Digger T Rock: The Legend of the Lost City NES TAS by nitrogenesis
Digger is a platforming game released in 1990 by Milton Bradley (developed by Rare). It is considered to be one of the hardest games on the NES library, but it is a fairly obscure game, and thus many people haven’t
played it yet. There are 8 levels, but the first 3 can be basically skipped using a warp.
- Emulator used: FCEUX 2.1.4a
- Takes damage to save time
- Uses warps
- Genre: Platform
- Colors a dinosaur using dynamite (adelikat and deign can't do that, huh?)
Cavern 1
Cavern 1 is pitifully easy, and can be completed in less then 20 seconds, even without the warp.
How to activate the warp
Kill the first enemy that comes out of the hidden cave before any other enemies come out. Pretty easy, but there’s not that much room for error.
Cavern 2
Cavern 2 is also a simple level, and the warp is probably the easiest one to uncover in the entire game.
How to activate the warp
Get the rocks and ladder without breaking any of the stones.
Cavern 3
Fairly hard level, and the last one with a warp. Those little ghost creatures are a pain, because to kill them with the shovel, you have to be in the EXACT position, or else they just take damage.
How to activate the warp
Kill 2 ghost creatures and obtain the Muscle powerup.
Cavern 4
This is the shopping level. As you can see, I obtain a bunch of dynamite, for the last level. Other then that, a very straightforward level. Also, suicide in the bonus level!
No warp
Cavern 5
I fall a great distance, damaging Digger, but it’s an optimal shortcut. I use two ladders here to skip to the end zone.
No warp
Cavern 6
I like the music in this level. This is this game’s “Ice Level.” To get past those pink sticks (: P), you jump like crazy and Digger becomes invincible for a few frames, allowing him to bypass them. The pink stick at the end has a tiny hitbox, due to it being placed near a ceiling.
No warp
Cavern 7
Lots of hidden caves in this level! Like in Cavern 4, I fall to skip over half the level.
No warp (what, were you expecting one? : P)
Cavern 8
Final level, and in this one, a bunch of dinosaurs are after you, spitting eggs which transform into mini dinosaurs. The dynamite I collected in Cavern 4 comes in use here, as I use it to blow up walls, and push back the dinosaurs. It’s funny how the dinosaurs turn pink after the explosion hits them. Barney, perhaps? :D
No warp
Last boss
After warping past the first few levels, you will have a couple of diamonds. This boss is where they come in handy. I destroy one of his minions and place a diamond on the ground. The dinosaur gravitates toward it, and I jump over him and win the game. Hope you enjoyed watching!
High score screen
I chose not to enter my name, as it seemed pointless, as waiting 50 seconds will instantly put your name on the list anyway.
Non-improvements that may be noted as improvements
Q: Why don’t you jump off the edge, instead of walking of, which makes him fall?
A: I always do, but sometimes jumping will make him fall the same way as walking, only he’ll be in the air longer.
Q: Why do you stand on the pedestal? It’s a waste of time, isn’t it?
A: No, you have to stand on it to open the door to the end of the level.
Q: Can’t you just take damage from the dynamite and walk past?
A: No, because the dynamite makes him fall to the ground for a few seconds. (Like after he falls from a long distance in Cavern 4 & 7.)
Special Thanks
PotatoHandle for his awesome speedrun. It can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDQAkyPd5oc
GrayLightTaliz for dissambling the ROM, and finding the warps. He also made sure that there were no warps in the other caverns.
SUGGESTED SCREENSHOT: Frame 7372
Enjoy!
