This is the run for Link's Awakening, using the screenwarp glitch (explained below). Making this movie was a rough, but not very long path. Using the screenwarp glitch takes me to the very end of the eight and last dungeon in approxmiatly one and a half minute. Thousands of re-records later, I'm here with the finished result, which I'm very pleased of. It is also my first TAS-speedrun, and I didn't know anything about using the emulator for this purpose until I started with this.
Recorded on VisualBoyAdvance 1.72 with re-recording 19.2.
- Takes damage to save time.
- Uses game restart.
- Heavily abuses the screenwarp glitch.
- Aims for fastest time.
- Manipulates luck.
- Abuses programming errors.
Screenwarp glitch
This is basically done by walking towards the edge of the screen, and just a few frames before you hit
the edge, you hold select while still walking. If done correctly, you should stop at the very edge,
and the map will come up. Now close the map, and you should be at the edge of the next screen. This can
be abused to reach unreachable places, and climbing over trees and other things. This is for example used in the movie by warping from the bottom-most screen, and ending up at the top screen (which conveniently enough is the entrance to the 8th dungeon).
Up/Down/Right/Left + A
By pressing up, down and the button I have for my shield, the game thinks that Link is at a different position and that makes me take the sword earlier. Same thing as Chef_Stef did in his LA TAS. This can also be done with other combinations, which provides some funny sequences that I use in the movie (Link changing colour, Link turning into a shovel, Link becoming invisible...)
Improvements are, in order of appearance:
- Pressing Up+down + B allows me to pick the sword instantly when entering the beach.
- As I take the sword at the right beach screen, I can screenwarp from there, and land at a much closer opening to the 8th temple. Also I land at the ground at once, instead of falling down and then spawning again.
- Faster nightmare battle.
- I'm shaving off some frames during the Aghanim and Ganon fights by manipulating them to appear closer to the middle. I do, however, lose some frames during the Ganon fight because of lag. This is mostly because that the previous emulator version, 1.7.2, had less lag than this. This was nothing I could do anything about.
- Bringing up the "Save and quit" screen allows me to skip the ending message, the one telling me to climb the stairs.
Note: Right after I take the sword, I have to push the spiky thing one screen up to manipulate the spiky thing one screen down. If I would have taken damage from this one, I'd have died in the nightmare battle. Also, for some reason, I lost a frame when the Wind Fish disappeared, emulator issue I presume.
DonamerDragon's movie: 15733
My run: 14430
Improved by: 1303
My run: 14430
Improved by: 1303
I'd like to thank Tompa for introducing me to the techniques used, and helping me count frames (oh the
drudgery...), and also giving me feedback on how to improve the run. Thanks a lot, I wouldn't
have made it without you.
And thanks to DonamerDragon for doing the last run, providing me with useful hints of gameplay and such.
Enjoy!
Suggested screenshots: 3272, 3562, 3566, 8300, 8521, 8530, 8785.
adelikat: Accepting as an improvement to the current published run.