"I'm turska and this is my favorite blog on the site."
- turska
Hello, everyone. My name's scrimpeh, and I watch and make TASes. I mainly TAS MSX and Castlevania games, so if you wish to improve one of my movies or work on a game I'm interested in, please do contact me and I'll be glad to assist you with all that I know and WIPs I have made.
You can find movies I worked on below.
Published on 12/16/2018
In this second outing for Castlevania on the Game Boy, Simon's ancestor Christopher must defeat 5 castles, rescue his son, and destroy Dracula yet again. Featuring exceptional boss strategies and clever damage management the author dominates this handheld game.
scrimpeh improves the previous publication by 24.52 seconds (after accounting for emulation differences), thanks to new strategies, damage routes and better optimisation. Please read the author's comments for more details.

Published on 3/12/2011
Of the many Contra ports, the MSX version perhaps differs most notably in that taking damage is not instantly fatal. There's also significantly less horizontal scrolling due to the limitations of the system.
Game:
Contra

Genres:
Platformer
Shooter
Emulator Replay:
openMSX 0.8.1 RC2

Published on 11/27/2011
Invasion of the Zombie Monsters is a B-Movie style platformer for MSX. You take control of Ned, a geek trying to save his girlfriend from a giant demon terrorizing the city. This game was designed to be a throwback to games like Legend of Hero Tonma and Ghouls 'n Ghosts.
This is an improvement of 00:37.90 seconds over the previous run, courtesy of better boss fights and other general optimizations.

Published on 7/3/2011
You take control of two Knights, Popolon and Aphrodite, out to rescue their baby Pamperse from the evil high priest Galious. They have their own subtle differences in gameplay, but for the most part, they just act as two separate health bars.
The authors, zggzdydp and scrimpeh, run through the game at breakneck pace, taking much more damage than they should be able to.

Published on 1/24/2015
Lupin III: Legend of the Gold of Babylon (ルパン三世 バビロンの黄金伝説) is a game based on the animated movie of the same name released in 1988 by Toho. You control Arsene Lupin through 7 stages to help a mysterious space woman get her golden space ship.
scrimpeh runs (or rather, jumps) through this fairly short game in 4 minutes and 49.66 seconds.

Published on 11/20/2012
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro is the MSX2 video game adaptation of the anime movie of the same name. What was once a complex plot involving counterfeit money distributed by a tiny country, the game reduces it to just saving a princess in a castle.
The hero here seems to have a sword sharp enough to apparently cut through solid wall to hit targets on the other side plus ability to fall through floors...

Published on 1/23/2014
Every one hundred years, the forces of evil mysteriously start to weaken. Though some of these evil creatures band together to counteract this weakness, many of them are still slaughtered by the forces of good. But one day, One, the most evil one, found a way to break this curse and grow only stronger and stronger. Sensing the presence of a cure within the blood of a young woman, he pulled her into the darkness...right before our hero's eyes! Filled with anger, he grabbed his mystical whip and followed One through the night until finding himself at the base of One's fearsome castle. What evil awaits him there? Will he save the girl in time?
The goal in each level of this MSX homebrew game is to find the cleverly hidden white key and use it to open the door to the next level. There are also items that can be picked up along the way to help our hero in his quest.
In this run, scrimpeh manipulates enemy movement and utilizes damage boosts and invincibility frames to beat the game in under 9 minutes.
For another MSX game with very similar gameplay, see the run of Vampire Killer done by the same author.
Game:
The Cure

Genres:
Platformer
Homebrew
Emulator Replay:
openMSX 0.10.0

Published on 8/20/2013
As you can see here, the original Castlevania wasn't only on the NES, but also on the MSX computer. Author scrimpeh did on the MSX Castlevania what Phil Côté & Morrison did on the NES Castlevania.
This version is different in some important ways. Some new gameplay elements include the requirement to collect a white key in each stage in order to advance, the removal of the chain whip after each boss battle, and the ability to buy subweapons from sitting bystanders in white or red clothes.
This is an improvement of 01:14.90 over the previous run thanks to a few new time-saving tricks.

Note: To play the OMR file, you'll need to have openMSX 0.8.2 / 0.9.0 with the Panasonic FS-A1WSX BIOS installed.

Published on 3/4/2012
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (originally known as 悪魔城伝説 or Akumajō Densetsu, meaning "Legend of the Demon Castle") is the story of Trevor Belmont's battle against Dracula from the times before Simon's battle in Castlevania. In this complex and difficult game, there are three playable allies whom Trevor can recruit: Alucard (Dracula's son), Grant DaNasty (a pirate captain), and Sypha Belnades (a mystic warlord).
This game has a technically high-quality soundtrack because it uses a VRC6 sound chip that works in the Japanese Famicom but not in the NES. Thus, the movie was made with the Japanese version of the game instead of the USA version.
This movie takes the path that recruits Grant. It is about 22 seconds faster than the previous version. Improvements come from more optimization, better heart management, and new tricks like manipulating moving platforms and entering walls. There is also a Sypha path movie and an Alucard path movie.

Published on 11/7/2022
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is the story of Trevor Belmont's battle against Dracula from the times before Simon's battle in Castlevania. In this complex and difficult game, there are three playable allies whom Trevor can recruit: Alucard (Dracula's son), Grant DaNasty (a pirate captain), and Sypha Belnades (a mystic warlord).
Unlike the other branches of Castlevania III, this run uses a stairs glitch in Block 4 to climb directly to Dracula and skip most of the game. Only the USA version allows this glitch to work, so it was used instead of the Japanese version, which has superior sound quality.
In this run, scrimpeh beats the predecessor movie by 00:11.18 seconds through new tricks and better strategies.

Watch a resync of this run being played back on a real console.

Published on 6/26/2015
Frankenstein: The Monster Returns is a NES game released by Bandai in 1990. The evil monster Frankenstein has risen from the grave and kidnapped the girl Emily. Our hero is out to save her and defeat the evil monster once and for all.
This TAS completes the game as fast as possible using several glitches like boss skips. Check out the author's commentary for more details.

Published on 12/12/2019
Power Blade is an underdog platformer by the folks at Taito, highly reminiscent of the Mega Man series. The player takes control of NOVA, a hero who looks a lot like Arnold Schwarzenegger and who must destroy a maverick computer with a boomerang. This is one of those obscure games that you may wish you had played as a kid.
In this run, scrimpeh saves 02:30.00 minutes over the previous movie via route changes made possible by new glitches involving ladders and grenades. Details are in the author's comments.

This movie has a full Atlas Map encode, which shows the standard encode overlaid on a zoomed out map.

Published on 6/8/2018
This is Super Bat Puncher. You take control of Captain Roast of the Bat Excommunication and Eradication Force (or BEEF), who travels to Planet BAT to punch some bats. You get a boxing glove for that which can also be used to boost yourself off of walls, inviting various speed tricks. You also get a little bird companion called Sir Loin who can be controlled by the second player. He's used occasionally in order to manipulate bats or kill out of the way enemies. Further details are outlined in the author's comments.
Super Bat Puncher is a homebrew game for the NES by Morphcat, with music composed by Dave Harris. This TAS aims to complete two loops of the demo version of the game, using a bonus item that can only be obtained after the game has been completed once.

You can watch the complete run being played back on a console.
Tags:
2 Players
Emulator Replay:
BizHawk 2.1.0

Published on 4/12/2017
When a villain known only as Mr. Dark appears, trouble brews in Rayman's world. Mr. Dark captures the Toons - the source of light - and Rayman's friends. Without the light, evil creatures begin to roam, making the world unsafe for everyone. It's up to you, as Rayman, to free your friends and put an end to Mr. Dark's dastardly schemes!
Rayman is a side-scrolling platformer starring the titular Rayman, a big-nosed chap with no arms or legs. Rayman can jump and use his hair to hover for a short period of time. He can also attack by throwing his fists, or winding up his fists for a more powerful punch. He can occasionally find special powerups that grant him unlimited flying power, giving him the ability to navigate through tricky mazes.
scrimpeh and Got4n tear through this difficult game with a variety of glitches and physics exploits. For more details on how these glitches work, we recommend reading the authors' comments for information about this run.
Note that any% is the same as 100% for this game, as Rayman requires all the Toons to unlock the final battle with Mr Dark.

Published on 8/9/2011
Super Castlevania IV is the first game in the Castlevania series for the SNES. In it, Simon Belmont, equipped with the ability to whip in 8 different directions, sets out to vanquish Dracula yet another time.
In this run, the authors, arukAdo, Bablo, Cardboard, and scrimpeh obsolete a seven year old movie by over a minute and a half by a different subweapon choice, new tricks and better optimization. For more details, as always, please see the authors' notes.
Emulator Replay:
Snes9x 1.43 v17

  • Rayman
I've been desiring to make a Rayman run ever since I joined the site. After several WIPs and redos of the Game Boy Advance version, the final submission ultimately came from got4n.
Should at one point the PSX or DOS version become TASable, I will drop everything for a chance to properly work on it. The PSX version will have a significantly different route (Mosquito's Nest before Bongo Hills, no Bongo Hills revisit) from the GBA version due to different cage placement. Here's hoping for PSXhawk to come soon.
Since PSX is TASable as of BizHawk 1.11.0, a full-game TAS of Rayman is in progress with got4n and fuerchter.
  • Castlevania: No Subweapons, No Damage
A pet project born out of curiosity to see whether it is possible to complete the game within those conditions. A run has been submitted, but rejected due to poor entertainment value. It is also possible to save several seconds with better optimization and manipulation.
  • Super Castlevania 4
Several improvements to the current publication exist, but have yet to be implemented.
  • Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure
I've been somewhat interested in TASing this game for a while now. It's too long of a game to ever happen, probably, but here's a WIP up to Stage 1-4: #39692755960980915
  • Frankenstein - The Monster Returns
I made a testrun of this game in 11:34. Refer to this forum post for details.
Later a full run of the game saving over two minutes was submitted and accepted to the site.
The purpose of this section is to list known improvements to published movies of mine for the benefit of others looking to update them. Also for myself, so I don't eventually forget about them. They are listed in no particular order. Timesaves may be large or small, and may be completely untested.
  • EP-1 Magic Carpet Ride
  • Faster Mr.Stone fight courtesy of the RTA community
  • AL-3 camera optimization
  • Mr. Dark Fist Pickup animation skip
  • Couple frames at end of SOF-1
  • Original pre-hex strat at end of PP-1
  • Investigate: AL-1 routes - early lower left cage pickup on revisit, or get everything immediately on the first run and skip the revisit entirely
  • Turning/Crawling Slippery State Preservation, 10 - 20F in BH-1, maybe other uses?
  • Joris PPW3 Second Plum Strat (hit plum on recoil)
Other loose ends that are worth revisiting:
  • Get Helicopter (or even Running) first before getting Rings
    • Needs BH-4 cagerab
    • Needs TG-1 skip
    • Possibly needs a bunch of other new strategies
  • BH-5 early first cage, other skips
  • BH-6 skip to end / kill red dude (it's possible, but slower)
  • EP-1 wallbreach somewhere, somehow.
  • SOF-3 Get the plum all the way up to the upper platform
  • EAJ-3 Early Exit Trigger (still have to punch in plug first)
  • EAJ-4 Skips
  • Revisit most rings with updated ring script
  • Destroy the weapon box in the second screen of Stage 1 to reduce lag. Same procedure in other rooms.
  • Take one or more additional damage boosts in the falling stages. There's enough health overall.
  • Utilize instant hit in Underpass/Gate section, especially for gates at the edge of the screen
  • Better general lag reduction and precision
  • Faster 4-4 zip (about 8 sec.?)
  • Missed damage boost in 8-2 (~10 frames)
  • More aggressive clock tower strat (~130 frames)
  • 4-3 improved by 9 frames (?, lag might kill this)
  • Grab Koranot orb early (90 frames)
  • Grab drumstick in 9-2 (?)
  • Get rid of Snes9x 1.43 (- many, many frames)
  • See forum thread for small timesaves (BLK-9 ring skip, and descending stairs faster in BLK-7)
  • Could potentially avoid ducking for the flower at ~1:25 by picking up a screen-clearing powerup instead. Untested if it actually saves time
  • See 4895M for newest strategies up to Grant. (Specifics might vary due to version choice.)
  • Incorporate Scroll Glitches (See forum post)
  • Pick up the axe later in the clock tower, might save some frames (pointed out by Cardboard)
  • Incorporate stair glitch shortcuts (c.f. forum thread)
  • The published run loses 4 frames on the BLK-03 boss due to bad optimization, it may also lose time on other bosses in similar fashion.
  • Why did I whip the Medusa Head in Stage 6 again?
  • Potential route change in BLK-05. Rather than going to the merchant in Stage 13 for the stopwatch, get it en-route in a treasure chest in Stage 15. (cf. this map). Also investigate if the getting the holy water is worth it
  • Investigate (faster) stopwatch glitch setup of current RTA runs.
  • Take 5 more hearts to Dracula for one more stopwatch use
  • Incorporate Stair Glitches. Refer to forum post for details.
  • Shouldn't jump in Stage 2. Generally no need to pick up as many hearts
  • Sloppy final boss
  • Should get fewer hearts in BLK 1 to avoid a whip spawn (unknown)
  • Should take damage from fleaman in BLK-1 to avoid ducking and waiting (avoids 20 frames of waiting, unknown cost)
  • Fast Grant Orb Drop. Circumstances unknown, related to $567 & #$8 See Forum Post, probably not worth it
  • Use one holy water before switching to Grant to end clock tower with 0 hearts (savings unknown)
  • During glitchwarp, delay killing one merman until after your lives are reset to 0. Avoids a game-over. (Savings unknown, doesn't stop you from needing to switch back. Thanks to Burb for pointing this out)
  • I didn't check if Drac 2's flames disapearing is random like the BLK-1 boss (~5 frames)
  • Don't take for granted axe-only Dracula 3 fight is fastest, dagger might be better.
  • Another Clock Tower Launch, saving 116 frames, courtesey of SBDWolf
  • No bone pillar during wrong warp, saving 29 frames, courtesey of SBDWolf, again
  • The possibility of an earlier or faster wrong warp setup always exists.
More to be added.

HomePages/scrimpeh last edited by scrimpeh 1 day ago
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