.html
Posted: 2/2/2006 10:49 PM
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Randil
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Just got around watching this now. I pretty much agree completely with what Vatchern said, it was really entertaining. My favourite part was between frames 7000 and 8000, where you dodged all those bullets. Definite Yes on this. I should probably watch the full run too someday. I have one question though: I watched this with input display on, and I noticed that the second controller had the exact same input as controller 1... why was this? If you don't understand what I mean, watch your movie with input display on, and you'll see what I'm talking about.
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Posted: 2/4/2006 12:04 AM
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Brushy
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Joined: 11/13/2005
Posts: 1587
Very hectic run, but entertaining one. Voting YES! One question: After you've destroyed the final boss, do you have to move around or does the game go to ending screen automaticly?
Posted: 2/4/2006 3:14 AM
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adelikat
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Randil wrote:
I have one question though: I watched this with input display on, and I noticed that the second controller had the exact same input as controller 1... why was this? If you don't understand what I mean, watch your movie with input display on, and you'll see what I'm talking about.
hmm, I think what happened is that I had controller 2 configured to the same buttons as controller 1 (If I remember correctly I was playing double dragon 2 2-player and forgot to switch it back). The controller 2 has now affect on the game itself (and was made with blip FCEU so there was no input display)
Guybrush wrote:
One question: After you've destroyed the final boss, do you have to move around or does the game go to ending screen automaticly?
This question points to one of the problems I had with when to stop input. Once the boss is destroyed you can move around but If you don't the game will continue automatically. I had a hard time deciding when to end it. I ultimately decided to end it when I no longer had control of the ship. So what do people think about replacing the full version with this run? Ultimately thats why I decided to make this. I think the full run is good, but gets repetitive eventually (its 38 minutes with basically nothing different that what you see in this run).
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Posted: 2/16/2006 6:27 PM
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Bag_of_Magic_Food
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Would a movie that doesn't cheat be published faster? I think skipping the levels with a code is cheating.
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Posted: 2/16/2006 11:05 PM
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Xkeeper
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Joined: 12/23/2004
Posts: 1850
If we don't publish cheating runs, why would some runs such as the Link's Awakening one get published? I think it should be accepted if it's good and does the job; as he said, starting on the last level with no special weapons and 3 lives is generally suicide, so it could also be included under 'plays at hard(er) level'. (note: for most of this, I was merely talking out of my buttocks and have not watched the run yet, though if it cuts out extreme repititon it's better than a full one with almost no changes)
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Posted: 2/17/2006 2:23 AM
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adelikat
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To complicate matters, I recently found a trick that would allow me to improve this run (by several seconds). But if this run won't be published then why should I? The full 38min run is also improvable but I don't want to work on that unless this gets rejected. So either way, I have an improved version on the way. I just need a decision to be made as to which one. If somone rejects this run, I will work a new version of the 38min run. If this gets accepted or at least confirmation that it COULD get accepted, I will immediately work on an improved version of this run.
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Posted: 2/17/2006 2:24 AM
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Rick
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The select trick for Link's Awakening is a well-known glitch, not an actual cheat code. Anyway, because of the nature of the cheat code, i'm going to have to vote "No", regardless of if it replaces an FMV or not. Stage select cheats don't belong in TAS runs. If they did belong, then why don't we use them for all the games that have them and just skip to the last level? The reason? It's boring. I'd rather see ALL the levels played rather than just the last level.
http://wiki.rustedlogic.net/The_Cutting_Room_Floor The Cutting Room Floor wiki.
Posted: 2/17/2006 2:25 AM
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adelikat
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have you watched the both current run and the .fmv before you decided that this is the boring one?
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Posted: 2/17/2006 3:48 AM
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Oddity
Joined: 8/1/2004
Posts: 178
I'd rather see one level of a shmup game that is deemed repetitive than the whole ordeal. There are many types of runs on this site, so it's not like everything has to be one way, especially if the level select is part of the game. Might as well not get any items then... Not that I've seen any videos yet...(hence no vote).
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Posted: 2/17/2006 10:43 PM
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Rick
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I'm not saying that the video is boring, I'm saying that I don't agree with the nature of the cheat code that is used. I don't think that this game should get treated any differently than any other run on this board, that's all. If other games can't use stage select cheats in them, then why should this game?
http://wiki.rustedlogic.net/The_Cutting_Room_Floor The Cutting Room Floor wiki.
Posted: 3/13/2006 9:00 PM
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Brushy
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I have an AVI ready for this run but I can´t access it until next weekend. EDIT: The sound desynced in my AVI, so other encoder should encode this run.
Posted: 3/18/2006 12:50 PM
Post subject: Movie published
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TASVideoAgent
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This movie has been published. The posts before this message apply to the submission, and posts after this message apply to the published movie. ---- [505] NES Zanac by adelikat in 03:49.88
Posted: 3/18/2006 4:42 PM
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JXQ
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Probably the biggest obsoletion percentage ever (90%)! HOW DID YOU DO IT ZLOL?!!? This was pretty fun to watch. It definitely made the level look easy, which I'm sure is not the case.
<Swordless> Go hug a tree, you vegetarian (I bet you really are one)
Posted: 3/19/2006 11:18 PM
Post subject: Zanac fan
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CrazyTerabyte
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Damn, I used to play Zanac. I loved it! The music* is good, the action is intense AND proportional to your power (if you get very high-level weapons very soon, more enemies will appear at same time than if you did not - of course, some areas are always filled with enemies). I don't remember well, but maybe I got at most at level 8 or 10. Well, I remember I reached some level with space background, and I remember I died there some times. I have a question: would this "reset" thing work also on a real NES machine? My suggestion for new screenshot: one of the last frames, where it displays 35 lives; or one of the frames with tons of bullets * OverClocked ReMix has some very nice remixes of Zanac music (I can't say so about other games remixes). Believe me, the title music and first stage music are much better than the last level music.
Posted: 3/19/2006 11:48 PM
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adelikat
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yes the music is high quality and under-rated; easily the best nes music of all time. Yes the reset trick works on a real nes (just mash it 13 times), I used to do it frequently as a kid.
Probably the biggest obsoletion percentage ever (90%)! HOW DID YOU DO IT ZLOL?!!? This was pretty fun to watch. It definitely made the level look easy, which I'm sure is not the case.
Yes a huge obsoletion % ;) and of course the level is not easy at all. Starting on "arer" 12 with only basic weapon and 3 lives is suicide even for the most experienced zanac-ers.
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Posted: 3/19/2006 11:58 PM
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CrazyTerabyte
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adelikat wrote:
and of course the level is not easy at all. Starting on "arer" 12 with only basic weapon and 3 lives is suicide even for the most experienced zanac-ers.
Which in turn makes the built-in "continue" option in main menu pretty useless, huh? Anyway, when dieing, it is better to continue from there than need to play again for half-hour.