Post by Iyouboushi on Mar 16, 2004 3:51:40 GMT -6
This topic is for everyone to post their high scores, fastest time runs (NOT USING AN EMULATOR), and various other things. I'm going to start the topic off with my adventure in trying to beat SMB3 under 20 minutes without the use of an emulator.
Everyone has seen Morimoto's Super Mario Brothers 3 "Time attack." Everyone was aweing and bowing at it saying he's the greatest Mario player to ever walk the face of the Earth. Bzzt. Wrong. First off, there's someone who did it even faster than him. Secondly, he made it using the Famtasia emulator which allows you to go back and fix mistakes while recording, i.e. you can undo any mistake you've done and do it as many times as necessary to make "perfect." Sure, he probably took about 3000 tries to get it right but it's not like playing with a real NES (where if you make a mistake you have to hit the reset button and start ALL OVER again!) The emulator also allows you to slow the game down so it's easier to react to situations while still recording the correct keycommands / variables so that when the speed is back to normal and the movie is played, it plays as normal. These things together have made a lot people believe that there's no way to beat SMB 3 that fast.
Anyway, I brought that up on the Bob & George forum saying that it wasn't very impressive to me because I used to be able to beat SMB3 in 20 minutes or less. Even though it's true, that was nearly ten years ago. One of the board members told me to prove it. I know for a fact I could when I was younger.. how could I not now, when I'm a more skilled gamer? So I took the challenge. Not only that, I was determined to use a real NES and the original cartridge (with no game genie) so I could not be accused of doing the same thing Morimoto did.
I dug out my old NES and dusted it off. I plugged it in, not even sure it would even turn on.. but it did. Phew. Then I set it up to record with my VCR (finally figured out how) and went at it.
The first three attempts were just to remember how to activate the white mushroom house (and get used to the controls). The fourth one, however, I managed to do it correctly and went at trying to beat the game in under (or at) 20 minutes. Have to keep in mind that I have not played this game in close to 10 years. I didn't expect to do it on my first try, nor my second, or probably even my tenth. As a child I dedicated hours upon hours a day to this game. I had it down in memory as well as in finger motion. But nevertheless, my fourth attempt I made it to the first " dark world level " (after all the warships) in 13 minutes. I was amazed! Would I complete it now and have some stroke of weird good luck? Unfornantly, no. I managed to lose all 6 lives I had in that one level because I had totally forgotten how to do it.
Four hours and about 30 tries later, I fear I'm going to wear out this tape since I rewind it and re-start when I make an early mistake (early meaning the first 5 levels). Anything on world 8 I let slide unless it becomes apparant that there's no way I can win within the 20 minute limit. There was one time in there though that I did it almost perfect (minus the dark world levels).
For the likes of me I can't remember what trick I used to use to get over the two dark world levels. And then even when I managed to beat them (really slowly and after dying many, many times, I'll add) I couldn't remember how to get through the fort. lol... too bad too because even with the mistakes in the two levels before it, there was a time when I was only at the 13 minute mark. If I had beaten the fort in 2 minutes or less I would still have 5 minutes to get through the last tank thing and Koopa's castle (another place I don't remember the layout of).
Ahh well. I know it's possible, I've done it before as a kid, but I'm going to go insane. (I've spent the past 4 hours on it alone!) It's not like it's that hard, it's just being skilled enough to do it.
Basically the gameplan in ten simple steps:
1. get through levels 1 & 2 as fast as humanly possible WITH THE RACOON TAIL!!(lowest I did it was 16 seconds ea.)
2. Go to world 1-4 and get every coin in the level, which will unlock the mushroom house.
3. Go up to the mushroom house then get the whistle in 1-3. (mushroom house is on the way)
4. Go to the fort, get the whistle from there and warp to world 8.
**Lowest time I've had when I arrived at world 8 (with the P-WING) was around the 4 minute mark.**
5. Then you tackle the two tanks (swim under the second one.. it makes it a lot easier)
6. Then the variable little squares take effect (sometimes you'll be lucky to get through without being grabbed at all, sometimes not).
7. Use the P-WING and fly over the insane one (unless you're actually skilled enough to save the P-WING for later; and if you don't need it at all then you can skip world 1-4, shaving off a full minute or so)
8. Do the rest of the Dark World stuff (two levels, fort)
9. Do the remaining tank thing.
10. Beat the last castle and Bowser.
On a side note, I think I may record all of Crystalis.. although it wouldn't be a time/speed run, since it's a fairly long game (another game I used to love to death but don't remember hardly anything about now). Wee.
Everyone has seen Morimoto's Super Mario Brothers 3 "Time attack." Everyone was aweing and bowing at it saying he's the greatest Mario player to ever walk the face of the Earth. Bzzt. Wrong. First off, there's someone who did it even faster than him. Secondly, he made it using the Famtasia emulator which allows you to go back and fix mistakes while recording, i.e. you can undo any mistake you've done and do it as many times as necessary to make "perfect." Sure, he probably took about 3000 tries to get it right but it's not like playing with a real NES (where if you make a mistake you have to hit the reset button and start ALL OVER again!) The emulator also allows you to slow the game down so it's easier to react to situations while still recording the correct keycommands / variables so that when the speed is back to normal and the movie is played, it plays as normal. These things together have made a lot people believe that there's no way to beat SMB 3 that fast.
Anyway, I brought that up on the Bob & George forum saying that it wasn't very impressive to me because I used to be able to beat SMB3 in 20 minutes or less. Even though it's true, that was nearly ten years ago. One of the board members told me to prove it. I know for a fact I could when I was younger.. how could I not now, when I'm a more skilled gamer? So I took the challenge. Not only that, I was determined to use a real NES and the original cartridge (with no game genie) so I could not be accused of doing the same thing Morimoto did.
I dug out my old NES and dusted it off. I plugged it in, not even sure it would even turn on.. but it did. Phew. Then I set it up to record with my VCR (finally figured out how) and went at it.
The first three attempts were just to remember how to activate the white mushroom house (and get used to the controls). The fourth one, however, I managed to do it correctly and went at trying to beat the game in under (or at) 20 minutes. Have to keep in mind that I have not played this game in close to 10 years. I didn't expect to do it on my first try, nor my second, or probably even my tenth. As a child I dedicated hours upon hours a day to this game. I had it down in memory as well as in finger motion. But nevertheless, my fourth attempt I made it to the first " dark world level " (after all the warships) in 13 minutes. I was amazed! Would I complete it now and have some stroke of weird good luck? Unfornantly, no. I managed to lose all 6 lives I had in that one level because I had totally forgotten how to do it.
Four hours and about 30 tries later, I fear I'm going to wear out this tape since I rewind it and re-start when I make an early mistake (early meaning the first 5 levels). Anything on world 8 I let slide unless it becomes apparant that there's no way I can win within the 20 minute limit. There was one time in there though that I did it almost perfect (minus the dark world levels).
For the likes of me I can't remember what trick I used to use to get over the two dark world levels. And then even when I managed to beat them (really slowly and after dying many, many times, I'll add) I couldn't remember how to get through the fort. lol... too bad too because even with the mistakes in the two levels before it, there was a time when I was only at the 13 minute mark. If I had beaten the fort in 2 minutes or less I would still have 5 minutes to get through the last tank thing and Koopa's castle (another place I don't remember the layout of).
Ahh well. I know it's possible, I've done it before as a kid, but I'm going to go insane. (I've spent the past 4 hours on it alone!) It's not like it's that hard, it's just being skilled enough to do it.
Basically the gameplan in ten simple steps:
1. get through levels 1 & 2 as fast as humanly possible WITH THE RACOON TAIL!!(lowest I did it was 16 seconds ea.)
2. Go to world 1-4 and get every coin in the level, which will unlock the mushroom house.
3. Go up to the mushroom house then get the whistle in 1-3. (mushroom house is on the way)
4. Go to the fort, get the whistle from there and warp to world 8.
**Lowest time I've had when I arrived at world 8 (with the P-WING) was around the 4 minute mark.**
5. Then you tackle the two tanks (swim under the second one.. it makes it a lot easier)
6. Then the variable little squares take effect (sometimes you'll be lucky to get through without being grabbed at all, sometimes not).
7. Use the P-WING and fly over the insane one (unless you're actually skilled enough to save the P-WING for later; and if you don't need it at all then you can skip world 1-4, shaving off a full minute or so)
8. Do the rest of the Dark World stuff (two levels, fort)
9. Do the remaining tank thing.
10. Beat the last castle and Bowser.
On a side note, I think I may record all of Crystalis.. although it wouldn't be a time/speed run, since it's a fairly long game (another game I used to love to death but don't remember hardly anything about now). Wee.