Speedrun Fast: Paper Mario and TTYD TAS Runs

Reception for Paper Mario: Color Splash has been a little mixed. The paint mechanic and its uses are as fascinating as they are colorful, while the recycled item-based battle system that few people liked is now even worse. Players must now expend paint in order to even use the cards so necessary for executing moves in a fight. But enough about that. Let’s take a stroll back to the good old days of Paper Mario’s first and second titles. And while we’re at it, let’s beat them as fast as possible with unscrupulous cheating and tool assistance.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FGuaabGcYQ[/embedyt]

Malleo’s run of the emulated N64 Paper Mario clocks in at an hour and a half, making the video an easy watch. The first thing of note is that this is the Japanese version of the game, which has a few hiccups not present in the English release. Also, pay attention to Malleo’s assignment of stat upgrades and his use of badges. While boosting HP and FP is an alluring choice, Mario can bulldoze through battles with only a single HP, given the right badge setup. If you’re one of those viewers who prefers silence from the player, this video is not commentated and has a link to a video without the HUD overlay.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CguPESVuZ3Y[/embedyt]

Thousand Year Door is widely regarded as one of, if not the, best games in the Paper Mario series. This runs takes almost an hour longer than the previous game. One huge advantage of the TAS run is that Malleo can rewind several frames to correct mistakes and re-roll random numbers. This video also demonstrates a method to skip three whole chapters. Once again, there’s a video without commentary, but Malleo’s verbal walkthrough really helps quite a bit.

Leave a comment and tell us what you think of Paper Mario: Color Splash, and check out The Nerd Stash for news about other games with better combat systems.