Rambo TAS by Dave Brown (dave_dfwm)
- Aims for fastest time
- Takes no damage
- Abuses programming errors in the game
- Plays back on FCEUX 2.1.5.
- Originally recorded on FCEU 0.98.15
This game starts with Rambo killing wasps and snakes, and moves up to him killing robots that shoot fireballs. Needless to say, this is exactly like the movie the game is based on.
I use the knife for most of the attacking, since it is the most powerful weapon in the game. The attack sequence for this is quite a few frames, and Rambo cannot run and attack at the same time, so I use a jump attack sequence whenever possible. Also, jumping interrupts the attack sequence and allows you to begin moving more quickly, so I use this technique often.
There are two times in this game where Rambo can shoot a Chinese (I think) symbol when he attacks. One of these attacks can turn Murdock into a frog back at the base.
You can’t do much with this game before you get into the boat, so please don’t judge the movie based on that part alone. Another slow but necessary part of the game occurs when you must play as Co and rescue Rambo.
Possible questions viewers may ask:
Q: What is that thing you did after you talked with the POW for the second time?
A: Tired of being in Vietnam, Rambo decided the quickest way out would be to use his head to burrow through solid rock. This is a well-known glitch in the game, but it is nearly impossible to perform on a console.
Q: Why didn’t you use a wider variety of weapons? It seems they would be faster in certain areas.
A. The other weapons are weaker and would have most likely taken more than one hit to kill an enemy. Also, I discovered that the game creates a delay while switching weapons, unless the switching is done near the edge of a screen. If I use a weapon, I must use it for the whole screen to prevent the switching delay. The switching delay also occurs if you run out of a weapon, which is why I didn’t use the grenades in the last screen with enemies. I got lucky on the last bridge with a well-timed level up. Level 5 is the lowest level a grenade will kill the robots with one hit.
I did find one (necessary) exception to the weapon switching delay. The delay can be avoided if you are switching weapons while falling and attacking. I do this technique before entering the cave.
Q: Wouldn’t the movie have been faster if you had taken damage?
A. I can think of at least two places in the movie where the answer is yes, but I don’t think the movie would have been as entertaining. I wanted to keep Rambo untouchable.
Q: Why did you pause / kill that enemy / when you could have kept moving?
A: Killing enemies and walking / jumping for different amounts of time manipulates enemy movement. If I stopped for a few frames to kill an enemy, it was to manipulate other enemy movement further in the screen or in the next screen. I “waste” an exploding arrow on a wasp near the pickup point to change the movement of the rocks in the next screen to prevent making Rambo wait for them to fall.
Q: Did you really just kill a wasp with a machine gun?
A: Yes.
adelikat: Rejecting. It is pretty much agreed by everyone that this is a poor game choice.