Submission #1635: LagDotCom's SGB Pocket Monsters - Green Version in 04:28.47

Super Game Boy
(Submitted: Pocket Monsters - Green Version)
baseline
VBA-rr
16108
60
3676
Unknown
Pocket Monsters - Green Version (J) (V1.0) [S].sgb
Submitted by LagDotCom on 7/20/2007 3:20:44 PM
Submission Comments

Overview

This movie quickly completes Pokemon Green - the original japanese version before being updated and transformed into Pokemon Blue, before being ported to the US and other regions. To accomplish this short time, serious errors which are fixed in later versions are used. This is ~31 seconds faster than AKA's previous submission. This movie only works on VBA Rerecording v20.

Features

  • Aims for fastest time
  • Manipulates luck
  • Abuses programming errors in the game.
  • Genre: RPG

Explanation

Some time ago, a video was posted on youtube showing a glitch used to warp between arbitrary points of the game. Since then, the technique has been refined many times, resulting in a much shorter (and more confusing) route. This movie uses the most recently discovered route, which is slightly faster than FractalFusion's last attempt by a small number of frames.

The Glitch

The warping is at first enabled by attempting to switch Oak's Parcel with a Pokemon in your line-up; this is the part that is fixed in later versions. This step junks the display screen but enables you to finish the battle (a later discovery showed that running away is also possible). As a side-effect, it also changes the pokemon into a Level 1 Charizard. :)
After this, the world map data is slightly messed up - Professor Oak appears in his starting location for the 'walking into grass' event, but the event does not trigger. Random tiles change type, lose or gain walkable-status, etc. A strange coincedence of this effect allows the 'destination' value for doors in the area to be overwritten by the step-counter, allowing over 9000 different warping possibilities.
This movie first warps to the 'secret house', enters a door that usually does not exist, walks through the guard station, and then proceeds to the department store in Celadon, finally warping to the very end room where Pokemon data is added to the Hall of Fame. Note that this room is very, very messed up (I call it Ninetown) - thankfully the cutscene still plays properly.

Luck

Apart from the game-breaking glitch described above, this movie uses a significant amount of luck manipulation:
  • Starting Bulbasaur's defense rolled as low as possible
  • Three critical hits (two of which are max-damage) taken
For example, a max-damage critical hit has about 1/2000 the chance of happening, but my opponent must also choose to use Scratch, reducing this by half again. 13 frames in total are lost to manipulate luck in this movie.

Possible Improvements

Barring any changes to the warping route, the main area to be improved is the first pokemon battle - ideally my Bulbasaur should miss both of its attacks, saving around 200 frames. However, I have not yet had this occur. :) If I can achieve this, I will resubmit.
Enjoy!
Edit: primo has managed to beat this movie, and I'm no closer to, so no reason keeping it around. Cancelled.
Last Edited by Ilari on 1/14/2012 8:31 PM
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