Tennessee, USAHi there, thanks for sharing this! No idea this version existed until you brought it to my attention.
I'd be happy to add PC version categories (I'll have to do that later today). Regarding changing the name of the game (to remove GB), I think I need to speak w/ site staff about that, so I'll look into that.
Thanks!
@PoorMansCouch If you're playing on a flashcart or real cart, and you're playing on SGB1/2 or actual game boy, then it'll be marked it as non-emulator.
(btw I had to google what a GB Interceptor is...must be a new thing. but it seems like it just captures from hardware/cart so yeah, non-emulator run is what you submitted)
@JoePulito that sounds great! Thanks!
Hi all,
I bought this game recently on itch.io, but it seems like since 2 years ago, some bugs were patched out + a couple levels were made longer. I'm unable to do the level slip in the Mall level on the DX version (which is what it's called now). I can still do the 100% category, though it's a few seconds longer due to different item placements + level length.
I was wondering if there could be a category split for 100%? Original and DX or something? I'm planning to submit my run I did on the recent version later tonight, but given glitches were patched out + levels aren't quite the same, I feel like this would make things a bit more fair.
Not required, of course, but I figured I should at least bring this up in case anyone else in the future buys this game to celebrate Christmas, lol. Thanks!
@Nobleboy77 I have not; I usually press it after hitting Start lol. But that's good to know if anyone sees this!
I went through previous runs of this game, and it seems like there was no clear place to start the run/timer. Judging from previously submitted runs, I think starting the timer when you skip the first cutscene (or when the "Stage 1-1" screen starts to appear) can help make things more accurate.
If anyone has feedback about this, just let me know. I only had to change a couple of times but the rest of the runs skip the cutscene immediately after choosing "START" anyway.
Hi there, I took over from the last mod who was inactive.
Original hardware, Flashback consoles, and Stella should all be fine. I'll make sure I update the rules for this since I wasn't aware there weren't any.
Good luck on your runs!
Hi all, just wanted to clarify the timing a bit (I'll put this in the rules as well, as I took over for a previous mod and the rules aren't this specific).
Timing starts on the first black frame after pressing Start on the title screen. Timing ends on the first black frame after the "you chose wisely" message, when the text box is completely gone.
So if anyone wants to frame count their run prior to submission, I hope this helps!
@TricKyBoy Looks like you can change the category name to "Beat the Game". Maybe you could add timing rules too? Such as: Time begins when choosing "START" and ends on the last hit of Penguin.
And then if you want to add a section to display the ending the runner got, I think you have to do variables -> annotations and then do it that way. Not required but would be neat.
But yeah, thanks to you and @Nobleboy77 for your feedback!
Sounds great!
I'm thinking something like "beat the game" as the category name, and then we could add a variable on the board that says what ending you got (and we can link to this forum if people need help figuring out what ending they got).
I feel like this would allow other people to do a run of this game and feel less pressure to not die (dying can still yield a good ending!).
And yes, @Nobleboy77, if you don't mind reading my initial post and giving thoughts, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks guys! :)
Hi all, I just wanted to go over how this game tracks endings (and also why I think additional endings should be considered for the leaderboard).
According to GameFAQs, endings aren't based entirely on deaths, etc. The game has a hidden score. If you take damage from weak or strong enemies, you get hit by bosses or Penguin, or you die, it will affect your score. Here is how the game tracks points according to the guide:
"In this game, you'll find that your health - specifically how often you're hit and how many times you die - determine the ending. Taking hits and dying adds points to a counter:
- a hit from basic enemies: +8
- a hit from middle grade enemies: +12, +16, +18 or +24
- a hit from bosses (Penguin excluded): +48
- a hit from Penguin (both boss fights): +80
- dying: +1,024 (overwhelmingly the greater influence).
Basically, outside of dying, the points added to the counter are proportional to damage received. When you finish the final stage, depending on the values of this counter, you will get a different ending. The estimates in regards to number of deaths are merely estimates, as taking a certain number of hits is still equivalent to a loss of life."
And as for endings:
Hidden score is less than 5,376 = Best Ending (Awesome! You are the hero of all heroes!)
Hidden score is between 5,376 and 9,984 = Good Ending (Congratulations, Batman! You've saved Gotham City.)
Hidden score is between 9.984 and 14,848 = Bad Ending (Your skill has improved, but you're not a real hero yet.)
Hidden score is more than 14,848 = Worst Ending (You took too much time to get here. Try getting here sooner.)
With all of this said, it is possible to get the Good Ending despite dying. In fact, I did it while prepping this game for NES Odyssey 2024. I'm going to link a video of my stream archive; it shows me dying in Stage 5, then I keep playing, and eventually I still get the Good Ending. I played on regular cartridge + top loader NES.
As for why I'm bring this up at all, I want to offer my two cents regarding how this board is set up. The rules state you have to get the Good Ending, but it also says you can't die. However, turns out dying at least once is still okay (depends on that hidden score). Obviously, dying at all is slow and this game is still fairly punishing. The thing is, I think this game would attract more runners and attention if we allowed for any ending to be submitted. You could even mark your ending as "best, good, bad, worst" on your submission, as some boards allow you to do so. For example, Batman: The Video Game allows you to click "yes" or "no" if you did the Joker Glitch.
Let me know what you all think about this; I know it's a lot but this game is such a hidden gem and it'd be a shame if people avoided this game just because they died (which as I've shown, can still lead to a Good Ending). Thanks!
Hi all, I just added a bit of clarification on where to start/stop the timer. The prior mod didn't create any timing rules and I'm only just now realizing this, lol. Everyone has been starting from Run/Hop and ending when the screen is completely black after entering the door in the last stage, and I just clarified that in the rules. This won't change anything but I figured I'd clarify just in case.
UPDATE 11/7/2023: We have made subcategories for the US and PAL versions and runs have been moved to the appropriate categories. We are still working on making categories for the JPN version since that version is a bit different. Thanks for your patience.
I'll go with the majority on this, but I agree with what Chardcore is saying. If there are enough differences that affect the overall timing compared to the standalone carts then I'd say the compilation cart should be it's own board. That's just my two cents; I'm fine with however this goes. But if I had to decide, the compilation cart should be separate if possible.
Everything should be updated now. You can now choose the word category when submitting runs. I updated everyone's category, so no need to go back and resubmit or anything.
Hey there, I'll update the page later tonight. All of these sound good to me
Apparently sr.c didn't give me a notification about this, and I never saw this until now. Whoops.
If you're still interested, I can create categories for the Japanese version of this game. Just let me know. Sorry about the delay on this; I blame this website lol
