A7800 Scrapyard Dog in 11:04.14 by Noxxa
Game objectives
- Emulator used: BizHawk 1.12.1
- Aims for fastest time (any%, fastest input end)
- Ignores delays caused by bonus effects that happen to be after input end
About the game
Scrapyard Dog is an Atari platforming game released for Atari 7800 and
Atari Lynx. This movie runs through the 7800 version. The plot of both versions is essentially the same: Louie has his dog Scraps kidnapped by mob boss Mr. Big, and Louie has to track him down (with Mr. Big's occasional clue by letter or phone)
There are some significant differences between the 7800 and Lynx versions of the game:
- 7800 has a grittier, "mature", and less diverse art style compared to the more colorful and cartoony Lynx.
- Related to the above, Louie looks childish in the Lynx version. In the 7800 version, he looks like a homeless alcoholic hobo.
- The 7800 version has no boss fights, only a "boss puzzle" at the end of the final stage. The Lynx version has a bossfight for every world.
- The Lynx version has 7 worlds with diverse environments to visit. The 7800 version has 6 worlds, but each repeats the same themes (junkyard, street, sewer) until the final stage, which is a warehouse.
- The 7800 version has no warps.
- The 7800 has only a limited amount of cans for Louie to throw, although he can get more from defeating enemies, visiting shops, etc.
- All things said, the 7800 version seems much worse, but - Louie does run much faster in the 7800 version. Maybe that'll help offset things a tad.
Tricks
Jumping velocity
Jumping is very slightly faster than walking in most circumstances (coming down to around half a pixel per full jump). Therefore, Louie visits the air often. Bouncing off enemies helps Louie remain airborne, and adds entertainment value to boot.
Pipe warps
The sewer levels contain various pipes, many of which can be used to visit shops, bonus areas, or just different parts of the level. In a select few cases, they send Louie far enough forward that they are worth the animation time that entering one takes.
TODO
1-1 - Your Junkyard
1-2 - Eisenhower Lane
1-3 - 1st Street Sewer
2-1 - Bob's Scrapyard
2-2 - Borregas Avenue
2-3 - 2nd Ave Sewer
3-1 - Charlie's Junk Inc.
3-2 - Chicago Court
3-3 - 3rd Street Sludgepit
4-1 - Dave's Surplus
4-2 - Denver Street
4-3 - 4th Avenue Sewer
5-1 - Ernie's Junkyard
5-2 - El Paso Place
5-3 - 5th Street Sewer
6-1 - (Flying) Fred's Scrapyard
6-2 - Fresno St., Mr. Big's Warehouse
Screenshot:
(Not actually in the run as the dialogue is skipped past, but still the best thing I got here)
Thanks for watching!
Fog: Oh man, this was a ruff game to watch.
It's basically everything that the Lynx version is not (boring, repetitive, and dull). The only thing going for it is that the character moves faster in this version of the game compared to the Lynx version.
The actual quality of the run was great, but that extra movement speed does nothing to hide the fact that this version of the game is pretty bad.
Accepting to Vault.
Fog: This has gone unclaimed for publishing within two weeks, so I will process this submission.
