Here is our take on the "warpless" version of Super Mario Bros 2. It is 2056 frames (34.4 seconds) faster than the published movie by Donamerdragon. The gain comes from optimized movements, different routes, different character selection, optimized battles and some new glitches.
Level 1 - 1: The frame rule of birdo rules out any possible improvements here. 0 frames gained. 0 frames ahead.
Level 1 - 2: 97 frames gained, better carpet riding and Birdo-mashing being the prime reasons. 97 frames ahead.
Level 1 - 3: 313 frames gained. Toad is used instead of Luigi, due to Toad being a lot faster in the first and last part of this level. Those frames gained makes up for the frames lost in the middle of the level. The bomb timers are active while taking damage, and taking damage against Mouser saves a few frames of lag, so taking damage is the fastest way to deal with him. 420 frames ahead.
Level 2 - 1: 28 frames gained due to skipping the pause to manipulate Starman, better disposal of Birdo's Crystal Ball and some other things. 2 frames were gained before this level as well due to using Toad in the previous level. 450 frames ahead.
Level 2 - 2: 10 frames gained in the first part due to vine zipping, 89 frames gained during the digging-session and 61 frames gained on the Birdo-fight. 610 frames ahead.
Level 2 - 3: Some major level ownage saved 144 frames up until entering Triclyde. 16 frames saved on the boss, putting us 770 frames ahead.
Level 3 - 1: What better way to start a new world than with a new route? 244 frames gained, 1014 frames ahead.
Level 3 - 2: Bye bye Princess. 129 frames gained, putting us 1143 frames ahead after this level.
Level 3 - 3: Toadsie's winning streak is finally broken. Luigi does the trick here. The level up until Mouser is 384 frames faster, and the boss is killed 32 frames faster. The waiting before Mouser appears on screen was essential to get Mouser's movement pattern correct. 1559 frames ahead before the chilly world 4.
Level 4 - 1: 11 frames gained, 1570 ahead.
Level 4 - 2: 28 frames gained, 1598 ahead.
Level 4 - 3: 13 frames gained here due to better manipulation of Birdo. No frames were gained against Fryguy because of his stupid movement pattern which both of the authors consider to be homosexual. 1611 frames ahead.
Level 5 - 1: Birdo's diet of veggies has been replaced by mushrooms this time around. 176 frames gained, 1787 ahead.
Level 5 - 2: Stupid Birdo's frame window messes everything up, 9 frames gained in the end. 1796 ahead.
Level 5 - 3: We had a bit of better luck with the first bomb so we got a lot more 43-speed to our disposal at the beginning of this level. That and minor optimizations along the way gained us 168 frames, 1964 ahead.
Level 6 - 1: 39 frames gained here, making the difference 2003 frames ahead.
Level 6 - 2: 9 frames jumped and fought away, 2012 frames ahead
Level 6 - 3: 24 frames gained, 9 on Birdo and 15 on Triclyde, 2036 ahead.
Level 7 - 1: 10 frames gained. Most improvements were negated by the frame rule of the rocket and birdo.
Level 7 - 2: 10 frames gained. Lag reduction, and better boss fighting.

New Tricks and Techniques

TODO

Special Thanks

  • All previous authors of smb2u movies for their contributions.
  • JXQ for being in the game.

NesVideoAgent: Hi! I am a robot. I took a few screenshots of this movie and placed them here.

Truncated: Well made. Accepted.

Emulator Coder, Former player
Joined: 10/2/2005
Posts: 563
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Thoroughly enjoyed this run, so obviously, it gets a yes :)
Post subject: Movie published
TASVideoAgent
They/Them
Moderator
Joined: 8/3/2004
Posts: 14877
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. ---- [1001] NES Super Mario Bros. 2 "warpless" by adelikat & Cardboard in 19:39.93
Morrison
He/Him
Former player
Joined: 8/2/2006
Posts: 195
Location: USA
Looks great! Did you guys have a chance to add tmont's suggestion before publication?
twitch.tv/Retrogaming2084
Joined: 2/14/2007
Posts: 127
Very nice run. I couldn't help but giggle at Luigi's ladder-boost jumps in 3-3. That crazy plumber. Also, one-throw-knock-out'ing Clawglip ...er Clawgrip was sweet. Even if you did need to headbounce the rock. What was that pausing on the ledge after beating Birdo in 2-1 for? Future luck manipulation? It doesn't seem like it takes as long for the other hawkmouth gates to open. Also, as awesome as 3-2 was, why didn't you grab a Mushroom Block after beating Birdo for a faster spring to the gate? Or would the time taken to pick up the block negate the time saved?
adelikat
He/Him
Emulator Coder, Site Developer, Site Owner, Expert player (3596)
Joined: 11/3/2004
Posts: 4738
Location: Tennessee
Floogal wrote:
What was that pausing on the ledge after beating Birdo in 2-1 for? Future luck manipulation? It doesn't seem like it takes as long for the other hawkmouth gates to open.
Not sure what you are talking about. The strategy for the hawkmouth is to get it on screen as soon as possible after picking up a crystal. Once it is on screen, you simply need to touch it before it fully opens. So we perform a lot of antics while waiting for it to open but always get there just in time..
Also, as awesome as 3-2 was, why didn't you grab a Mushroom Block after beating Birdo for a faster spring to the gate? Or would the time taken to pick up the block negate the time saved?
We tried both ways and picking up the block is a few frames slower.
It's hard to look this good. My TAS projects
Player (64)
Joined: 11/2/2007
Posts: 100
Location: Toronto, Canada
Finally gave this a look and it was, as I expected, fantastic. Warping run was great too but I much prefer this one. Bravo!
Joined: 7/8/2009
Posts: 43
Location: Catalonia
it was so funny that i laughed with no stop