[TAS] NES Castlevania II: Simon's Quest by zggzdydp in

This is a tool-assisted speedrun. For more information, see tasvideos.org/3400M
TAS originally published on 2017-05-23
If science fiction is to be believed, the ultimate evolution for biological beings is to discard the physical body and become an entity of pure energy. For video game characters, it seems to be the ability to zip through walls.
In this latest TAS by zggzdydp ( tasvideos.org/Users/Profile/z... ), Simon Belmont joins the league of characters possessing this ability.
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest is the story of Simon's horrible weekend
without sleep. Two years after defeating Dracula, the hero is physically
weakened by Dracula's curse. He must gather Dracula's remains and
incinerate them at the ruins of Castlevania in order to end the curse.
This movie is 85 seconds faster than the previous effort by the same author. We recommend to read his comments ( tasvideos.org/5418S ) for explanations on how this improvement was achieved.
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This movie has a full Atlas Map encode ( • Castlevania II: Simon'... ), which shows the standard encode overlaid on a zoomed out map.

[@Arntonach]

What a horrible night to have to grind

[@wraithcadmus]

The RNG manip has vanquished the horrible grind

[@hosdelgato1]

@@wraithcadmus

[@samuraichilton]

After the game an interviewer asked death how he felt. Death replied "I have never been so insulted."

[@edsaloru1]

Simon dying at the very last moment when killing Dracula is epic. It adds mystery to which one is the true ending. Of course Dracula always lives again and another vampire killer will come

[@TheBanishedWind]

The ending in this video does it because it's implied Simon hasn't yet had Juste's parent (possibly his father?) due to how his wounds from the first game harassed him. With the curse broken, he can now get back to actually living.

[@edsaloru1]

@@TheBanishedWind yeah, or maybe even Simon had children even before Castlevania 1. With his líne of work, it is logical to have children before going on a quest against the lord of vampires.

[@TheBanishedWind]

@@edsaloru1 While at the same time, he was only 22 in the first game, and 29 here. Still enough time to have that kid to ensure Juste exists.

[@edsaloru1]

@@TheBanishedWind wow I had no idea of his age, thanks for the data

[@jackfrost0331]

Isn't Juste the grandson of Simon? But Juste's parents are unknown or not even introduced.

[@RX-8GT]

The soundtrack of this game is awesome!!! The flashbacks man 😵

[@glowingunknown5625]

Castlevania 2 & 3 - best game soundtracks of all time.

[@CrasherX2000]

While Akumajou Densetsu (Castlevania 3) has the best ost of the trilogy, this soundtrack, while limited, is pretty cool

[@hunterlembo5661]

yeah good sounds C2 but the game SUCKS BALLS TO PLAY!!

[@zierin705]

Especially Bloody Tears (the Overworld/Day theme). You can't have Castlevania without Bloody Tears.

[@RX-8GT]

@@zierin705 definitely, that is the first song I ever heard.. well because Simon's quest was the first game of all I played, in fact.. other than Mario Brothers on Nintendo, castlevania2 was the first game I bought and boy was it a journey 👍. I love that game

[@letcreate123]

That end with Simon and Dracula dying at the same time was amusing tbh

[@Supermario0727]

letcreate123 Shouldn't this run end with Simon living, since he completed it in a short time?

[@MrZangetsu468]

John Stuart it does

[@dickmarx1298]

I cracked the f up. That was harsh.

[@TheMixedPlateFrequency]

Actually i think in this ending, it did end with Simon living.

[@mamacofeliz6025]

Is this a motherfucking JoJo reference?

[@MarginalSC]

"Don't you know who I am boy? I'm..." Simon just walks by.

[@dantedeloden]

true ending, both die therefore both legends will be spoken throughout the ages!

[@parimabartender]

Soundtrack in dracs castle. I still remember the first time I heard it

[@chriswinkler284]

Sure, I'll take you to a TAS. Heh! Heh! Heh!

[@avalonjustin]

I've made a mistake. LET ME OFF THIS BOAT!

[@DJChipsandGarlic]

First Castlevania game I played when my dad randomly bought me it. I never finished it as a child , I think people trying this game now would have real difficulty.

[@brock8061]

I’m starting an nes collection and this was was one the first games I bought and I think retro castlevania is really cool

[@samuraichilton]

It is on the switch with featured like rewind and quicksave. I beat it for the first time earlier this year.

[@D-Fens_1632]

Hell I got the first one in like 88/89 and still haven't beaten it.

[@Dekaide44]

I remember that, just like most NES games back then, you started, and you really didnt know what to do without Nintendo power. No google back then

[@TheTdw2000]

The game is basically impossible to beat without a guide. MAYBE you could randomly stumble upon the solutions after enough time, but it'd be a miserable experience and would take forever.

[@HappyMealBieber]

what a horribly night to have a horrible night

[@domovoi2861]

xd casually walks past Death

[@1tonyvalle]

19:48 "Belmont! We meet again, at last! Though you may have beaten me once before-- Huh-Hey! Where do you think you're going? I'm talking to you here, you rude miscreant!" 20:02 "Oh, there you are again. You know, that was pretty rude of you to-- Hey, come back here! Don't think I'm finished with you!"

[@CJHElectro]

I always thought the robed guys had a big mouth on the front. Can't unsee.

[@chriswinkler284]

I think I know who you're talking about...The ones in the poison marsh that shot fireballs at you...I think they were called Slimy Barsinisters.

[@hygrave2892]

22:13 Believe it or not, that's Simon exchanging a crystal with himself. The sprites look the same for a reason, that is, a Simon from a different time period.

[@beardohickritiquetm8096]

Thank God for people who don't talk during these.

[@glowingunknown5625]

meh. commentary is the best part of watching speedruns.

[@irurwurst]

@@glowingunknown5625 only if its text on the screen.

[@wallacesousuke1433]

@@glowingunknown5625 no

[@reedr7142]

I also appreciate no commercials. Thank you.

[@Runicbeast]

That crisp playback though... oh my my

[@waynedrew7074]

Epic brother

[@erikinmanhattan7775]

the reason this game is different is because it was originally intended to be something else. It was supposed to be a game about resurrecting Lucifer but the FCC turned it down as it was deemed too "Satanic" so they turned it into castlevania 2 instead but Dracula still looks like Lucifer in the end lol

[@wallacesousuke1433]

And I like the open world and day/night cycle concepts in this game and wish they were carried over and expanded upon in other games, beats the boring corridor-like design of most classic Vanias

[@Dekaide44]

Yea It never made much sense to get all his parts to res him and then kill him.

[@msp720]

Isn't there a skip somewhere so you don't have to take the tornado with the red crystal? I think I've seen a speedrun that does that.

[@Dylan_thebrand_slayer_Mulveiny]

Thought...what if the people in Transilvania just...moved...then Dracula wouldn't have to die and everyone wins.

[@irurwurst]

then he takes over the world because no one stopped him.

[@metsuke]

killing and getting killed by draculla, that is epic!

[@StevenQBeatz]

Wouldn't it be faster to do the "blob glitch" to warp instead of taking the tornado?

[@joseluisbrionesrodriguez5035]

Jugador experto totalmente perfeto impresionante jamás vi algo igual

[@caizerox8333]

Es una TAS Es decir un bot programado para hacer eso aunque no deja de ser impresionante

[@joseluisbrionesrodriguez5035]

@@caizerox8333 cielos!!! Con razón, esto raya practicamente en la perfección y bueno pues muy muy difícil que un jugador lo logre.

[@caizerox8333]

@@joseluisbrionesrodriguez5035 Aunque no lo creas existe una comunidad llamada "Speedrunners" tratan de terminar un juego lo mas rápido posible y te puedo asegurar que algunos casi se acercan a un TAS, como los speedruns de el primer mario para la NES

[@joseluisbrionesrodriguez5035]

@@caizerox8333 entiendo, pero para mi gusto es mas complicado por mucho este castlevania que cualquier Mario, analizalo con lupa y veras, y por lo tanto lo dudo mucho que exista algún gamer que logre esta jugada, en ese tiempo. Yo soy super fanático de este juego y lo conozco perfectamente, y por eso me atrevo a decirte que no creo que haya algún gamer que iguale o supere esta jugada

[@ABCDEFGHdumbo]

i love the buildup starting at 23:35 to that long jump @ 23:44 !!

[@dickmarx1298]

I was all wtf while cracking up

[@ivanzhr7]

Perfect!!!

[@dkillalegend]

There was once a minor discovery at 5:23 where zggzdydp broke two blocks (instead of going down the stairs) which saved an extra 190 frames at the least.

[@Criminal.Lawyer]

Maybe this is an elementary question but how does a Tool manipulate the heart drops like that

[@stuff5499]

save states

[@Dekaide44]

@@stuff5499 is that really how they did it. Just saved states until it dropped?

[@johnkalyvas4838]

It could also be tied to the frame count. Many NES games had enemies drop items if they died in specific frames, instead of using RNG. For example an item drop that was intended to be 1/16 chance could be programmed with a counter that goes up every frame and resets to 0 when it hits 16. If an enemy dies when that counter has a specific value, then the item would be dropped.

[@jackkoffin1]

Is this the first game where grinding and farming was a big part of the strategy?

[@Kryptic1046]

The first Castlevania game with grinding, yes. First game to ever feature grinding/farming as part of progression? No. Dragon Warrior came before it and you needed to grind that game for XP and gold.

[@startinguptoday]

Dwells away in a corner of a dungeon to give away these laurels. What a pitiable soul 7:51

[@EthanTypically]

LMAO

[@wraithcadmus]

13:08 - Did he just do a "Minnesota Ope" as he squeezed past that eyeball?

[@MurseSamson]

The battle, ... is consummated! 🧛⚰️💀🦇 💥💥💥💥

[@alexbelmont3475]

0:33 how do you do that? I tried to do it over a thousand times and I never succeeded... what is the secret?

[@ebobolina9780]

You are not a machine

[@EarlFaulk]

Hes probably glitching it with frame perfect inputs. A human might get lucky and do it by accident once.

[@joeyk107]

@@EarlFaulk one time I did it by accident and I fell through the floor into water

[@TheMixedPlateFrequency]

I always enjoyed this game.

[@Eldoofus]

The music alone, man.

[@retro3188]

@@Eldoofus Yep; Bloody Tears, Monster Dance, Within These Castle Walls, Last Boss, Game Over and Requiem are my personal favorites!

[@GequibrenArte]

Insane

[@heavyrush7635]

best of 8 bit Castlevania

[@tomypower4898]

castlevania 2 nes I love it

[@EarlFaulk]

Yeah so do I :p. I think the only reason why everyone rags on this game is because its popular to do so because of AVGN. Its almost like everyone just completely forgot about word of mouth and the magazine industry back then lol.

[@user-yk3zy9jd6x]

How did he skip first level up (0:28 L - 00; 08:17 L - 01)?

[@Hakedouma]

5% fun 95% farming !

[@AboveEmAllProduction]

How he got hearts from every enemy? And why doesn't speedeumners do that

[@LauWG]

Here I'm like "It's one of the NES game I have, and I have no will to play through all that" XD

[@kunteper94]

Yet this is still probably the only game where the protagonist can step on every stair.

[@mrc7489]

I still have the original cartridge 😄

[@joescofield1086]

I want to hear this played with magfest

[@mathissweeney7812]

Phantom Blood

[@noside.foxhound]

23:44 How did you do that jump?? 😱😱😱

[@TheBanishedWind]

Believe it or not (hell I discovered this on my own the other day) the game has an inertia engine and technically Simon was moving during the tornado scene.

[@noside.foxhound]

@@TheBanishedWind Oh I see. 🤔

[@profesorealvarez]

Wow 😮

[@SuperSlyKing]

Nintendo should add this in next nes games update for Nintendo switch online

[@lifeisstr4nge]

Imagine missing one jump...

[@justinmitchell6488]

6:38 Music got all upbeat and shit.

[@RedWolf-jm3mv]

Nivel ninja 😲

[@GhostSlimeOficial]

Ele usou TAS (Tool Assistment Software) pra facilitar a vida

[@PhilLeotardosGhost]

Most impressive shit I've ever seen!

[@varsityathlete4786]

My estimation of you as a man just fukkin plummeted.

[@PhilLeotardosGhost]

@@varsityathlete4786 20 years lost in Transylvania on Simon's Quest, I wanted to meet Dracula, I compromised, I watched Simon Belmont meet him here instead.

[@varsityathlete4786]

@@PhilLeotardosGhost charles Schwab over here

[@PhilLeotardosGhost]

@@varsityathlete4786 Because I got an empty fuckin' stomach.

[@varsityathlete4786]

@@PhilLeotardosGhost eat a breadstick

[@snozer6966]

The infamous crouch is at 23:33, you know a truly amazing game was here but there was just so much stupid shit in it to the point where it ruined because of it.

[@jasonthomas6684]

Yep agreed...like who would guess that they needed to do that? Bullcrap.

[@EarlFaulk]

There were lots of magazines and kids talking about secrets back then. I remember seeing that tip in nearly every third party mag at the time. Im sure NP had it as they published maps of every area in vol 2. Game wasnt nearly as hard as everyone makes it out to be because of that

[@user-lx7lw9mh4z]

なかなか進まねぇｗｗ

[@glowingunknown5625]

What a horrible night to have diarrhea.

[@wagnerramosmidichannelabso514]

What a horrible night to take a diarrhea dump in the Angry Video Game Nerd's ear.

[@ericdrei]

"What a horrible game to make a TAS."

[@Supermario0727]

On the other hand, the morning sun has vanquished the evil record.

[@ameliashultz738]

Low key tho i enjoy thos game

[@mokkorista]

23:30 what were they thinking? 😂

[@GamerGee]

1:51 Avgn

[@00jcl]

Hacked game Items don't drop that frequent

[@therealityrawcastiii8066]

SIMONS QUEST SAINT SIMON HOW FUCKING DARE YOU HAMMERDROP 222 CANCLD

[@Detector1977]

How does he kill enemies with 1 hit from holy water?

[@newartmov]

@@dee_ess_eff Can we get a tutorial?

[@angelobelmont9379]

@@newartmov dude it's simple just get enough hearts and buy the items

[@lexa_2195]

Welp! I came to conclusion, that i suck at these games.

[@lexa_2195]

@goggles789 this makes me feel slightly better, thank you.

[@AntJayRod25]

"This game sucks..." Famous first words

[@dickmarx1298]

Watch this at 2x speed. Your sphincter will thank you Your pants, not so much.

[@user-yk3zy9jd6x]

100% drop! Hack?

[@AshkarBehek0]

Nope. RNG abuse.

[@chilenglau1285]

Shut up kid

[@christsavage9119]

Hated this version no real rymme or reason just wander until you find what you need to move forward

[@anhyeumautim]

Trò chơi gì đi lang thang kô có mục đích như thằng khùng đi toán loạn xà ngầu kô xem kô biết chơi ra sao

[@oasis9615]

This game sucks.

[@It-is-a-Smash-Hit]

this game sucks

[@xileo17]

Nice HACK!)