Submission #1314: JXQ's NES Kirby's Adventure in 36:45.50

Essentials:

This run satisfies the following criteria:

Overview:

It's Kirby, he eats things. The previous published run has been in bad need of obsoletion for some time now, as this submission improves upon it by 16 minutes and 31 seconds.

Deciding which powers to use when is most of the strategy when TASing this game. Previous strategies included big portions of wheel, hammer, and tornado, each improving the last strategy significantly. All of this was obsoleted when Kirbymuncher submitted his run a few days ago, which was a UFO-heavy run that was in need of optimization, but showcased a superior strategy.

This run is still improvable, as the possibilites for testing which enemies to kill when to improve lag and enemy behavior seems limitless, though I can't say for sure by how much. Probably more than I'd expect.

I think some will find this run repetitive and long. I have to say I agree in some areas. Making this TAS was a lot more fun than watching it is for me. The game is just very long, and if you take away UFO, then the next best strategy would be another power abused throughout the majority of the game (most likely tornado).

About the Game:

So the main thing about this run is the abuse of UFO power. By pressing select at the right moment when getting hit, Kirby can keep the UFO power while the game thinks he has no power, so UFO is not reset at the end of each level (nor is it lost when taking another hit). Kirby can now travel quickly, efficiently kill enemies to reduce lag, and bust up the snotboxes of bosses with haste.

One disadvantage of UFO is the inability to go down ladders or down through platforms that Kirby can normally fall through. A few places in the run cannot be done with UFO, and so this leads to strategy that involves finding the fastest form of travel until another opportunity arises to get UFO.

UFO can attack in four different ways by charging the B-button for various lengths. There is the beam, laser, star, and double-star. Each has their own place, but the most used will be laser for enemies and double-star for bosses.

The lag in this game is thick and behaves strangely sometimes. Often I start a charge without ever firing a shot before entering a door - this is because holding a charge can sometimes allow for faster movement when changing directions. Other times I will head off of the straightest path to the door to kill some enemies, seemingly wasting time, when I am really trying to reduce lag.

The amount of lag can also be heavily based on enemy behavior - that annoying spark guy can either hop around nicely and lag-free or spark himself, slowing the game to a crawl. It's because of these complicated dynamics that I say the run still has some room for improvement, but it's tough to know how much.

It's faster to head horizontally into an incline than to follow it diagonally. It's also possible to get boosts from certain types of platforms by hitting them horizontally when slightly below them. UFO also enters doors faster because the game doesn't use Kirby's "turn and enter the door" animation before fading the screen out.

Specific Notes:

In 2.1, I take wheel because in 2.2, there is a ladder that UFO Kirby cannot go down, and wheel is even faster than UFO for the remainder of the level.

In 3.3 I inhale enemies while falling so that there are few enough sprites on screen to let the Hi-Jump enemy appear.

In 4.4, I tested dropping UFO and using wheel, and then mixing back to UFO on the next screen. It was slower by a few seconds.

In 6.7 (boss), there are some pauses in sword swinging. This boss has periods of blocking where all hits do not connect and sometimes can slow down the overall fight. I tried to manipulate the boss's behavior into having as few of these waiting periods as possible.

In 7.3, I diagonally avoid the ice hills, because if Kirby coasts over the top of one of these hills, his maximum speed is significantly reduced for an unknown reason.

In 7.5, the star backgrounds going up and down push Kirby in those directions.

7.6 is awesome. One of my favorite parts of any game!

In the second-to-final boss, I take hits because it allows Kirby to use the starrod a few frames earlier each time. The final boss cannot be hit unless he opens his cape, but this animation is not seen in the run as I hit him as soon as possible each time.

Thanks to...

Kirbymuncher for his UFO discovery and submission. Baxter and qFox for helpful RUCs (Run-under-construction).

Description and screenshot: Like it matters what I recommend :P

Bisqwit: Updated the movie file per JXQ's request (now 27.5 seconds faster). Also, tentatively accepted, and being processed.