A couple of Waixing unlicensed Journey to the West games.
Xi Tian Qu Jing II, this game requires playing in Dendy PAL region, otherwise will crash on boss room transitions. Mostly just walk thru the levels with a few death abuses, probably one or two more you could do, only issue is losing your powerups on death. You can also clip thru some floors, some combination of A then B will bump you a little into the floor, I don't know if you can do it on any floor.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBYWKf-lPk8
Zhen Jia Hou Wang, this had an old WIP but I don't believe one was ever finished. This is a single screen by screen platformer, similar to the other game it's mostly just walking thru with a few death abuses, dying spawns you in the top left of the screen so not the most useful. You can also clip into some platforms, if you hold against them and attack just before the top you can walk into them. Might be useful somewhere but usually once you transition to the next screen you fall and die.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6RByZfE1uo
Slime Trials, a really short game from the recent 2023 GB Compo. Platformer with grappling/swinging. You can get some really fast momentum sometimes off really short swings. I also managed to barely clip into a wall, not sure it's useful.
Game - https://canight.itch.io/slime-trials
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuuHoDi0_JM
Wonder Dog on Sega CD. A speedy platformer, goal is just to get to the end of the stages, and bosses are weak to mashing. I imagine a TAS could do most stages without slowing down. There are invisible platforms hidden around that are occasionally useful. There's a small skip in Scrapyard 2, you can enter and leave a hidden zone to bypass an obstacle. The 3rd boss on Planet Foggia is strange, you can clip your stars thru the pipe and hit the boss while it's supposed to be safe but it seems inconsistent.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMCR9lwP4Ic
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein on Sega CD, totally different from the Genesis/SNES version, this is an adventure game with 2D fighting boss fights. The adventure parts are pretty straightforward, not much you can skip. For the fights I believe they react to you so you can probably manipulate them all to do what you want.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2-LTYLY8H4
I was thinking of doing this one next, that run will help a lot.
Cool, as always feel free to DM if you have any questions about the route.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein on Sega CD, totally different from the Genesis/SNES version, this is an adventure game with 2D fighting boss fights. The adventure parts are pretty straightforward, not much you can skip. For the fights I believe they react to you so you can probably manipulate them all to do what you want.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2-LTYLY8H4
Done, I made a movie of the Hard route. Like I say in the description, I'm using a hack that fixes the dpad controls to be in line with Solstice/Snake Rattle n Roll/other isometric games, I just literally can't play it with default controls, it breaks my brain. Just shoot me a DM if you want the patch for the hack.
Hey, many thanks! I believe the patch will be needed to reproduce the movie. Could you please upload it somewhere or where it is linked?
Airball, an unreleased isometric platformer, kinda like Solstice but as a ball. There are a couple of prototype ROMs but I ran on the the Retrozone version ROM, a 2007 reproduction, but it seems to be functionally the same as Proto 1. Overall goal is to collect 7 items and bring them back to the starting room. Get the Spellbook and then you can start turning in the other items. You can only hold 1 item at a time, so the route is travel to the items and deathwarp back, avoiding any airpumps as they act as checkpoints. For whatever reason after a game over, the Cross item will move from it's set location, to the room you game over in. So that is used to avoid having to go pick it up.
Three difficulties, the items all in different spots in each one. Medium and Hard you can die falling from too high and from overfilling the ball with air, Hard you die in 1 hit to damaging obstacles. Hitting Select in Medium or Hard toggles on super speed, I would assume a TAS keeps it on the whole time. Happy to share my maps if anyone plans to make a TAS.
RTA runs
Easy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0lgxf5Oie0
Medium - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIA2upiawqY
Hard - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIlEJNVKrP8
Hey, thanks for bringing this up. Looks like a real cool game to TAS so I'm gonna put it in my bucket list. One thing you could do as RTA runner is to record a movie of a complete Hard run and upload it as user file. It doesn't have to perfect; the goal is to have it as a base line to build the TAS upon. It's much better than reverse engineering the route from the YouTube video.
Done, I made a movie of the Hard route. Like I say in the description, I'm using a hack that fixes the dpad controls to be in line with Solstice/Snake Rattle n Roll/other isometric games, I just literally can't play it with default controls, it breaks my brain. Just shoot me a DM if you want the patch for the hack.
Airball, an unreleased isometric platformer, kinda like Solstice but as a ball. There are a couple of prototype ROMs but I ran on the the Retrozone version ROM, a 2007 reproduction, but it seems to be functionally the same as Proto 1. Overall goal is to collect 7 items and bring them back to the starting room. Get the Spellbook and then you can start turning in the other items. You can only hold 1 item at a time, so the route is travel to the items and deathwarp back, avoiding any airpumps as they act as checkpoints. For whatever reason after a game over, the Cross item will move from it's set location, to the room you game over in. So that is used to avoid having to go pick it up.
Three difficulties, the items all in different spots in each one. Medium and Hard you can die falling from too high and from overfilling the ball with air, Hard you die in 1 hit to damaging obstacles. Hitting Select in Medium or Hard toggles on super speed, I would assume a TAS keeps it on the whole time. Happy to share my maps if anyone plans to make a TAS.
RTA runs
Easy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0lgxf5Oie0
Medium - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIA2upiawqY
Hard - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIlEJNVKrP8
Makai Prince Dorabocchan on PC Engine, a basic platformer. There are red armor powerups which make your shot much stronger, so I'd guess a TAS would keep it the whole run. Bosses seem to be pretty random, I didn't find a good strat for Stage 4 boss.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho_4MNysaAw
Didn't see a wishlist for Amstrad.
Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles on Amstrad CPC, a nice little port of the NES game. Fairly simple and short run.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FkHfh6jeys
Super Hunchback on GB, a regular platformer. You only need to reach the bell at the end of the screen. There are some things I don't understand about the game, seemingly certain projectiles are on some kind of full game global timer? They varied run to run so I'm not sure if it's global or not. There are also warp zones that appear, I'm forced to enter one at the start of Stage 5, but I think you can somehow manipulate them to not be in your way. Collecting the letters EXTRA will give you another life, idk if taking deaths to make the score countdown lower is potentially faster.
The skip on the final area of Stage 6, that I use a cannonball for, can be done by just making jumps, but they were a little too tight for me. The platform cycle at the start of the last area of Stage 7 can be made by not slowing down, but not knowing where the fireballs were going to be made it risky to go for.
Nice set of maps for every level - http://radiopoultry.com/oldgames/maps/SuperHunchback/
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvdlLiz_J1A
Super Skateboardin', a very short run, you have to go around the building and hit every item that's using electricity. I think my route is solid but I could have overlooked something. Happy to send the map of my route if anyone is interested in doing a TAS, just shoot me a DM.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBF9QXWhhtg
Santa Claus Junior, Christmas themed platformer. There is a TAS for the GBA version, but that is a different game, this one is a good bit shorter. You just need to make to it the exit of every level. You get an extra life and instant health refill for collecting 25 candy canes, so I routed to get it after a bunch of intentional damage.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN7pM-X9_yw
Pitfall: Beyond the Jungle, platformer. Has committed jumps and insta death fall damage. The run is mostly managing damage, you can only take a few hits, and making the earliest cycles you can. Vines and steam/fire are on global timers from the level starting, and at least for the vines I think I'm making the earliest cycles, but maybe there's another one somewhere.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ2EaIVJs_A
Nightmare in the Dark on Neo Geo, sorta horror Snow Bros style game. Pretty short, only 25 levels, including 5 bosses. Mainly just need to get the potions as soon as possible. It's also possible to clip thru slopes and also have the fireball clip thru, might be useful on some levels. Definitely quite a bit of RNG, seems most enemies can do lots of different things once they spawn, and bosses have RNG with movement and giving enemies to use against them.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs5ISbk_p60
Cyber-Lip on Neo Geo, mostly autoscrolling run n gun. Probably wouldn't be the most interesting TAS without a lot of playing around, but I'll mention anything that doesn't have one yet. Some major RNG in the run for RTA, there are four in between level elevators, and each has a 50% chance of taking you to an interim sewer level, before the actual next level, and this costs at least 50 secs if it happens. Also the final boss can appear in a number of different doors on the final level, from messing around it appears to be seeded from when you skip the cutscene before, and you can have it appear in the first available door, as I get in my run.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM8I3pYAVUY
Nice, I missed there was a 2 player one.
Avenging Spirit/Phantasm. There's a TAS of the GB port, but I don't see one for the Arcade original. Stage layouts are pretty similar but the major difference is that you can't leave a body whenever you want, you have to make the character you're in die before you can be a ghost again. Route seems pretty solid but I wouldn't be surprised to see improvements. Mainly I think grabbing a Vampire in Stage 3 may be theoretically faster, since he moves faster in the air. Also noticed you can shoot faster by canceling the slight cool down by ducking after shooting, I managed to 1 cycle the Stage 4 boss like that.
Bad Ending RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G3euu3_8q8
Good Ending RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_cp8U_srik
A clip showing Down canceling. Firing a weapon then mashing Down cause the bullets to come out really fast. If you are next to a boss, you never reach the bullet limit (4 on screen for laser guy) so you can one cycle the Stage 4 boss. Would probably be useful on other bosses as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2RLFzskZAk
Bay Route, a Sunsoft run n gun. Pretty similar to Contra but with Ninja Spirit style weapon swapping, you can switch at any time and power up each individually. Enemy spawns seem to be pretty consistent and powerup drops are mostly consistent, but I think they can probably be manip-ed.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blSZh_RF8Jc
GunForce, an IREM run n gun. Short run with a few different weapons. I think a TAS would probably keep one of the stronger weapons and just mash on all the bosses. Levels themselves are not very complex.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB6OlhtQo24
Dangan GB2, a GBC homebrew bullet hell boss rush. Sequel to Dangan GB, just 6 bullet hell bosses. I don't believe there is a difference between the 2 characters, other than the special weapon. One had a screen clear bomb, other has a 3 second shield.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PbLBgXP-Dg
Game freely available here, https://snorpung.itch.io/dangan-gb2
The Astyanax, I think the only main routing consideration is when to pick up the lightning (full screen attack) for clearing out enemies, some screens will not progress until enemies are cleared. I believe a fully charged axe attack does 3 damage, and you can do many more single attack hits in that time, so it's only really worth getting a full charge to occasionally kill regular enemies.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96X5W0XW9AU
Ninja Kazan, slow paced ninja game, I found two large skips, one in Stage 2 and one in Stage 4. I assume a TAS would skip any weapon upgrades so the boss fights would be a little harder, but pretty much the same route besides that.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aGwWf05lCc
Little Sisyphus, an awesome new homebrew, a physics based platformer. I could see a TAS of this being super entertaining. There are likely some skips you can do with the bumpers, I got one once, but super hard RTA. A short run, RTA already under 4 mins, I wouldn't be surprised to see low or sub 3 TAS.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0NMnM2cBLk
Game link - https://pubbygames.itch.io/little-sisyphus
Götzendiener PCE CD, fairly short and simple adventure/puzzle game. Not much to the game, so it's mostly walking around. I think my route is solid, but I could have missed something, especially on the falling cave part.
RTA run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yji6syBxr2g