Posted: 10/14/2005 1:44 PM
Post subject: Violinist of Hamelin
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Icecap_M._Veiwin
Joined: 2/6/2005
Posts: 5
Location: Pop Star
This is a little quirky game that probably nobody's heard of. I know Nesvideos likes stuff like that, so I decided to talk about it. It's a game for the SNES. You play as Hamel, who is the "Violinist of Hamelin" (duh). You save some village from peril way in the beginning, and then set off to destroy monsters. Oh yeah, you take a girl with you to be your slave. (Not in that way.) Essentially, it's a platformer, sort of like Goemon, except more 2D and more musical-themed. Your main weapon is shooting musical notes out of your violin. You can jump, of course, and pick up things. There's also a button that determines whether or not the girl follows you. Probably the most interesting thing about the game is the girl, Hamel's assistant. She is treated in-game as an object that follows your movements (unless the button is pressed that says not to). She can be thrown to damage enemies. As the game goes on, you collect more and more costumes which allow you to do things that Hamel could not do on his own. (For example, walk over spikes with the Ostrich or jump very high with the Frog.) Either way, this game needs a TAS, bad. I plan to do it, it's a simple game and good for a first TAS. However, I would like to know if anyone has any knowledge of the game and can help me plan routes. The rom is not that hard to find, so happy searching and I hope everyone enjoys this game. *goes off to plan routes*
eh.
Posted: 10/14/2005 2:55 PM
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nitsuja
Emulator Coder, Skilled player (1311)
Joined: 12/21/2004
Posts: 2687
Computer TASer of 2011 TAS of 2011 First edition TAS of 2011 Computer TAS of 2011 Sega TAS of 2010 Sega TAS of 2008 Sega TAS of 2007 Glitchy TAS of 2007
I think the SNES game is called "Violinist of Hameln". Looks interesting, but unfortunately pretty slow-moving (unless I'm missing something major) until later finding a form for the girl that moves quickly (like the 4th one, except it can't climb).
Posted: 10/14/2005 4:11 PM
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Highness
Player (71)
Joined: 8/24/2004
Posts: 2562
Location: Sweden
Haha! Sounds like a funny game. :) I like the slave thingie.
Posted: 10/14/2005 5:16 PM
Post subject: Re: Violinist of Hamelin
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Kapow
Joined: 9/17/2005
Posts: 47
Icecap M. Veiwin wrote:
sort of like Goemon
it's more like Lost Vikings, the focus is usually on figuring out how to get through the levels.
Posted: 10/14/2005 5:38 PM
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daniayaw
Former player
Joined: 7/29/2005
Posts: 459
Location: Brazil
there is only japanese version of this? i.i
<small>My big signature was cleared by admin; i should read <a href="http://tasvideos.org/ForumRules.html">forum rules</a>. But... who does?</small>
Posted: 10/14/2005 6:41 PM
Post subject: Re: Violinist of Hamelin
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nitsuja
Emulator Coder, Skilled player (1311)
Joined: 12/21/2004
Posts: 2687
Computer TASer of 2011 TAS of 2011 First edition TAS of 2011 Computer TAS of 2011 Sega TAS of 2010 Sega TAS of 2008 Sega TAS of 2007 Glitchy TAS of 2007
Icecap M. Veiwin wrote:
I plan to do it, it's a simple game and good for a first TAS.
Actually it doesn't look so easy to me to figure out the fastest way through each area (I mean, finding tricks that the designers didn't think of to get through faster)... Good luck if you're attempting this, and don't forget to post a movie of your progress here every few levels or so because someone will probably find things you could improve on, this being your first TAS.
daniayaw wrote:
there is only japanese version of this? i.i
J2e made an English translation hack of this game, you can find it at Zophar's Domain, but it can't be used for the actual recording of the run unless it happens to play exactly the same. EDIT: This game has some cool secret moves, some of which look useful. See http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/snes/code/581825.html (and don't forget about gliding, either)
Posted: 10/27/2005 11:02 AM
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Less_Ashamed_Of_Self
Joined: 6/4/2005
Posts: 130
Location: Ontario, Canada
It is a nifty game... not at all fast though. Still, I'd watch it, if only to see how it ended... it TOTALLY held my attention for like... an hour... which is pretty good.
http://lukewilliams.org http://thestratfordsketcher.com
Posted: 12/5/2005 2:58 AM
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Hamelin
Joined: 5/4/2005
Posts: 20
Yeah, this game is called Violinist of Hameln, there's no I in it. It's based on the Violinist of Hameln manga, there's a partial translation of it here, but it hasn't been updated in quite a long time, which is disappointing. There's an anime series too, but it was cut short and ended on the 24th episoide after skipping like 70% of the manga due to bad ratings. Was a shame, I enjoyed it. Notable is the fact that Flute (the girl) is a much more effective weapon when thrown than Hamel's musical notes are. Not only does she do more damage, but enemies drop gold when they are killed with her (I believe it is 5 coins when she is at full health, 2 when she's at half, and none when she's got no health, but I haven't played this in forever). If buying items was part of the run, it'd be useful, but I think just using her as a weapon is enough to merit it. Furthermore, I reckon that some of her costumes may aid in mobility. I am almost certain that you can ride on the shufflepuck thing, and that thing flies when you throw it. The game does seem to end abrubtly after the fight with Sizer (the winged angel looking boss with the scythe), for some reason the game designers decided to stop the game there instead of moving on to a fight with Chestra (the villian in the manga) which is odd because the game offers no closure. It's a good looking game, and the concept is so absurd, I'm sure there's some room for antics throwing Flute all over the place.
[URL=http://www.sererre.net/dd/]daily deviations[/URL]
Posted: 4/14/2007 6:15 AM
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Dammit
Experienced player (591)
Joined: 1/11/2007
Posts: 103
I'm resurrecting this thread. I played this game a few weeks back and enjoyed it a lot. I thought it would make a good TAS. I was inspire to watch the anime, which was so awful I lost interest for awhile. I can't overstate how boring, cliched and predictable the anime is. But back to the game. Some things worth thinking about: As per the site rules, you'd have to TAS the jap version, not the translation. But that's OK, because the story makes no sense. You don't need to buy anything to get through the game. It's possible to buy the UFO costume early, which is good for zooming through levels. But the cost is really high. Depending on Flute's health at the end of the level you get bonus stars, and when you have four you are sent to a bonus level. But the bonus levels only yield coins, and they get old fast. So for good speed Flute should get beat up or fall in a pit before the end of every level. (She gets upset and it looks funny.) Takes Damage to Save Time would work well here because you get some good invincibility time when hit. Use Hameln's straight projectiles for long range/angled attacks, and Flute's super move for bosses. (I didn't figure those out till near the end of the game. FYI the first part of the game is more puzzle-like and the later parts are more action/skill oriented.) So in summary, you should play this game if you haven't, and it would make a good speed-priority TAS.
Posted: 4/14/2007 10:15 PM
(Edited: 4/15/2007 12:15 AM)
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Dammit
Experienced player (591)
Joined: 1/11/2007
Posts: 103
Here's a WIP of stage 1-1, which is a typical stage. Not extensively tested for optimization. I use the superflute move twice in the 3rd section. Edit: Got rid of all of flute's energy this time, and now stored on microstorage.
Posted: 4/14/2007 10:20 PM
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zefiris
Joined: 4/11/2006
Posts: 487
Location: North of Russia :[
use microstorage next time ) http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php
Posted: 4/14/2007 11:37 PM
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arkiandruski
Reviewer, Active player (288)
Joined: 12/14/2006
Posts: 717
Sega TASer of 2018
I agree this would be a good game. It started getting interesting around the third level, I think. However, I don't know the game or TASing well enough to help you, but keep going.
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Posted: 4/15/2007 2:39 AM
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Dammit
Experienced player (591)
Joined: 1/11/2007
Posts: 103
TAS thru level 1-2 Gonna see how people feel about the strategy (taking damage + skipping items) before proceeding further.
Posted: 4/15/2007 7:57 AM
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nitsuja
Emulator Coder, Skilled player (1311)
Joined: 12/21/2004
Posts: 2687
Computer TASer of 2011 TAS of 2011 First edition TAS of 2011 Computer TAS of 2011 Sega TAS of 2010 Sega TAS of 2008 Sega TAS of 2007 Glitchy TAS of 2007
I don't know if skipping this much would work out in the long term, but here is another 1-1 strategy to consider.
Posted: 4/15/2007 9:22 AM
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arkiandruski
Reviewer, Active player (288)
Joined: 12/14/2006
Posts: 717
Sega TASer of 2018
nitsuja, you're amazing. And slave riding is awesome.
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Posted: 4/15/2007 5:29 PM
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XkyRauh
He/Him
Joined: 6/9/2005
Posts: 171
Location: Southern California
I'm excited about this run--I'll watch it regardless of what strategies you use.
Posted: 4/16/2007 9:55 AM
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Dammit
Experienced player (591)
Joined: 1/11/2007
Posts: 103
level 1-3 Well my initial work is garbage compared to nitsuja's, no doubt about that. I studied it and applied a couple of his tricks to my 1-3, which I am pleased with. I don't think it will be feasible to skip the ostrich, but it only takes a few seconds to get it, so no biggie. Couple more things: -You don't get any free healing, so making Hameln take damage has to be balanced by getting a healberry at some point. -The monsters are so simple and predictable, I suspect this game will be splice-friendly. But, I hate splicing. -That superflute move is going to be a standby. -This is harder than I thought it would be. Question: how do you convert a starts-from-reset movie to a starts-from-savestate movie? For sharing.
Posted: 4/16/2007 4:02 PM
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nitsuja
Emulator Coder, Skilled player (1311)
Joined: 12/21/2004
Posts: 2687
Computer TASer of 2011 TAS of 2011 First edition TAS of 2011 Computer TAS of 2011 Sega TAS of 2010 Sega TAS of 2008 Sega TAS of 2007 Glitchy TAS of 2007
What things are you planning to buy later in the game?
Dammit wrote:
I don't think it will be feasible to skip the ostrich
It's definitely possible, and might save time, so it should be tested at least until getting the puck. Which you should try power-throwing more, by the way.
-The monsters are so simple and predictable, I suspect this game will be splice-friendly. But, I hate splicing.
I wouldn't count on it being splice-friendly... I think it very likely isn't.
Question: how do you convert a starts-from-reset movie to a starts-from-savestate movie? For sharing.
You can use savestateify.
Posted: 4/16/2007 9:36 PM
(Edited: 4/17/2007 4:45 AM)
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Dammit
Experienced player (591)
Joined: 1/11/2007
Posts: 103
nitsuja wrote:
What things are you planning to buy later in the game?
Probably nothing. The common items are healing at the inn, an item to prevent running out of time, an shield to negate 3 hits to flute, and a wallet to stop her from dropping my money. You do get healing at the end of the chapters, making the inn unnecessary/unhelpful for TASing. I think later in the game you can get an item to protect Hamel. The only real interesting thing is the UFO in chapter 2 for 800. To get that you'd have to clean out at least a few bonus levels at 100 coins each--significant time investment, and maybe not even possible until a few levels into chapter 2.
nitsuja wrote:
Dammit wrote:
I don't think it will be feasible to skip the ostrich
It's definitely possible, and might save time, so it should be tested at least until getting the puck. Which you should try power-throwing more, by the way.
Well the ostrich is definitely not necessary. It's easy to do without on 1-1 and 1-2, and from 1-4 to the end of the game I think it's not even intended to be used. But in 1-3 you'd have to use the SLOW robot more. Too many spikes to breeze through otherwise. It's possible to save time by taking 3 hits at strategic points throughout the level, then take no more hits until the end of 1-6, where you get a triple berry for free. So basically this means replaying 1-3 minus the ostrich then comparing frame counts... Bit of info: it takes 88+2n frames to pick a costume (n is the number of cursor movements) plus another 89 frames for her to pop out of the bag. Edit: Here is a redo of the first two parts of 1-2, done faster and inelegantly frankensteined onto nitsuja's smv. Tired...
Posted: 4/17/2007 12:14 AM
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Kitsune
Joined: 4/29/2005
Posts: 1212
Remind me never to be his friend, or girlfriend. I wouldn't want him throwing ME all over the place like that. >.>
Posted: 4/17/2007 6:39 PM
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KDR_11k
Joined: 1/23/2006
Posts: 352
Location: Germany
She's not his friend, she's the payment for his first job.
Posted: 4/17/2007 9:40 PM
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Kitsune
Joined: 4/29/2005
Posts: 1212
And that makes it right? No. :3
Posted: 4/18/2007 5:08 AM
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nitsuja
Emulator Coder, Skilled player (1311)
Joined: 12/21/2004
Posts: 2687
Computer TASer of 2011 TAS of 2011 First edition TAS of 2011 Computer TAS of 2011 Sega TAS of 2010 Sega TAS of 2008 Sega TAS of 2007 Glitchy TAS of 2007
Dammit wrote:
Edit: Here is a redo of the first two parts of 1-2, done faster and inelegantly frankensteined onto nitsuja's smv.
I'll look at it later, but I think you should try to beat my 1-1 instead of simply using it. I don't mind if you use it, but it's better to be more sure that what you go with is optimal.