Addams Family Any% route

The Addams Family (GB)   -   Any%
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I've been requested to write up a small tutorial for this speedrun,
there is not all that much to it so let's just do it.

- Why the Japanese version?
For some reason the J version is IIRC 16 frames faster for every single screen transition (don't quote me on that I might misremember the exact number).
This results to an almost 2-second timegain in total.
I don't think there are any other 'time'-differences considering the text consists off single cutscene blocks. (+ you're not actually saving anyone, heh)

- Route history
Some years ago I stumbled upon this game through a blind race,
which took a pretty long time because it's a brutal game in terms if you do something wrong, you're basically stuck untill you G/O.
The guy that won, however, said he didn't have to fight half the bosses we encountered and 'somehow' just stumbled upon the final level.
After some TAS investigation we found out it's actually stupidly easy to enter the final level at any point in the game.
So I basically copied the TAS and got the 'WR' by default.
Because of the short nature of the game it gained some 'meme-run' interest with other runners, and Shrimp and I sat down to think about possible improvements.
That's how we realised the Speed powerup in the Furnace could actually save time, despite being a giant detour.
And boy it was! it saves around 4-5 seconds and I managed to beat the existing TAS by over 2 seconds!
Later I cooperated with a TAS-er to make a new TAS with the faster route, obviously beating my WR time.
Then not so long after someone weirdly beat my WR with a rather sloppy looking run... He was playing the Japanese version!
Once again I reclaimed the WR shortly after with a near-perfect run, once again beating the TAS.
(which will no longer be improved, because version differences aren't allowed if the inputs are identical for TAS, weird people..)


- The actual Any% speedrun

I recommend watching the WR video (or TAS) while you read through this text. https://youtu.be/1j9cJ21rGkk

Start the game from the start menu and do not forget to mash A during the start-up sequence, it loads the game much faster.
Hold up to enter the front door on the first input-frame.
Go right and kill the Ghost to prevent slowdown (this saves a LOT of frames).
Go down the first set of stairs and immediately left towards the Furnace door, damage-boost through the Ghost.

!! IMPORTANT !! - Face Right when entering the Furnace. (Furnace Escape will NOT work when facing Left)
Follow along the furnace path killing the 2nd and 3rd Rat for slowdown prevention, they take 2 hits.
Pick up the Speed Powerup and immediately turn back.
The Rats will respawn but you can easily navigate around them when running back.

!! Furnace Escape !! - To exit the Furnace, hug the left wall, then duck and press down-left B.
This makes the screen scroll down and hits a weird trigger that exits the Furnace.

!! Stairs Clip !! - This is the hardest trick in the game and will result in 100s of resets,
try not to get frustrated, the hard parts are over after this. (Mostly)
To do the Stairs Clip you will need to jump as high as the exact pixel that is the top of the stairs,
this will result in your character to clip 1 pixel into the object and prevent the game from transitioning upwards.
This will let you walk over the wall into the next basement.

Now run right and jump while holding UP into the top right side of the 3rd barrel. (There is 1 weird pixel that triggers the final level)
The final level is mostly trivial with the Speed-Powerup, with some well-timed jumps and movement you can just run under most of the traps unharmed.
There is 1 more hard trick you will need to do in order to go for the record however.
Near the end of the stage (the second to last set of spikes that drops down) there is another instance of pixel Clipping
if you want to get past the spikes without getting harmed. (getting hit knocks you back and wastes quite a few frames)
I can't really give you any advice on how to tackle that section, it will come down to finding the perfect jump and a LOT of practice.
After this just continue the level and enter the Final Boss room.

!! Final Boss !! - If you want to go for the super Quick-Kill you will need to have more than 2 hearts remaining.
(which shouldn't be an issue if you're having a good run)
Now stand a bit away from him and start mashing attack. He'll jump up and you can carefull walk under him while walking through his sword.
Hit hitbox is HUGE so don't go too soon, again this will require a bit of practice. Touching the Boss will kill you regardless.
Then just stand behind him and mash away. Remember that there's a perfect rythm, mashing too fast will not attack optimally.
One last thing: after you kill the Boss, DO NOT leave the room. Doing so will reset the entire fight.

And that's about it. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask me (bangerra) on IRC/Skype/Youtube/Twitter(@bangerrasrl)/Discord..