Introduction

Game objectives

• Emulator used: FCEUX 2.2.1
• Aims for shortest input (and fastest possible time to start the ending)
• Entertains without losing a frame
• Uses warps
• Manipulates luck
• Manipulates cutscenes
• Manipulates sound effects
• Manipulates objects (memory corruption)

Detailed informations

• 1 frame on level 1
• 10 frames on level 3 by using only P2 to kick at the end before the jets

The hardest challenge: the game manipulation

• The first problem: there's 80 different objects with different parameters. This means that any value it reads (except 0x00 empty input), it will be spawned as an object.
• The second problem: most of the objects are very bad for this scene: either tries to warp the toads to the next level, or crashes the game instantly, but there's also many different ones like enemies with random parameters or changing between scenes (intro, reset, warp screen etc).
• The third problem: the game is CPU/PPU cycle dependent. This means that the game very frequently processes undefined asm instructions and the slightest change in the movie file can make a desync at the very end.
• The fourth problem: when you spawn the object, the object pointer (what values will it read from the memory) also changes, so spawning the very same objects in different order yields in vastly diverse results.
• The fifth problem: understanding the conditions to trigger the ending.

• I suicide with one of the toads while riding on the jet.
• I manipulate the RNG and game state (with various inputs before spawning and positioning) to make Pimple hit the air. The reason I used this is that it generates the fewest lag frames (and only P1 dies once which is required).

• Spawning objects that won't change later (some objects spawns with very limited timers therefore they will be switched with another "random" object)
• Avoiding various objects ("end of level", enemies, things that modifies the object pointer)
• Killing P1 to respawn while the spawned object 0x81 or 0x82 (AR, AL) to bring the "game over" screen stays before the next respawn.

List of techniques and oddities appeared in chronological order

Manipulating cutscenes/texts

Using different input, it's possible to save 1-3 frames by loading those texts that gives fewer lag frames.

Manipulating music/background

Pausing very fast alternating on thetwo joystick mutes the music channel. The sideffect is flickering the background on level 3.

Using Rash primarily instead of Pimple

Rash's action processed earlier than Pimple's so he used to leave the 1st level faster, to scroll the camera earlier, to use the jet, etc.

Synchronizing actions that costs lag frames

Kicking, dashing, brutal hit etc costs lag frames so hitting something with both toads in the same frame halves it.

Optimizing movement

Starting fast running earlier is always faster, but sometimes it needs different input (LR instead of UL, empty, UL).

Z-order mess up

Pressing left and right simultaneously brings up or down the player rapidly. Also used to get different subpositions.

Miscellaneous