I decided to make a run of Blues Brothers for the Game Boy. This game is very different from the NES version, which already has a run here. The biggest change is the level design, which was given a complete overhaul in this version, although the settings of each level are still the same.

This game is also full of glitches absent in the NES version. The most notable one is the L+R glitch. By holding L+R and jumping into a wall, your character will get stuck and become able to jump again. This allows for entire areas to be totally bypassed. This works on most types of walls except for some in level 3.

Nearly all of level 1 is skipped because of the fact that holding L+R while landing on certain tiles allows the player to fall through the ground. Because the tiles are so close to the ground in this level, it allows the player to wrap around the screen and land in the ending area. The balloon has to be grabbed or else I won't stop falling... In level 2, the glitch allows the player to hop up near the tube that transports Elwood to the end of the level very early on, and then glitch into the tube (as it is meant to be only entered from the left). Level 3's route is severely shortened as the player is able to skip several sections, including a lengthy climbing segment at the end of the level which is bypassed by falling through the floor. Level 4's maze element is nearly wholly absent because a few key areas can be totally skipped, and the final level's challenges are essentially non-existant due to the fact that the glitch allows the player to climb to the top of the level with ease and then glitch through a wall to the game's ending.

Jumping up tiles faster than the camera, which can only be done when there's a rather tall series of them, will cause the game's graphics to glitch. The level stays intact, but the enemies and graphics will be wholly displaced. Although this glitch looks cool it is barely useful due to the fact that enemies will end up in places they aren't meant to be thus making it impossible to avoid taking damage. It is only used once in this run near the end of level 4 where it displaces a few enemies that would have cost a lot of time to dodge. Another minor bug that is only used once is the midair jump: when a level first loads there is a one frame window where the game thinks you are standing on the ground allowing you to jump. It is only used in the final level and is probably useless elsewhere.

Damage taking is one of the most important aspects of this run. Health recovering items are scarce in the route this run takes, and there is only one collected in this run in level 3. Because of this damage taking has to be planned out well. This game is not like the NES Blues Brothers game where dying will cause you to instantly respawn. I had to keep track of the biggest savings from damage taking while TASing, it was strenuous. Thankfully it was pretty clear in most cases where the damage would be taken, so it wasn't that hard, but it did add a bit of strategy to this game which I wasn't expecting.

Overall this was a pretty fun run to make. I discovered the game a while ago while sifting through a list of Game Boy games to try and find a fun one to TAS, and at first it didn't seem like it would make a good run until I discovered the L+R glitch a few days ago and decided to run it fully. The many bugs make the game quite different from the NES version and pretty entertaining throughout if I can say. It was a pretty fun experience bug hunting and breaking a game that hasn't recieved any attention from other speedrunners. Hope it can stand on its own against the NES version : )

Samsara: Judging.

Samsara: I always like seeing these underappreciated games getting new/improved runs. Accepting to Moons.

fsvgm777: Processing.