- Aims for fastest time
- Takes damage to save time
- Abuses programming errors
- Manipulates luck
- Uses a game restart sequence
- No deaths
- No predefined saves
- Genre: adventure
- Emulator: FCEUX 2.1.4a
Improvements
In the published movie, the glitch which lets you walk halfway through blocks was just newly discovered, and not used to its fullest potential. Two main differences of its current usage are:
- In the published movie bombs were thought to be required for performing the glitch. Time was saved both in not having to lay down a bomb each time the glitch is performed and in not having to manipulate and collect as many bombs (although all in all, the glitch wasn't used that often in the previous TAS).
- More significantly is the usage of the glitch in the overworld. Using it at the side or top of the screen enables Link to walk to the other side of the screen or in the menu section of the screen.
Another major improvement was knowing how the item drops work in this game. It is related to the number of enemies killed, which is why sometimes seemingly random enemies are killed.
If you want to know more about glitches, techniques, randomness, etc, there is a detailed discussion on it in the
Second Quest submission text.
Does this mean the only improvements were made due to a better knowledge of these things? No. It is hard to really compare the two movies... even though the levels are completed in the same order. Due to the glitch, different routes are taken in the overworld, and inside levels, some shortcuts are possible. Bombs, rupees and hearts are also collected in different locations.
Even though comparing directly is difficult due to all this, it is clear that the majority of the rooms have better strategies and optimization. Hearts, bombs, rupees and automatic weapon switches have been planned very far ahead, and nothing is wasted.
jprofit22: Ahh what a weight off my mind to know that this run is finished!! Working with Baxter was a great delight. He is very precise and thorough, both of which are very handy traits to be an exceptional TAS'er. At the beginning of this run I was actually a bit discouraged because whenever I had something that seemed really good, Baxter would get the WIP and quickly find some nice improvements. It was a little frustrating but I soon learned to see it for what it was, a master at work :) In the end I am extremely happy with the way it all turned out and feel honored to be a part of it. Thanks to everyone before me in Zelda and TASing in general. Hope you all enjoy!
Baxter: I'm glad this run is finally finished. Shortly after my movie with Phil was published, improvements to the glitch were found. Other than those particular improvements, the movie was of good quality, and I'm actually pleased the movie wasn't obsoleted right away, as it was quite a step forward in Zelda TASing. Having worked in the meantime on several other Zelda TASes provided some new insights on how to tackle these rooms. Working with jprofit22 on this was great fun. I'm amazed by how fast he got the hang of TASing this game. He was always motivated, worked hard, and had some really great ideas. Enjoy this run :)
Nach: Nice job collaborating you two. This was a much anticipated improvement, and it exceeds expectations. Accepting.
