In this game one of the title characters must use his jumping and spinning ability to traverse levels blatantly stolen from Mario, Sonic and Tiny Toons to gather keys and fight bosses to win.

Game objectives

  • Emulator used: fceux 2.1.6 with TAS Editor
  • Aims for fastest time
  • Takes no damage
  • Genre: Platformer

Game Description

Buzz and Waldog is a surprisingly good looking prototype of a game created by Korean game makers Daou Infosys. It was originally released in Korea under the name of Koko Adventure with a planned US release but due to issues never hit the states. Luckily a, by all appearances, complete version was leaked and is now available to play. As I said before a lot of graphics from the game are stolen from Super Mario World with a few other games and original content thrown in, but were combined to create a visually pleasing game.
In the game the goal is to collect a certain number of keys dispersed throughout each level to progress to the next stage. In total there are 5 worlds that must be completed with each world made up of 3 levels and one unique boss battle. After completing the 5 worlds you must again beat each of the previous bosses and then a new final boss.
The gameplay is relatively simple but can be quite fast paced. The traditional movement is to simply run left or right. Another version of moving is to jump which maintains the maximum velocity but has slower acceleration. There are two jumps available the traditional jump and a jump attack. Finally, upon reaching a certain velocity or when traveling down slopes there is an option to slide.
While running your speed varies from 0 to 3 pixels per second. Your character has both an acceleration and momentum property so conserving velocity is key to traverse levels as quickly as possible. This momentum also has the negative result that to completely change direction as is necessary to gather certain keys can take a while.
The traditional jump allows for higher and longer jumps than the attack but the spinning attack jump is the only normal way to attack and defeat enemies. The spin attack can be used to destroy enemies, who usually take 1 or 2 attacks to die, and to destroy blocks that are in the path. When your spin attack hits an enemy or block you are bounced off that can range from almost falling off to being launched as high as a second jump. In addition to the height variance of the jump the spin attack also results in a change of velocity so that you are thrown off at a slightly random velocity dependent on the speed upon collision, angle of collision and position on the item hit. Finally upon collecting power ups your normal jump can be enhanced. The first enhancement is winged shoes that allow for you to do a second jump in midair. Perfect double jumps allow for a few shortcuts to be taken throughout the run and reach areas previously unattainable. Gathering this power-up is the first thing accomplished in the run as it both improve the speed of the level and is necessary to complete later levels. The second power-up is the feather which allows for the falling speed to be decreased which allows for much further jumps. This power-up can improve certain levels but is neither convenient or make an appreciable difference so it is not gathered until quite a distance into the run.
Sliding is the final way to travel in the levels. When sliding down the hill your velocity begins at your current running speed and then can increase to 4 pixels per frame allowing for faster traveling. In addition to faster travel sliding is also the preferred means of transportation because it can cause damage to enemies. Upon colliding with the enemies the same bounce off occurs as what happens with the spin attack but allows you to maintain your 4 pixel per frame velocity so this can be used to maintain high velocities for longer. In certain situations the slide is not used when enemy collisions or increased velocities would result in improper placement or cause damage to the character.

Bosses

All of the bosses are technically different but are handled identically in this run. Each of the bosses have different attacks and modes of moving but they all take damage in the same way. To damage a boss you must simply spin into certain damage zones on their body 6 times which will cause them to explode and allow you to move on. As said they each have different attacks and movement styles but as they are defeated so quickly many of the individual quirks are not seen in this run.

Level Completed Screen

For the most part this game has a pretty solid pacing excluding the level completed screen. It counts down both time and level complete bonuses and can be boring to sit through. I have been told that isn't as miserable to casual viewers but for how many times I have watched this run now it can be annoying and I apologize for that as it cannot be skipped.

Other Comments

Input could potentially end 41 frames earlier and result in the exact same game completion time but would result in damage being taken. I decided that preserving the damage free run without extending the time to reach the end screen is worth the extra less than second of input.
As it is a prototype never released in the US there is a chance many of you will not have a version in your collection so here is a link to a rom. It has been listed on the game page for a few months so I thought it was OK but if not feel free to remove this paragraph.
In the end this is a fast paced platformer TAS and I hope you enjoy.

turska: Judging.
feos: module:youtube.

turska: Good audience response, solid run. Accepting for publication.

Guga: Processing...

TASVideoAgent
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #3616: goofydylan8's NES Buzz and Waldog in 20:51.24
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Encoding.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
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goofeydalen pls
true on twitch - lsnes windows builds 20230425 - the date this site is buried
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Pleasant enough. Double-jump use definitely added to it. I'll give it a yes.
Warepire
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I don't think the YT encode is complete. It ends after 10 minutes.
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Damn. Processing again.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
Hopper262
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The double jumping and environmental traversal to collect keys makes it pretty interesting for an NES game. However, with the graphics, moves, and bits of levels blatantly ripped from SMW, I can't help but evaluate this as an SMW hack. By those standards, they swapped out varied and distinct power-ups for relatively minor physics tweaks, and added extremely slow door transitions and score counting. Watching this, I just end up thinking, "why aren't I watching a real Mario game instead?" Not voting, as I've only seen the first ten minutes of feos' encode, and I'm in no mood to see any more. It's a shame, I'd enjoy the run if it weren't reminding me of a better game on every single frame.
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feos: Thanks for the encode in advance. True: k TheReflexWonder: Thanks Hopper262: Understandable. As I said in the submission text that they did take quite a bit from SMW and as a Korean pirate it is only slightly above rom hack. My hope was that it was a solid enough hack to be entertaining on its own.
NitroGenesis
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Pretty enjoyable. The game is nice to look at and has a good sense of speed. It started to get a little repetitive, then it ended. :) Yes voted.
YoungJ1997lol wrote:
Normally i would say Yes, but thennI thought "its not the same hack" so ill stick with meh.
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I watched this on the YouTube encode. It says there's supposed to be 20 minutes' worth of video, but I only saw 9 minutes, at which point I looked for (and did not find) any kind of second-half video. I was strangely charmed by the gameplay, so what I saw was entertaining to watch; so far I'm compelled to vote Yes. However, I find presently that having only been able to see what is obviously only the first half, I am currently going to withhold my vote, because where's the rest of the video?? o.O (Will edit this later if/when second half gets posted before formal judging.)
1/60 of a second is important; every frame matters.
NitroGenesis
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Ace Of Hearts, reading above could help you :)
YoungJ1997lol wrote:
Normally i would say Yes, but thennI thought "its not the same hack" so ill stick with meh.
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Couldn't a few frames be saved by ensuring the character is on the right side of the screen when a boss fight ends instead of breaking the blocks? Does Waldog handle differently?
AnS
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Yes vote. But I don't get how you can call this "SMW romhack". Super Mario World is a SNES game. This is NES game.
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deuxhero wrote:
Couldn't a few frames be saved by ensuring the character is on the right side of the screen when a boss fight ends instead of breaking the blocks? Does Waldog handle differently?
I tried this out and it takes exactly the same number of frames to get to the level completed screen regardless of where you are located on the screen. So regardless of if you are on the far right edge of the screen or far left it will take the same time. In my tests Waldog handled identically but there could be something I measured incorrectly. Ans: Thanks for the yes vote. That is true. I just didn't correct him completely because while not a SMW hack it does use some graphics from it and it is a pirate rom.
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The video was updated.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
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I had the same question as deuxhero (well, at least the first question), but then stage 3-2 happened. Question answered! This was an excellent game choice for TASing, even if it really ought to have been called "Buzz OR Waldog," and it was run well, quite pleasant to watch. Yes vote.
Post subject: Movie published
TASVideoAgent
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This movie has been published. The posts before this message apply to the submission, and posts after this message apply to the published movie. ---- [2054] NES Buzz and Waldog by goofydylan8 in 20:51.24
Post subject: Re: #3616: goofydylan8's NES Buzz and Waldog in 20:51.24
fsvgm777
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TASVideoAgent wrote:
<h3>Level Completed Screen</h3><div class="deeper"> For the most part this game has a pretty solid pacing excluding the level completed screen. It counts down both time and level complete bonuses and can be boring to sit through. I have been told that isn't as miserable to casual viewers but for how many times I have watched this run now it can be annoying and I apologize for that as it cannot be skipped. </div>
This is not true. It can be skipped by pressing either A or B (not too sure right now). Have this FM2 as proof. (done unassisted, by the way)
Steam Community page - Cohost profile Oh, I'm just a concerned observer.
Post subject: Re: #3616: goofydylan8's NES Buzz and Waldog in 20:51.24
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fsvgm777 wrote:
TASVideoAgent wrote:
<h3>Level Completed Screen</h3><div class="deeper"> For the most part this game has a pretty solid pacing excluding the level completed screen. It counts down both time and level complete bonuses and can be boring to sit through. I have been told that isn't as miserable to casual viewers but for how many times I have watched this run now it can be annoying and I apologize for that as it cannot be skipped. </div>
This is not true. It can be skipped by pressing either A or B (not too sure right now). Have this FM2 as proof. (done unassisted, by the way)
Well damn. Where were you 3 or 4 weeks ago? It can indeed be skipped through hitting A or B on the exact correct frame. It doesn't even affect a single bit of luck. Mods/Admins... I will leave this at your mercy but I have to ask do I need to resubmit this file to get this faster time published? I literally click A 80 frames after the end level screen begins and press B 65 frames later and it saves 5 minutes and 7.1 seconds without changing a single frame of input in levels. Is there a way I could just have the file change or do I have to go through the submission process again? I know this will greatly increase the entertainment so I don't see why it wouldn't be accepted but I don't want to bog up the submission feed if I don't have to.
Post subject: Re: #3616: goofydylan8's NES Buzz and Waldog in 20:51.24
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goofydylan8 wrote:
fsvgm777 wrote:
TASVideoAgent wrote:
<h3>Level Completed Screen</h3><div class="deeper"> For the most part this game has a pretty solid pacing excluding the level completed screen. It counts down both time and level complete bonuses and can be boring to sit through. I have been told that isn't as miserable to casual viewers but for how many times I have watched this run now it can be annoying and I apologize for that as it cannot be skipped. </div>
This is not true. It can be skipped by pressing either A or B (not too sure right now). Have this FM2 as proof. (done unassisted, by the way)
Well damn. Where were you 3 or 4 weeks ago? It can indeed be skipped through hitting A or B on the exact correct frame. It doesn't even affect a single bit of luck. Mods/Admins... I will leave this at your mercy but I have to ask do I need to resubmit this file to get this faster time published? I literally click A 80 frames after the end level screen begins and press B 65 frames later and it saves 5 minutes and 7.1 seconds without changing a single frame of input in levels. Is there a way I could just have the file change or do I have to go through the submission process again? I know this will greatly increase the entertainment so I don't see why it wouldn't be accepted but I don't want to bog up the submission feed if I don't have to.
Just resubmit.
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turska wrote:
goofydylan8 wrote:
fsvgm777 wrote:
TASVideoAgent wrote:
<h3>Level Completed Screen</h3><div class="deeper"> For the most part this game has a pretty solid pacing excluding the level completed screen. It counts down both time and level complete bonuses and can be boring to sit through. I have been told that isn't as miserable to casual viewers but for how many times I have watched this run now it can be annoying and I apologize for that as it cannot be skipped. </div>
This is not true. It can be skipped by pressing either A or B (not too sure right now). Have this FM2 as proof. (done unassisted, by the way)
Well damn. Where were you 3 or 4 weeks ago? It can indeed be skipped through hitting A or B on the exact correct frame. It doesn't even affect a single bit of luck. Mods/Admins... I will leave this at your mercy but I have to ask do I need to resubmit this file to get this faster time published? I literally click A 80 frames after the end level screen begins and press B 65 frames later and it saves 5 minutes and 7.1 seconds without changing a single frame of input in levels. Is there a way I could just have the file change or do I have to go through the submission process again? I know this will greatly increase the entertainment so I don't see why it wouldn't be accepted but I don't want to bog up the submission feed if I don't have to.
Just resubmit.
Re-encoding hehe.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.