I have been a Jaws speedrunner for almost two years, and have been TASing the game since then. The goal of TASing has always been to quickly experiment with different RNG manipulations for the purposes of finding better routes for humans to run. It was never about making an optimal TAS. But this morning I decided to try to see what was possible when I stopped worrying about people being able to run the route.
Game objectives
- Emulator used: FCEUX v2.3.0
- Kill Jaws
Starting Overworld Segment.
Pretty simple. I just leave port and then do 12 consecutive frame perfect "shimmies" to get into the first encounter ASAP.
First Encounter
Using RNG control, I get 4 shells as quickly as I can and then die. This is a frame perfect execution of what we do in WR speedruns. When you die, you don't "complete" the encounter that you were in. That way the next encounter you get into will still be the same encounter. This will allow us to get 13 shells (enough for lvl 3) without having to go through the lengthy bonus scene.
Overworld Segment Between The Encounters
This one is a bit trickier. You might not notice when watching in full speed, but there are some quick shimmies here and there to control Jaws' movement. Then we get into the second encounter exactly where we want to.
Second Encounter
Once again, RNG control to get the shells we want. Frame perfect execution of what we do in WR speedruns. Brings us up to 13 shells. Also collect 3 crabs to get the maximum speed bonus.
Last Overworld Segment
Mostly straight forward here. Swim from port to port to level up. There's one shimmy to control Jaws' movement. Then wait for Jaws to hit you.
Jaws Encounter/Final Charge
Frame perfect Jaws Fight. He has i-frames. Each shot is timed exactly right to damage him ASAP. And then stab him with the boat at the end.
Time By RTA Speedrun Rules: 2:58.605
I never considered it for human speedruns, but I think I might be able to find a way to get 12 shells out of the second encounter with some TAS shenanigans. Then I would be able to get only 2 shells before dying, cutting off some time. I'll work on it at some point if there's interest.
Acknowledgements
I wanted to make sure I gave credit where credit was due. SlushFilter and ThreeCreepio are the ones who disassembled the game's code and figured out the RNG and other mechanics. Without them I would not have had the knowledge necessary to craft this route.
Samsara: File replaced with a version truncated to last input.
Samsara: Well, this is a lovely thing to see on the workbench, isn't it? It's the perfect example of my absolute favorite thing to judge: Someone new to the community (welcome, by the way!) coming in with a hot new TAS of a game with a long, long history on the site. I've seen it happen for games like
Kid Icarus and
Ghosts with a generous helping of Goblins and I hope to keep seeing it in the years to come. The incredible thing here is shaving off 30 entire seconds of a game that's already well below 5 minutes to begin with, optimizing this game further and further and further with new routing and strategies over several years of work and several different TASers and RTA runners putting in the effort to understand it. This is what I love about TASing, about speedrunning as a whole: Jaws isn't exactly the most popular game out there, it's no Super Mario, or Super Mario, or even Super Mario. Heck, it isn't even Super Mario. Despite that, though, it's been disassembled, dissected, and analyzed in the exact same way. It's almost like art to me, strange yet ethereally beautiful. Put that quote on the box for the repro cart.
Needless to say, I am absolutely looking forward to future runs of yours! Until then, though, I think this is a very safe acceptance over the
published run. Excellent work!
