About the game
Description of the C64 version of the game:
High atop a craggy cliff, guarded by an army of fierce warriors, stands the fortress of the evil warlord Akuma. Deep in the darkest dungeon of the castle, Akuma gloats over his lovely captive, the princess Mariko.
You are one trained in the way of karate: a karateka. Alone and unarmed,
you must defeat Akuma and rescue the beautiful Mariko.
Put fear and self-concern behind you. Focus your will on your objective,
accepting death as a possibility. This is the way of the karateka.»»
There is also a Wikipedia article about this game.
Before watching the run, I suggest you to play the game yourself a few times. I myself only came till the second level (there are three levels). You only have one life, and you cannot save in this difficult fighting game, which can be quite frustrating at times. I chose the Gameboy version because there is already a run for the NES-version (but both differ somewhat).
About the run
- Aims for fastest time
- Abuses programming errors in the game
- Takes damage to save time
- Manipulates luck
When you begin the game, you get to distribute 6 points on the abilities
power, life and speed. I upgraded power by 3 points, so I can beat all the enemies moderately fast and I upgraded speed, which lets me attack and run faster.
There is a running stance and a fighting stance.
The running stance is faster of course, and you can switch to the fighting stance by pressing down.
The animation can be cancelled by attacking (A for a kick, B for a punch) or by blocking.
If you run into an enemy, either he will attack you or you'll go so far that the game automatically switches you without animation.
Stage 1: The Courtyard
The enemies here are weak, only a few block your attacks.
The solution for such enemies is to let them run in your attacks or to push them back.
I get hit sometimes which saves times.
Note that the second enemy throws a shuriken at me. You can collect it by attacking it, or you can block it and receive some damage. With these stars you can attack an enemy and if you are kicking him at the same time, he receives even more damage. Very useful at bosses!
Stage 2: The Castle
At the beginning I'm able to upgrade power and speed again. The category life is pretty useless, because I don't get hit anyway.
When I ran towards the first enemy there's some useless item on the floor.
(You can use items, by pressing start and select. There are 5 collectable items in the game: 3 shurikens, 1 poiton to heal damage, and 1 magic formula which makes you autofiring A... if I understood it right. Only the shurikens are used.)
The enemies here are a bit more difficult, they're faster and stronger, but I managed to beat them in no time.
In the middle of the stage, Akuma's trained eagle flys towards me. I hit it with a shuriken and can go on.
Later it comes one more time, but its flying period is so long, so I can just run through it.
At the end of this level there is the mystical, frustrating Demon Gate which will spike you if you just run through it. Usually you must kick/punch in front of it to trigger. I push the boss to behind the door, go one pixel into the door and one pixel back while blocking the enemy's attacks. As it raises, I push the boss farther and can reach the end.
Stage 3: Under the Castle
This is the last stage. The enemies are fast and strong. Nearly unbeatable in real-time even with savestates.
I once again beat all the enemies...
When I opened the last door, Akuma's eagle appears again. I kicked it, and proceeded.
I used the last shuriken on Akuma, since he is the only enemy in the game who just stands there.
So he doesn't run into my kicks. And he blocks. The shuriken and a kick pushed him back so I made him run into my kicks.
At the end the eagle obstructed my passage. I wasn't able to kick it
(maybe some programming error, or an intended, programmed "revenge-state"... I don't know)
I also wasn't able to switch into the running stance since this isn't possible nearby enemies. So I had to receive some damage to pass it.
- The End -
Possible improvements
1) You can kick to the side, downwards and upwards. The normal kick/punch deals the most damage.
Therefore the first enemy can be killed 0,5 seconds faster.
2) Maybe some better strategies or better use of shurikens.
Closing words
There is a TAS of the NES-version, too.
But it has other physics and doesn't support any items.
I hope I didn't forget anything.
Enjoy the run.
Cancelling due to poor reception.