Moon Crystal is an obscure Japan-only platformer developed and published by Hect. It's so obscure, Wikipedia doesn't even have a page for it. This is a 231 frame improvement to the Vault-published movie by JXQ.
Game objectives
- Emulator used: FCEUX 2.2.0 (with TASEditor)
- Aims for fastest time
- Takes damage to save time
- Uses death to save time
- Manipulates luck (slightly)
Comments
I got the idea to do the run based off an improvement I thought I found late in Stage 6, though it turned out to actually waste time in the end. I started the run the day FCEUX 2.2.0 was released with the intention of learning TASEditor, not expecting to save more than maybe a second. Over the course of the run, I found a couple timesavers such as a way to reduce some of the lag and a way to bring up the end-of-level fadeout faster in Stages 2, 4, and 6 (the stages involving death), which was a nice motivation to actually finish the run. That's... really it. I've got nothin'.
Stage by stage comments
Stage 1 - Evil Forest (15 frames ahead)
Not much to say about this stage. Early on, you'll notice some random and seemingly unnecessary jumping: This is actually to reduce lag. For some reason, being in the air or swinging your sword at certain times will reduce lag frames. Occasionally there'll be a frame or two of lag that's completely unavoidable, but I do my best to remove every lag frame aside from those. For the most part, aside from some stylistic choices, the stage is the same as JXQ's, just less laggy.
Stage 2 - Waylaid Street (59 frames ahead)
12 frames were saved from lag reduction and tighter movement control, while the other 32 came from the end of the stage, pressing Start just after dieing to bring up the fadeout faster. Otherwise, pretty much the same as JXQ's run.
Stage 3 - Count's Castle (88 frames ahead)
The underground sections here are some of the laggiest in the game, so the huge bulk of the improvement here is due to reducing all that lag. Otherwise, again, route and stuff is mostly unchanged except for stylistic choices.
Stage 4 - Pirate Ship (121 frames ahead)
There was only one frame to save in the level itself, the rest of the improvement came from bringing up the fadeout faster.
Stage 5 - Maclonna Mine (152 frames ahead)
Another big stage for lag reduction. That's... really it. *shrugs*
Stage 6 - Laboratory Part 1 (164 frames ahead)
"Gee, Samsara, I wonder where the improvement came from? Is it lag reduction?" Sure is!
Stage 6.5 - Laboratory Part 2 (223 frames ahead)
23 frames were saved in the level itself, again due to lag reduction and some movement optimization. 4 frames were saved on the boss fight, 2 for each phase. Notable in that it's the only improved boss fight in the run. Died a few frames earlier, which brought up the fadeout earlier on its own, saving 4 frames, plus the usual 32 from bringing up the fadeout earlier with Start.
Stage 7 - Laboratory Escape (231 frames ahead)
I save quite a bit of time throughout the level itself, but it's all cancelled out by an unavoidable wait at that set of spikes, which knocks my improvement to that point down to only 2 frames. I end up still saving 6 more frames from there until the end of the game from tighter movement, a bit of lag reduction, and ending input earlier without ending the game later.
Other comments
The biggest improvement I can think of is being able to remove that unavoidable wait near the end of the game, though as far as I can tell the spikes are constant and unable to be manipulated. Saving time earlier in the level and arriving at the spikes earlier might work... Even then, it'd have to be a rather large gain on top of what I had already saved that I doubt is there.
Thanks
- Thanks to JXQ for running the game and bringing it to my attention.
- Thanks to NrgSpoon for bringing the game to JXQ's attention, which subsequently brought it to my attention.
- And thanks to everyone who watches this run.
Enjoy!
adelikat: Accepting for publication as an improvement to the current movie. Due to viewer response it will be published as a Moon
Ilari: Let's see...