The Norse trickster god Loki is up to no good, summoning zombies and kidnapping the princess. Better go stop him.
The Game
This version of the game is quite different from its better known Super Nintendo counterpart. Pretty much everything is different. I think I prefer this version since the difficulty is actually manageable.
The Run
Yes, finally there's a run that actually beats the game. I had been thinking about making one, and shisu's run finally pushed me into doing it. One thing it has in common with the Super Nintendo version is the requirement to go through the game twice to fight the final boss. Because of this I input a special code that warps me straight to the second half of the final level. I left the difficulty in Practice Mode for this to get through it quicker; plus, I wanted it to be as though I had just pressed start and immediately started on the second round, so I didn't pick up any weapons or armor.
Once I am thrown back to the start of the game, ignore the word "PRACTICE" that appears in the corner. Once you start the second round, the difficulty is set to Professional Mode, but the word "PRACTICE" won't go away. So yes, this run is indeed played at the hardest difficulty.
Some Notes
The RNG is extremely rigid and virtually impossible to manipulate. Some areas might be improved if a way to manipulate luck were found.
The contents of chests change according to a set pattern that I haven't bothered to memorize past the third chest, the weapon chest (the weapon itself is randomized at the time of the appearance of the chest, unless certain requirements are met). It starts at the beginning of a section of a level. In order to move the pattern along, all you have to do is get a chest to appear; no need to open it.
Jumping is about 12% faster than walking. Sometimes I had to walk in lieu of jumping - or, in level 4's case, jumping instead of walking- to avoid a chest or move into a better position.
In order to gain access to Loki, you must have the special weapon equipped when you defeat the fly boss. To get the special weapon you must 1) be playing the second time through 2) have the gold armor equipped 3) break open a chest that would contain a weapon.
I couldn't find a good place to change weapons until I got the special weapon.
Hit detection can get a little screwy. I took advantage of this on a few occasions.
This game is not very hex friendly, sad to say. :(
The Levels
5-2: Yeah, it's quite impossible to clear those last two spiked balls without getting hit. I tried to use it to my advantage. Can be improved by several frames from more optimal fights with the troll heads and the fly boss.
1-1 and 1-2: Nothing special. Used a damage boost to avoid having to climb a ladder and some back tracking. Possible improvement by damage boosting off an earlier flower.
2-1 and 2-2: Again, not too special. The boss is incredibly mobile; it may be possible to beat him faster.
3-1: Goi, an autoscroller, and my worst job yet at one. :( I decided to get both the gold armor and the special weapon here since there was no time cost associated with getting either of them here. Good thing the special weapon in this version doesn't suck!
3-2: Here we ride the tongues of gargoyles. Could be improved by jumping through the first head; I thought you had to duck under it. >_<
4-1 and 4-2: There were a few opportunities to get hit in the name of time. However, I had to pick and choose which ones were the best since there wasn't that much extra armor in the level. In 4-2, it *is* possible to get hit and fall down the right side straight to the bottom; however, my attempts at doing so resulted in the boss not loading. I had to take a slight detour as such. If a way is found to get the boss to load up from that fall, I would be happy.
The boss fight wasn't very fun to make. The timing was tricky and the special is EXTREMELY temperamental. ~_~
5-1 and 5-2: I did another damage boost in order to avoid another ladder and some more backtracking. However, this meant I couldn't get hit at the spiked ball I took a hit from the first time around. I decided to take down a chest warlock to alleviate the waiting on the spiked ball ladder since I could avoid some other chest now thanks to the special weapon being so fast. However, I got through so fast that the cloud monsters were in unfavorable positions this time around.
Major hit on the RNG on this boss. I couldn't figure out how to get him to come down first thing this time around, so I did the best I could.
Loki: Insanely quick fight.
Aims for quickest possible time
Uses a password
Take damage to save time
Abuses errors in programming
Have fun!
adelikat: Accepting for publication. However, I request that whomever publishes this put a note in the subtitles about the use of a password. Also adding "Plays on hardest difficulty" in the game info subtitles would be a good idea. Also, both of these issues should be clearly articulated in the movie description.
looks good, I didn't know there was a genesis version.
I think the use of passwords is OK here because the first and second playthrough is virtually the same.
I just don't know why people keep skipping the SNES version. That version, I think, is the superior one. I'd rather see a run on that one over the NES and Genesis versions.
Is this run well played though? I think so. Good use of damage to take a few shortcuts and save time. Sucks that PRACTICE is stuck in the corner though, which really does seem odd. Why is it there? What is the point of it, developers?
Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 1978
Location: Making an escape
Basically. I wanted the opening 5-2 to be done with as quickly as possible, so I started in Practice mode, knowing I'd be kicked into Professional at the end of it.
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: 4/8/2005
Posts: 1573
Location: Gone for a year, just for varietyyyyyyyyy!!
Yup, seems like the "Practice" is a fault in the game, not in the run. If the password usage is well documented in the movie description and maybe even explained in the AVI subtitles, then I think this movie is very acceptable. It uses the fastest method to access hardest difficulty. It looks strange, but playing the game through twice would look worse.
Enjoyed the run. Glad the game was completed this time around instead of going through the game once and leaving it. The auto scroll wasn't too boring but could have used a little more entertainment.
Very nice run indeed. The damage boosting was real slick, and even better when you take into account how unforgiving this game is with mistakes.
Sir VG wrote:
I just don't know why people keep skipping the SNES version. That version, I think, is the superior one. I'd rather see a run on that one over the NES and Genesis versions.
I'll agree that the SNES version is of a higher quality, but you have to remember that it was made 3 years after Ghouls N' Ghosts hit arcades and that the genesis version, which came out in 1989 (2 years prior to snes version) was simply a port. The SNES version was a direct sequel to Ghouls N' Ghosts, so it's no wonder the production standards were higher (along with more capable hardware).
The one thing that I do like about this game over the SNES one is the speed of the gameplay. For me, the SNES version just feels too slow. Granted I haven't seen a TAS of it yet, but just moving around feels clunky to me.
The one thing that I do like about this game over the SNES one is the speed of the gameplay. For me, the SNES version just feels too slow. Granted I haven't seen a TAS of it yet, but just moving around feels clunky to me.
It's suppose to be clunky. That's so it can be Nintendo Hard.
Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 1978
Location: Making an escape
Sir VG wrote:
honorableJay wrote:
The one thing that I do like about this game over the SNES one is the speed of the gameplay. For me, the SNES version just feels too slow. Granted I haven't seen a TAS of it yet, but just moving around feels clunky to me.
It's suppose to be clunky. That's so it can be Nintendo Hard.
Not to try and discredit you or anything, but this argument seems similar to the one that Resident Evil fans use that states that the clunky controls are to make the game "scarier". :X
And being Nintendo Hard doesn't necessarily make for an entertaining movie. The most prominent argument coming from prior submissions is, "This game is slow and boring." I haven't watched any of them, so I can't assess it myself.
(I would still like to see a movie get published, please don't shoot me)
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.
The one thing that I do like about this game over the SNES one is the speed of the gameplay. For me, the SNES version just feels too slow. Granted I haven't seen a TAS of it yet, but just moving around feels clunky to me.
It's suppose to be clunky. That's so it can be Nintendo Hard.
Not to try and discredit you or anything, but this argument seems similar to the one that Resident Evil fans use that states that the clunky controls are to make the game "scarier". :X
And being Nintendo Hard doesn't necessarily make for an entertaining movie. The most prominent argument coming from prior submissions is, "This game is slow and boring." I haven't watched any of them, so I can't assess it myself.
(I would still like to see a movie get published, please don't shoot me)
Resident Evil controls aren't to make it scarier, but it's to completely FRUSTRATE THE PLAYER. GRARGH.
And SGaG on the SNES isn't interesting to watch completely because it's nintendo hard, but it's what I think a very nice experience (if you're good enough at the game). Difficult platforming, great graphics and sound...
Yeah.
Watched the run - good execution. I don't know how I feel about having practice on the entire game, even if it is in professional mode...
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
This is one of only 2 games I ever tried to TAS - sadly I never did finish it. I did spent about a month working on my skills and studying the game though. I actually updated the debug code cheat on GameFAQ's back then. =D
Some things I noticed:
The difficulty selection is a bummer - On practice mode the enemies do take less hits (I think they have 2/3rds health?) compared to normal and professional. The only difference I remember seeing between normal and professional is the addition of more obstacles in the levels - like the blue pillars at the start of 2-1.
I hated those double maces in 5-2 as well. =D Never found a way to get through without being hit either. I also had problems with the boss loading in 4-2 if you skipped the whole area, or I'd get stuck in the right hand wall.
I was a little surprised you never used magic. One trick I exploited in my attempts was charging and using the tri-lightning from the lance magic to OHKO bosses. Especially on the first level - if you time it just right the bosses head lands on you right as you burst the lightning, and the key falls right on you without moving. It also worked great for the eyeball clouds, the 2 heads in the wall and the wasp boss. I was never able to get a OHKO on the fire dog in 2-2, but I did track it's health and had him down to 1 more lance hit on a few attempts. For the worm in 4-2, the hearts just aren't close enough. =(
I'm pretty sure you can start jumping into the wall before it breaks the moment you kill both heads in 5-2 - I remember it was a little tricky to get fluid jumps when you can't see the ledges. Also, I didn't slow motion and double check all of them, but it's possible to "clip" ladders and start climbing early, cutting some frames out.
I was surprised by some of your time savers I never tried. =) I was doing a low damage* pure professional mode myself, but grabbing the armor in 2-2 looked really good, I totally missed some of the skips in 3-2 and 4-2 that were possible, and the use again in 5-2 with armor planning around the eyeball clouds was nice.
*(Low damage to keep magic around for the bosses)
Overall really good. =) I enjoyed watching it, but I knocked it down a few for technical since it was on practice and I think it can be improved by at least a few seconds with magic and hitbox manipulation.
Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 1978
Location: Making an escape
Banarak wrote:
The difficulty selection is a bummer - On practice mode the enemies do take less hits (I think they have 2/3rds health?) compared to normal and professional. The only difference I remember seeing between normal and professional is the addition of more obstacles in the levels - like the blue pillars at the start of 2-1.
Are you referring to my choice of difficulty, or the fact that it says one thing but is another? Because I can assure you, everything aside from the first minute was in the harder difficulty. I've said this a few times already.
Banarak wrote:
I was a little surprised you never used magic. One trick I exploited in my attempts was charging and using the tri-lightning from the lance magic to OHKO bosses. Especially on the first level - if you time it just right the bosses head lands on you right as you burst the lightning, and the key falls right on you without moving. It also worked great for the eyeball clouds, the 2 heads in the wall and the wasp boss. I was never able to get a OHKO on the fire dog in 2-2, but I did track it's health and had him down to 1 more lance hit on a few attempts. For the worm in 4-2, the hearts just aren't close enough. =(
I don't know. Boss fights are pretty darn snappy as they are. Stopping to pick up gold armor and forgo various shortcuts doesn't seem worth it. I wasn't aware that it was *that* effective, though. O.o
It'd be nice if it were faster, but as I said, I don't know. Maybe the second boss...
Banarak wrote:
I'm pretty sure you can start jumping into the wall before it breaks the moment you kill both heads in 5-2...
Nope. Just checked it.
Banarak wrote:
Also, I didn't slow motion and double check all of them, but it's possible to "clip" ladders and start climbing early, cutting some frames out.
Do mean you that climbing a ladder will give you a small horizontal boost? If so, there seems to be a few places where it could be used. Would require testing since I jump over all three of them.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
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.
Emulator Coder, Site Developer, Site Owner, Expert player
(3573)
Joined: 11/3/2004
Posts: 4754
Location: Tennessee
Entertaining run! I like it better than the NES Ghouls & Ghosts (Haven't watched the SNES version yet).
The boss fights were very nice.
This is a case whee using a password is justified and acceptable.
Practice mode displaying on the screen didn't bother me.
Good ratings from me.
