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No, the OTHER Marvel!
I'm a little hesitant to post about this since the game is kind of simplistic and doesn't have a definitive end in the traditional sense. It has four "classes" to complete, and beyond that it simply loops the final class endlessly, one of the many side effects of it being a grossly inferior port to the original 1986 arcade game (which can be found as part of the Midway Arcade Treasures collection). Still, it was the game that introduced me and my brother to skateboarding and began a long-standing sibling rivalry, so I feel compelled to give this game a go-through, as well as give some idea of how I've gone about doing this. Input more than welcome.
Times (from the moment 'START' is pressed until "Class Finished" appears after first completion of Class 4)
Personal best:14:26, aiming for sub-14, video hopefully coming soon.
13:40
13:34.5
13:18.5
General Notes (for those unfamiliar with the game)
-The game's objective is to complete four events positioned at four corners of an isometric map. Each event gives either a gold. silver, bronze, or no medal. Classes can be finished without earning a single medal, however...
-Having a ticket is required to enter events. You start with three and have to earn another by scoring points, either by doing tricks on the "overworld" map or through events.
***You need 125,000 points to earn enough tickets to do every event on every class.***
-The map has a timer. If you don't get to an event before it runs out, the words "SKATE OR DIE" flash at the top of the screen and a swarm of bees chases the skater. Eventually it becomes a super-fast skull or hammer and hits the player, causing a game over. At the same time, it displays the score needed to earn another event ticket, even if you already have one.
-You start with two continues and can't earn any more. Using a continue revives the skater wherever he was hit and gives him an event ticket.
-There are stores at the north, south, east, and west of the map which sell items to boost performance: skateboards, helmets, shoes, and pads. These allow for things like reducing recovery time after falling, jumping higher, not getting knocked off your board as easily, and moving faster in the main area.
-The tricks that can be done sometimes depend on the situation. Like the name of the game suggests, spins are the most common trick to perform. There are also bertlemann slides, a grind, and a handplant that can be done in the Ramp event.
Speedrun Notes (Overall)
-Any crash or fall on the open road costs about three seconds. Falling into certain pedestrians can cause the skater to land on top of them and get knocked down repeatedly, but jumping into/over them is possible to do.
-Running over any "MAP" tiles throws the player into a view of the overworld, then forces the class window to appear. This can add about four seconds every time it happens.
-Falling into water hazards has less of a delay, but usually respawns the skater at the edge of where the jump was made, forcing the player to back up a bit before trying again.
-Not earning a medal in an event technically saves about three seconds, as there is no "cash bonus" display at the end. However, this almost always results in a much lower score and without scoring enough points, it can lead to not having an event ticket and having to waste time doing tricks out in front of the event to earn one.
-Points are determined by two main things: the trick(s) performed and the class. Each 360 spin counts as one trick, so a 720 spin would be 200 points. Also, jumping over water hazards counts as a trick by itself. At Class 1 every trick has a 100 point base. Every class after that adds 100 points to this base, e.g. 200 for Class 2, up to 400 for Class 4, but additional tricks done in conjunction to the base trick only add an extra 100 points, such as doing a spin over a water hazard on Class 4 being 500 points.
-Since the points from events aren't enough on their own to earn all the tickets needed in the game, I tend to perform 360 spins while traveling between events. Usually this allows for anywhere between about six and thirteen extra tricks.
-Landing a trick into a wall or the side/front of a ramp will nullify the trick. Oddly enough, crashing into a wall causes the skater to instantly get back on his board.
-It's recommended to not buy any items from the shops. A detour to a shop can cost around ten seconds, depending on the location, and the stat boosts aren't that significant unless all four upgrades for a certain part are purchased. Therefore...
-Money is pointless. Seriously, don't bother with it.
-The Ramp event is almost directly north-east of the starting point, and as such is a decent place to start. I typically do this, then go clockwise around the map. This path minimizes contact with most pedestrians and usually avoids cars appearing onscreen entirely.
-Sometimes the skater, after landing a trick, will do a celebratory jump in the air. For the half-second he does this, the player has no control over his direction or speed. I haven't quite figured out when exactly he does this, so until then
Event Notes: RAMP (aka, halfpipe)
-I usually do this event first every class, as it presents more of an opportunity to build up points than the others.
-This is the one event that is always the same on every class.
-The one event that not only isn't in an isometric view, but also has a fixed time you must stay in the event for.
-While it's possible to perform spins, slides, and grinds at the lips of the halfpipe, handplants are much easier to input and don't have the added risk of potentially landing sideways, since...
-Each crash requires the usual three seconds to get back up and penalizes any bonus points earned after the run, but crashing with little time left can be disastrous as he always goes right to build momentum. As soon as the clock hits 00, the skater needs to land on the yellow platform to the left. This can add another three seconds while waiting for him to get to the other side of the halfpipe.
-It's also possible to do handstands in between the darker grey parts of the halfpipe, so what I typically do is handplant both sides of the ramp and perform handstands in between each to maximize my score. Also...
-Depending on what moves you do, it can affect when you should actually start moving. With my strategy, I wait until the clock reads 66 before I begin. This and properly-timed handplants allow the skater to be near the top of the left lip when the clock hits 00 and avoid any large delays waiting for the event to end.
-Bonus points after the event are based on overall performance. Maxing out the medal gauge typically earns anywhere from 3500-4000 points.
Event Notes: SLALOM
-Each gate is worth 300 points, with missed gates counting against the bonus points after the run. In class 1 and 2, this proves invaluable to earning a spare event ticket.
-A couple extra gates get added for Class 2 and 3 which changes the course layout slightly, but Class 4 is the same as 3.
-Jumping is disabled for this event, so you can't do extra tricks during straightaways.
-Bonus points are based on a combination of the number of gates hit and time taken to reach the finish. I haven't been able to determine the exact formula for this yet.
Event Notes: JUMP
-This involves jumping from an elevated ramp and landing near a target on the ground. There's only one jump on Class 1, and another gets added each class.
-Bonus points for this are determined by time taken to reach the finish, so focusing on speed over tricks in this event is a must. I've earned up to 5200 bonus points for this event on Class 1. That's more than half the points needed in the early parts of the game to earn an event ticket.
Event Notes: DOWNHILL
-With each class increase, an extra curve gets thrown into the middle of the course, though the beginning and end always stay the same.
-Coming up short on a jump typically forces the player to back up and regain momentum, which can add about three seconds to a run every time it happens.
-Bonus points are determined by time taken to reach the finish.
Glitches/Possible Exploits?
-There are times where I've managed to get the skater to glide across water hazards, though I haven't found a consistent way to duplicate this phenomenon.
-The skater can get stuck outside the fence surrounding the map by moving towards it, then landiing a trick directly in front of it. He'll be stuck there for the remainder of the game as he can't move in the area between the fence and the grey background.
Times (from the moment 'START' is pressed until "Class Finished" appears after first completion of Class 4)
Personal best:
13:18.5
General Notes (for those unfamiliar with the game)
-The game's objective is to complete four events positioned at four corners of an isometric map. Each event gives either a gold. silver, bronze, or no medal. Classes can be finished without earning a single medal, however...
-Having a ticket is required to enter events. You start with three and have to earn another by scoring points, either by doing tricks on the "overworld" map or through events.
***You need 125,000 points to earn enough tickets to do every event on every class.***
-The map has a timer. If you don't get to an event before it runs out, the words "SKATE OR DIE" flash at the top of the screen and a swarm of bees chases the skater. Eventually it becomes a super-fast skull or hammer and hits the player, causing a game over. At the same time, it displays the score needed to earn another event ticket, even if you already have one.
-You start with two continues and can't earn any more. Using a continue revives the skater wherever he was hit and gives him an event ticket.
-There are stores at the north, south, east, and west of the map which sell items to boost performance: skateboards, helmets, shoes, and pads. These allow for things like reducing recovery time after falling, jumping higher, not getting knocked off your board as easily, and moving faster in the main area.
-The tricks that can be done sometimes depend on the situation. Like the name of the game suggests, spins are the most common trick to perform. There are also bertlemann slides, a grind, and a handplant that can be done in the Ramp event.
Speedrun Notes (Overall)
-Any crash or fall on the open road costs about three seconds. Falling into certain pedestrians can cause the skater to land on top of them and get knocked down repeatedly, but jumping into/over them is possible to do.
-Running over any "MAP" tiles throws the player into a view of the overworld, then forces the class window to appear. This can add about four seconds every time it happens.
-Falling into water hazards has less of a delay, but usually respawns the skater at the edge of where the jump was made, forcing the player to back up a bit before trying again.
-Not earning a medal in an event technically saves about three seconds, as there is no "cash bonus" display at the end. However, this almost always results in a much lower score and without scoring enough points, it can lead to not having an event ticket and having to waste time doing tricks out in front of the event to earn one.
-Points are determined by two main things: the trick(s) performed and the class. Each 360 spin counts as one trick, so a 720 spin would be 200 points. Also, jumping over water hazards counts as a trick by itself. At Class 1 every trick has a 100 point base. Every class after that adds 100 points to this base, e.g. 200 for Class 2, up to 400 for Class 4, but additional tricks done in conjunction to the base trick only add an extra 100 points, such as doing a spin over a water hazard on Class 4 being 500 points.
-Since the points from events aren't enough on their own to earn all the tickets needed in the game, I tend to perform 360 spins while traveling between events. Usually this allows for anywhere between about six and thirteen extra tricks.
-Landing a trick into a wall or the side/front of a ramp will nullify the trick. Oddly enough, crashing into a wall causes the skater to instantly get back on his board.
-It's recommended to not buy any items from the shops. A detour to a shop can cost around ten seconds, depending on the location, and the stat boosts aren't that significant unless all four upgrades for a certain part are purchased. Therefore...
-Money is pointless. Seriously, don't bother with it.
-The Ramp event is almost directly north-east of the starting point, and as such is a decent place to start. I typically do this, then go clockwise around the map. This path minimizes contact with most pedestrians and usually avoids cars appearing onscreen entirely.
-Sometimes the skater, after landing a trick, will do a celebratory jump in the air. For the half-second he does this, the player has no control over his direction or speed. I haven't quite figured out when exactly he does this, so until then
Event Notes: RAMP (aka, halfpipe)
-I usually do this event first every class, as it presents more of an opportunity to build up points than the others.
-This is the one event that is always the same on every class.
-The one event that not only isn't in an isometric view, but also has a fixed time you must stay in the event for.
-While it's possible to perform spins, slides, and grinds at the lips of the halfpipe, handplants are much easier to input and don't have the added risk of potentially landing sideways, since...
-Each crash requires the usual three seconds to get back up and penalizes any bonus points earned after the run, but crashing with little time left can be disastrous as he always goes right to build momentum. As soon as the clock hits 00, the skater needs to land on the yellow platform to the left. This can add another three seconds while waiting for him to get to the other side of the halfpipe.
-It's also possible to do handstands in between the darker grey parts of the halfpipe, so what I typically do is handplant both sides of the ramp and perform handstands in between each to maximize my score. Also...
-Depending on what moves you do, it can affect when you should actually start moving. With my strategy, I wait until the clock reads 66 before I begin. This and properly-timed handplants allow the skater to be near the top of the left lip when the clock hits 00 and avoid any large delays waiting for the event to end.
-Bonus points after the event are based on overall performance. Maxing out the medal gauge typically earns anywhere from 3500-4000 points.
Event Notes: SLALOM
-Each gate is worth 300 points, with missed gates counting against the bonus points after the run. In class 1 and 2, this proves invaluable to earning a spare event ticket.
-A couple extra gates get added for Class 2 and 3 which changes the course layout slightly, but Class 4 is the same as 3.
-Jumping is disabled for this event, so you can't do extra tricks during straightaways.
-Bonus points are based on a combination of the number of gates hit and time taken to reach the finish. I haven't been able to determine the exact formula for this yet.
Event Notes: JUMP
-This involves jumping from an elevated ramp and landing near a target on the ground. There's only one jump on Class 1, and another gets added each class.
-Bonus points for this are determined by time taken to reach the finish, so focusing on speed over tricks in this event is a must. I've earned up to 5200 bonus points for this event on Class 1. That's more than half the points needed in the early parts of the game to earn an event ticket.
Event Notes: DOWNHILL
-With each class increase, an extra curve gets thrown into the middle of the course, though the beginning and end always stay the same.
-Coming up short on a jump typically forces the player to back up and regain momentum, which can add about three seconds to a run every time it happens.
-Bonus points are determined by time taken to reach the finish.
Glitches/Possible Exploits?
-There are times where I've managed to get the skater to glide across water hazards, though I haven't found a consistent way to duplicate this phenomenon.
-The skater can get stuck outside the fence surrounding the map by moving towards it, then landiing a trick directly in front of it. He'll be stuck there for the remainder of the game as he can't move in the area between the fence and the grey background.
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