About This Run
Earthworm Jim SE for the Sega CD is very similar to the Genesis version, but also different in many respects. The music has been updated, Jim's repertoire of quotes has been expanded, some levels have new "sub-levels" (New Junk City and What the Heck?), and there's a new level, Big Bruty (named after someone who worked on the game), in which Jim has to use and avoid gaint red beasts to progress through the level. The new music for it is strange too. Oh, there's a few new endings too.
Despite the new levels and overall content, this movie is a 1017 (16.95) second "improvement" over the published movie. When I first began TASing this game, I was using the Genesis version. I managed to improve New Junk City by ~1000 frames (~16 seconds). In short: the published movie isn't very optimized.
Oh and uh, I used the .bin and .cue version of the ROM. I guess there's another "type." Not sure if the movie would sync up. The BIOS I used was Sega CD BIOS V1.10 (U).bin.
This run:
- Aims for fastest possible time.
- Takes damage to save time.
- Abuses programming errors in the game.
- Uses warps.
- Colors a snowman AND a lawyer.
- Euthanizes a puppy.
- Is groovy.
- Genre: Platform.
Improvements (where applicable):
| Frames saved | |
|---|---|
| Down the Tubes | 778 |
| Snot a Problem! | 603 |
| Level 5 | 1156 |
| For Pete's Sake! | 1807 |
| Intestinal Distress! | 337 |
| Use Your Head! | 12 |
| Buttville | -184 |
The Run
The rope trick...
...can only be used to gain positive x-distance (i.e. it only works going to the right). If you try to do it while heading left, it will just slow you down, a lot. (The rope trick is when Jim sort of jump-twitches along the rope).
New Junk City
If you're not familiar with the Sega CD version, the second segment of this level will be new to you (and you may notice the absence of the junk boss; he's skippable now). Jim's speed on these slopes can be instantly increased by a LOT by jumping for one frame on certain parts of the slopes. I hold left while being shot out of the first pipe to make a jump. I hold left while being shot out of the second to land on a segment of the slope that lets me increase my speed in the aforementioned manner.
Chuck doesn't need to be hit with crates now. I plasma him to death.
Andy Asteroids
Yeah, there's too many of them. No, I don't collect the orbs (except one A.A. where it's too difficult to avoid them; I opted for a rather significant number instead). There are improvements over the previous run, especially in one A.A. where Psycrow is manipulated into not hitting a turbo orb.
What the Heck?
Another new segment which houses the snowman boss. Some fun palette swapping here.
Evil the Cat needs to be manipulated a lot more in this version. I managed to get a really good manipulation on his pattern (he usually doesn't keep shooting fire).
Big Bruty
If you haven't seen this level, it's worth it to watch a normal run through it. My route takes Jim through mostly ceiling space (some of these shortcuts were intended by developers, some not; e.g. you're not supposed to be able to access the exit nook behind the last Bruty from the ceiling but there's a weird corner you can just barely angle Jim through). Also, try to jump over a Bruty in real time. It's not easy.
Down the Tubes
The once-dreaded pod segments are... well, they still suck, even with tool-assistance. Optimizing them is difficult but doable. Two facts allow for easier optimization: 1) Rotating the thrusters at the right time while bouncing off a wall allows you to preserve maximum speed while switching directions and 2) Max X speed can be maintained even when the thrusters are facing straight up or down (same with Y speed and the thrusters facing straight left or right).
Tube Race
The Sega CD version allows you to skip most of the level, including the pod segment. Sorry to anyone who wanted to see this level done.
Snot a Problem!
The game only counts a round as complete when Major Mucus lands in the slime at the bottom. His free falling speed is the same whether his cord is snapped or not, so I have a comfortable window of time to snap it before he starts to slow down at the bottom. He still needs to be manipulated in round 2 and 3 so that he doesn't do his spin move (which makes him invincible), but luckily you can just hit him into the left wall to prevent him from doing this. All of this means that there's a frame rule; each round is ~319 frames long.
Level 5
This is the longest level, and I tried to skip several parts with only one success (the escalator). Overcoming it is sort of counterintuitve. You sort of have to let Jim slide a bit up the slope after landing, jump to the RIGHT for a frame, and then to the left. The cage segment is almost definitely unskippable. Skipping any of the fans in the second segment is also probably impossible (though you can get close to doing it). The second time I lose my suit it's necessary to wait for the suit to pass the fan, which accounts for the messing around.
The second form of the chicken boss has 20 HP. Any sort of attack (whip, regular shot, plasma, the chicken's own bombs) do just 1 HP of damage to it.
For Pete's Sake!
If you watched even 10 seconds of this level, you're probably wondering where the hell Peter Puppy went. I found that when Peter is grabbed by one of the tentacles, there's a single frame where Peter's "happy sprite" despawns and the tentacle hasn't grabbed him yet. Of course, when an enemy (like the tentacle) is too far off the screen, it too will despawn. I sync up both despawns by running forward at the right time and, like magic, Peter Puppy ceases to exist. Luckily, the level can be completed without him.
Intestinal Distress!
Pretty straightforward.
Use Your Head! / Buttville
The Evil Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt (or just "The Queen" as the acronym TEQPBFSPFMSFAB is still too cumbersome) is much tougher now, requiring more than just a couple hits to destroy. She has 60 HP, plus one hit after it's depleted (thanks Dacicus). Plasma does 5 damage, whip attack does 3, and regular shots do 1. Since I can only carry 9 plasmas and do 45 damage with them, I must whip her for the rest of the damage (I could backtrack for some, but it's slow). It's faster to throw the whips in during the plasma shots.
The Ending
If you liked this ending, take a moment to search for a video of the ending given when you complete the game on Easy.
Extra Special Thanks to Dacicus for finding the Queen's elusive HP address. Thanks to Flip, Cardboard, and maTO for their WIPs that got me started, and to everyone else who watched my WIPs in the more recent weeks (moozooh, Sonikkustar, Weatherton, and mmarks).
Baxter: Submission file updated at authors request.
GabCM: Added Dailymotion module.
GabCM: Removed Dailymotion module.
GabCM: Added Viddler module. No sound desync.
Mukki: Judging...
Mukki: Accepting as an improvement to the currently published run. This run is clearly better optimised and I accept that the SegaCD port, due to improved graphics and music, is the superior version for TASing this game. As the author started out using the Genesis version it is clear that the intention was to obsolete the old run.
GabCM: I did the encode and the screenshot, I voted... now I'll publish this.