#1830: adelikat's SMS Ninja Gaiden in 15:04.25

This is the Sega Master System version of Ninja Gaiden. It is similar to the NES version but has a some significant differences. The usual wall jump/wall climb has been replaced with a NES Batman style Wall jump. The fire wheel lasts much longer in this version. It has some new weapons (though some aren't represented in this movie).

This was my first experience with the Sega Master System (Never owned or played one) and my first experience with the Dega emulator.

I chose this game because it is a fast paced game with lots of TAS possibilities. The character moves fast (especially for a SMS game), there are a variety of weapons, and a nice variety of levels & enemies.

The major draw back is the boss fights. Unfortunately they have a rather long invulnerablity time and you can only do 1 dmg per hit. I think overall though, it is still a very entertaining movie.

For those who followed the thread, this movie is 55.2 seconds faster than my test movie. In addition, it has a lot more entertainment value added in as well.

ROM

There is some confusion about the correct rom of this game. The correct rom is Ninja Gaiden (E) [!].sms according to GoodSMS 3.13. But there are some labeled just (UE) that are actually the prototype rom.

Some are labled "Type A" and "Type B" as well. Type B is the correct one in this case.

This run will not sync with the Type A (prototype) ROM.

Basic Mechanics & Tricks

Jumping - Unfortunately you can not control the height of a jump.

Bombs - pressing buttons 1 & 2 simultaneously unleashes a bomb that kills all enemies or does 1 dmg to a boss and takes about 6 health points away from the character. It also does damage regardless if the boss is its invulnerable state. I can use this to land 2 quick hits. So I save enough health for the bosses as that is when the bombs are most profitable.

Weapons - the fire wheel is the most useful weapon for TASing. It allows the player to be invulernable to just about anything, including spikes,fire, and other damaging terrain. The 2nd most useful is the 4 directional ninja star. This is especially useful on some bosses. You will see that I lose the firewheel and gain this weapon for the level 4 boss. This is much faster overall, even though I have to slow down in some places in the level and in level 5 until I regain the fire wheel.

Getting inside a floor - If you jump at the right time you can hit the edge of a corner and fall inside the wall for a few frames. The game then ejects you to the left. You can't stay in the wall however. But, in those few frames you are in it, you can jump. I use this to make a few jumps that would normally not be possible.

Damage boosting - classic ninja gaiden technique. I take damage in order to boss myself to some ledges that I normally couldn't reach. This saves some good time in a number of places.