Submission Text Full Submission Page
This TAS aims to beat Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels while collecting the least amount of coins possible without the use of any warpzone.
Unfortunately, 5-3 is impossible coinless due to the looping system in the level. It is impossible to bypass the loop object without the use of hacks, tho we (ThreeCreepio and I) were 9 pixels off of doing so. To bypass a loop object, you need Mario to be grounded and have the address $CE (Mario's Y pixel) at the value F0. Collecting a power-up (mushroom or fire flower) puts Mario in a grounded state, which would've done the trick. Unfortunately, power-ups don't have a hitbox between value F0 and F8, making 5-3 impossible coinless, thus making the coin count go up by 16 coins.
3-3 was a tricky one. It was always thought to be impossible, but turns out you can go under the platform that contains lots of coins by using 2 koopa bounces, which requires insane RNG.
Beating the game without collecting a single coin IS possible, but it requires the use of warpzones

feos: Judging...
feos: Shortened the branch. We're not gonna have Luigi version of this run published alongside. Also any% runs don't mention the worlds they complete.
feos: This run is really well done, and it was entertaining to the audience. However for a goal like this, we have certain Moons class requirements. In addition to being entertaining (which this movie is), the movie should also be significantly different from other branches of that game.
I made a post asking if people see a lot of difference between this run and [3456] SNES Super Mario All-Stars: The Lost Levels "warpless, Mario" by HappyLee in 34:36.61 which this movie is the closest to, and within a week, we didn't get definitive comments that it looks different enough, even though I asked in our live chat for feedback too.
Overall it feels like there's not so many coins in this game that avoiding them becomes an obviously tough challenge. Aside from a few places where you need to really go out of your way to avoid them (and in one place you just can't, and we haven't seen the second part of the game yet), mostly you just need to run or jump through a different part of the level, with little to no slowdown, and you've successfully avoided the coins.
One may ask why I'm comparing to the SNES port. It's because gameplay is very similar, and in terms of in-game mechanics it's basically the same game. We just use the SNES version for the all-levels branch because all the levels are available right away, while in the FDS version you have to replay the main game several times to access the second part.
All in all, I have to reject this movie, and unfortunately I'm not sure what to suggest as a better chance of getting published. Maybe improve an existing publication? Better luck next time, WolfAeterni!
feos: While renaming the author's account (per request!) I stumbled upon this run again and it seems to perfectly fit Playground!


TASVideoAgent
They/Them
Moderator
Joined: 8/3/2004
Posts: 15644
Location: 127.0.0.1
Editor, Expert player (2080)
Joined: 6/15/2005
Posts: 3284
Good job on 3-3. I wonder if HappyLee will see this and find a way to bypass the coins in 5-3 anyway.
nymx
He/Him
Editor, Judge, Expert player (2262)
Joined: 11/14/2014
Posts: 933
Location: South Pole, True Land Down Under
Wow, this looks really good. Great job. Yes vote.
I recently discovered that if you haven't reached a level of frustration with TASing any game, then you haven't done your due diligence. ---- SOYZA: Are you playing a game? NYMX: I'm not playing a game, I'm TASing. SOYZA: Oh...so its not a game...Its for real? ---- Anybody got a Quantum computer I can borrow for 20 minutes? Nevermind...eien's 64 core machine will do. :) ---- BOTing will be the end of all games. --NYMX
BigBoct
He/Him
Editor, Former player
Joined: 8/9/2007
Posts: 1692
Location: Tiffin/Republic, OH
Yes vote. 5-3 must have been absolutely infuriating.
Previous Name: boct1584
Personman
Other
Joined: 4/20/2008
Posts: 465
3-3 is beautiful. yes vote.
A warb degombs the brangy. Your gitch zanks and leils the warb.
Site Admin, Skilled player (1256)
Joined: 4/17/2010
Posts: 11495
Location: Lake Char­gogg­a­gogg­man­chaugg­a­gogg­chau­bun­a­gung­a­maugg
This run is well done and got good reception, but I watched it side-by-side with [3456] SNES Super Mario All-Stars: The Lost Levels "warpless, Mario" by HappyLee in 34:36.61 and I'm not so sure. Vast majority is very close to the existing branch, only a few places required obvious differences only present in this category. Most of the time you just need to run around the coins instead of right through them, and it feels like there are fewer places with coins than places with mandatory jumps in SMB. I had to vote Meh because I feel this movie is too similar to the one that doesn't minimize coins. Link to video Also since this is warpless, maybe it would make more sense to play all the levels, to fully combine the 2 goals and showcase coin minimization on the whole game.
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.
Darkman425
He/They
Editor, Judge, Skilled player (1294)
Joined: 9/19/2021
Posts: 263
Location: Texas
Of the levels past world 8, levels A-3, B-2, C-2, and D-4 would be interesting to see in a minimum coin route. The other levels would either still feel similar to a regular run or also take the same workarounds seen in earlier levels.
Switch friend code: SW-2632-3851-3712
WolfAeterni
She/Her
Player (85)
Joined: 4/16/2020
Posts: 1
Location: Québec
Hey y'all! Thanks for all the replies. When I made the TAS, I didn't think about posting it on TASvideos at all, but I realized that there isn't an FDS Warpless TAS of 2J on TASvideos, as the All-Stars version is pretty similar, so I gave it a shot. I'm kinda surprised people cared about watching it and giving feedbacks, so really, thank you. I didn't think about the letter worlds for the simple fact that I didn't know how to start a TAS with them unlocked lol, but I'll definitely make an update and make a Minimum coins D-4 Warpless one, as some levels (mainly A-3 and C-2) are pretty interesting in their layout. I won't repost it here, but I'll definitely post it on my channel. Again, thanks
19 years old speedrunner from Québec. I started speedrunning in 2016 and TASing in 2019. I mostly speedrun/TAS Mario games
Site Admin, Skilled player (1256)
Joined: 4/17/2010
Posts: 11495
Location: Lake Char­gogg­a­gogg­man­chaugg­a­gogg­chau­bun­a­gung­a­maugg
WolfAttacK wrote:
I didn't think about the letter worlds for the simple fact that I didn't know how to start a TAS with them unlocked lol
Ah true, I forgot you can't directly play them after level 9. I guess it's why the SNES version was used instead. So your ending is probably fine.
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.
Reviewer, Active player (288)
Joined: 12/14/2006
Posts: 717
As feos said, there don't seem to be that many places where the goal of avoiding coins really inconveniences the player that much. The only spot I really saw was in 3-3 where one platform was completely covered i with coins. There may have been other places, but it really did seem similar in the side by side.
BigBoct
He/Him
Editor, Former player
Joined: 8/9/2007
Posts: 1692
Location: Tiffin/Republic, OH
feos wrote:
WolfAttacK wrote:
I didn't think about the letter worlds for the simple fact that I didn't know how to start a TAS with them unlocked lol
Ah true, I forgot you can't directly play them after level 9. I guess it's why the SNES version was used instead. So your ending is probably fine.
Back when hacks/unofficial games required prior approval, a patch to SMB2J to unlock A-D was one of the approved "hacks."
Previous Name: boct1584
TASVideosGrue
They/Them
Joined: 10/1/2008
Posts: 2794
Location: The dark corners of the TASVideos server
om, nom, nom... crunchy!