Little Nemo done fast using fceu-0.98.13-rerecording.
The run
  • Aims for the fastest time
  • Takes damage to save time
and depending on the way you look at it, abuses a programming oversight (more on this later).
Hey everyone! This is a new movie of Little Nemo, a game where the player has to collect keys and get to the end of each level and finally save Slumberland from the evil Nightmare King. The length of my movie is 24:38 and the published run by Sleepz is 27:08, which makes my run a whole 2,5 minutes shorter. Sleepz's movie is almost two years old now so it's no wonder I managed to improve his movie.
The thing about the game is that there are helpful animals which have to be utilized all over the levels. The violet lizard is the fastest animal and he walks faster than Nemo, so I use him whenever I have the chance (except for level 1 where it's faster not to because the changing takes time). The frog walks very slowly but when he jumps he can move just as fast as Nemo. The bee is faster than Nemo as well, but he has to land occasionally. The mouse is very clumsy and walks slower than Nemo. The mole is faster than Nemo, and I change back to Nemo as late as possible because of this.
Making the movie was surprisingly easy. Despite the fact that the order of the keys is not set in stone, the best routes are easy to see without even testing them. It only took me about 12 hours to make the movie thanks to the game's stiff and simple physics.
The improvements
Probably the biggest timesaver is using FCEU and frame advance to do things on the first frame possible. As for tricks, the biggest timesaving trick is skipping all text in the beginning of levels by jumping. This is the programming oversight I mentioned earlier. I also made sure not to make any excessive jumps, as jumping is slower than walking because of the short stop after each jump. A big improvement was charging the beam to the fullest and not wasting any time doing anything else while fighting the bosses in the end. Another small improvement was never taking damage when it slowed me down. I made sure taking damage always pushed me forward.
That's about it. Please feel free to remind me if I forgot anything. I hope you enjoy the movie.

Active player (278)
Joined: 5/29/2004
Posts: 5712
Well I'm trying to figure out why they made an anime movie out of such an old comic strip.
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Post subject: Former lurker
Joined: 1/1/2022
Posts: 1716
Hi! I'm a former lurker who just signed up. In 'Cloud Ruins' Nemo can jump on the left side of the fence (just below the spiked area) and then crawl down, saving seconds or so as opposed to looping back. I've included a screenshot with the area where you can jump on. Can someone verify this? Heh. Either that or my mind is playing tricks on me.....again!
Joined: 10/3/2005
Posts: 1332
I tested, and was able to use the bee to get over the kill-you-dead-spikes in that shot there, and the set of spikes after that. Looks like it could have saved a second or two, but I could be wrong. Edit: It also looks like he might have been able to save some time by sticking to the right-side of the screen after the series of descending jumps following the spikes. (Kudos on that suicidal leap, by the way.) Edit2: So, he met a girl in his dream who gave him a large phallus that fires an unidentified white substance when he clutches it. How Freudian. Anyway, saw the whole thing. Looks pretty solid, and I enjoyed the parts where I wasn't bored. I'm going to reserve judgment for the time being, however.
Joined: 1/1/2022
Posts: 1716
Dromiceius wrote:
I tested, and was able to use the bee to get over the kill-you-dead-spikes in that shot there, and the set of spikes after that. Looks like it could have saved a second or two, but I could be wrong. Only the Lizard is small enough to fit through the 'one unit gap'
Joined: 10/3/2005
Posts: 1332
"Fit through"? I'm not sure what you mean. I'm saying he can go over the whole thing using the bee. He's gone through the top of the screen, but you get the idea.
Active player (278)
Joined: 5/29/2004
Posts: 5712
Dromiceius wrote:
Edit2: So, he met a girl in his dream who gave him a large phallus that fires an unidentified white substance when he clutches it. How Freudian.
She's not just any girl, she's a princess! But I bet she's still a girl.
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Joined: 10/3/2005
Posts: 1332
I'll bet morpheus wanted to get in on some of that child pr0n action. Aha... I figured out what you mean, delete. Grab onto the wall, then jump down through the floor! Nice find.
Joined: 2/19/2006
Posts: 3
Hello, I just tried to watch the movie. But after I downloaded it I had no video, only sound. Can someone maybe help me?
Former player
Joined: 11/13/2005
Posts: 1587
Stella wrote:
Hello, I just tried to watch the movie. But after I downloaded it I had no video, only sound. Can someone maybe help me?
Take a look at the FAQ.
Joined: 2/19/2006
Posts: 3
I already looked there, but it still doesn't work. I've only the sound.
Former player
Joined: 11/13/2005
Posts: 1587
Stella wrote:
I already looked there, but it still doesn't work. I've only the sound.
Did you download a proper codec?
Active player (278)
Joined: 5/29/2004
Posts: 5712
You should enable FFDShow decoding for the following FOURCCs (these are the ones that are found in our movies): * h264 * H264 * DIVX * XVID * FMP4
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Skilled player (1886)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2160
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
This should do the trick: 1. Download FFDShow from here: http://www.free-codecs.com/download_soft.php?d=1230&s=50 2. Install FFDShow 3. Play the movie in a good movieplayer, such as VLC Player or BSPlayer, or whatever you like. :)
Joined: 2/19/2006
Posts: 3
Thank you all. My english isn't so well so it took a time for me to understand what's written there. ^^;
Joined: 2/25/2006
Posts: 70
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
I enjoyed every minute of this video, I had a bastard of a time with it cause i wasn't able to watch it due to codec problems, but it was worth fixing it to watch this ^_^
Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
Dromiceius wrote:
I'm saying he can go over the whole thing using the bee. He's gone through the top of the screen, but you get the idea.
How is this done, exactly? I'm interested in improving this part but I can't get over the spikes, the bee gets tired too early. You also can't get damaged and land on the spikes and continue, because the spikes kill you even if you are flashing. I haven't been testing this in frame advance but I can't get even close in real time. EDIT: Nevermind, I managed to do it. I guess I'll try my hand at hex-editing now.