This run was started in March 2020 in a test build of DSHawk. It started as a way to test the new experimental core, but eventually snowballed into a full-fledged project. I finished about 42 episodes on this core until October 2020, when it became apparent that this iteration of DSHawk was pretty much abandoned. Not wanting to waste too much time on it, I shelved the project.

Eventually CasualPokePlayer made a proper port of MelonDS into Bizhawk and I decided to finish up the project. This game is actually pretty sync-friendly and only requires some small loading time corrections when resyncing. This movie has been resynced several times through different versions.

Transferring the movie from the previous iteration of DSHawk to the current one was a little tricky. Among other things, new inputs such as microphone volume made the input file very different and caused errors when trying to load the old movie into the new version. As a result, I had to alter some files manually to get it to load and sync properly. The header of the input file is different from the one that is saved by default: If you edit and save this movie file or open it in TAStudio, you will have to go back into Input Log.txt and switch the header back to the one in this movie or else it will desync.

The goal of the run is to complete all 50 single player episodes, each of which have 5 levels for a total of 250 levels. There are 45 base episodes plus 5 extra called the Atari Bonus Levels. These levels are unlocked by inputting a code in the unlockables screen; this is the only known way to access these levels. I did a lot of research but couldn't figure out the origin of the code, it may have been a preorder bonus or it may have been distributed in a newsletter.

Finishing the original 45 episodes triggers the credits, so episode 44 is done last.

Like a lot of platformers, jump height is dependent on how long you hold A. Continuing to hold A will also slow your descent on the downward arc. Jumping gives you a temporary forward boost proportional to the speed you were traveling when the jump was started. Each jump saves about one frame, so it's optimal to do it whenever possible, especially in long narrow corridors.

Mid-air control of walljumps works about the same as regular jumps. The initial upward velocity of the walljump depends on your upward velocity before the walljump, so multiple walljumps can be chained together to achieve insane speeds.

The goal of every level is to hit the green gem and leave through the door. The exit opens up on a frame rule in some levels, and this can result in some waiting if the gem is right next to the exit.

Fall damage is a thing in this game. If you hit the floor at too high of a velocity, you will die. Interestingly, you can also pancake yourself against a ceiling if you're launched into it too fast. Methods of slowing down include hitting corners, landing on slopes, and sliding against walls.

Slopes obviously slow you down when you try and run up them, so they are jumped over whenever possible. When running down them, you can achieve speeds higher than your normal top speed, and jumping off of them gives you even more of a boost. Slopes on ceilings can be quite useful for changing directions because they can give you a nice boost perpendicular to your previous direction of travel.

On slopes of 45 and 60 degrees, it's possible to do superjumps. When landed on at the correct angle and speed (this is often arbitrary and unpredictable), and when the slope is jumped on at the earliest possible frame, N will appear to clip into the slope for a frame and boost forward a little bit, but he will fail to jump. If you then jump on the next possible frame, you will get a huge vertical boost that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. Alternately, if you run towards one of these slopes, jump the frame before stepping on it, and then jump again at the earliest possible frame, you can also achieve a sizeable vertical boost. This is one of the more commonly used tricks in the run.

Springs give you a large boost in the direction they're pointing, but cancel all momentum in any other direction. For upward springs, if you walljump on the same frame that the spring is boosting you, you can achieve massive upward speeds.

Occasionally you will run across floating platforms that spring around when you touch them. You can get a decent boost off these if you land on them and then jump as they spring back up, but it's a little time-consuming and it's usually better to do a regular jump ASAP and find alternatives to go upwards. You can also wall jump off of these, although their springy-ness makes these a little finnicky to work with.

These rocket-powered pushers don't kill you by crushing you, but rather by launching you into a surface or clipping you into its lethal flame. They are only activated when you are in their line of travel, and they slowly move back to their original position once they hit a surface. Getting crushed between two of them will launch you at such a high speed it will almost certainly kill you on impact - unless you launch yourself directly at an exit!

Mines are the little red spots that are scattered throughout the levels. They will kill you on contact. It may look like there's enough room to squeeze between bombs that are side-by-side, but you can't fit.

The triangle with a black line at the tip signifies that it's a one-way wall, and the direction the triangle is pointing in is the only direction you can move through it. If the wall is pointing left, right, or up, you can jump off of the black line as you pass through to get an extra boost.

Memory: oh heck yea N, judging

Memory: That was a really fun watch. The sorta momentum based platforming is a treat. A solid N+ from me.

Accepting.

EZGames69: Processing...