• Emulator used: FCE Ultra 0.98.12-blip
  • Length of movie: 236598 frames (1.05.43)
  • Aims for the fastest time possible
  • Takes damage to save time
  • Uses no warps/passwords
  • Manipulates luck
  • 3855 frames (1m 4s) faster than previous version
I've finally completed this very long TAS. The game is really long, and overworld walking is, to be honest, pretty boring to watch. But on the other hand, the dungeons should be really entertaining to watch! :)
Here are my default weapons explanations:
Yoyo: A powerless weapon that deals only 1 point of damage. It's a good thing it's really fast though.
Shooting Star: You get this in Chapter 3. Deals 2 points of damage and has greater range than the Yoyo, but you need at least 6 hearts to use it.
Super Nova: This is the strongest of the three default weapons. It's only available in the last 2 dungeons, deals 2.5 points of damage and its range is really excellent.
Secondary (limited) weapons explanations:
Torch: Deals 1.5 points of damage. It has the same range as Shooting star. 25 shots per use.
Baseball Bat: The Baseball Bat deals 2 points of damage, but it's range is as low as the Yoyo's. A really slow weapon, but useful when there are lots of enemies around. 30 shots per use.
Bolas: These things are probably the weakest weapon in the game (right down there with the Yoyo), but they have great range. They can be shot all the way across the screen. Deals 1 point of damage. 40 shots per load.
Slingshot: The slingshot deals 2.4 of damage but it doesn't go that far. Only 10 shots per use.
Magic Mirror: The Magic Mirror is used to deflect projectiles thrown at you by enemies back towards the pitcher. 80 shots per use.
Spike Shoes (cleats): These are probably the most useful weapons in the game. They attack everything on screen for decent damage. Deals 2 points of damage. 10 shots per use.
Baseballs (Horse Hides): The Baseballs can only be used on one boss, Broken Joe in Chapter 6. Their range is great, they can hit all the way across the screen. Baseballs are non-effective against other enemies. 40 shots per use.
Shooting Stars (Asterisks): These weapons consist of two stars that are hooked together. If you press B after they are thrown, they will split apart and attack enemies from two different directions, depending on how they are thrown. Deals 2 points of damage. 20 shots per use.
Laser Gun: Deals 2 point of damage and moves extremely fast. 50 shots per use
Super Laser Gun: Very powerful weapon. Deals a massive 3.5 points of damage but doesn't have very good range. 20 shots per use.
Now some notes about the dungeons:
Chapter 1: First dungeon is pretty easy. I pick up the torch and kill a snake and a couple of bats with it. I take a hit by a C-Serpent's fireball and run through the snake without killing it!
Chapter 2: The baseball bat is slow but it's handy rooms where there are 4 Starfishes. The Snowman Doll is a magic item and it's freezes enemies. I use that to freeze Octo and kill it by massive Yoyo beating.
Chapter 3: A very long Chapter, actually the longest. There are five dungeons in chapter 3.
3-1: Monkeys are very easy kill with Bolas.
3-2: The Slingshot can be found in this dungeon. I take damage from first room because it's a lot faster than killing snakes. And the boss, Magma, is not a regular boss because there's no beating at all. I take damage when I'm going to press the last button to save some time.
3-3: The dogs... they're so stuped and very difficult to manipulate. I pause the game in some rooms because i have to use Rod of Sight to make ghosts visible. Boss Maxie... i kill him with the Yoyo. It's faster than killing him with the Bolas.
3-4: The shotest dungeon in the entire game. Nothing intresting here :p
3-5: Pretty simple dungeons that is played through very smoothly.
Chapter 4: Maze inside whale. This Chapter does not have any dungeons.
Chapter 5: In one room I have to use Rod of Sight because there is one invisible ghost there. There are three big rocks in the dungeon. Hitting a rock kills instantly.
Chapter 6: There are 2 dungeons in this Chapter.
6-1: The Magic Anklet makes your clothes orange and allows you to jump twice as far as you normally jump. When you leave the room, the Magic Anklet effect is gone. There is a middle boss in this dungeon, Giant Turboss, and fighting him is almost exactly like fighting Octo. The Spike Shoes are very useful in rooms with many enemies, especially in rooms with many Muumus becuase the floor is made from blocks and it's very slow to jump and kill the Muumus. Boss Borken Joe is very easy. The only way to kill him is to use the Baseballs.
6-2: The Shooting Stars (Asterisks) are very useful in this dungeon. It's a very cool weapon. Middle boss one, Hoodoo Doll, is easily beaten with Shooting Stars. On Middle boss two, Two Hoodoo Dolls, I use the same technique as on the middle boss. I save ten Shooting Stars for the boss. Boss Statues of twin Sumocho are also easy to kill with the Shooting Stars.
Chapter 7: This chapter has 2 dungeons.
7-1: I use a faster route than what Josh The FunkDOC uses ;) I use little luck manipulation on the robots. On Boss Grey Jet-Pack Jumpers I use pretty much the same technique as Josh The FunkDOC did.
7-2: The Laser is faster than the super nova. I use laser on some robots. Middle boss Red Jet-Pack Jumper. I kill that with super laser. Boss Ostroid. I used ten laser and 2 super laser to get Ostroid back in the room. When Ostroid is here i push button and the Ostroid is killed when the floor is gone.
Chapter 8: On the first Zoda, i manipulate luck so he never uses his claw attack ;) When I jump to the block where a Max life pill is, I shoot two lasers to save time because it's slower than to kill only Super Nova. The next thing here is a machine, i destruct that with laser. On the Final boss Zora, the Super Nova is the best weapon to use.
I hope you enjoy this movie!
Special thanks to Randil, he help me write this txt

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TASVideoAgent
They/Them
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #846: Sami's NES Star Tropics in 1:05:43.30
Editor, Active player (296)
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 7469
Location: Arzareth
For reference, the previous movie of this game can be found here: http://tasvideos.org/movies.cgi?id=271 Congratulations to Sami for finishing his movie. What did you change to come up with this faster completion?
Former player
Joined: 8/20/2005
Posts: 643
Location: Mikkeli,Finland
I use lot of luck manipulation killing some rooms enemies faster than josh the funkDOC. That is the biggest thing what i do to save frames. Sorry my english is not very good :(
Current Projects: ???
Former player
Joined: 8/20/2005
Posts: 643
Location: Mikkeli,Finland
I almost forget. I don't kill C-Serpent. Usually room have a door but this room don't have. I just run through ;) I i take damage some rooms it's faster way.
Current Projects: ???
Former player
Joined: 3/13/2004
Posts: 706
Location: Elyria/Oberlin, OH
Hmm, my first obsoleted run I see...haven't watched it yet but I definitely will when I get the time! My movie specifically meant to take no damage, and I knew that the luck manipulation could probably have been better. Wouldn't have thought of skipping the C-Serpent though, that sounds like an awesome trick! This will almost certainly be a YES vote from me, just need to watch. Congratulations, Josh.
but then you take my 75 perchance chance of winning, if we was to go one-on-one, and then add 66 and two-thirds ch...percents...i got a 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at sacrifice
Former player
Joined: 8/20/2005
Posts: 643
Location: Mikkeli,Finland
Thanks Josh :)
Current Projects: ???
Experienced player (538)
Joined: 5/12/2005
Posts: 707
good job.
Joined: 10/15/2005
Posts: 12
Hah, nice job on skipping C-Snake. I'll have to try that sometime. Also, I just got the pun behind C-Island and C-Snake. Ow.
Post subject: Movie published
TASVideoAgent
They/Them
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This movie has been published. The posts before this message apply to the submission, and posts after this message apply to the published movie. ---- [424] NES StarTropics by Sami in 1:05:43.30
Former player
Joined: 3/13/2004
Posts: 706
Location: Elyria/Oberlin, OH
Alrighty, I watched this up through the Ghost Tunnel. So far, very good (loved the C-Serpent skip!), but there are a couple minor issues. I don't think you always wait until the enemy is as close as possible before you kill him. With special weapons this makes no difference, but with normal weapons it reduces the amount of time each swing takes. I could be wrong here though, but I think I saw a couple cases where you forgot to do this. More importantly, you can save time taking more damage in the first couple levels. Chapter 3 looked good in that department (well, up through the Ghost Tunnel anyway, haven't watched the rest), but you can save a little bit of time in 1 and 2. In 1, I think you can walk through the rat that gets in your way instead of killing him, and in 2 I *know* that walking through the fish is a little faster than killing them with the yoyo. But all that would add up to is like a second or two...very nice job thus far. Will post again after finishing it... -Josh
but then you take my 75 perchance chance of winning, if we was to go one-on-one, and then add 66 and two-thirds ch...percents...i got a 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at sacrifice
Former player
Joined: 8/20/2005
Posts: 643
Location: Mikkeli,Finland
I don't think hitting the rat save much time because mike stops when you hit the enemy. And if i hitting all the fish it looks silly :p better kill them :) And i don't lose frames even if i don't kill enemies close as possible. I get couple of frames better because i manipulate enemies better than you ;)
Current Projects: ???
Former player
Joined: 3/13/2004
Posts: 706
Location: Elyria/Oberlin, OH
Well, I know you manipulate the enemies better than I did, but you still could have saved some time there. My run was no damage, and IMO you should either go that route or take damage whenever it saves time. Anyway, I watched the rest of it and couldn't spot a single mistake. Excellent work all around! -Josh
but then you take my 75 perchance chance of winning, if we was to go one-on-one, and then add 66 and two-thirds ch...percents...i got a 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at sacrifice
Former player
Joined: 8/20/2005
Posts: 643
Location: Mikkeli,Finland
Thanks :)
Current Projects: ???