Note: Only marginally related to actually speed running, mostly just a post about the game I found interesting. Mods - please feel free to delete if these boards should only be speed run related.
Likely this has already been discovered (what about the game hasn't) so sorry if this is common knowledge. It was new to me!
Using the emulator I created a cheat to keep the star count at 4. Obviously this wasn't a real speed run, it was just curiosity. In fact the current speed runs are still quicker on many of the fighters. Others like Don 1 are quicker as the first star punch knocks him out without waiting for his uppercut. King Hippo can be star punched, and it does get through his defenses. Hitting him with his mouth open does more damage than with his guard raised. So the programmers thought to include that oddly enough.
Next I made the emulator keep knockdown count at 0 eliminating any TKO. Most fighters behave as expected meaning your 4th knockdown in round 1 is the same as if you had 4 knockdowns spread across rounds 1 and 2. But Bald Bull cannot be KO'd... Or can he?
On his 6th knockdown he gets up on a 1 count. So a single star gets the 7th. The 9th knockdown was his bull charge at 2:00 into round 1. He gets up with a typical refill and it looks like he won't give up. But his 10th knockdown sees him get up with a very low fill. And the 11th. Finally at the 12th knockdown he is KO'd officially even with Mario's slow count.
Thank you! I went through all of the guides and a bunch of tutorial videos I found. I finally found the issue. It did have to do with buffering vs. small delays for some punches. I can't believe how intricate this thing is. Makes it even more impressive for not only the top runners today but the OG runners who ground this out for year to come up with these strats.