Note : This game is supposed to have a gap between screens similar to the console, since it's made to be "realistic". This video doesn't have the gap.
Yoshi's Island DS is the sequel to Super Mario World 2 : Yoshi's Island, and features the ability to swap between babies in order to progress through the levels. Each babies has their own unique abilities to help Yoshi save Baby Luigi.
Game objectives
- Emulator used: DeSmuME 0.9.9
- Advanced Bus-Level Timing off.
- Dynamic Recomplier off.
- Aims for the fastest time.
- Takes damage to save time.
- Resets the game to save time.
- Uses glitches to save time.
- Uses baby Mario... a lot.
About the run
This TAS took me around 7 months to make, between 3 or 4 if I don't count the massive break I took. This TAS was made by me (Taechuk) and Sharkey91, however, this TAS was mostly made by me, Sharkey started his own TAS after me. Will tell more on that later.
Sharkey did the some parts in the beginning of world 1.
Hartmann also did 1-8 boss, but otherwise he hasn't participated much in this project.
Version differences
This run uses the US version, but PAL can also be used since text doesn't affect time saves.
The japanese version is the slowest, because of the fade-in/out animation when we start the game, losing around 1 second each time we reset. A different room in 3-4 saves around 8 seconds over US/PAL, but this timesave is negated by the massive timesave we get from resetting.
Game reset
Talking about that, why do we reset the game after each level? Well, it's simple : the result screen + the animation of unlocking the next level is too long. Resetting right after the game saves using L+R+Start+Select saves around 3 seconds over watching the animation, and that after each level. This also means we don't need to minimize the score on each level, since result screen is also skipped.
Baby Abilities
Baby Mario
Baby Mario is the main baby of the game, and also of the run.
His ability is to let Yoshi run. By pressing Y (which is also the tongue button), Yoshi will start moving much faster than before. Also, jumping speed is faster, unless you start to flutter, in which case you will have normal speed until you touch the ground. He's used for most of the run.
Baby Peach
Baby Peach is the second baby to join the group. We unlock her in 1-5, which is a level specially made for her.
Her ability is having a slower and longer flutter, during which she takes out her umbrella, enabling Yoshi to ride gusts of wind, making him go higher or further, depending on the wind's direction. Her eggs also travel slower and can't bounce, breaking on contact.
Baby DK
Baby DK is the third baby to join us. We unlock him in 2-1, where we are forced to play with him. His flutter (as with the next 2 babies) is a short and low one, because of his weight. DK has a dash, used by crouching and pressing Y. It is the fastest movement in the game, but covers a short distance. However, you can cancel the dash by jumping, and doing this while going up a slope allows you to keep the momentum over some distance. His eggs explodes on contact, and travels the fastest.
Baby Wario
Baby Wario is the fourth baby to join us. We unlock him is 3-5, where we are forced to play with him, and lose him after beating 3-8. He has a magnet, allow him him to attract metal blocks, metal platforms and, of course, coins.
Baby Bowser
Baby Bowser is the last baby to join us. We unlock him in 4-5, where we are forced to play with him, and lose him after beating 4-8. With him, we trade the ability to tongue enemies with the ability to spit fire, which damages enemies like eggs. We can only have one fireball out at a time.
Glitches used
Eggjumping
Eggjumping is the main glitch used in this run. It allows Yoshi to do an ground action in the air, most notably jumping.
To do an eggjump, you need to throw an egg, and then while you are throwing the egg, input the opposite direction that Yoshi is facing, and two frames before the animation ends, input a jump. Yoshi should jump in the air.
This can only be done if you throw something, the animation of Yoshi throwing nothing (if you have no eggs) can't to this glitch.
This also allows Yoshi to enter doors midair, like seen in 5-6.
Key Glitch
This glitch has three steps to it.
1. Collect a key.
2. Throw the key as soon as you get it.
3. Enter a locked door without any eggs remaining (the key must be in the same room as the locked door).
This being done, you should have 6 new eggs. These six new eggs are the last eggs you collected. This is used in 4-8 and 5-2, but can be done in other levels, like the end of 1-4.
Also, we (the YIDS speedrunning community) think there are different versions of the game, and that glitch is only possible in the 1.0 version.
Gate Hack
You can throw an egg through one-way gates. Eggs can open gates. Thus, if you can throw an egg through a one-way gate and have it come back, you can open a one-way gate through the wrong side. Note that
Yoshi must not be blocking the door, otherwise the egg with just bounce.
This is used in 3-4 to save having to go through the second passage and directly get the second key, and saves around a minute.
Gate Hack is also possible with fire, shells and enemies (if I'm not wrong).
Arrow Clipping
Sadly, this glitch was understood when I was in mid world 4 IIRC, so I didn't want to redo half of world 4.
The arrow ball in 2-4 and 3-8 can make you warp upward, saving a few seconds. This TAS only does the first version of the glitch in 2-4, which is slower, and didn't do the clip at all in 3-8.
If you grab the aroow ball by the top, you can spit it upward and then regrab it. For some reason, it tries putting you on it and warps you to it. This can be used to save some time in 2-4 and clip in the wall in 3-8.
Moonwalking
This is a useless glitch I found, it doesn't save anytime, but it's pretty funny to look at.
To do this glitch, you need to run to a wall, and when Yoshi starts a "walking" animation (just before pushing), input the opposite direction. Yoshi will start moonwalking. Now to conserve the glitch, we need to not go too fast or stop.
Effects of Left+Right
Holding Left and Right at the same time makes Yoshi slide to the right. It is not faster than normal movement. It can mess the camera a bit, making it not follow Yoshi until he is at the right of the screen.
Autoscrollers are long, so we tried to skip them. Here's the ones we can skip.
2-6
A fairly easy skip, the goal is loaded while offscreen, so we can just reach it by bouncing on an enemy of, in this TAS, using eggjumps. This saves around a minute, maybe a bit more, not sure.
3-1
The ending is supposed to be an autoscroller, however we can jump over the trigger using an eggjump. After we climb the waterfall, there is another trigger, which we go under. Not sure how much it saves, probably around 30 seconds if I had to guess.
3-2
This skip is TAS only.
The second segment spawns you in an autoscroller, but there is another trigger on the checkpoint. It's most likely there to make you trigger the autoscroller right as you respawn if you die. This trigger extends pretty far up, actually going off-screen. Using 6 very fast eggjumps and a jump on the cliff, we can go over the trigger and skip the second autoscroller. This saves roughly 2 minutes.
4-3
We can skip the final autoscroller trigger by jumping on a Lakitu to steal his cloud, then going really high up. After a few flutters, we can be on the other side of it and jump into the goal. This saves around 5 seconds.
5-5
The longest level in the game even though we skip part of it. After the first checkpôint (after 3 minutes of autoscroller!) we have to wait a bit. Once the camera starts going down, we need to stay where we were. So for the next 2 minutes, nothing is happening on screen. However, we still need to move around, or else we either fall down, or die. Once we manage to skip the second checkpoint and the second trigger, we get free movement and can run to the exit. This saves roughly 1 minute 30 seconds.
Other things
This TAS was really fun to make, and I will continue helping Sharkey on his TAS.
If you were paying attention a few months ago, he did release a WIP of world 1 and 2. Those beat this TAS by 1 minute 12 seconds as of right now. It's currently at 3-1 and this run has some tricks not included in this movie and better movement.
Memory: I used to love this game and really enjoyed this TAS. I wish there were more Baby DK segments but unfortunately them's the breaks sometimes.
