Heyy I think I cracked the code on this... but not entirely. Here's a little tutorial: let's see if we can't get this in an RTA run!

Side note: I grew up with this game and it kicks up a lot of nostalgia for me. I'm hoping to submit a run of my own one day! :D

I've read the rules for the category but don't see this addressed... are we allowed to pick Salamander for our submission? Thanks!

Oh snap, didn't realize this discord server existed, or that it was already pinned to the top of the page lol. Your points are fair, and I thank you for your response :)

Hi to the other mods here. I know I'm a mod now but I wanted to ask for permission on this (also don't know how to do it). My friend runs a Martial Champion Discord server and I'd love to pin it to the main page of this game so other fans can get involved in the community.

Is that okay, and also if it is, how do I do that? :D

@BOSSCAT @DBcade @NintenLew Thanks!

Just watched this back and heard some weird audio glitch at 2:04 in the video... I have no idea what that's about :/ Sorry!

Y'know, after looking at this I think we can squeeze in an Intentional Overheat at the end. I might try to save some time with that one day!

My pleasure, @BOSSCAT! I will def try to break a few more minute/second barriers if I can. Why not, right? XD

After a few runs the other day I was perplexed as to why my "Hardest" difficulty run was a minute quicker than my run on "Easiest." I showed my run to my friend (he and I are kind of superfans of this game), and he noted that both myself and the computer's damage output had nearly doubled on "Hardest." So I guess if you want a quicker time overall, jack the difficulty up! :D

Personally, I like this damage output increase. The game already felt pretty volatile, but now it's just nuts! XD

I've read the Mod note, I will do that moving forward. Thank you!

Typically, everything I have tested on emulator has worked on my Wii, but if I ever notice any differences I'll be sure to notate them! Also, if I ever submit a record on the emulated version I'll notate that - so far, all my races are on my actual old Wii :D

I'm not sure how I can save more time on this, but I'm going to head into the emulator with save states so I can test things and find out!

While this time can still come down more, I still wanted to post this to show the new time-save I found - the weird landing angle at the end of the race. I'll try to improve on this soon!

Thanks for your response, NecroSeth. I believe I found the answer to my question in that there is an entire other community solely designed to hosting Mega Man game records and such. No run on my end yet, but since MM4 is the one I'm most nostalgic for and grew up with I had to ask :)

I managed to tie this record even with a different first-lap time - I uploaded it but it doesn't show. I uploaded it to show that this track has some variability and there is still room for optimization. The sub 1:27 grind continues! This may very well be the 2nd to last second barrier in the game.

Upon further inspection, it's not the 2nd to last second barrier in the game - I just was excited lol. Still gonna try to go for every last second barrier I can!

Hey Zephis! Ah ok so 3 frames between A press and jump huh? I'll have to keep that in mind. I wonder if I can sorta pre-emptively press A in certain situations and buffer into a perfect jump when I immediately land. I'll keep those 3 frames in mind moving forward!

I'm no TASer, but a few years ago I messed around and built a TAS that was supposed to be part of a series I was working on, TASing games while using Game Genie codes, in a way to sort of prove what would be possible if you were on an actual console with a Game Genie (maximum of 3 lines of code and all). I whipped this little thing together in a day to show a different possible route for Any% if you were to use super speed and mega jump. It wasn't meant to be a prolific piece of work or nothing, more just a goof to show off an otherwise impossible route lol. I also forgot to grab an extra key along the way and had to spend some time at the end to get one lol.

Was a fun TAS nevertheless, and I learned a few things about the games' mechanics that I take into my RTA runs today. Hope you enjoy!

Hey there! So sometimes there are instances in this game where in my heart, I know I'm pressing jump and it feels as if the game just eats my input. This usually happens after I'm landing for a jump, or sometimes close to the edge of a platform or ledge. The best way I can describe it is that it feels like Mikey can only jump during certain frames of his walk animation. It's probably my own error, but I was wondering if anyone else has felt this phenomenon or if there was a technical explanation for it. Thanks!

Awesome, and thanks! I might take you up on that this weekend or next. I'm mostly looking for strats on a few moving platform jumps that feel frame perfect, but I also look forward to seeing what you've compiled!

Ok gotcha! Like I said, I thought you only get one shot and if you miss it that it invalidates further tries. Ah I thought I was onto something lol. Well I WAS able to get it authentically a few times, and kudos to you for adapting the TAS strat to be achievable. I had seen McBobX's TAS years ago and when I saw the Zephis warp for the first time I knew what you had done lol. Amazing.

I've loved this game since I was a kid, and I'll try my best to de-rust my own run! I'm no master at speedrunning, but I do enjoy dabbling in it from time to time. I'd love to figure out strats for a few jumps that seem to be frame-perfect and give me trouble in achieving any really good times, I'll have to get specific info and ask my questions at some point. If I can nail a few of those, I think I can have a decent run going :)

Hi there! Lifelong Goonies 2 fan here and amateur speedrunner of the game (I think my sum of best for Any% is around 16:40), and I was messing around with the Zephis warp recently. First off, thanks to everyone for all the work, discoveries, and entertainment. Secondly, I HOPE I may have discovered something about it.

I was under the impression that you only get one shot to press jump and if you miss the timing, you ruin the chances of getting it. I was practicing with save-states and I experimented with the Turbo button and I was occasionally able to get it to trigger by holding down my turbo-jump button after I gather my momentum from the bomb explosion. If I'm wrong in my interpretation of "you only get one shot" then this discovery probably means nothing, but in the case that it's helpful I would be remiss if I didn't dish the info out.

As for my own runs, I think I'm going to dust off my old Any% run, I just need to check the rules and see if emulators are allowed. Hope to be on the boards at some point soon! I just have to find enough free time to de-rust lol.

Anyways, thanks again!