Submission Text Full Submission Page
This is a movie of the strange Japanese game Lickle. In it, you have a choice of 4 characters (human, mouse, dragon, golem) each with their own unique abilities. The mouse is used almost constantly because of its speed and very powerful attack that can be used against some bosses. The human form is rarely used because it has no real advantages, except being able to walk off ledges faster than the mouse. I use the dragon to fly past almost all places where you'd normally have to wait for a platform or group of enemies to move. I use the golem against many bosses and to walk on spikes when I have no other choice.
This is a very good first version, its the first REAL speedrun I've completed. Most of it was played frame by frame.
In this version, I take no damage. A "takes damage" version could possibly be 1-2 min shorter. I may do one of those soon.
If you've never played the game, you might not be too impressed with what goes on, but there are AT LEAST a dozen places where you know the game isn't supposed to be played that way (killing some bosses in just a few seconds, scaling walls with the mouse at max speed, etc. for example).
I hope this movie is as interesting and entertaining for you as it is for me. I also hope some of the other movie makers at this site give this game a shot too.

Truncated: Maybe it feels a bit unfair that I'm the one judging your submission when I didn't agree with your aims earlier. But the desicion on this movie is not based on that, it is based on low quality:
  • not climbing as fast as possible with Samson
  • not cutting corners
  • not minimizing lag by killing enemies (the plants, for example)
  • not firing at the 1:st boss while approaching him (and thereby having to wait for him do dis- and reappear once)
  • not charging up the dragon's attack while waiting for the boss to become vulnerable
  • not using the mouse for the platforms and using the dragon only for flying in the water level
  • and so on.
Therefore, this submission will be rejected. However, I do think this is an excellent game for speedrunning and hope that you (or someone) will make a better movie for it. And that that one hopefully won't be a no-damage run. :)


TASVideoAgent
They/Them
Moderator
Joined: 8/3/2004
Posts: 15543
Location: 127.0.0.1
This topic is for the purpose of discussing #816: Animadverto's NES Little Samson in 20:24.78
Player (206)
Joined: 5/29/2004
Posts: 5712
It's okay for a first try, but have you checked out some other authors' attempts at this game? http://tasvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1385 http://tasvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1941 http://tasvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2076
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Joined: 11/17/2004
Posts: 42
I had no idea there was even an English version of this game. I'll watch the videos.
Player (206)
Joined: 5/29/2004
Posts: 5712
That's okay; neither did the creator of this topic: http://tasvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=351
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Joined: 11/17/2004
Posts: 42
I checked out the other videos, and the fastest video I found was in 17:00. That video uses passwords to bypass the first 5 stages. I did a little math: My video: Start of "first" stage - 12249 End of last stage - 73378 Total frames played: 61129 17:00 video: Start of "first" stage - 431 End of last stage - 61179 Total Frames played: 60748 Difference in movies: 381 frames So the difference in his "takes damage run" is only 381 frames faster than my "doesn't take damage" run. And I'm faster than him in a few places, most notably boss battles. For all you people voting no, can you at least say why? Give me some constructive criticism. I think with a little work, my "no damage run" can beat the fastest "damage run" on the site.
Player (206)
Joined: 5/29/2004
Posts: 5712
Did you check out Mazzic's latest movies? http://www.geocities.com/mahabadama/LittleSamson.zip beats the whole game in 17:56. http://www.geocities.com/mahabadama/LittleSamsonv2Mazzic.zip reaches the third level at 1:39.
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Editor, Reviewer, Experienced player (978)
Joined: 4/17/2004
Posts: 3109
Location: Sweden
I haven't (can't, actually) watched this, is it exactly the same as the English version? I remember one previous video skipped a few levels somehow. But I cannot remember a password being used. Anyway, the version which skipped levels somehow was still slower than the one which didn't, because it was very sloppy. I've been thinking of running this game myself. But for the moment I think I'll just shout from the sidelines.
Player (206)
Joined: 5/29/2004
Posts: 5712
It looks the same to me besides the title logo...
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Joined: 11/17/2004
Posts: 42
The video for one game won't work on the other. My guess is that the title screen loads slower on one version, and with hex editing, you could add/remove frames to make the movies play on either version. Mazzic's version is very well done. He uses the "get inside the boss and bomb" trick that I didn't think anyone knew about yet. The other versions you linked to were not near as good. My "no damage" version was mostly faster than those "takes damage" videos for all but the escape level, which takes an abnormal amount of time for a "no damage" video.
Player (81)
Joined: 3/11/2005
Posts: 352
Location: Oregon
This is a great game, but I don't know if you'll get your tas published when a faster version is known to exist, even if yours doesn't take any damage. Your tas is good though, and I'd love to see it if you think you can get it faster than Mazzic's. I wish you luck, but vote no for now.
ideamagnate| .seen aqfaq <nothing happens> DK64_MASTER| .seen nesvideoagent * DK64_MASTER slaps forehead
Former player
Joined: 7/29/2005
Posts: 459
Location: Brazil
the name of the japanese version of this game is Seirei Densetsu Lickle.. dont u have to put the entire name when submiting a movie?! i.i im going to watch your movie now.. ^^ brb to cast my vote
<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>
Joined: 9/17/2005
Posts: 47
Truncated wrote:
I remember one previous video skipped a few levels somehow. But I cannot remember a password being used.
Finishing off the stage 1 (ruins) sorcerer/demon boss with the mouse's weapon lets you skip ahead to stage 7 (bubble cave, with the invisible platforms). Only the final attack matters - the mouse must be selected when the boss dies. I used FCEUXD SP to watch for another one, but this seems to be the only character-specific branch in the game. I also found a bunch of hidden passwords.
Former player
Joined: 7/29/2005
Posts: 459
Location: Brazil
ok.. watched it.. and mazzic's version too.. unft mazzic's version is better than yours in some good segments.. get the second boss as a good example i.i then.. this can be improved.. voting no to wait for a very well version to vote yes^^ this is an awesome game to put in the nesvideos list, so, keep the gj^^
<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>
Editor, Reviewer, Experienced player (978)
Joined: 4/17/2004
Posts: 3109
Location: Sweden
>Finishing off the stage 1 (ruins) sorcerer/demon boss with the mouse's weapon lets you skip ahead to stage 7 (bubble cave, with the invisible platforms). Only the final attack matters - the mouse must be selected when the boss dies. Thanks a lot for clearing that up. Looks like both a warp and a non-warp version could be made then.
Joined: 11/17/2004
Posts: 42
"I'd love to see it if you think you can get it faster than Mazzic's. " I don't think that is possible. I'll try the warp trick, but I don't make "takes damage" runs. I think they look sloppy even if they save signifigant time. I'll use some of his tricks though, I can save a good 15-30 seconds off of a "no damage" run with them, and who knows how much time I'll save with that warp.
Former player
Joined: 7/29/2005
Posts: 459
Location: Brazil
i cant wait to see^^
<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>
Editor, Reviewer, Experienced player (978)
Joined: 4/17/2004
Posts: 3109
Location: Sweden
>I don't think that is possible. I'm pretty confident it is. :) But I have at least two other games I want to do first, and progress is very slow. So this will have to wait, and I don't mind anyone beating me to it. Let me know if you're going to take a shot at it and I'll be glad to help out though.
Joined: 11/17/2004
Posts: 42
You're wrong. Unless there is some huge time savings we all aren't aware of, a no damage run won't beat 18 min. The last level just takes too long.
Editor, Reviewer, Experienced player (978)
Joined: 4/17/2004
Posts: 3109
Location: Sweden
Well, if you want to still take no damage, then it's probably not possible. I missed that part since it wasn't in the quote you responded to. But if you're going all out to really make it as fast as possible, I'm willing to help. I don't really see the point in taking no damage, especially since, as you said, the last level takes so long that way.
Former player
Joined: 7/29/2005
Posts: 459
Location: Brazil
why dont u two do a project together?^^
<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>
Emulator Coder, Skilled player (1310)
Joined: 12/21/2004
Posts: 2687
Animadverto wrote:
Unless there is some huge time savings we all aren't aware of...
I'm not talking directly about this case (for a no-damage run of this game [edit: that doesn't use the warp trick] I'm guessing you're right), but never underestimate how likely it is that there are still tricks nobody thinks are possible. It's a lot harder to find those tricks when you've decided they don't exist.
daniayaw wrote:
why dont u two do a project together?^^
Well they appear to be in disagreement about the best way to do it, for one thing...
Joined: 11/20/2004
Posts: 236
Location: United States
I think this movie was done exceedingly well. I've never played "Seirei Densetsu Lickle"/"Little Samson" before, but even I can tell this was done beautifully. I vote Yes.
I'm not that hard to find... if you know where to look. -=( http://jolikmc.tumblr.com )=-
Former player
Joined: 7/29/2005
Posts: 459
Location: Brazil
nitsuja wrote:
daniayaw wrote:
why dont u two do a project together?^^
Well they appear to be in disagreement about the best way to do it, for one thing...
im sure they can figure out together the better way to do^^ but not here, just throwing ideas in the forum.. right?!
<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>
Emulator Coder, Skilled player (1310)
Joined: 12/21/2004
Posts: 2687
This movie is done well, but it's clearly not completely optimized even for the parts where taking damage wouldn't be faster, and it seems to start out a little slow and then get better. (Mazzic's 1:39 WIP movie looks much closer to optimal on the first two levels, for example. And I haven't tested this, but didn't someone discover that Samson is faster at climbing upward than the mouse is?) Also, this game lends itself well to health management with the health-increasing items, multiple characters that have different health, and time-saving tricks that are possible when taking damage, so I think the no-damage restriction makes the run less interesting. It did seem like some of the damage taken in the previous runs was unnecessary, though. I'm not a fan of taking damage where some other solution would be just as fast.
TASVideosGrue
They/Them
Joined: 10/1/2008
Posts: 2784
Location: The dark corners of the TASVideos server
om, nom, nom... blech, stale!