Notes on the Maui Mallard PC speedrun

This is a set of notes on the speedrun of Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow (also known as Donald in Maui Mallard), PC version.

Here's the video I'll be referencing: https://youtu.be/PhYsNOEBCeg
Controls used in the video:
Morph/Ammo: Right Bumper
Attack/Shoot: X
Jump: A
Quick Morph: Left Bumper
Teleport: Y

General stuff:

- Jump mechanics: There are two different kinds of jumps, which I'll call low-momentum jumps and high-momentum jumps. To get a high-momentum jump you have to have started moving in a direction for at least a few frames before jumping. If you jump immediately as you start moving, turning around, or from a complete standstill, you'll get a low-momentum jump, which doesn't go as far but is easier to control in mid-air.
Jumping is also a little slower than running, so avoid jumping unnecessarily and make your jumps as short as possible.

- Double Jump Glitch: You can initiate a double jump and skip a lot of sections with it. Be in Cold Shadow form and let your Yin counter go down. Right before your Yin counter drops to 0, initiate a jump and hold the jump button. As soon as the Yin counter drops to 0, release the jump button and quickly repress it. If you did it correctly, you'll double jump. A few things to note:
*The Yin has to run out during the ascent of your jump. If you're on its descent, it won't work. I like to initiate my first jump approximately when the Yin counter says "3" as a visual cue.
*The first jump should be a neutral jump; don't hold any directions on the dpad/joystick/arrow keys until you've done the second jump, or else the window for the double jump will be frame perfect.
*If all is done correctly, the window for the double jump is pretty large and easy to hit.

- Hooks: Hooks are consistent, but grabbing them is a little weird. You have to be at a close-mid range when you swing to grab them; pretty close, but not point-blank close.
There's also a neat piece of tech quickly start swinging to the opposite side: grab the hook, immediately get off the hook, get to the opposite side and then regrab the hook from the other side. This is a little faster than waiting for the automatic swing back. Good examples of this piece of tech are in level 4's escape section.

- Dash/Teleport: To dash, press the teleport button while moving. After you started dashing, you don't need to hold down the teleport button anymore to keep dashing, although the dash will automatically cancel as soon as you turn around or land on a different platform. To keep dashing in those situations, keep holding the teleport button. To cancel a dash while moving, you have to briefly release the dpad.
BEWARE: You can "store" dashes under certain circumstances. For example: during screen transitions, while getting launched up by one of those sparkling areas in level 4, and even by dying and resetting before landing from a dash. If you're holding a direction next time you're on the ground in ninja from, this will automatically make you dash even if you're not holding the dash button. Again, this can even persist through deaths and resets: you can store the dash, restart the level as Maui, transform into Cold Shadow, and if you're holding a direction the moment you gain control of the ninja, you'll automatically dash. This is useful at the very start of level 2's 3rd screen, but it's usually just an annoying mechanic that you'll have to play around.

- Health: Remaining health carries over between stages.

- Health upgrades: These increment your max health by 50. The upgrade will carry over between stages, but if you die you will lose 100 HP worth of upgrades (your max health will never come down below 100 though).

Level 1:
- Specific bug ammo is collected throughout the level to speed up the boss.
- Shooting at 0:15 shrinks your hitbox so that you can make it below the spider.
- (On the boss) There is a precise frame window where you can crouch cancel your shots to shoot a bit faster. This is hard to time, I just mash the dpad down.
- When switching to the auto-homing weapon, you wanna walk away a bit. If you're too close, most of your shots will miss.

Level 2:
- See the Double Jump explanation under General Stuff for info about the trick. It will be used a lot.
- The first Double Jump skips going to the right and picking up some unavoidable Yin coins, which makes the preparation for the second Double Jump faster.
- Use crouch attacks to finish off the dummies, this also hits the next dummy in line once.
- If you jump one frame after you land on one of those spike platforms that move up and down, you'll get a low-momentum jump. Be careful to avoid this.
- The wall clip at 3:15 is actually easier than it looks. Walk right up until a certain point: I use the background "Teleport!" sign as a reference, more in specific its frame. I go as far as the square right after the big rectangular shape in the middle. After that, dash left to fall off the ledge, and then hold right as you're falling. The camera will push you into the wall. Somewhat early during this fall, press left and jump at about the same time to do a glitchy wall grab, then hold right and press jump to go back in bounds. The frame window for the wall grab is pretty large if done correctly.
This saves 0.3 seconds and can result in death if failed so it's easily skippable, but it's recommended as it's not very hard.
- The boss is frame rule based. The statue intermittently opens one of its hands and it'll try to spawn the next wave of ninjas: if the previous wave still hasn't been cleared, you'll have to wait for the next hand-opening animation to start the next wave. This also applies to ending the fight.
- The ninjas can take damage even while spawning and after jumping back from taking a hit. They won't display a knockback animation, but they will take damage.

Level 3:
- At 4:35, jump higher when taking a dboost off the muddrake to trigger the mosquito early. This makes it easier to kill later as it'll be further down.
- Stand to the right of the shaman and face left while transforming into small form. This stretches your hitbox in such a way that it allows you to grab the bombs through the wall, which you can use to destroy the doors early and skip the huts.
- For the zip at 5:17, stand close to the edge and face left. As soon as the mosquito starts swooping down to attack you, jump. If done correctly, you'll zip. This works because taking damage close to a ceiling in small form will make you zip. It's actually pretty easy to do on accident lol.
- If you take damage while transforming back into big form, you'll regain control sooner.
- Some extra ammunition is picked up to speed up the boss.
- This boss is also frame rule based. The basic gun does the job perfectly for most of the fight, but screen nukes save some frame rules on the last two totems.

Level 4:
- The bonus room at 6:58 contains bombs, a full HP refill, and a health upgrade.
- Not shown here, but at 7:10 the leftmost fire spirit can sometimes initiate an attack. This is good. ride the first hook, then jump off of it and boost on the fire cloud. This puts on the cliff, skips the second hook, and gives you iframes to immediately start dashing right and go through the lava droplet.
- The boss's phase 1 is mostly an improv. At the start of it, once you get on the left side of the cliff, jump once to get on a collision box that's a little bit higher. This makes so that the first hit on the boss sends it in a more favorable direction.
- Phase 2 is vulnerable to screen nukes. This is why bombs were picked up earlier in the level.
- Be careful of dash storage at 7:50. Release the dpad right before landing, then start holding it again after landing.
- Also not shown here, but at 8:05 you can grab the hook as you're ascending from the launch from the bottom screen, without the need to land on the ground. I think it depends on how you enter the sparkling area below.

Level 5:
- Ropes are weird and they suck. Jumping off and regrabbing them is faster than simply climbing them. When jumping off, you have to wait a set amount of time before being able to regrab them.
- The cycle skip at 9:07 is pretty tight. My visual cue is to press jump to release from the bottom bamboo the moment the moving platform to the right overlaps with the small white set of pixels on the vine it's moving on. Wait an additional cycle if you can't catch the early one I get in the video.
- Approach the hook at 9:16 from a left angle to more easily avoid the dart.
- For the boost at 9:26, make sure you're at the very top of the rope, then tap down to start climbing it down, and press right+jump after a split second to jump off the rope. You actually have to kinda clip through a wall to make this work. It's not too hard though.
- For the zip at 9:45, release from the bamboo at a semi-specific spot, hold right to get into the concave area, and tap left at the last moment right before you'd take damage. Sometimes you'll get a "poverty zip" that puts you further left on the other side of the trunk.
- The two-cycle on the boss is very hard and specific. If you wanna go for it, follow the movements on the moving ropes and the attack timings very closely. There's not much else to explain about it, it's just difficult.

Level 6:
- At 11:40, there's an HP upgrade on the ledge to the right if you need it. If you haven't died and have good health, you won't have to get it.
- Make sure to get the bombs at 11:51
- Make sure to jump at the top part of the cliff at 12:03, then move left a bit to make it onto the higher platform.
- The boss normally has a ton of health and the fight is 1 minute long or so. But for some reason if you hit it with a bomb bug while it's hiding inside the ship, it'll die in one hit and the death animation will take place as soon as it rises back up. I shoot multiple bombs for extra insurance, but only 1 bomb is necessary. I also keep some just in case something weird happens and it survives.

Level 7:
- You can skip the basic gun at the start to save a few frames.
- The Double Jump at 12:56 requires you to start jumping a little earlier. I start jumping when the Yin counter says "5".
- For the speed launch right after, start jumping, tap left to get a little further into the goo, then shoot, and then start holding right a few frames later.
- Skip damage boosts if you don't have the health for them ofc
- Grab the HP refill with your wand at 13:44
- The major trick of the level is the autoscroller skip. For some reason the top left side of the level has an end-level trigger that you can touch early.
To get up there without dying from letting the flames steal the jar, you have to scroll the jar far enough off-screen so that the flames despawn. Basically, you have to climb the tower quickly enough. The video showcases the fastest way to do it, which is hard and dangerous. At the start, do a somewhat large jump to the right, then do a rising jump-attack to clear all 3 flames above. After that, just climb the platforms quickly enough to despawn the flames. If you're too slow you could risk dying.
A slower but easier way is showcased in my 15:57 PB (https://youtu.be/-qA5mmgwPEc?t=826). Clear all the flames in the beginning area, this gives you much more time to climb the tower and despawn the next flames.

Level 8:
- I used practice mode to give myself more health to showcase the optimal strats. If you don't have enough health for this, take the extra bugs on the left in phase 1 while destroying the second orb.
- Speaking of which, the dash strats are hard, dangerous, dumb and stupid. I showcased them here, but I at least don't recommend doing the dash after collecting the bugs on the right side. Grabbing the hook is finicky there.
- You can hold the chaser weapon, but you should time the blue bug weapon to make sure each bullet hits individually.
- On the second cycle of phase 1, you can turn into Cold Shadow to finish him off. If you don't have health for this, instead of shooting him from the right side go below the stage once again, collect the bugs on the left side and shoot him from the left.
- If you want to get 3 hits per cycle on phase 2, you have to position yourself in a specific area, then jump toward him.
A safer and easier method is showcased here in my 15:57 PB (https://youtu.be/-qA5mmgwPEc?t=933)