This is Chack'n Pop done fast. See below for more info.

Game objectives

  • Movie plays back on FCEUX 2.1.5
  • Originally recorded with FCEUltra v0.98.15
  • Fastest time

Comments

HISTORY:

Chack'n Pop is a classic game by Taito, and it's historically significant because it is the direct predecessor of the much more popular Bubble Bobble game series. This game was originally released in 1983 for the arcades, and it was ported to several systems of that era. This is the NES (or rather Famicom) version of the game. It's a fun little game, and it's really old-school! :D

NES CHACK'N POP:

The Famicom certainly had the power to run an 1:1 faithful port of the original arcade game. However, since it was released so early in the Famicom's life, this version suffered for the natural inexperience of the programmers who were just learning the then new system. So, besides some minor graphical differences, the NES version lacks the intro, mid-game and ending cutscenes of the arcade version, plus it only has 9 levels (that's 5 levels less than in the original arcade game). Game controls and playability are intact, though.

CONTROLS:

For starters, Chack'n Pop is more of a maze game (like Pac Man) than it is a platform game (like Bubble Bobble). So, controls are rather limited, and might even seem somewhat unorthodox and even unintuitive if you aren't familiarized with this game:
  • Left/Right: Makes Chack'n walk left/right. If you release the direction, Chack'n will keep walking until he runs into a wall. If you hold the direction, Chack'n will try and jump over the obstacles.
  • Up: Makes Chack'n jump. If he has both feet on solid ground, he will jump 16 pixels high. If he has only one foot on solid ground, he will jump only 8 pixels high. This rule also applies when trying to jump over an obstacle by pressing left or right. If Chack'n touches the ceiling when jumping he will stick to it. You can walk on the ceiling.
  • Down: Makes Chack'n fall to the ground if he's on the ceiling.
  • B: Throws a bomb at your left. Only one at a time (see note).
  • A: Throws a bomb at your right. Only one at a time (see note).
  • (Note: There can be a "left bomb" and a "right bomb" at the same time, but there can't be two "left bombs" or two "right bombs" at the same time, ever. Also, the explosions can kill you)
The goal of the game is to make it to the upper part of the screen (labeled "exit") before the time runs out. However, the exit is always blocked by usually two blocks that only go away when you release the caged hearts in the level.

THE TAS:

Here I'm trying my best at finishing the nine levels as fast as possible. And I believe I was successful. From around level 3 on, enemies become such an annoyance with their hard-to-predict patterns and tendency to be in the worst places (like right in the goal!). Manipulating them is, hands down, the hardest part when TASing this game. It might be theoretically possible to complete the game a couple of seconds faster, yes, but so much randomness goes into the enemy behavior that you can't possibly ever be sure you made it the fastest possible. That said, I think I managed to manipulate them reasonably well, especially in the last levels, which are nightmarish under normal circumstances. Oh, by the way, after clearing level 9, the game starts over from level 1, (but the numeration is kept, so level 1 appears as "level 10" and so on). This movie finishes on the first frame level 10 is rendered on screen.
Note: Bonus count after clearing a level always lasts 255 frames, regardless of the amount of bonus received or lack thereof.

NesVideoAgent: Hi! I am a robot. I took a few screenshots of this movie and placed them here. Oh! I also corrected the ROM name.
  • You indicated Chack n Pop (J).nes
  • I updated it to Chack 'n Pop (J).nes

adelikat: The viewer response has been poor. Seems to be a poor game choice, rejecting.

adelikat: Accepting for publication to the Vault

TASVideoAgent
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #2043: GeminiSaint's NES Chack'n Pop in 06:55.63
nesrocks
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I remember I competed with Bisqwit for a 30 minutes challenge: who could make the best TAS of this game in 30 minutes. (or was it some other time?). It was interesting to see the solutions So the game doesn't have an end? This is like most atari 2600 games :P I like the game, but I will refrain from watching, I'm kinda busy, I hope it's good movie though, sorry for this pointless post!
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This game kicks ass, but I don't know the NES version, so I might be in for a nasty shock when I watch this. Only one way to find out!
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Twisted_Eye
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ooooohhhh I was wondering how to play this game. I don't know how publishable it is, though. Pretty boring to watch. No real music, no real ending, pretty slow paced. I personally don't see giving it more than a meh, but you did a good job beating it pretty smoothly.
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In maze 8, I suppose it wasn't possiblwe to drop a bomb down the left hole and have it open the cage without going down there? In maze 3, would it have saved time to open the left cage first and open the right on the way back so the left heart gets to the goal earlier? Or do enemies or the right heart make that slower?
Post subject: Chack Crackle Pop
Joined: 10/3/2005
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Taito's Rice Crappies! Maybe I lack the experience to appreciate the movie, but this seemed like a really dull game to TAS compared to others of its genre. I didn't enjoy it, but the precision seemed of publishable quality far as I could tell, so I'll give it a meh.
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KDR_11k wrote:
In maze 8, I suppose it wasn't possiblwe to drop a bomb down the left hole and have it open the cage without going down there?
That's right, it can't be done. The bomb explodes in mid-air, and it doesn't even get close to the heart. Then again, you must eventually go down the left hole in order to make it to the goal.
KDR_11k wrote:
In maze 3, would it have saved time to open the left cage first and open the right on the way back so the left heart gets to the goal earlier? Or do enemies or the right heart make that slower?
I tried that, and the enemies all moved into very inconvenient places, which killed any gained time. Also, whether you get one heart or the other first, the total distance you have to walk is the same.
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Pretty sharp playing, but as Twisted Eye put said, it is pretty boring to watch. Voting meh.
adelikat
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This was very boring to watch, and a very simplistic game. And has no ending. And no real music. And no action. I don't think this is TASvideos material. Voting No.
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adelikat wrote:
This was very boring to watch, and a very simplistic game. And has no ending. And no real music. And no action. I don't think this is TASvideos material. Voting No.
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While I'd hate to say this, it wasn't entertaining. However, as I understand it, this game has extreme cultural significance in Japan, and is really freakin' hard to play in real time, which adds a little bit to the appreciation value. I'll give it a Meh vote.
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Oh dear god no. It used all of 4 tones for music. up down up down, in a pattern. 5-3-5-3-5.
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I have on this on one of those "3225312363623523 games in 1 pirate cart.", and I just hate this game, even superman64 was better
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What a pity. This little game is actually quite fun once you know the controls. It's a shame it's so underappreciated around here (around here being the entire world minus Japan).
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I'll be honest, I actually did enjoy this run. I'd tried the game and it's freaking hard as hell, yes. Kinda nice seeing the game owned.
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YOU ELIMINATED 1 MONSTA(S) I liked this movie too -- 1 yes vote(s). I'm pretty sure the game never caught on because of its controls... I was playing it a bit to get a feel for it, and it seemed that with death the first level (and maybe others) could be shorter. I tested the first level and only got to the bonus level faster by 11 frames, but still :) CHACKNSLAUGHTER Not that it matters. So good job, and I look forward to more of your material.
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TASVideosGrue
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om, nom, nom... blech, stale!
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Wait! This niconico's run is 1 minute faster. And I don't think this game is no entertaining. http://www.nicozon.net/watch/sm8569053
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. ---- [2128] NES Chack'n Pop by GeminiSaint in 06:55.63
NitroGenesis
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So we ignore mtvf1?
YoungJ1997lol wrote:
Normally i would say Yes, but thennI thought "its not the same hack" so ill stick with meh.
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This game is one of a few cases where the SG-1000 version totally flattens the NES version. Pretty hard to take this one after playing it on the SG-1000, which controls better, sounds better, and even has an ending! Unfortunately the Nicovideo TAS is really superior to this one (assuming it's legit, of course). It's both faster and more entertaining, making good use of death abuse and invincibility item drops.