Hey all, new mod for the game. I will be splitting the categories by console soon as I can. Let's get some more runs in here!!

Hello, just wondering about an arcade category and if it would be the same goal as NES Single Loop basically. I'm running the game for an event at the end of October and would love to have a coherent run put together by then.

Hello all. Since this game has been selected for the latest Big 20 event I wanted to go through and make sure all the runs included their milliseconds on the board.

Some submissions had not previously included the milliseconds so if you saw your run was re-verified it's because I retimed to get the exact milliseconds.

Exception: those times that are a flat 000 milliseconds will only display as a minute:seconds format, so in these cases we can't show the milliseconds for that run on the board but know that it is a flat 000.

Hey all, just wanted to update on the recent deleted WR. The runner was found to be cheating on MANY other runs and after reviewing their run here it was clear they didn't play the game and took advantage of the trust given by others. Don't be like this person, cheaters will always be discovered.

New rules incoming ASAP.

Hello all, new mod here. Stepping in for the big assist in frame-counting. One minor edit, but other than that things were looking good. Just a friendly reminder to upload your Twitch VODs to another source like YouTube because Twitch doesn't hold them forever!

Due to the incredible work that has been done towards this game, I have added the option to record milliseconds. Mods frame count runs anyway, so this is more about settling any future runs that may be close. Thank you everyone who has submitted runs so far and I hope to see many more in the future!

As a way to keep the categories competitive I have added the milliseconds counter to prevent any ties at higher ranks. While it is still technically possible to have a tie, this will make it much less likely to happen.

Runs already submitted before this ruling was made will be "grandfathered" in, meaning we will not be altering them EXCEPT in the event that someone submits a time that could potentially alter ranks. These will be handled on a case by case basis.

Milliseconds will be required only when a run needs a tie breaker, or if the run qualifies for a time indicated in the category specific rules. Mods will handle the frame counting of these runs as the situation calls for it (mods frame count all runs even before this).

Just wanted to congratulate everyone who has joined us from the Big 20. I hope some of you will keep grinding down this game and hopefully we can keep finding new secrets.

Speaking of secrets, FairySimple has been a central part of collecting all the information she can to compile it all into one convenient location.

I am looking forward to more activity on this board.

I have made a very basic walkthrough for new runners to get to understand what this game is, how the mechanics & enemies operate, and a basic explanation of the any% run. Please let me know what you all think if you check it out, I'm hoping we can attract some new runners.

Also, hoping to check out the Commodore 64 version so we can add that to the site as well.

Hello! The current link in the rules no longer works, though there is still a link for the information on the site, they just updated it. Now it should read https://www.speedrunslive.com/rules-faq/faq#caniemulate

Hopefully I will start posting some runs soon, thanks for your time!

Started up a game this morning (Raspberry Pi v2, lr-nestopia) and mashed through to the game as I usually do.

Immediately, the screen was flashing as if I had cleared 4 lines and it just kept flashing for about 20 seconds. I tried to open my OBS as fast I could to record it, but before I could it was over.

Not sure if this is known, or even useful. Maybe it's interesting at least, just wondering if anyone else has encountered this before in emulation or actual hardware.

Aside from mashing through the start/option screens like I always do, I'm not sure what could have caused this. My best guess is maybe I pressed start on a frame during the demo when the computer had just completed a Tetris and the game got "stuck" flashing? Happy Friday everyone!

I have completed a run without killing any enemies (other than the bosses, of course). Would you mind adding a category so I may submit the run? I am more than happy to talk about my strats, and I look forward to other people running this category as well.

Do the categories allow for you to use the A+Start command to pick up from the level where you game over? Sorry if I missed this information elsewhere, though I did look and could not find any reference to 1cc or anything like it. Thanks, and I look forward to running this mega-classic!

Thank you all for your patience! The board is now live with each ending being tracked as Individual Levels, and a full run category for those who want to find the fastest way to get All Endings. We look forward to watching your runs, have a great time and a Happy Halloween!

Hey everyone! We will be getting the categories set up very soon, just nailing down a few details over the busy weekend. We will update the board ASAP, thank you for showing so much interest already. We look forward to watching/verifying your runs, and appreciate the suggestions!

This is pulled directly from the SpeedDemosArchive KnowledgeBase, which I feel deserves to be distinctly posted here in the forum. My own thoughts on the matter are presented after.

"There are several differences between the ntsc-u and ntsc-j versions. The difficulty of this game (without a walkthrough) is absolutely ludicrous. My guess is that someone tried to tone down the difficulty a notch or two before releasing the game in the US (it's still ridiculous though). Anyways, some items have been moved around, some blocks take more jumps to destroy in the Japanese version etc. For the best ending category, this means that it's meaningless to compare the two versions. For the normal ending, you have to make five block breaking jumps more in the j-version. These extra jumps also mean that an extra mighty coin is needed in the j-version. This equals roughly an additional 3 seconds or so (depending on how fast one is to break blocks). On the other hand, there is a chest in round 17 (room 17-2 to be more exact) that is visible in the j-version but not in the u-version. That room is roughly 1 second faster on the j-version. So overall, the u-version has a few seconds advantage over the j-version, but one should probably not compare the two versions down to the second."

Although the difference in time seems negligible I feel this is enough to cause runners to alter their approach to each version of the game, thereby necessitating a split in the NES & Japan releases. From what I understand there is a possibility that the Europe releases have even more variables so this is being further explored after the NES/Japan category split is finished.

Hello! Stepping in to clean up this board and make it an inviting place for new & returning runners.

Immediate updates include: adding Switch to the platforms as previously requested, and considering new categories specific to the Famicom version as there are significant differences in performance (numbers of jumps to reveal hidden blocks, etc.) which will be further explained in another post here and/or in another section as appropriate.

I will also be adding another mod as I believe every game should have a minimum of two active mods at all times. Let's get this game some more love and everyone have a great time playing it!

Hey all, something I should have done when I added Cauldron% was to update the wording for any% rules.

Some may be confused as to the final text screen, so to clarify: you must "beat the boss" by using an Apply jellybean on the glitched boss room screen. After the Blob transforms back to normal form the final message is displayed and you may stop your timer.

Any other questions or concerns may be directed towards myself :)

The category is Cauldron% with two sub-categories. [credit:Polsvoice]

Based on the any% run except you run right after falling into the credits instead of going left.

As you proceed to the right you will pass through glitch screens that exist solely as continuity for the games mapping. Much exploring could probably be done if anyone is interested, though I currently have no clues.

Keep running right, there is a story that repeats as you proceed that builds on itself as you go further. It is supposed to be a joke though it seems to be translated strangely and is said to be possibly dirty?

As you approach the Cauldron you can either:

Death Warp: Run into the flames and respawn up near the switch.

No Death Warp: Use the Trampoline (or whatever?) to reach the switch without dying.

There is hopefully at least one more category in mind for the future, though it is going to take a fair amount of experimenting/exploring. But for now, please enjoy Cauldron%

Hello everyone! I am here to breathe some life into this fantastic game, and to do that I will be looking into a possibly new start timing. This game has a similar questionable start timing so I may have to measure the timing from start press to character appearance/control and recommend runners use a delay on their timers. In any case I plan on frame-counting runs just to stay on top of things in the event that the podium becomes a tight race.

Other than the possible new start timing (and the retimes to follow) I would like to try and introduce a new category. Either 100% or All Water Cans, or possibly both? The bonus rounds after the levels/boss fights would be up for debate in 100% because the presents seemed randomized and may possibly make it impossible in certain instances to grab every item.

I would also like to introduce DarthTyrael as a mod. as well, he is someone who can be trusted to uphold the rules and perform timely run verifications to the same golden standard as myself.