Game objectives

  • Emulator used: Bizhawk 2.2
  • Takes damage to save time
  • Starts from saved SRAM

Comments

Diddy has a few important differences from DK. First of all, there are no bananas out in the open. As that is how you get the vast majority of bananas with DK, there are far fewer bananas available to Diddy. Second, Diddy is much floatier than DK. Specifically, when flinging from a peg, Diddy has the same initial speed as DK, but his deceleration is slower. This allows Diddy to make higher jumps than DK is able to. Third, Diddy's charge attack goes about half the length of DK's. And finally, Diddy doesn't have to sit through Cranky's tutorial. I guess Cranky assumed DK didn't know how to walk, and jump, and eat bananas, but Diddy knows all that stuff. Makes sense, right?

Individual level comments

Banana Bungalow

Very straightforward first level. Nearly identical to DK.

Contraption Cave

Since there aren't the 5 bananas in the middle in screen 1, I'm able to go around the Kremling to the left, and not have to wait for it at all. In screen 2, Diddy is able to reach the upper pegboard without pulling the lever. In screen 3, I use the tire to make a big jump all the way straight to the goal.

Puzzling Pyramid

In screen 1, Diddy can jump high enough to not need to damage boost. Luckily, because otherwise we'd have beeping throughout pretty much the entire TAS again.

Tropical Treetops

Another really simple level.

Congtazuma's Castle

This strat works by moving to Congtazuma's right, to make him jump in that direction. Since he's already as far to the right as possible, he has no room to jump, and becomes vulnerable right away. Doing this for all three cycles, this saves a whopping 12 seconds! This strat works perfectly good for DK too, but was discovered shortly after the DK TAS was published.

Cactus Woods

Screen 2 is a great opportunity to collect bananas. I need to have 20 bananas by Fire Necky, so it's perfect that this level comes before then. Unfortunately, taking the time to get the second set of 5 lets the bee move directly above me, and I need to kill it.

Madcap Mine

I really like the last jump in screen 1, how I really use both hands to get the optimal position and angle. In screen 2, I take a little bit of extra time to collect 5 bananas. In the third screen, because Diddy can jump higher, I don't need to even pull 2 of the 3 cranks.

Treacherous Twister

This level is also very straightforward, and very similar to DK.

Necky's Canyon

Since I don't have a Banana Boost to use here, I need to use multiple rocks to break through the wall. Even though it usually only requires 4 rocks, I throw 2 more, just because I can. I couldn't manage to break the right spots with 4 rocks in 2 spins, so I threw in a couple extras since it wouldn't waste time. I also collect the last 5 bananas necessary for Fire Necky in this level.

Fire Necky's Nest

Same strat as with DK, but optimized a bit better this time.

Lockjaw Falls

In screen 3, Diddy is able to skip a few sections due to being so floaty, coupled with the insane speed you can get from the spinning pegs.

Ship of Souls

The strategies here are very similar to the DK TAS.

Kremling Kamp

I really like the strat on screen 1. Instead of using the tire to bounce up, it's faster to go all the way to the right, and bounce off of the barrels. In screen 2, Diddy can't quite make the jump to the pegs like DK can while Banana Boosting. So we have to see a little bit of this screen the intended way. Screen 3 uses the exact same strat as with DK

Risky Reef

Pretty much the same strats as with DK.

Davy Bones' Locker

Diddy actually spins ever so slightly faster than DK. Normally this doesn't really affect anything, but it makes a big difference for this fight. For some reason, that change makes it so you can't get as many hits per revolution on Davy Bones. This doesn't change the overall strat, but it does mean I need to take extra revolutions on the second cycle.

Raging Ravine

Screen 1 shows off a new route through the barrel cannons. Diddy's floatiness makes climbing through the moving pegboards in screen 2 really smooth, and it also allows you to skip every single bomb in the third screen. It's technically possible to skip the last one with DK, but it requires a Banana Boost, so it's not worth it.

Ice Castle

Screen 1 uses the same general strat as with DK, but Diddy's floatiness makes the tire bounce much easier. Screen 2, I take 23 frames to collect those 5 bananas. This is much faster than any other place I could get 5 bananas.

Underwater Ruins

Again, very similar to DK.

Cold Cold Forest

Screen 1 and 2 are really similar to DK, but screen 3 can be done quite a bit faster due to jumping higher and skipping some pegs.

Sassy Squatch's Lair

Very straightforward fight. Unfortunately there's no known fast strat for this boss.

Booster Barrel Skyway

Diddy actually goes ever so slightly faster than DK in Booster Barrels.

K. Kruiser III Artillery

Avoiding the cannonball on the left side is pretty tricky to do without losing much time. If that cannonball wasn't there, I'd consider getting 5 bananas from the barrel here. I couldn't figure out a way to get them and not get hit, without wasting a ton of time.

K. Kruiser III Hull

Diddy's floatiness helps a ton in screen 1, and the jump around the medal in screen 3.

K. Kruiser III Engine

Diddy can actually make it to the lever from a simple damage boost, unlike the crazy stuff you have to do with DK. Playing the first part of this screen the intended way wastes no time, as you have to wait for the spike to move to position anyway. I save my last Banana Boost for Engine 2, as that is the second-best Banana Boost in the run. It's lucky that it's so late in the run, and lets me take the entire run to build up enough bananas for it.

King K. Rool

Just having some fun on the race.

Closing thoughts

This is my second TAS of this game. I feel this run is a bit more optimized than the DK TAS, as I now have more experience TASing this game. Note that even though the movie time is over a minute faster, 35 seconds of that is due to Diddy not having a tutorial. Anyway, I guess that's all I have to say. Hope you enjoy!

ThunderAxe31: Judging.
ThunderAxe31: While this movie could look similar to the currently published movie, it must be noted that in Diddy Mode the levels feature far fewer bananas, which forces the player to manage carefully the health refills and the invincibility rush move; additionally, the physics of Diddy Kong feature some differences from the ones of Donkey Kong. For these reasons, playing through the game in Diddy Mode results in different strategies and an overall more challenging playing experience.
The feedback for this submission was a bit lacking, but since the response for the previous movie was very good, I assume that this movie is enjoyable enough for the Moons standard.
Accepting for Moons as a new branch.
Stovent: Processing...


TASVideoAgent
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #5827: PiePusher11's GBA DK: King of Swing "Diddy Mode" in 17:18.67
Experienced player (690)
Joined: 11/23/2013
Posts: 2233
Location: Guatemala
This was more fun to watch than the DK run. Yes vote. If you're looking for a new game similar to this one, maybe you can work on the sequel, DK Jungle Climber on DS? (please...)
Here, my YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/dekutony
Former player
Joined: 1/5/2013
Posts: 35
I'm considering TASing Jungle Climber, once I'm done with King of Swing. Personally, I'm never going to do real-time speedruns of it, as I kinda hate playing that game. It feels so different, and the level design feels so bland and uninspired when compared to King of Swing. But of course TASing is completely different from RTAs, so maybe I'll give it a try eventually.
Editor, Reviewer, Skilled player (1358)
Joined: 9/12/2016
Posts: 1646
Location: Italy
Well done again, Yes vote! Looks like the suboptimal character is actually Donkey Kong; in fact all time trial records required to beat are longer for him... I guess that the reason why Kiddy Kong turns out slower in RTA is just because it's harder to use. By the way, I've changed the branch name to "Diddy Mode", since that's how the game itself refers to this unlockable.
my personal page - my YouTube channel - my GitHub - my Discord: thunderaxe31 <Masterjun> if you look at the "NES" in a weird angle, it actually clearly says "GBA"
GJTASer2018
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Posts: 304
Location: Stafford, NY
ThunderAxe31 wrote:
Looks like the suboptimal character is actually Donkey Kong; in fact all time trial records required to beat are longer for him...
I know this submission is probably going to go in Moons as a separate branch, but for Vaulting purposes (if the entertainment votes ever dropped low enough to put it there) would that mean this submission would obsolete the current submission with Donkey Kong?
c-square wrote:
Yes, standard runs are needed and very appreciated here too
Dylon Stejakoski wrote:
Me and the boys starting over our games of choice for the infinityieth time in a row because of just-found optimizations
^ Why I don't have any submissions despite being on the forums for years now...
Editor, Reviewer, Skilled player (1358)
Joined: 9/12/2016
Posts: 1646
Location: Italy
GJTASer2018 wrote:
I know this submission is probably going to go in Moons as a separate branch, but for Vaulting purposes (if the entertainment votes ever dropped low enough to put it there) would that mean this submission would obsolete the current submission with Donkey Kong?
This run starts from SRAM, and thus can't be applied for Vault.
my personal page - my YouTube channel - my GitHub - my Discord: thunderaxe31 <Masterjun> if you look at the "NES" in a weird angle, it actually clearly says "GBA"
Former player
Joined: 1/5/2013
Posts: 35
I suppose his means the DK run should have "uses a sub-optimal character" added, huh?
Editor, Reviewer, Skilled player (1358)
Joined: 9/12/2016
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PiePusher11 wrote:
I suppose his means the DK run should have "uses a sub-optimal character" added, huh?
Actually... No, according to the Movie Class Guidelines:
Movie Class Guidelines wrote:
Note: This tag is only applicable if the fastest character is available for the first playthrough. This means that default characters are not considered suboptimal if unlocking a faster character entails completing the game at least once (see Second quest/Post-game completion).
my personal page - my YouTube channel - my GitHub - my Discord: thunderaxe31 <Masterjun> if you look at the "NES" in a weird angle, it actually clearly says "GBA"
Post subject: Need more feedback.
Editor, Reviewer, Skilled player (1358)
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I'd like to hear the reasons behind the Meh and the No vote, since my opinion is different. I think that this movie is very entertaining and provides enough different content compared to the any% movie.
my personal page - my YouTube channel - my GitHub - my Discord: thunderaxe31 <Masterjun> if you look at the "NES" in a weird angle, it actually clearly says "GBA"
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. ---- [3641] GBA DK: King of Swing "Diddy Mode" by PiePusher11 in 17:18.67