Legacy of the Wizard time! (submitted properly now)
Some words of the game maybe..
You play as this family who must retrieve four crowns in order to obtain the dragon slayer (a sword) and then kill that evil dragon. Each family member has it's own area in this huge game and they can use different items. This opens up for some route planning since they sort of must complete their own area.
I started with Xemn's area to obtain items for the the girl (Lynn). After this I did Pochi's area to get the money bag in the end of it to be able to buy wing boots later on.
After this I choosed to do Lynn's area because I thought it would be less repetetive since I have to pass through here later in the search for the sword.
Last I did mothers area.
Some words of the run.
This is my second attempt and it is 8 minutes faster than my previous run. This was possible because I got great help and suggestions from Brose and Ferret Warlord.
Now I was able to skip most of Lynn's area due to a shortcut involving climbing a sphinx. This saved me minutes.
I found some new shortcuts in Xemn's area aswell and that saved some time.
Hmm. This game is hard to time attack since you need items of all sort all the time. You need keys to open doors, money to buy things and/or stay at Inns to refill magic and energy. You also need magic to be able to do anything at all in this game. The best item of them all is the speed scroll which let's you move through the dungeon at an incredible speed. You can get a couple of speed scrolls at the time to increase your speed.
This leads me to the hardest part of the game. The randomness and luck manipulation. It's HARD to get what you want from enemies all the time. This is because they are nearly impossible to manipulate and also whenever you are running low on something, say magic, they will only drop magic refills and nothing else.
This caused me some headache when I was forced to play large areas a couple of times.
Hmm, I tried to get as many speed scrolls as possible to keep speed up. This might look a bit weird since I from time to time grab a new scroll almost every screen. This is because their duration isn't very long and if I would have skipped one I most probably wouldn't have gotten another one before the effect runs out. I tried this a couple of times to avoid stopping but it was pretty useless since the randomness didn't allow me to get more of them later on, so I stopped a few times to grab a new to make the duration last longer.
I wasn't able to get that many speed scrolls with Pochi and Lynn (yes I tried!) but it doesn't really matter, it's pretty fluent anyways. Atleast I think so.
Lastly about the items. I end the game with one key left. This is because I needed other items than keys but if I would have skipped to pick up a key all enemies would refused to drop anything else. So I had to have one key left.
Hmm. Next thing should be some words about my run I think..
First: If you fall (and that depends with the characters) wou will eventually crash and bounce, if the fall is high enough. This takes some time but is really not avoidable. I tried to minimize this but sometimes I just have to crash.
Second: In mothers area I have to shoot away blocks sometimes. When I do this I cannot use any other item, so I have to wait for them to stop before I can proceed.
Third: I have to use Inns sometimes. This is because I cannot change items without staying at Inns and also they refill my magic and energy.
Now I can't think of anything else to write.
  • As fast as possible
  • Manipulates luck
  • Takes damage to save time
  • FCEu used
  • Thanks to Brose and Ferret Warlord for great help and suggestions (again)!
Enjoy
/Walker Boh

DeHackEd: By popularity, encoding AVI.

TASVideoAgent
They/Them
Moderator
Joined: 8/3/2004
Posts: 14776
Location: 127.0.0.1
This topic is for the purpose of discussing #492: Walker Boh's NES Legacy of the Wizard in 21:02.63
Skilled player (1403)
Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 1976
Location: Making an escape
8 minutes?! Oh, wow. Unfortunately, my sister is on the other computer right now, so I can't watch it yet. But since I thought your last one was publishable in spite of errors, I have a pretty clear idea of what I'll think of this one! :P You pump these runs out so stinkin' fast. Makes me wonder sometimes... Glad I could help, although I don't think my suggestions saved more than ten seconds. Brose deserves props for reworking the entire route; I only nitpicked some areas.
A hundred years from now, they will gaze upon my work and marvel at my skills but never know my name. And that will be good enough for me.
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1276
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
Hehe, wonder about what?
/Walker Boh
Joined: 3/11/2004
Posts: 191
as much as i'd love to watch this run i cant. it seems my fceu doesn't like this game alone with Super Mario Bros. it freezes at the 1st screen of the game and wont let me move or do anything. just plays music constantly. shame too cuz i wanted to watch this run
Emulator Coder, Skilled player (1299)
Joined: 12/21/2004
Posts: 2687
Maybe using a wrong version of fceu or rom would cause it to freeze like that? It works fine for me, and it looks like a great run. I really like this game's music, too.
Skilled player (1403)
Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 1976
Location: Making an escape
Alrighty, I just saw this. There's a few things I could nitpick on, but I won't for two reasons. 1. At this point it wouldn't feel right. 2. You're Walker Boh; I trust a lot of what you are doing. Instead, I'll just sit back and say, "Bravo, man. Bravo." Oh, and in case you are wondering, I just worry about how much free time you have on your hands. ;)
A hundred years from now, they will gaze upon my work and marvel at my skills but never know my name. And that will be good enough for me.
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1276
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
I should have been sleeping for a few hours ago, but im not ;) So, what's the concerns you had? I might be able to explain some actions I did, like backtracking for a speed scroll before the "boring room" in Xemn's area.. Or something like that. Hehe, about my free time. I shouldn't be time attacking but instead studying. But right now it's still sort of holiday ;P Thanks for comments though!
/Walker Boh
Skilled player (1403)
Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 1976
Location: Making an escape
Well, the biggest thing I'm wondering about is why you spent a few seconds grabbing a cross as Pochi that seemed to do little to no good; was that to snag a bit of money? That's the biggest one. Another is pushing those blocks below the row of doors as Meyna; I believe you could squeeze them and shorten their flying time. Other things are very small: jumping over enemies and hitting the ceiling when you could walk through them (two frames saved), some small ladder issues (I still don't like the handling of that ladder next to that pyramid in Pochi's area), things like that. Nothing that would save more than a second or two total. Still a very, very nice run.
A hundred years from now, they will gaze upon my work and marvel at my skills but never know my name. And that will be good enough for me.
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1276
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
Hmm. yeah the cross with Pochi is simply for the money. I had an opportunity to get money with equal wait as if I would have waited for a money bag instead of that cross so i took it. You could be right with the blocks with Menya, didn't even hit me. But in that case I would have been running back n forth. I kinda like the way she knocks them back n forth. But yeah, could have saved a second maybe. If you mean the pyramid that leads to the green (?) area in Pochis area (where I use a skeleton to reach the faster path to the right). I crashed there only to manipulate the skeleton and to not waste time. By walking through enemies, yeah maybe. I had that problem when I played Menya's area. I ran out of mana and energy because I played a bit aggresive first so I had to replay the whole area from start til I buy the wing boots. If you mean somewhere else you are probably right. Your tip with walking on enemies through narrow gaps didn't work unfortunately. Mostly because I didn't wanna wait for them to be in position and also because they refused to be manipulated.
/Walker Boh
Skilled player (1403)
Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 1976
Location: Making an escape
Yeah, I figured. You're Walker Boh; you know what you doing. Don't start your whole run over because of those blocks, though. I'd wait until more significant tricks emerge.
A hundred years from now, they will gaze upon my work and marvel at my skills but never know my name. And that will be good enough for me.
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1276
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
Yeah, im pretty tired of this game right now ;) Thanks though for feedback and comments!
/Walker Boh
Joined: 10/30/2004
Posts: 19
I just got on and am very surprised. With all the trouble you were having with luck manipulation I didn't expect this to get done nearly so fast. I can't wait to watch it. Thanks for the props I'm sure you did a great job implementing all our suggestions. Well time to watch will check in soon. After watching: All I can say is wow! It takes off with the father and I'm still left trying to get my jaw off the floor at how fast you got through that and an even better job at getting up to his crown. Getting those speed scrolls for the mother before the very long ladder near the start of her area was very nice also. You did a great job of keeping the action up and making almost everything seem like a very fast paced game. Certainly a yes vote from me. Great job giving this game the movie it deserved. While I don't want to say anything bad about it there is only one small part that left me wondering if it could have been done faster has to do with those blocks mentioned in Maynas area also. I'll look into it even though I can definetly see why you'd be sick of working on it and won't be asking you to fix it. Again incredible job I loved it :) edit: looked into it doesn't really seem to be much faster maybe a few frames at best but not much and also when testing pushing the blocks to stop them.. it seems that it still makes you wait some even if they stop moving (not sure if they make you wait full duration) so I think if anything it would probably end up making it take long to stop them and get back.
~Brose~
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1276
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
Im glad you liked it ,)
/Walker Boh
Joined: 8/15/2004
Posts: 422
Location: Minnesota
What a nice surprise after being gone for a day! I can't believe you were able to cut off 8 minutes from the original. I see you were able to collect more scrolls, and the shorcuts using the enemies showed good usage of the environment. Also, this game has some great music, which it seems as if it were made for a high-speed game. I couldn't see anything you can improve on so you have my vote again. Great job!
Joined: 8/3/2004
Posts: 380
Location: Finland
Very nice, it's amazing you could shave off 8 minutes of the time. Carefully planned and well executed, I especially liked the parts with speed scrolls (who doesn't?). A clear yes-vote.
"Kids! Bringing about Armageddon can be dangerous. Do not attempt it in your home." ( Pratchett & Gaiman: Good Omens )
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1276
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
Most of the time shaved of from my first attempt comes from the shortcut with Lynn, but also some from shortcuts with Xemn. And of course more speed scrolls.
/Walker Boh
Quietust
He/Him
Emulator Coder
Joined: 7/14/2004
Posts: 250
Too... many... speed... powerups... I pity anyone watching this movie who suffers from motion sickness. Incredibly well done! More than TWICE as fast as the 'initial' submission.
* Quietust, QMT Productions P.S. If you don't get this note, let me know and I'll write you another
Fihlvein
He/Him
Joined: 7/28/2004
Posts: 135
Location: Finland Realms
I haven't seen the game before but it still looked entertaining. Nice.
Post subject: Movie published
TASVideoAgent
They/Them
Moderator
Joined: 8/3/2004
Posts: 14776
Location: 127.0.0.1
This movie has been published. The posts before this message apply to the submission, and posts after this message apply to the published movie. ---- [279] NES Legacy of the Wizard by Walker Boh in 21:02.63
Skilled player (1403)
Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 1976
Location: Making an escape
I was just messing around with the game and noticed something interesting: pressing opposite directions will cause your projectiles to stay in place. It has limited apllications, yes, but it could be useful against some bosses for maximizing the damage dealt with each shot. Something to consider. Edit: In fact, I've put together this movie of the first boss employing this glitch, using your current movie as a basis in order to ensure the exact same conditions. The battle is 114 frames faster (1.9 seconds) than yours as of everything disappearing. Further optmizations could be made to widen the gap: finding the best spot to "plant" the attack, maybe manipulating luck to keep him grounded, etc. It would be much more difficult to apply this technique to future bosses because of health issues (the fourth especially), but it could still be done. Just plant the attack right in front of him. That being said, any improvements made will rely on the speed scrolls. In fact, I believe the speed peaks out after a while (I need to test this), and if this is true, you could grab a scroll before your revert back to normal speed to better maintain it.
A hundred years from now, they will gaze upon my work and marvel at my skills but never know my name. And that will be good enough for me.
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1276
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
That's awesome. I will try this eventually.
Ferret Warlord wrote:
That being said, any improvements made will rely on the speed scrolls. In fact, I believe the speed peaks out after a while (I need to test this), and if this is true, you could grab a scroll before your revert back to normal speed to better maintain it.
I'm not really sure of what you mean here. Of course I can theoretically grab scrolls at the last moment possible to maintain speed, because they don't fade away gradually but abrubtly ends. But this is hard because the luck manipulation is teh_pain in this game. If that was what you refered to?
/Walker Boh
Skilled player (1403)
Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 1976
Location: Making an escape
What I meant was that your current run relies so much on speed scrolls that any current strategy will rely on those to be effective. That battle was 114 frames faster; depending on the speed scroll situation, the total improvement could be greater or less than that. The "max speed" thing was merely an afterthought, and you were correct about that part of that paragraph.
A hundred years from now, they will gaze upon my work and marvel at my skills but never know my name. And that will be good enough for me.
JXQ
Experienced player (749)
Joined: 5/6/2005
Posts: 3132
Watched this just for fun; I've never played the game. Wow. This is fast. It's funny to watch this guy zip at near Magnet Beam speeds and then suddenly decide to walk 1/64th of his previous speed. Also, this game looks impossible. Shooting through random walls to form somewhat-plausible paths that cannot be determined short of a massive amount of trial and error. Gotta love the early NES games.
<Swordless> Go hug a tree, you vegetarian (I bet you really are one)
Morrison
He/Him
Joined: 8/2/2006
Posts: 195
Location: USA
I've played this game for years, and this run is really impressive. I feel your pain with the luck manipulation for speed scrolls. I hate how the game forces (or almost forces) drops when you run lower than 3 keys, 50 magic/life/gold, etc.
JXQ wrote:
Also, this game looks impossible. Shooting through random walls to form somewhat-plausible paths that cannot be determined short of a massive amount of trial and error. Gotta love the early NES games.
It's difficult and takes a lot of time to figure out where one has to go (or should go) for certain items (most importantly the crowns since everything else can be bought), but it's not much more puzzeling or random than "Legend of Zelda" or "Metroid."
twitch.tv/Retrogaming2084