Also known as "Cat Mario", Syobon Action is an extremely difficult mario-clone platformer that usually takes many tries to complete. This run aims to do so in the fastest possible time.
Game objectives
- Emulator used: Hourglass - r71
- Fastest Time
For Real
- No Deaths
- Minor Glitch Abuse
First of all, I would like to thank the people in the
Syobon Action Thread and the japanese TASers in Nicovideo. Without them, I would have been stuck with a time of
1:52. I would also like to thank nitsuja for the hourglass emulator that made this possible.
Secondly, the reason why I used the "4 stage" version instead of an extended one is because the "official" [dead link removed] site only has this version. Also, a
source claims that Syobon Action only has 4 stages, implying that the extended version is a fan-game.
Glitches/Tricks
Wall Jumping
With enough horizontal velocity, you can clip slightly into a wall if you turn around for ~1 frame. Then simply hold onto the jump button ("Z" or "UP") to jump again once inside the wall.
Quick Turn
To turn quickly, bump into a wall for 1 frame then immediately turn around. It's faster than turning without bumping into a wall. Used once in stage 1 - 1.
1 - 1
The first stage of the game. I tried very hard to improve this stage, but I couldn't. It seems that the strategy I used in the other run was optimal.
1 - 2
The second stage takes place mostly underground. Somehow, I managed to save 1 frame at the first screen, and ~3 frames underground. Savings maybe due to lag avoidance.
1 - 3
The third stage takes place above ground. The strategy I used to kick the shell may seem sub-optimal, but it's actually 24 frames faster.
1 - 4
The final stage resembles the castle stages in Super Mario Bros. The overall strategy remains the same, but with minor savings from slight optimization.
Possible Improvements
- Lag Reduction (Needs Lag Counter)
- Speed/Pixel Management (Needs RAM Search)
- Further optimization (Needs more stable SaveStates)
Suggested Screenshot:
Actual Screenshot:
Frame 3001
jlun2: Uncancelling to compare it with
this run.
adelikat: Reclaiming for judging. You are making it a challenge to claim this one!
adelikat: Ideally I would make a verdict about whether or not to use the speed up (spacebar) option and set some kind of precedent. But in this case I think there was too much confusion to get a consensus and the game had a negative response anyway. So I will dodge that issue completely and reject purely on game choice. See also,
#3288: jlun2's Windows Syobon Action "x2 Speed" in 00:56.87.
adelikat: Unrejecting this submission for consideration into the
Vault tier.
adelikat: The verdict for this game specifically,
random mode and
2x speed mode are considered cheat codes; therefore they are not eligible for fastest completion. That makes this the fastest any% movie and I am accepting it to the
Vault due to good tech quality and goal choice, but poor audience support for the
Alternative tier.
