Kaizo Mario World is one of the most well known hacks ever made. Created by T. Takemoto, this Japanese Super Mario World hack is well known for it's difficulty unique from SMW and SDW. The hack itself sparked the creation of an entire new genre of SMW hacks known as Kaizo hacks.
The literal translation of Kaizo Mario World is 自作の改造マリオ（スーパーマリオワールド）を友人にプレイさせる, or, "Making my friend play through my own Mario(Super Mario World) hack”, hence "Kaizo". The hack was originally intended to be played completely savestateless, though TAS runs of it are more popular. A common misconception is that TAS is arbitrary because using tools is the only way to complete this hack. This is proven false by PangaeaPanga's savestateless run of Kaizo.
Objectives
Emulator: SNES9x 1.43
Aims for fastest time
Running speed is picked up by the bullet bills, so we can keep running speed through the beginning. By picking up a bomb omb and bringing it to the end of the level, we can get a mushroom, which is useful in the next level. Time is saved by keeping running speed through the enemies and past the turnblock bridge.
Level 2
Instead of having to go to the switch palace, we skip it by taking damage at the beginning. We 6/5 through the dolphin parts and grinder parts, saving a lot of time from having to wait for the dolphins. I thought it would be possible to keep up P-meter at the end with the dolphins, so Amaraticando tried it, and it was possible.
Level 3
We tried to make this autoscrolling level as entertaining as possible. In the second room, we enter the pipe as fast as possible by ducking into the water and jumping out. Keeping the mushroom in this level is vital to the next level.
Level 4
This ghost house was broken a lot, first by glitching through blocks and skipping part of the level. We then use two p-switches to glitch through the floor, thus finishing the level quite quickly.
Level 5
Since the creator missed the fact that you can swim under tiles in SMW, we have no choice but to swim under almost all of the level. A shell is gotten in the second room to speed up swimming.
Level 6
The trick to the red switch palace is getting to 52 speed via the cloud LR glitch fastest. We are able to glitch through the munchers using this glitch. We also slide past the coin blocks into the pipe, skipping having to get the p-switch.
Level 7
This level is considered the hardest level in Kaizo Mario World, when using the intended solution. Of course, when do we ever use the intended solution? We are able to jump across the top of the level early on by walljumping. The second half is played normally, since jumping across the top in that part is impossible.
Level 8
Bowser's castle is composed of multiple mini rooms with different themes, much like the original SMW except harder. We start by walljumping to get to the grey platform earlier. I did this originally, but Amaraticando improved mine and got a corner boost in this jump. We were able to quickly slide past the thwomps in the next room by ducking. In the third room, we walljump again to get to the dolphins faster, saving some time. In the fourth room, Amaraticando saves a frame over my try by corner boosting. The fifth room has basic saw jumping.
Bowser
As mario sits at the top of the castle, waiting for his villainous archenemy to appear in his flying clown ship, he is surprised when he finds no such thing appear. In this hack, Bowser is invisible for the purpose of deterring victims even more. Since we have tools, we have no problem hitting Bowser, and we are able to use the same new innovative Bowser strategy found in the any% to save even more time.
Potential Improvements
Saving a couple lag frames in the first level pointed out by LegendaryJirachi.
Special Thanks
TheFinalBoss726, for having the previous fastest completion of this hack, and discovering a few breaks we used.
Thanks for watching!
Noxxa: Judging. I'll leave this one for someone else to judge.
Joined: 10/12/2011
Posts: 6336
Location: The land down under.
I liked it a-lot it was very entertaining to watch.
What you did in the first level was epic, screwing the hack just by getting a Mushroom to damage abuse and say, "SCREW THE RULES!"
Yes Vote
WebNations/Sabih wrote:
+fsvgm777 never censoring anything.
Disables Comments and Ratings for the YouTube account.Something better for yourself and also others.
Voted yes. While the second Kaizo game has been rejected before I feel that this one could be published. It is one of the most well known SMW hacks, and is certainly better known than the second one. Also it is a few minutes shorter than the second Kaizo game submission meaning there is less time to lose interest.
And finally, after playing this game it is entertaining to see it beat so thoroughly. Not only is the game beat extremely quickly but also the game is glitched to create shortcuts and finish even quicker.
Joined: 3/9/2004
Posts: 4588
Location: In his lab studying psychology to find new ways to torture TASers and forumers
Most of what I said here applies to this run also.
Strong no vote.
Warning: Opinions expressed by Nach or others in this post do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or position of Nach himself on the matter(s) being discussed therein.
Thanks for the comments so far.
Two things:
1) In the zip file, the title says "11.52.02", that was the time shown in the emulator. I don't know whether this is a big issue.
2) This encode uses another timing, so the actual movie file is slightly different at the end.
Fundamentally, I'd like to see this run published. It's a well known game and a tightly optimized run that utilizes glitches to break the game beyond what the creators of the hack anticipated. I'm only kind of disappointed the run doesn't visit the special world, but oh well, can't have everything.
This run was nice I guess, but I don't even know what the submitter is trying to accomplish. Felt like a 11:45 minute SMW playaround.
I don't understand your doubt, because this aims for fastest completion of the game (any%). Playaround only when we have to wait for something, like in the auto-scroll level.
TheKDX7 wrote:
It's the same video with a different timing (the description of the video explains it exactly). Splited in WOrld 1 and World 2, because all the previous runs had the same 'cut'.
This run was nice I guess, but I don't even know what the submitter is trying to accomplish. Felt like a 11:45 minute SMW playaround.
I don't understand your doubt, because this aims for fastest completion of the game (any%). Playaround only when we have to wait for something, like in the auto-scroll level.
TheKDX7 wrote:
It's the same video with a different timing (the description of the video explains it exactly). Splited in WOrld 1 and World 2, because all the previous runs had the same 'cut'.
I have to admit... I'm strongly against TASing this kind of hacks/games (aka IWBTG wanabes), as the main purpose of these hacks/games are to be endured through pain and perseverance.
Yet... This run is incredibly fun! You did an amazing job at keeping the watcher entertained, and not "just" avoiding hideous traps.
Kudos to you, good sir. Yes vote.
This run was nice I guess, but I don't even know what the submitter is trying to accomplish. Felt like a 11:45 minute SMW playaround.
I don't understand your doubt, because this aims for fastest completion of the game (any%). Playaround only when we have to wait for something, like in the auto-scroll level.
I mean the accomplishment as in progression with the levels. For example a DKC TAS. The levels change according to the worlds giving new challenges, and explanation. Giving a sense that they're getting further in. This hack is challenging but other than supposedly saving the princess. I can't see any logic behind this game of what you're supposed to do other than survive.
I thought the run was really entertaining (especially the autoscroller level) and I liked watching you break the levels.
This belongs on the site. Yes vote.
Joined: 8/14/2009
Posts: 4083
Location: The Netherlands
I've already voiced my opinion of the run before, but I'll state it here again, and expand on it. I like it, it's a very nice run, and it's especially fun how in many levels, glitches are abused to bypass some of the traps and go through the stages in unintended ways.
The only thing I think is a shame about the run is that you didn't do the Special Stages. (Although admittedly, there is no real reason to do those, as they don't offer anything meaningful towards game completion i.e. reaching the credits/end screen).
Now, the biggest issue towards judging this run, though, is the hack itself. Let's pick out the criteria for hacks on the Wiki: JudgeGuidelines page:
JudgeGuidelines wrote:
A hack must be judged for its entertainment value as its own separate game but also in context to the original game.
Personally, I find the run to be quite entertaining on multiple levels. In context to the original game, it's notably much harder (although not impossibly hard, as noted in the submission text; and other comparable games, such as I Wanna Be The Guy, for example, are much harder even). There's death in every direction in every level, but in this run Mario doesn't care and goes through all it anyway. It stands on its own because of its difficulty, as well; you don't necessarily have to have played Super Mario World to enjoy the gameplay of this hack (that is, if you actually do enjoy these types of games), nor to enjoy watching others play it.
The tool-assisted speedrun of the run itself is also quite entertaining. The run doesn't just follow the rules/route of the hack; it frequently breaks out of the levels' intended route using glitches or other tricks. This sequence breaking makes for nice unexpected twists, especially if you have played the game before. It also manages to be entertaining in general with its highly optimized, skilled gameplay, rushing through the stages in record time.
Many people here seem to agree as well that this run is very entertaining, for mostly similar reasons.
JudgeGuidelines wrote:
Too many hacks of the same game engine causes the same issues as too many categories of the same game.
There is, so far, only one other hack of the SMW engine published, which is Super Demo World. On the other hand, there are games with more hacks of them published (i.e. Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog, which both have two hacks of them published). So it can't be said that two hacks is too much.
I think it's also worth mentioning that SMW is probably one of the, if not the most level-hacked games in the world. There are large communities dedicated entirely to SMW hacking.
As for too many categories, well, it's still less than Super Metroid + hacks in its current state.
JudgeGuidelines wrote:
Quality of the hack should come into play as well. Hacks where only sprites are altered do not make for quality hacks. By contrast, a good hack alters the levels, the physics, the sprites, expands the overall game play, and even combines elements of other games to the point it doesn't feel like the same game engine.
This is arguably Kaizo Mario World's worst problem, and it also is primarily what got the submission of Kaizo Mario World 2 rejected. The Kaizo series of hacks mostly lack the looks of a good or even decent hack. Floating munchers everywhere, arrays of floating blocks that pass for platforms, no graphical changes, no sound or music changes, and some aspects look like they're sloppily or lazily modified for difficulty, such as the (invisible) Bowser fight. However, I think this is made up for by the other things that make this hack notable and memorable: the pure difficulty, which is just about right for the type of game (it's impossible to call it easy by any stretch, but it's not as impossible as some other similar games or successor hacks; in fact, from experience, I know it's more forgiving than it looks), the level design is not bad (if you don't mind the looks of walls of floating munchers), and, well, it's fun to see players give it a shot. (God knows how many people have Let's Played this one).
JudgeGuidelines wrote:
Popularity of the hack needs to be considered.
Kaizo Mario World is one of the most famous hacks of the game (and, as noted, there are a lot of hacks of the game). I'm fairly sure it's popular enough to count.
All in all, I see this hack having enough going for it that it deserves to be published here. It's got the popularity and entertainment going for it, and I think it makes up enough for the shoddy visual looks of the hack.
I vote yes.
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa
<dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects.
<Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits
<adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
The run doesn't just follow the rules/route of the hack; it frequently breaks out of the levels' intended route using glitches or other tricks. This sequence breaking makes for nice unexpected twists, especially if you have played the game before.
To my mind, this was the biggest argument against the Kaizo 2 run, that the TASed run was indistinguishable from a sufficiently well-done run by a normal player using savestates.
I didn't see that in this run. The author purposely deviates from the expected route on several occasions, i.e., not using the blue turtle shell in the fire level, glitching through floors in the boo level or the walls in the swimming level, etc. To me this is clearly distinguishable as a TASed run.
I would think future SMW hacks would be judged on this criteria also, which is consistent with the original rejection of the Kaizo 2 run for mainly following the "expected" route.
Echoing support of all of Nach's points. It's only reasonable possible for 99.9% of players to beat it using save states or other TAS tools anyway, so the only part that's particularly different is the autoscroller section. One autoscroller, which practically every Mario game has, plus a couple sequence breaks using tricks known for years and I'm fairly sure most, if not all, of them are in the other Mario TASes already, so an easy no for game choice.
I'd be a lot more amenable if it was one of the hacks that DOES require the game engine be utterly broken open since those tend to show off a lot more of the glitches, particularly the more esoteric ones. This is just a halfway middle ground relic from years ago with poor design. Its intention certainly IS to force the player into a tunnel of 'perfect' play which is trivial for a TAS. That the hack screwed up and accidentally left a couple ways to get out of that tunnel doesn't really speak too much to its favor to me when the rest of the aesthetic design is utterly terrible.
I feel that Kaizo Mario World is one of the best hacks to impose the "kusoge" feeling of games on Super Mario World. One of the kusoge definitions is a game which is comparable to excrement due to unplayable difficulty, whether by poor control, poor design, or simply developers who enjoy watching their audience squirm. This one nails that third kind.
See http://www.japangameloser.com/2009/01/22/japanese-for-gamers-101-kusoge/ for a definition and a few examples.
Essentially, Kaizo Mario World is the distilled frustration of our youth. To our younger and lesser skilled selves playing Mario for the first time, some levels may as well have been this intentionally sadistic as we were grounded for hurling the Nintendium alloy controller through a thin layer of drywall. To give it a less romanticized view, it's a bit of mockery and a bit of celebration over the hellishly hard games of the past which were certainly not designed with the intention that everyone should be able to beat it before giving up. It also gives a bit of nostalgia such as how Yoshi must be sacrificed to the lava pits in order to survive, that ultimate act of betrayal on Mario's part after Yoshi was the only reason he could pass a significant part of the level earlier. I'll give that the hack appears rather lazy and often really is. I'd say that being clever and being lazy are not mutually exclusive. The idea of an invisible Bowser is hilarious. The difficulty is entirely artificial, yet it fits perfectly with the kusoge theme in that it doesn't have to make sense, it just has to be grossly unfair and infuriating, but someone, somewhere can beat it so that means you can't give up just yet.
I may be seeing art where others see crap, but I think this particular hack isn't unfair in a way where they want it to be impossible, but rather designed specifically to demoralize the player as much as possible while the design shows it is entirely possible to beat the level if it is done perfectly. While a standard player with save states would create something that looks vaguely similar, the ease and flair on display manage to mock even expected solutions. I'll admit to having a soft spot for this kind of thing done well, and this is a shining example of what a kusoge hack is all about. I agree that hacks should be carefully examined and that most "hell mode" difficulty hacks are horribly unwatchable. I also think that this hack along with a few original SMB hacks really show off what the kusoge idea is all about in caricature. Yes vote, very pleased to see this one up for consideration at the least.
Most of what I said here applies to this run also.
Strong no vote.
I agree. Besides the fact the hack lacks professional polish, I don't even think a hack being super-hard for the sake of being super-hard warrants a published TAS on this site.
To me it's barely different from a run of NES Super Mario Bros Frustration/Forever, which also doesn't deserve to be published since the game is virtually unbeatable withOUT being tool-assisted in some way (even if it's just using savestates over and over without the use of slowdowns), so what's the point of the hack even existing? For that matter, I don't even think NES Air and Air 2 deserve to be published for the same reasons (Air 2 actually is). They can be interesting to watch, but do they really deserve to be published here?
A hack that deserves to be published IMO is one like Super Mario Adventure, which is an excellent hack, and is actually fun to play without the use of any emulator tools.
If at first you don't succeed, load your savestate and try again
