hey dont count me out yet....

^Uh oh, looks like someones catching up

And someone else too......

Awesome Mike, knew you'd start catching up real quick.

Tried posting this earlier today, but the site kept going down or something. Well, this is it, my 25th game, I'm going to leave it at this for now, in the meantime you guys have plenty of time to catch up, but beware I may change my mind and play some more games of it if I see someone pass my score, not looking to lose afterall. But at this point, now that I was able to finally start making some progress again, if I do give it some more plays, I'm pretty sure that I can pass that 300.000 that I was aiming at.

Score 271.800 Phase 32 (past my highest score again earlier this morning, not by much, but the really cool thing is that I was finally able to pass phase 28, 'bout time, got to phase 32):

I bought this game over eBay a few days ago. I'll be too late to get in on the contest, but I can't wait to try it. It looks like you guys are having a lot of fun!

I just found a non cheating and legit way to make unlimited points in the same phase. How do you guys feel this? Go for phase instead of points?

Tell us about it, how's it done? But I dunno, sounds like regardless of how its done, it'd be just like some of the other games where you can just sit in one place and earn points until they're maxed out, while not cheating, it would be consider cheap as you aren't getting any where, just taking advantage of a weakness of the situation.

Actually, never mind, I think I know what you mean, on phases where you can get the letters for MARIO's name, you break a bunch of stuff, get the points as well as the extra life, kill yourself and do it again and again, if so, yep, in a way that would be considered cheating. This game has too many loopholes.

From Twin Galaxies, and I'd agree on this one, afterall you could just sit on the first phase and rack up score until its maxed, anyone could do that, takes no effort really at all except dealing with the monotony of it:

Special Rules: You may start on ANY Phase you desire to. [Push A or B at title screen to level select] If you hit Select for ANY reason during game play, your scoring attempt ends there. [This kills the game and brings you to the title screen. There should be no need as if you mess up, a fireball or enemy will kill you in due time.] If you Die in a level where you got a 1-UP, you MUST make all effort to complete the level IMMEDIATELY upon your next life! Abuse of 1-UP's will result in an instant disqualification! [This will be at the Referee's discretion.] Using the Magic Hammer to float across a gap is BANNED!

Edit: Seems like you got it before I finished my message

I was not looking to find a cheap way to make points while I was discovering this, but a way to get the most points out of the easier phase. That's my investigation in the sense of the contest (getting the most points) that led me to this trick.

If you think about it correctly, it brings a bunch of problem about the point system.

But, we might just say, "nice, we don't get more than 1-up where it's possible, and go on with points", cause it is the most funny way to play the game. Agree?

^^ well dam i was working on doing that right now.... guess ill stop.

Damn people, why would you even consider doing it like that, have some respect at least for yourselves as gamers and really work for it, even my mom could pull off something like that and she don't even play videogames.

Don't the Twin Galaxies rules specifically say only 5 lives, no matter what to prevent this sort of abuse?

edit: oh I see, that was just one scoring variation, I guess. Still, your snippet covers this abuse, Miss C.

Yeah, there's two different rule variants, but regardless, unless we are submitting video proof of how we are playing, all we can do is accept people's word on how they are playing the game. But it is good that everyone is seemingly being honest up to this point, afterall, they could've just went ahead with the 1-up loop to max out their points without saying anything at all, but then it would've definitely looked fishy.

[Marathon]
Special Rules: You may start on ANY Phase you desire to. [Push A or B at title screen to level select] If you hit Select for ANY reason during game play, your scoring attempt ends there. [This kills the game and brings you to the title screen. There should be no need as if you mess up, a fireball or enemy will kill you in due time.] If you Die in a level where you got a 1-UP, you MUST make all effort to complete the level IMMEDIATELY upon your next life! Abuse of 1-UP's will result in an instant disqualification! [This will be at the Referee's discretion.] Using the Magic Hammer to float across a gap is BANNED!

[tournament]
"Special Rules: This variation is set at 5 LIVES ONLY! Your scoring attempt ends when you die for a 5th time. You may start on ANY Phase you desire to. [Push A or B at title screen to level select] If you hit Select for ANY reason during game play, your scoring attempt ends there. [This kills the game and brings you to the title screen. There should be no need as if you mess up, a fireball or enemy will kill you in due time.] Using the Magic Hammer to float across a gap is BANNED!"

The way I see it, just like with the Magic Hammer, so long as its not being abused, if you can gain a 1-up in a stage, it should be allowed, once per stage though, afterall, 1-ups are a part of the normal gameplay just like the hammer, but one shouldn't try to take the easy way out just to get ahead of everyone else.

yeah i actually have never even got an extra life.. i had just thought of trying this method, but since i see this rule i stopped.

I haven't even gotten to a point where you CAN get an extra life Glad to know it's actually possible!

That's fine, maybe I was being a little too harsh on what I said, at least you weren't trying to sneak it past by not saying anything, same with quillavoie, you just found a way to gain some points really fast and posted, letting us all know and asking if such a thing were okay. Afterall, it is a loophole that can be taken advantage of, that is if someone were to stoop to doing so.

Why? Cause it is exactly the kind of thing you must be aware of when setting rules for a contest.
In regards of all this, I,d propose this system, as simple as it is

Rules for this contest:

Start at phase 1.

You can only take 1-up in a stage where you can earn it. If you die in the same phase after getting it, you can't do it again for this phase.

Most points win.


Edit: Oh, and I forgot to ask this question a million times. What's the end time? 12 april, at midnight, NA time?

Again, my apologies for my judgmental comment, what you stated for rules, simple, to the point, makes sense. But what are your thoughts on the uses of the magic hammer, it gives you extra speed, makes you hit harder so every block takes only 1 hit, allows you to hit enemies with the hammer, as well as being able to float across small gaps? Personally I don't understand why its full uses wouldn't be okay, I've gotten the hammer, but have not used it to float across gaps at all during any of my tournaments games, but somehow there must be something cheap about it that Twin Galaxies condones the use of it to hover. 

I think the main reason why the hammer would be banned is linked to the 1-Up trick, cause with the floating gap ability, you may be able to get 1-up in stage where you shouldn't if playing regularly.

I got the hammer too, and have no problem with it. I don't know how to float either, so I guess it should be allowed.
Damn, that's the only special item of the game, it even change the music when you got it, I don't see any reason to ban it.

bye the way getting the hammer on level 6 doesnt work for me anymore..

the first 2 times i did get the hammer by busting the bottom right then bottom left then top left bombs. but after that it will not give me the hammer ever again, it just gives me 1 of the 3 different idols..

When I had first tested the hammer out, once I realized how to, I was able to use the floating ability, but its not really all that easy to use, you have to press the attack button rapidly as you're walking off a ledge until you float across the gap, when I was testing it out sometimes I was able to do it, sometimes I guess my timing wasn't fast enough and I fell as usual. Its the same with hitting enemies, timing has to be perfect, otherwise you get killed as usual from contact with them. I don't know what to think of the whole banned floating thing, I've just steared clear of using it that way so as to not rely on it to bypass difficulties, kinda like using a P-Wing or such to fly past difficult parts of some stages in SMB3, sure its there to use, but if you always use it to get past those parts, then you aren't able to improve your skills at it those points.

Don't hit anything else, I tried it out several times, different sequences as well, it don't matter what the first two bombs are that you hit, nor the order, just the last one has to be the prize bomb, also, don't hit anything else til you get it, these things seem to be triggered by how many times you use your hammer.

exactly, it has something with the number of swings you do with your hammer, and guess what, also with the number of the phase you're in. Basically, find out how many swings you need to do in order to let the hammer pop up.

There is an in-depth breakdown on GameFAQs regarding the math behind getting the hammer in any level that awards special items.

I'm glad I hopped on here this evening to see if the 1-up looping was covered in the rules, or not, since I stumbled upon that concept this afternoon.


So the current rules are, that you can take any 1-up ONCE, and only once?

Yeah, I glimpsed through the faq a little bit when I had first found a hammer, looked in the faq to try to get a better understanding of it, didn't understand a single bit of it with the math stuff, so I figured it out on my own kind of, so was able to find the hammer in several of the phases.

Yeah, seems to be the most fair thing to do, get a 1-up once and only once in each phase.

dam this is getting pretty complicated...lol