Submission Text Full Submission Page
  • aims for fastest time
  • uses FCEU
WARNING: Those looking for running, jumping, and all-around butt-kicking shouldn't watch this movie! This is a menu-based game like Dejavu, Uninvited, Shadowgate, etc., but its also the best one for the NES. Also, if you haven't played the game I suggest playing it before watching the movie. Its a lot of fun, and its not too hard (level 8 can get tedious, though). There are a couple of mazes, and it has a fighting system based on rock-paper-scissors. If you guess right at rock-paper-scissors, then you have to guess which way your opponent will look (not always random). Also, almost every sentence in the game ends in an exclamation mark! It adds to the fun!
As for this movie, I'm pretty sure I can shave off some frames from the Saladron fight, since I hadn't figured out the optimal way to fight at that time. (the optimal way: wait until the figures stop moving at the bottom of the screen, then press a direction for 2 frames, wait for 4 frames, then press a direction for 2-3 frames.) I didn't want to redo the entire movie for 3 frames, however. Maybe this game can use cut-and-paste like Bisqwit did for Rockman since the levels seem to be discreet.
There probably would have been fewer re-records if the menu didn't move at different speeds. I'm not sure why, maybe it has lag? But some menus move about twice as fast as others, and some menus let you start moving the curser earlier than others.
I used DTJAAAAMJS's walkthrough on gamefaqs, which is a really really good one. I only had to do some very minor alterations to find the optimal route (if anyone finds a faster way please let me know!)


TASVideoAgent
They/Them
Moderator
Joined: 8/3/2004
Posts: 15631
Location: 127.0.0.1
This topic is for the purpose of discussing #870: tool23's NES Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom in 42:18.87
Skilled player (1828)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
Nice, I've been waiting for someone to do this game for some time now. I did a test run some time ago, just abouto a minute long, and I too noticed that the menus moved at different speeds, which is really annoying. I know that the menu navigation is not as fast as in Deja Vu and Shadowgate and those games, but maybe you moved through the menus really fast in this movie too. Anyway, gonna watch this tomorrow, gonna get some sleep now. So maybe this post was pretty useless =/ Your time seems pretty low though, so it seems you've done a good job, I know this game is pretty long.
Skilled player (1417)
Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 1978
Location: Making an escape
Your Saladron fight can be improved by more than just "a few frames." Heck, I'd say about 30 seconds could be taken off. When in a fight, you can skip the victory animation by pressing A. I thought I had a desynch at the farmie fight... I'm not through watching it, but when I am, I think I'll be voting "meh" because of that. Watching this run reminds me of why I hate playing this game. The interface is slow slow and awkward, and the requirements for completion involve obtuse repitition of certain tasks and going back and forth and ay yi yi... Not to mention that worthless hunk of hydrocarbons known as Percy. "OK boss!" "What's this, boss?" "We did it, boss!" "Boss! Where are we?" Great concept, but the game is annoying as snot... Edit: Plus it seems some menu movements can be improved. It's almost always better to zigzag, IE instead of Right-Right-Down, it should be Right-Down-Right.
A hundred years from now, they will gaze upon my work and marvel at my skills but never know my name. And that will be good enough for me.
Joined: 11/11/2004
Posts: 400
Location: ::1
Bizarre game, that. o.o
Player (80)
Joined: 2/8/2005
Posts: 130
Thanks for the tip Ferret Warlord... unfortunately I didn't use that on any of the fights :( That means a great deal of time can be saved. I'm not sure why moving diagonally through the item menus would be faster, though, could you explain it? For me it takes 7 frames on the fast-moving item menu going both right-down-right, and right-right-down now. I think I just wasn't using the fastest way to move through those menus... the method I was using throughout this movie takes 9 frames. Well, I guess the only thing left standing is my route, so I won't make any changes until I get feedback on that.
Emulator Coder, Skilled player (1311)
Joined: 12/21/2004
Posts: 2687
tool23 wrote:
I'm not sure why moving diagonally through the item menus would be faster, though, could you explain it? For me it takes 7 frames on the fast-moving item menu going both right-down-right, and right-right-down now.
I think he meant this: In a menu system that responds as fast as possible, right-down-right is: right, down, right = 3 frames right-right-down is: right, nothing, right, down = 4 frames So diagonals will be faster in general because they don't require releasing for 1 frame in-between presses of the same direction in order for them to register as separate presses.
Skilled player (1417)
Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 1978
Location: Making an escape
tool23 wrote:
For me it takes 7 frames on the fast-moving item menu going both right-down-right, and right-right-down now.
If both methods take the same number of frames, alright. I figured that might be the case considering just how wonky the menus are. That's why I said, "Generally". As for the route, no complaints.
A hundred years from now, they will gaze upon my work and marvel at my skills but never know my name. And that will be good enough for me.
Player (80)
Joined: 2/8/2005
Posts: 130
Ok, well i'll get back to work on this starting from the beginning. I guess I won't cancel the submission in case other people want to see it or have suggestions.
Shingen
He/Him
Joined: 11/23/2004
Posts: 68
Location: Urf
Ah, one of the few games where a "fight" consists of rock-paper-scissors. I loved this one, even though I could never solve it. Guess I'll give it a watch.
Emulator Coder, Former player
Joined: 10/2/2005
Posts: 563
Location: Toronto, Ontario
nice run. I started one for this game but got frustrated with the menus :P Just one comment on the route; at the carrot plateau, when you talk to the chief, then go into town, couldn't you have gone straight to the chief, then to the cave to fight bananda? once the fights are cleaned up, this should likely be under 40 mins. can't wait to see it.
Joined: 11/11/2004
Posts: 400
Location: ::1
tool23 wrote:
Ok, well i'll get back to work on this starting from the beginning. I guess I won't cancel the submission in case other people want to see it or have suggestions.
Submissions can still be viewed after they're cancelled.
TASVideosGrue
They/Them
Joined: 10/1/2008
Posts: 2792
Location: The dark corners of the TASVideos server
om, nom, nom... blech, stale!