SDA Knowledge Base - User contributions [en]

Ikari Warriors 2/Game Mechanics

2026-01-04T00:13:00Z

Ktwo: /* Movement speed */

[[Ikari_warriors_2]]
==Items==
* [[File:Thunder_power_ik2.png]] Thunder power - All non-boss enemies on screen are defeated and boss enemies are dealt damage. During a brief period (3 frames) before the boss appears on screen, this attack can deal damage before the boss has been attributed health, effectively killing it instantly. This works on all bosses, but there are only 2 (known) locations of this item in the game.
* [[File:Earthquake_power_ik2.png]] Earthquake power^ - Stuns all enemies on screen, but does not deal damage. No known use in a speedrun.
* [[File:Wing power ik2.png]] Wing power - Allows you to fly over objects, while still being vulnerable to enemy attacks. This method of movement also increases the speed. The wings disappear after a set amount of time or whenever you enter the menu (or shop).
* [[File:Armor_power_ik2.png]] Armor power - For a certain amount of time, you're invincible to all damage. Anything, including bosses, that touches you will be dealt damage every game frame (@20 fps). There are two exceptions. The 4th boss does not take damage from the armor and the 3rd boss can only be killed with the armor once its protective head pieces have been destroyed.
* [[File:Arrow_power_ik2.png]] Arrow power - Shoots an arrow vertically. Everything in its way is insta-killed, including bosses. There is only one arrow power found in the levels in the game (confirmed by the manual). More can be bought in the shops though.
* [[File:Life_power_ik2.png]] Life power - Restores to full health.
* [[File:Time_power_ik2.png]] Time power - Takes you "back in time" to the latest shop you visited. This will always bring you backwards in the game and has therefore no known uses in a speedrun (but surely for a score attack). 

^ This power has been omitted in the manual, most likely by mistake. 

==Movement speed==
Below speeds assume general vertical movement. See also [[Ikari_Warriors_2/Game_Mechanics#RAM-addresses|RAM-addresses]]. 
Straight walking speed (land) - 2 
Diagonal walking speed (land) - first diagonal movement: 1 and 216 sub (y) and 192 sub (x), subsequent diagonal movements: 1 and 104 sub (both x and y) 
Straight flying speed - 3 
Diagonal flying speed - 2 and 28 sub (both x and y) 
Straight walking speed (water) - 1 and 64 sub 
Diagonal walking speed (water) - first diagonal movement: 1 and 39 sub (y) and 120 sub (x), subsequent diagonal movements: 225 sub (both x and y) 

In practice, as an example, this means that a quick twitch diagonally right (or left) to shoot an enemy when walking on land incurs a time loss of roughly 3-5 frames. It's also worth noting that even though the first and subsequent diagonal movements on foot are extremely close in terms of traveled distance, the first cycle of diagonal movement is still considerably more efficient by allowing you to move in a straighter line between two points. As a rule of thumb, you'll save one movement frame (so 3 actual frames) by dividing a diagonal movement into 5 separate segments. The same game mechanic is present in the first Ikari Warriors game as well. 

==End-of-level tunnels==
The tunnels at the end of each level can either be filled with weapons or "Galango" enemies. The content is determined by the hearts you have in the inventory ($F8). An uneven number results in weapons and an even number results in enemies. More specifically, collecting a dropped heart from a killed enemy will add either 5 or 10 hearts to the inventory. It's therefore only enemies that produce "5 heart" drops that need to be considered. The general rule is that big enemies give "10 heart" drops, while small enemies give "5 heart" drops. There are however exceptions to this rule. Some big enemies only give "5 heart" drops. It's not fully understood what determines this, but it appears that each individual enemy gives the same heart drop every time. A well thought-out route should therefore be able to provide weapon-filled tunnels with good consistency. The hearts in the inventory are shown when going into the menu, which can provide a good opportunity to prepare for how the remaining part of the level should be played. 

It's possible to get through the tunnels unscathed with only minor time losses compared to when there are no monsters. There is however an element of RNG in terms of the enemy bullets and some bullet patterns are difficult to avoid taking hits from. 
1st tunnel - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2sC4KABllc 
2nd tunnel - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U60P6yoW9aU 
3rd tunnel - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldFa-nxpJg4 
4th tunnel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9sU9qYnwKc 

==RNG==
Enemy movements and firing directions appear to mostly depend on the player position and can therefore be manipulated by routing choices. An exception is the very start of the game, where the small enemies appear to move more randomly (not investigated in more detail). 

There is however some variance in the timing of firing. Routes with very tight margins can therefore add risk. The exact workings have not been fully clarified. But a superficial understanding can be had through the following considerations. Each time an object loads in memory, there will be a corresponding timer that starts to run. The timer will be somewhere in the later addresses of $60X. Every 32 game frames (so 96 actual frames), a check will trigger the object to shoot a bullet, assuming it's an enemy that has the ability to do so. These timers are inherited from previous objects. The bullet timing of an enemy will therefore be a function of how long the previous objects occupying the same timer were active. So collecting/avoiding an item or killing enemies at different times, can change the upcoming bullet patterns. 

A closer look at how the bullet timing works could be worth the effort, as it might allow the possibility to develop routes that avoid taking damage. 

==Weapons==
* Switching weapons costs roughly 1.5 seconds (provided you've already planned a trip to the menu).
* While the boomerangs are incredibly overpowered, they don't save anywhere near that time any place in the game.
* The bazooka is powerful and even deals damage to bosses, but does so more slowly than the special items (robot suit, arrow and thunder quick kill).
* The sword is somewhat interesting to play with casually, but has no use in a speedrun.
* The mines are rubbish.
* All weapons can be upgraded three times by collecting the respective weapon tokens (longer reach, bigger explosion area etc). The effects of upgrading the weapons make no difference in a speedrun though.
The fastest way is simply to play with the machine gun (B-button) and the grenades (A-button) for the whole game. 

==RAM-addresses==
* 550/536 - y/sub-y position
* 59E/584 - x/sub-x position
* 60X - Timers determining the bullet timing of the different enemies
* 63X - Boss health (the exact address appears to vary from time to time, but should be somewhere in this range)
* F8 - Minor hearts
* 6D1 - Player health
* 6FE - Determines the type of weapon content in the end-of-level tunnels

Mighty Bomb Jack (NES)/Game Mechanics

2025-09-01T08:11:09Z

Ktwo: /* Counters (and RNG) */

[[Mighty_bomb_jack_(nes)]]
==General game description==
You control Jack in his quest to save the royal family that has been trapped inside a pyramid by the evil Belzebut (yes, that's how it's spelled in the game). The game takes place inside (and in two levels even outside) a pyramid (see external resources for a link to a map of it). The game is divided into 17 "rounds" (levels would be more accurate - probably poor translation). Each round consists of several rooms making up a more or less regular, but sometimes branched, platforming stage (called "corridor" in the game), where you just have to reach the door at the end, and at the end is a "palace room". The palace room contains 24 bombs. To clear the round, you need to collect all 24 bombs and then reach the exit. 

===Endings===
The last (17th) round is slightly different than the other rounds. Instead of another "palace room" at the end of the round, you're tasked with rescuing the royal family and face Belzebut in the "royal rooms" before escaping the pyramid. There are four different endings. The ending depends on how many of the royal rooms that were solved. To unlock other royal rooms than the King's room, secret items (crystals and S-coins) need to be collected:
* Normal ending - none of the crystals were collected, the game ends after the King's room
* Queen's ending - one of the crystals was collected, Jack continues to the Queen's room after the King's room
* Princess' ending - both crystals were collected, but less than 5 S-coins, Jack continues to the Princess' room after the Queens's room
* "Best ending" - both crystals and 5 or more S-coins were collected, Jack continues to Belzebut's room after the Princess' room

''Note: The better the ending, the more of the pyramid Jack destroys. However, the ending texts are all different (as opposed to more and more text being added to the normal ending text, like in e.g. Solomon's Key). It's still obvious what constitutes the "best" ending since there are no branching requirements for the different endings.'' 

==Version differences==
There are several differences between the U- and J-versions. Some items have been moved around, some blocks take more jumps to destroy in the Japanese version, the mummy spawn timers are sometimes different, some room solutions are different etc. The U-version has generally slightly less obscure room solutions, but there are also rooms that are easier to figure out in the J-version. 

For the best ending category, the differences are so big that it's meaningless to compare speedruns of the two versions. For the normal ending, you have to make five block breaking jumps more in the J-version. These extra jumps also mean that an extra mighty coin is needed. This equals roughly an additional 3 seconds or so (depending on how fast one is to break blocks). On the other hand, there is a chest in round 17 (room 17-2 to be more exact) that is visible in the J-version but not in the U-version. That room is roughly 1 second faster on the J-version. Overall, the U-version has a few seconds advantage over the J-version in the any% category, but one should probably not compare the two versions down to the second. 

==Movement mechanics==
===x-movement===
* $3D1/$3D3 - sub/main Jack's x-position on screen ($3C1/$3C2 - sub/main screen x-position when the level is scrolling)
* $3D0/$3D2 - sub/main x-speed

 

(1) $3D1 = $3D1 + $3D0 
(2) $3D3 = $3D3 + $3D2 + [Carry from (1)] 

Since the "sub" x-speed is constant, MBJ will alternate every frame between the speeds 1 pixel/frame and 2 px/f.

===y-movement===
* $3E6/$3E7 - sub/main "main y-speed table index"
* $3D7/$3D9 - sub/main Jack's y-position on screen ($3C3/$3C4 - sub/main screen y-position when the level is scrolling)
* $3D6/$3D8 - sub/main y-speed
 

(1) $3E6 = $3E6 + [0xA0 if holding up; 0xF0 when neutral; 0x60 when holding down] 
(2) $3E7 = $3E7 + [1 if holding down] + [Carry from (1)] 
(3) $3D7 = $3D7 + $3D6 
(4) $3D9 = $3D9 + $3D8 + [Carry from (3)] 

$3E7 keeps track of where in the jump/fall Jack is, which the game uses to calculate an offset index for a look-up table containing the (main) y-speed. Progressing through the look-up table is what creates the arc-like movement of a jump/fall. When pressing A to jump, $3E7 (and $3E6) is reset to 0 and when it reaches 0x40, Jack is at the apex of the jump. As Jack begins to descend, it continues to increase until it caps at 0x80. 
The rate of change of $3D6 also comes from a look-up table that is also determined by the value of $3E7 (and hence also depends on if up/neutral/down is held). The overall y-speed caps at 3.5 px/f.
 

=="Hidden" game mechanics and counters (and RNG)==
===Counters (and RNG)===
The game does not appear to have any RNG addresses or algorithms (but a deeper code analysis would be needed to understand seemingly random behavior in the game). Counters instead play a major role in creating randomness and item spawns:
* Bomb counter ($356) - Collecting a bomb increases the bomb counter by one or two. When the value reaches 20, a P-ball (see the [[Mighty_Bomb_Jack_(NES)/Game_Mechanics#Items|item section]]) will spawn in the center of the room (when in a palace room) or the next opened chest will produce one (when in the corridors). The first bomb in a room is always worth 1 bomb point. There is then a "next bomb" in the order, which gives 2 bomb points. In the palace rooms, the next bomb is the one that's lit. In the stages, it's not always easy to know which bomb is the next in order, but it usually follows the stage layout. Other than giving 2 bomb points, these bombs also give a different sound when collected. The bomb counter can be reset in (at least) four different ways:
# Complete a palace room
# Collect a P-ball and let its effect wear out before leaving the room (timer in $6B/$6A - 256+64 = 320f)
# Activate green Jack and let its effect wear out before leaving the room (timer in $6B/$6A - 256+64 = 320f)
# Scroll a P-ball off-screen (only possible in the corridor sections)
''Note 1: Any bombs collected while the P-effect or green Jack are active will not add to the bomb counter'' 
''Note 2: If Jack leaves the room before the timer has finished counting down (#2 and #3), the timer will be reset to 0, but the bomb counter will '''not'''
* A-counter ($00FA) - Increases every time A is pressed (regardless if it results in a jump or not) during gameplay (not during room transitions). It's never reset. This counter determines the enemy types (see the [[Mighty_Bomb_Jack_(NES)/Game_Mechanics#Transformed_enemies|enemy section]]). The number of A-presses is also used to downgrade Jack after having used a mighty coin (see the [[Mighty_Bomb_Jack_(NES)/Game_Mechanics#Items|item section]]).
* Coin counter ($0367) - Collecting enough coins will result in an E-ball spawning (for more details, see the [[Mighty_Bomb_Jack_(NES)/Game_Mechanics#Items|item section]]). Each collected coin (either found in chests or by transforming enemies after collecting a P-ball or upgrading to green Jack) adds one to the coin counter.

===Palace room warping===
When the first bomb is collected in a palace room, the next bomb in the [[Mighty_Bomb_Jack_(NES)/Palace_room_bomb_sequences|sequence of that room]] will be lit. If that lit bomb is collected as the last (24th) in that palace room, Jack will warp to the next palace room, skipping the corridor section. 
''Note 1: If Jack dies, he will start at the corridor before the palace room warping started'' 
''Note 2: This trick has no effect in palace room 16, since that's the last palace room''

===Mid-air jump at the start of a room===
If the jump button is pressed at the first frame of movement in a room, Jack will start by making a jump instead of falling down to the ground. This is a 1-frame trick.
 

==Items==
Items found in chests are always in the same location. The following items are of interest in a speedrun:
* [[File:Mighty_coin_mbj.png]] Mighty coins - Found in chests. The coins are described in the manual, but the text contains several errors. Jack can hold up to 9 coins at a time (tracked in $03E2). Picking up a tenth coin sends him to the torture chamber (very bad). When using a mighty coin, the value in $03E1 increases to a set value (and then decreases by 1 every time A is pressed) and Jack gains different abilities:
# coin [[File:Blue_jack_mbj.png]] [Blue ($3E0 = 1)] $03E1 is set to 20 (decimal) and Jack can now open locked chests by jumping on them. Note that you can normally press A 20 times before reverting back to red Jack. However, if powered down from orange Jack, Jack will turn blue when $03E1 equals 19, meaning that he will turn red after pressing A 19 times in this case.
# coin [[File:Orange_jack_mbj.png]] [Orange ($3E0 = 2)] When using a coin as blue Jack, $03E1 is set to 30 (decimal), regardless of the previous value of $03E1. Orange Jack has the same effect as blue and he can now also open chests (both normal and locked) by running into them from the side (or jumping into them from below). Like for blue Jack, how long the effect lasts depends on if Jack was powered up from blue or powered down from green. If powered up, it lasts for 11 A presses. If powered down, it lasts for 10 presses.
# coin [[File:Green_jack_mbj.png]] [Green ($3E0 = 3)] When using a coin as orange Jack, $03E1 is set to 35 (decimal), regardless of the previous value of $03E1. Same effect as orange, but S-coins can now be collected and all enemies turn into coins for a few seconds (same effect as collecting a P-ball). Jack turns back to orange after pressing A 6 times.
When Jack is green, mighty coins can't be used (not even to reset $03E1 to 35).
* [[File:Crystal_mbj.png]] Crystal balls - There are two crystal balls in the game. Both are found in special chambers, where you need to break some of the blocks surrounding them. Picking up one crystal will unlock the queen's room and collecting both will also unlock the princess' room. In order to get the best ending, you need to collect both.
* [[File:Secret_coin_mbj.png]] S-coins - Found in chests. There are in total 10 of these coins (appears to have been verified by code analysis, but reference missing). Collecting 5 of these will open up Belzebut's room at the end (only if both crystal balls have also been collected along the way). There is no point in collecting more than 5 S-coins (other than scoring points). Only green Jack can pick up S-coins (but there is no restriction on what form you need to be in to make it visible).
* [[File:Sphinx_mbj.png]] Sphinx - Opens hidden/locked doors in the room they're found in. Sometimes there is more than one sphinx in a room and each one then corresponds to a specific door.
* [[File:Power_ball_mbj.png]] P-ball - All enemies turn into coins for 320 frames. The P-ball is spawned when the bomb counter (see the section about counters) reaches 20. When the bomb counter reaches 20 during the stage, a jingle sound effect is played and the next opened chest will contain the P-ball (along with whatever it initially held). If it happens in a palace room, it will spawn in (or near?) the center of the room and start moving around diagonally.
* [[File:B-ball.png|22px]] B-ball - Bonus points. Appears in a palace room when the score ($A3/$A2/$A1/$A0) passes a multiple of 5000. The B-ball does not appear in the corridors or as a result of the points awarded from completing a round. In the later rounds, where enemies spawn faster and there will be more objects on the screen, the creation of a B-ball often results in one or a few lag frames.
* [[File:Extra_coin_mbj.png]] E-ball - Extra life ($3E4). Found in secret locations, but can also be triggered by gold coins (tracked in $0367). You need to collect 40 coins or more. The next time the score passes a multiple of 5000 in a palace room, the E-ball will appear (instead of the B-ball).
* [[File:Mighty_drink_mbj.png]] Bottle - Increases the timer ($A4, supported by $229 for changing from hex to dec). Should be avoided in a speedrun as it costs time counting down after the end of each level (6f per "tick"). Note however that the timer is reset when transferring to a new corridor level without completing a palace room in-between. Some bottles can therefore be collected without time loss, depending on the route.
 

==Enemy behavior and manipulation==
===Mummies===
This section describes mummies in the palace rooms. The game mechanics for the mummies in the corridors haven't been investigated in detail. Their spawn locations are determined in a more complicated way. However, the spawn timing in the corridors is the same as in the palace rooms. 

RAM-addresses of interest 
* $3D3/$3D9 - MBJ's x/y-position
* $35E - Mummy spawn timer (room)
* $6AA - Movement direction, item 0 ($6BA looks similar, but is the way the mummy is facing)
* $6AB/$6B1 - x/y, item 0
* $6BB - Drop timer, item 0
* $94/$92 - Temp variables, x/y-position of possible enemy spawn locations
* $C - Temp variable, sum of the absolute differences in x and y between MBJ's position and the left enemy spawn location (LESL), or written as a formula = Abs(MBJ_x - LESL_x) + Abs(MBJ_y - LESL_y)
* $E - Temp variable, sum of the absolute differences in x and y between MBJ's position and the right enemy spawn location (RESL), or written as a formula = Abs(MBJ_x - RESL_x) + Abs(MBJ_y - RESL_y)
Item addresses are separated by 0x1C, meaning e.g. the first 6 x-addresses are $6AB, $6C7, $6E3, $6FF, $71B and $737. 

When the room starts, the mummy spawn timer starts ticking down every frame. When it has counted down, a mummy spawns. The timer is reset and the process starts over until there are four enemies. The base value of the timer is room-dependent. The later in the game, the shorter the delay to spawn mummies (with some exceptions - the delay seems to be at a minimum in palace rooms 12 and 13, 0x2F). 

''Note: when clearing a palace room, the progression in $3CC is updated. $3CC feeds into the timers' start values of the next rooms. By navigating through the pyramid in such a way that palace rooms are skipped, the timers will not be updated. However, once a palace room is cleared, $3CC is updated to its "correct" value again.'' 

There are two possible spawn locations ("left" and "right") in each room. The x-positions are room-dependent and probably related to how the platforms are placed in the individual rooms. The mummy spawns in the location that is the furthest away from MBJ in terms of "coordinate distance" (see description for $E and $C above). Note that these calculations can easily overflow, meaning the result is reversed (the enemy closest to MBJ spawns). 

Once the mummy has spawned, the general rule is that it starts walking in the direction of MBJ (there are exceptions, see below). It walks back and forth on the platform until the drop timer has counted down. Next time it reaches an edge, it will drop down. If the mummy landed on another platform (and not the floor), the drop timer is reset and will start counting down again. Just like the spawn timer, the drop timers are room-dependent and mummies generally drop down faster as the game progresses. 

''Note: the movement direction address can be called from a second location in the code and revert the direction (meaning the mummy starts walking away from MBJ instead). The same piece of code can be called again, reverting back to the "normal" movement direction (so walking towards MBJ). This game mechanic has not been fully analyzed. However, player inputs can manipulate this. To study this effect, the following movie and instructions can be used (credits to 'SpaceColonizer'): 
https://tasvideos.org/UserFiles/Info/638237798222671732 
''Truncate the movie at frame 17814. Mummy 1 goes right as expected.

''Add left input up to frame 17830. Mummy 1 now starts going left, which is not the expected direction.

''By playing around with the inputs, it's fairly easy to create more movement direction changes of the same kind.

''Earlier on in the same room of the same movie, mummy 0 fell through a platform. This has not been investigated in detail either, but it's easy to see how small input changes can make the mummy stay on the platform instead. 

===Transformed enemies===
The mummies transform into one of six enemy types when dropping to the floor (these are not the official names, but are the ones used in this wiki): 
[[File:Bat_mbj.png]] 0. Bat - Moves around diagonally without considering Jack's position. 
[[File:Lobster_mbj.png]] 1. Lobster - Fast moving enemy that homes in on Jack. Only moves diagonally. (in most situations, this is the most dangerous enemy) 
[[File:Jellyfish_mbj.png]] 2. Jellyfish - Every time it hits an obstacle, it moves in a straight line towards MBJ's position. It seems to have (at least) two speed components. The base speed seems to be determined when bouncing against an obstacle. The further away it was from MBJ, the more base speed it gets. It also changes the speed, but to a lesser extent, between obstacles. It speeds up if MBJ is further away and it slows down as it gets closer to MBJ. The detailed mechanics have not been analyzed. 
[[File:Skull_mbj.png]] 3. Skull - Homes in on Jack horizontally, but cannot control its vertical movement. Moves diagonally. 
[[File:Fireball_mbj.png]] 4. Fireball - Homes in on Jack vertically, but cannot control its horizontal movement. Moves diagonally. 
[[File:Bird_mbj.png]] 5. Bird - Slow moving enemy that homes in on Jack horizontally and vertically. It can't move diagonally. 

The enemy type is determined three frames before the mummy starts transforming. The game then takes the A-counter (see the Counter section) and calculates the modulus of 6 of that value (= the remainder when dividing by 6). The numbers in front of the different enemy types indicate these values. It's very much possible to manipulate the enemy spawns in certain areas (and it's very useful in a speedrun to set up certain rooms with specific enemy configurations). Since the value is never reset, it's however also difficult to know its value at any given point in time. The best way to find out the value is to watch which enemy that spawns at a certain point and then start counting the A-presses onward. This is luckily well suited for the speedrun mindset, with a pre-determined route which often allows for a constant number of A-presses between two given points. Needless to say, stretches of gliding in mid-air with rapid A-presses make this harder to control. 

''Important note: There is a discontinuity in the enemy type spawns as the A-counter loops. 255 gives a remainder of 3 when divided by 6, while 0 obviously gives a remainder of 0 when divided by 6. This means that two enemy types are jumped over in the cycle. A normal ending run with warps will loop the counter near the end, while a best ending run will loop twice or more, depending on the category that is played.''

Mighty Bomb Jack (NES)/Palace room bomb sequences

2025-08-30T22:22:33Z

Ktwo:

[[Mighty_bomb_jack_(nes)]]

These images show the order in which the bombs are lit in the palace rooms.
=Palace room 1=
[[File:mbj1.png]]
=Palace room 2=
[[File:mbj2.png]]
=Palace room 3=
[[File:mbj3.png]]
=Palace room 4=
[[File:mbj4.png]]
=Palace room 5=
[[File:mbj5.png]]
=Palace room 6=
[[File:mbj6.png]]
=Palace room 7=
[[File:mbj7.png]]
=Palace room 8=
[[File:mbj8.png]]
=Palace room 9=
[[File:mbj9.png]]
=Palace room 10=
[[File:mbj10.png]]
=Palace room 11=
[[File:mbj11.png]]
=Palace room 12=
[[File:mbj12.png]]
=Palace room 13=
[[File:mbj13.png]]
=Palace room 14=
[[File:mbj14.png]]
=Palace room 15=
[[File:mbj15.png]]
=Palace room 16=
(Note: This is just included for the sake of completion. The order in which the bombs are picked up is irrelevant in a speedrun since you're always sent to the beginning of level 17.) 
[[File:mbj16.png]]

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-05T19:54:07Z

Ktwo: /* Room F */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight and requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern monster in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frog]] repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the door and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, and either continue to the right or move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Shop options 2 and 3 eliminate the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating the 3rd cavern monster, but they're slower than option 1
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
[[File:8_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]8 [[File:9_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]9 [[File:A_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]A [[File:B_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]B [[File:C_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]C 

* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Since a death from roughly the middle of the screen in the overhead sections costs ~160 frames (more if it also triggers a continue), the estimated time loss from taking a hit is around one second, seen as an average. It's therefore well worth waiting to briefly avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the lower room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again and/or the sweeper on the right will retreat back to the right room - both events very time-consuming to fix). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to all three sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Move to the right above the table and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room. Most other trajectories when throwing from other positions will also stay in the right room, at least for a while. In the choice between taking a hit and throwing a potion from the wrong position, the latter is almost always better. Getting hit before all sweepers are well inside the right room is usually very costly.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
[[File:D_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]D [[File:E_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]E 

The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side though. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA.

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, there are quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side and the success rate will most likely therefore be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing the first potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time)
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves to the area above the table.
* If the second potion escapes the upper area, the upper art piece isn't going to be defeated. It should therefore be a priority to throw the potion from a position that ensures it doesn't escape. The recommended location is to hug the left wall and throw it from around the same position as in the linked movie. Several consecutive y-positions around here produce potion trajectories that all stay in the upper room.
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be done in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table (left image) or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table (right image). The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer usually deals more damage and is therefore more consistent.
[[File:Backup_Hammer_throw_F.gif|150px]] [[File:Backup_Potion_throw_F.gif|150px]]

* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method:
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
[[File:10_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]10 [[File:11_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]11 [[File:12_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]12 

* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should therefore only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it) to avoid entering 0x11 with two hit points
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter in 0x12 is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
[[File:13_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]13 [[File:14_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]14 [[File:15_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]15 [[File:16_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]16 [[File:17_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]17 

Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat only recommended when trying to go for a low time and resets are acceptable.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect it without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
* One or more legs have a tendency to end up near the exit if Beetlejuice is hit at the start. So two hits (or even three) are quite normal in this room when not using any potions. Using a potion allows Beetlejuice to not get hit at the start more frequently, but far from consistently.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
[[File:18_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]18 [[File:19_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]19 

* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
# Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
# Throw it vertically one tile to the right of the entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
# Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
[[File:Swatter_18.gif|250px]] 
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster based on distance traveled. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking a death, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard part 1===
https://vimeo.com/1107520413 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up

===Tower===
https://vimeo.com/1107520463 
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 4s slower (1.5s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 1s slower

===Graveyard part 2===
https://vimeo.com/1107520443 
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares for more attack opportunities, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it will lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of a scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frogs]] without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than the fastest route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after the death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-05T19:24:25Z

Ktwo: /* Level 6 (Afterlife) */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight and requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern monster in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frog]] repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the door and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, and either continue to the right or move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Shop options 2 and 3 eliminate the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating the 3rd cavern monster, but they're slower than option 1
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
[[File:8_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]8 [[File:9_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]9 [[File:A_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]A [[File:B_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]B [[File:C_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]C 

* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Since a death from roughly the middle of the screen in the overhead sections costs ~160 frames (more if it also triggers a continue), the estimated time loss from taking a hit is around one second, seen as an average. It's therefore well worth waiting to briefly avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the lower room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again and/or the sweeper on the right will retreat back to the right room - both events very time-consuming to fix). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to all three sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Move to the right above the table and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room. Most other trajectories when throwing from other positions will also stay in the right room, at least for a while. In the choice between taking a hit and throwing a potion from the wrong position, the latter is almost always better. Getting hit before all sweepers are well inside the right room is usually very costly.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
[[File:D_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]D [[File:E_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]E 

The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side though. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA.

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, there are quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side and the success rate will most likely therefore be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves to the area above the table.
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be done in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table (left image) or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table (right image). The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer usually deals more damage and is therefore more consistent.
[[File:Backup_Hammer_throw_F.gif|150px]] [[File:Backup_Potion_throw_F.gif|150px]]

* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method:
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
[[File:10_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]10 [[File:11_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]11 [[File:12_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]12 

* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should therefore only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it) to avoid entering 0x11 with two hit points
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter in 0x12 is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
[[File:13_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]13 [[File:14_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]14 [[File:15_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]15 [[File:16_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]16 [[File:17_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]17 

Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat only recommended when trying to go for a low time and resets are acceptable.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect it without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
* One or more legs have a tendency to end up near the exit if Beetlejuice is hit at the start. So two hits (or even three) are quite normal in this room when not using any potions. Using a potion allows Beetlejuice to not get hit at the start more frequently, but far from consistently.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
[[File:18_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]18 [[File:19_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]19 

* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
# Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
# Throw it vertically one tile to the right of the entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
# Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
[[File:Swatter_18.gif|250px]] 
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster based on distance traveled. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking a death, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard part 1===
https://vimeo.com/1107520413 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up

===Tower===
https://vimeo.com/1107520463 
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 4s slower (1.5s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 1s slower

===Graveyard part 2===
https://vimeo.com/1107520443 
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares for more attack opportunities, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it will lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of a scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frogs]] without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than the fastest route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after the death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-05T19:18:58Z

Ktwo: /* Level 4 */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight and requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern monster in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frog]] repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the door and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, and either continue to the right or move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Shop options 2 and 3 eliminate the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating the 3rd cavern monster, but they're slower than option 1
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
[[File:8_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]8 [[File:9_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]9 [[File:A_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]A [[File:B_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]B [[File:C_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]C 

* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Since a death from roughly the middle of the screen in the overhead sections costs ~160 frames (more if it also triggers a continue), the estimated time loss from taking a hit is around one second, seen as an average. It's therefore well worth waiting to briefly avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the lower room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again and/or the sweeper on the right will retreat back to the right room - both events very time-consuming to fix). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to all three sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Move to the right above the table and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room. Most other trajectories when throwing from other positions will also stay in the right room, at least for a while. In the choice between taking a hit and throwing a potion from the wrong position, the latter is almost always better. Getting hit before all sweepers are well inside the right room is usually very costly.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
[[File:D_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]D [[File:E_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]E 

The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side though. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA.

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, there are quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side and the success rate will most likely therefore be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves to the area above the table.
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be done in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table (left image) or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table (right image). The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer usually deals more damage and is therefore more consistent.
[[File:Backup_Hammer_throw_F.gif|150px]] [[File:Backup_Potion_throw_F.gif|150px]]

* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method:
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
[[File:10_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]10 [[File:11_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]11 [[File:12_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]12 

* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should therefore only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it) to avoid entering 0x11 with two hit points
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter in 0x12 is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
[[File:13_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]13 [[File:14_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]14 [[File:15_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]15 [[File:16_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]16 [[File:17_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]17 

Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat only recommended when trying to go for a low time and resets are acceptable.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect it without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
* One or more legs have a tendency to end up near the exit if Beetlejuice is hit at the start. So two hits (or even three) are quite normal in this room when not using any potions. Using a potion allows Beetlejuice to not get hit at the start more frequently, but far from consistently.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
[[File:18_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]18 [[File:19_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]19 

* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
# Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
# Throw it vertically one tile to the right of the entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
# Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
[[File:Swatter_18.gif|250px]] 
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster based on distance traveled. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking a death, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard part 1===
https://vimeo.com/1107520413 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up

===Tower===
https://vimeo.com/1107520463 
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 4s slower (1.5s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 1s slower

===Graveyard part 2===
https://vimeo.com/1107520443 
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares for more attack opportunities, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it will lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of a scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-05T18:54:44Z

Ktwo: /* Room 0x1A */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight and requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern monster in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frog]] repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the door and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, and either continue to the right or move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Shop options 2 and 3 eliminate the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating the 3rd cavern monster, but they're slower than option 1
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
[[File:8_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]8 [[File:9_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]9 [[File:A_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]A [[File:B_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]B [[File:C_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]C 

* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Since a death from roughly the middle of the screen in the overhead sections costs ~160 frames (more if it also triggers a continue), the estimated time loss from taking a hit is around one second, seen as an average. It's therefore well worth waiting to briefly avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the lower room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again and/or the sweeper on the right will retreat back to the right room - both events very time-consuming to fix). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to all three sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Move to the right above the table and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room. Most other trajectories when throwing from other positions will also stay in the right room, at least for a while. In the choice between taking a hit and throwing a potion from the wrong position, the latter is almost always better. Getting hit before all sweepers are well inside the right room is usually very costly.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
[[File:D_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]D [[File:E_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]E 

The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side though. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA.

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, there are quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side and the success rate will most likely therefore be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves to the area above the table.
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be done in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table (left image) or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table (right image). The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer usually deals more damage and is therefore more consistent.
[[File:Backup_Hammer_throw_F.gif|150px]] [[File:Backup_Potion_throw_F.gif|150px]]

* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method:
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
[[File:10_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]10 [[File:11_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]11 [[File:12_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]12 

* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should therefore only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it) to avoid entering 0x11 with two hit points
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter in 0x12 is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
[[File:13_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]13 [[File:14_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]14 [[File:15_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]15 [[File:16_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]16 [[File:17_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]17 

Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat only recommended when trying to go for a low time and resets are acceptable.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect it without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
* One or more legs have a tendency to end up near the exit if Beetlejuice is hit at the start. So two hits (or even three) are quite normal in this room when not using any potions. Using a potion allows Beetlejuice to not get hit at the start more frequently, but far from consistently.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
[[File:18_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]18 [[File:19_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]19 

* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
# Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
# Throw it vertically one tile to the right of the entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
# Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
[[File:Swatter_18.gif|250px]] 
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster based on distance traveled. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking a death, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-05T18:52:30Z

Ktwo: /* Room 0x18 and 0x19 */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight and requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern monster in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frog]] repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the door and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, and either continue to the right or move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Shop options 2 and 3 eliminate the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating the 3rd cavern monster, but they're slower than option 1
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
[[File:8_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]8 [[File:9_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]9 [[File:A_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]A [[File:B_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]B [[File:C_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]C 

* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Since a death from roughly the middle of the screen in the overhead sections costs ~160 frames (more if it also triggers a continue), the estimated time loss from taking a hit is around one second, seen as an average. It's therefore well worth waiting to briefly avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the lower room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again and/or the sweeper on the right will retreat back to the right room - both events very time-consuming to fix). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to all three sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Move to the right above the table and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room. Most other trajectories when throwing from other positions will also stay in the right room, at least for a while. In the choice between taking a hit and throwing a potion from the wrong position, the latter is almost always better. Getting hit before all sweepers are well inside the right room is usually very costly.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
[[File:D_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]D [[File:E_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]E 

The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side though. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA.

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, there are quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side and the success rate will most likely therefore be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves to the area above the table.
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be done in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table (left image) or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table (right image). The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer usually deals more damage and is therefore more consistent.
[[File:Backup_Hammer_throw_F.gif|150px]] [[File:Backup_Potion_throw_F.gif|150px]]

* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method:
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
[[File:10_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]10 [[File:11_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]11 [[File:12_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]12 

* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should therefore only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it) to avoid entering 0x11 with two hit points
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter in 0x12 is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
[[File:13_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]13 [[File:14_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]14 [[File:15_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]15 [[File:16_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]16 [[File:17_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]17 

Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat only recommended when trying to go for a low time and resets are acceptable.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect it without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
* One or more legs have a tendency to end up near the exit if Beetlejuice is hit at the start. So two hits (or even three) are quite normal in this room when not using any potions. Using a potion allows Beetlejuice to not get hit at the start more frequently, but far from consistently.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
[[File:18_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]18 [[File:19_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]19 

* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
# Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
# Throw it vertically one tile to the right of the entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
# Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
[[File:Swatter_18.gif|250px]] 
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

File:Swatter 18.gif

2025-08-05T18:50:46Z

Ktwo: Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-05T18:30:48Z

Ktwo: /* Room 0x13 through 0x17 */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight and requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern monster in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frog]] repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the door and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, and either continue to the right or move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Shop options 2 and 3 eliminate the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating the 3rd cavern monster, but they're slower than option 1
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
[[File:8_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]8 [[File:9_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]9 [[File:A_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]A [[File:B_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]B [[File:C_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]C 

* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Since a death from roughly the middle of the screen in the overhead sections costs ~160 frames (more if it also triggers a continue), the estimated time loss from taking a hit is around one second, seen as an average. It's therefore well worth waiting to briefly avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the lower room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again and/or the sweeper on the right will retreat back to the right room - both events very time-consuming to fix). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to all three sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Move to the right above the table and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room. Most other trajectories when throwing from other positions will also stay in the right room, at least for a while. In the choice between taking a hit and throwing a potion from the wrong position, the latter is almost always better. Getting hit before all sweepers are well inside the right room is usually very costly.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
[[File:D_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]D [[File:E_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]E 

The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side though. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA.

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, there are quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side and the success rate will most likely therefore be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves to the area above the table.
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be done in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table (left image) or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table (right image). The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer usually deals more damage and is therefore more consistent.
[[File:Backup_Hammer_throw_F.gif|150px]] [[File:Backup_Potion_throw_F.gif|150px]]

* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method:
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
[[File:10_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]10 [[File:11_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]11 [[File:12_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]12 

* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should therefore only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it) to avoid entering 0x11 with two hit points
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter in 0x12 is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
[[File:13_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]13 [[File:14_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]14 [[File:15_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]15 [[File:16_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]16 [[File:17_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]17 

Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat only recommended when trying to go for a low time and resets are acceptable.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect it without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
* One or more legs have a tendency to end up near the exit if Beetlejuice is hit at the start. So two hits (or even three) are quite normal in this room when not using any potions. Using a potion allows Beetlejuice to not get hit at the start more frequently, but far from consistently.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-05T18:15:28Z

Ktwo: /* Room 0x10 through 0x12 */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight and requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern monster in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frog]] repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the door and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, and either continue to the right or move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Shop options 2 and 3 eliminate the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating the 3rd cavern monster, but they're slower than option 1
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
[[File:8_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]8 [[File:9_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]9 [[File:A_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]A [[File:B_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]B [[File:C_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]C 

* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Since a death from roughly the middle of the screen in the overhead sections costs ~160 frames (more if it also triggers a continue), the estimated time loss from taking a hit is around one second, seen as an average. It's therefore well worth waiting to briefly avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the lower room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again and/or the sweeper on the right will retreat back to the right room - both events very time-consuming to fix). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to all three sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Move to the right above the table and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room. Most other trajectories when throwing from other positions will also stay in the right room, at least for a while. In the choice between taking a hit and throwing a potion from the wrong position, the latter is almost always better. Getting hit before all sweepers are well inside the right room is usually very costly.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
[[File:D_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]D [[File:E_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]E 

The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side though. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA.

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, there are quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side and the success rate will most likely therefore be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves to the area above the table.
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be done in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table (left image) or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table (right image). The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer usually deals more damage and is therefore more consistent.
[[File:Backup_Hammer_throw_F.gif|150px]] [[File:Backup_Potion_throw_F.gif|150px]]

* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method:
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
[[File:10_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]10 [[File:11_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]11 [[File:12_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]12 

* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should therefore only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it) to avoid entering 0x11 with two hit points
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter in 0x12 is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the room of flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically around
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter (horizontally) if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-05T17:06:31Z

Ktwo: /* Room F */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight and requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern monster in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frog]] repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the door and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, and either continue to the right or move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Shop options 2 and 3 eliminate the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating the 3rd cavern monster, but they're slower than option 1
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
[[File:8_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]8 [[File:9_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]9 [[File:A_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]A [[File:B_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]B [[File:C_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]C 

* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Since a death from roughly the middle of the screen in the overhead sections costs ~160 frames (more if it also triggers a continue), the estimated time loss from taking a hit is around one second, seen as an average. It's therefore well worth waiting to briefly avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the lower room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again and/or the sweeper on the right will retreat back to the right room - both events very time-consuming to fix). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to all three sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Move to the right above the table and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room. Most other trajectories when throwing from other positions will also stay in the right room, at least for a while. In the choice between taking a hit and throwing a potion from the wrong position, the latter is almost always better. Getting hit before all sweepers are well inside the right room is usually very costly.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
[[File:D_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]D [[File:E_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]E 

The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side though. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA.

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, there are quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side and the success rate will most likely therefore be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves to the area above the table.
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be done in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table (left image) or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table (right image). The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer usually deals more damage and is therefore more consistent.
[[File:Backup_Hammer_throw_F.gif|150px]] [[File:Backup_Potion_throw_F.gif|150px]]

* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method:
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it). The health and potion situation for room 0x11 should however also be taken into account (to avoid entering that room already with 2 hit points).
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11, instead of waiting for an enemy to appear in room 0x10.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the room of flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically around
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter (horizontally) if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-05T16:48:09Z

Ktwo: /* Room 8 through C */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight and requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern monster in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frog]] repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the door and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, and either continue to the right or move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Shop options 2 and 3 eliminate the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating the 3rd cavern monster, but they're slower than option 1
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
[[File:8_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]8 [[File:9_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]9 [[File:A_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]A [[File:B_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]B [[File:C_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]C 

* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Since a death from roughly the middle of the screen in the overhead sections costs ~160 frames (more if it also triggers a continue), the estimated time loss from taking a hit is around one second, seen as an average. It's therefore well worth waiting to briefly avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the lower room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again and/or the sweeper on the right will retreat back to the right room - both events very time-consuming to fix). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to all three sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Move to the right above the table and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room. Most other trajectories when throwing from other positions will also stay in the right room, at least for a while. In the choice between taking a hit and throwing a potion from the wrong position, the latter is almost always better. Getting hit before all sweepers are well inside the right room is usually very costly.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
[[File:D_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]D [[File:E_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]E 

The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side though. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA.

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, there are quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side and the success rate will most likely therefore be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves up and right (towards above the table).
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table. The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer is less risky.
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method_
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way. Occasionally it will escape though.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it). The health and potion situation for room 0x11 should however also be taken into account (to avoid entering that room already with 2 hit points).
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11, instead of waiting for an enemy to appear in room 0x10.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the room of flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically around
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter (horizontally) if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

File:Backup Potion throw F.gif

2025-08-05T16:47:16Z

Ktwo: Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice

File:Backup Hammer throw F.gif

2025-08-05T16:47:02Z

Ktwo: Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-05T16:04:12Z

Ktwo: /* Room D and E */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight and requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern monster in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frog]] repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the door and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, and either continue to the right or move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Shop options 2 and 3 eliminate the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating the 3rd cavern monster, but they're slower than option 1
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
[[File:8_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]8 [[File:9_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]9 [[File:A_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]A [[File:B_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]B [[File:C_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]C
* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Since a death from roughly the middle of the screen in the overhead sections costs ~160 frames (more if it also triggers a continue), the estimated time loss from taking a hit is around one second, seen as an average. It's therefore well worth waiting to briefly avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the lower room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again and/or the sweeper on the right will retreat back to the right room - both events very time-consuming to fix). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to all three sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Move to the right above the table and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room. Most other trajectories when throwing from other positions will also stay in the right room, at least for a while. In the choice between taking a hit and throwing a potion from the wrong position, the latter is almost always better. Getting hit before all sweepers are well inside the right room is usually very costly.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
[[File:D_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]D [[File:E_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]E 

The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side though. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA.

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, there are quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side and the success rate will most likely therefore be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves up and right (towards above the table).
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table. The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer is less risky.
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method_
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way. Occasionally it will escape though.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it). The health and potion situation for room 0x11 should however also be taken into account (to avoid entering that room already with 2 hit points).
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11, instead of waiting for an enemy to appear in room 0x10.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the room of flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically around
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter (horizontally) if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-05T15:58:34Z

Ktwo: /* Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together) */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight and requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern monster in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frog]] repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the door and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, and either continue to the right or move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Shop options 2 and 3 eliminate the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating the 3rd cavern monster, but they're slower than option 1
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
[[File:8_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]8 [[File:9_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]9 [[File:A_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]A [[File:B_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]B [[File:C_Beetlejuice.gif|100px]]C
* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Since a death from roughly the middle of the screen in the overhead sections costs ~160 frames (more if it also triggers a continue), the estimated time loss from taking a hit is around one second, seen as an average. It's therefore well worth waiting to briefly avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the lower room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again and/or the sweeper on the right will retreat back to the right room - both events very time-consuming to fix). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to all three sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Move to the right above the table and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room. Most other trajectories when throwing from other positions will also stay in the right room, at least for a while. In the choice between taking a hit and throwing a potion from the wrong position, the latter is almost always better. Getting hit before all sweepers are well inside the right room is usually very costly.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA. The table below details how many potion scare trajectories (out of 4 possible) that will stay on the left side for each y-position:

{| class="wikitable"
|'''y ($3C1)'''
|'''Left trajectories'''
|-
|0xFA
|3
|-
|0xF9
|1
|-
|0xF8
|1
|-
|0xF7
|1
|-
|0xF6
|1
|-
|0xF5
|1
|-
|0xF4
|1
|-
|0xF3
|3
|-
|0xF2
|2
|-
|0xF1
|4
|-
|0xF0
|3
|-
|0xEF
|3
|-
|0xEE
|3
|-
|0xED
|3
|-
|0xEC
|3
|-
|0xEB
|3
|-
|0xEA
|3
|-
|}
As can be seen in the table above, the ideal position to throw the potion from is 0xF1, which will ensure the potion scare stays to the left (this postion is shown in the screenshot below). Earlier than that and many trajectories will include the right side, while throwing the potion later gives a 75% chance for it to say on the left. 
[[File:Potion_throw0xF1_roomD.png|300px]]
 

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, with quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side, the success rate will most likely be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves up and right (towards above the table).
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table. The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer is less risky.
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method_
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way. Occasionally it will escape though.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it). The health and potion situation for room 0x11 should however also be taken into account (to avoid entering that room already with 2 hit points).
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11, instead of waiting for an enemy to appear in room 0x10.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the room of flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically around
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter (horizontally) if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

File:F Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:38:03Z

Ktwo:

File:E Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:37:55Z

Ktwo:

File:D Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:37:48Z

Ktwo:

File:C Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:37:41Z

Ktwo:

File:B Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:37:33Z

Ktwo:

File:A Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:37:26Z

Ktwo:

File:19 Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:37:18Z

Ktwo:

File:18 Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:37:10Z

Ktwo:

File:17 Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:37:01Z

Ktwo:

File:16 Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:36:54Z

Ktwo:

File:15 Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:36:47Z

Ktwo:

File:14 Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:36:39Z

Ktwo:

File:13 Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:36:32Z

Ktwo:

File:12 Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:36:23Z

Ktwo:

File:11 Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:36:16Z

Ktwo:

File:10 Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:36:09Z

Ktwo:

File:9 Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:36:02Z

Ktwo:

File:8 Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:35:54Z

Ktwo:

File:1A Beetlejuice.gif

2025-08-05T06:35:44Z

Ktwo:

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-05T06:19:06Z

Ktwo: /* Room 8 through C */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight and requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern monster in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frog]] repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the door and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, and either continue to the right or move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Shop options 2 and 3 eliminate the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating the 3rd cavern monster, but they're slower than option 1
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Since a death from roughly the middle of the screen in the overhead sections costs ~160 frames (more if it also triggers a continue), the average time loss from taking damage almost a second. It's therefore well worth waiting briefly to avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to the sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Try and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA. The table below details how many potion scare trajectories (out of 4 possible) that will stay on the left side for each y-position:

{| class="wikitable"
|'''y ($3C1)'''
|'''Left trajectories'''
|-
|0xFA
|3
|-
|0xF9
|1
|-
|0xF8
|1
|-
|0xF7
|1
|-
|0xF6
|1
|-
|0xF5
|1
|-
|0xF4
|1
|-
|0xF3
|3
|-
|0xF2
|2
|-
|0xF1
|4
|-
|0xF0
|3
|-
|0xEF
|3
|-
|0xEE
|3
|-
|0xED
|3
|-
|0xEC
|3
|-
|0xEB
|3
|-
|0xEA
|3
|-
|}
As can be seen in the table above, the ideal position to throw the potion from is 0xF1, which will ensure the potion scare stays to the left (this postion is shown in the screenshot below). Earlier than that and many trajectories will include the right side, while throwing the potion later gives a 75% chance for it to say on the left. 
[[File:Potion_throw0xF1_roomD.png|300px]]
 

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, with quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side, the success rate will most likely be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves up and right (towards above the table).
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table. The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer is less risky.
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method_
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way. Occasionally it will escape though.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it). The health and potion situation for room 0x11 should however also be taken into account (to avoid entering that room already with 2 hit points).
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11, instead of waiting for an enemy to appear in room 0x10.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the room of flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically around
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter (horizontally) if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-04T20:42:23Z

Ktwo: /* Storm drains */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight and requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern monster in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frog]] repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the door and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, and either continue to the right or move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Shop options 2 and 3 eliminate the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating the 3rd cavern monster, but they're slower than option 1
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Taking damage is in average ~40 frame time loss (or more if it happens to incur another continue). It's therefore well worth waiting briefly to avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to the sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Try and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA. The table below details how many potion scare trajectories (out of 4 possible) that will stay on the left side for each y-position:

{| class="wikitable"
|'''y ($3C1)'''
|'''Left trajectories'''
|-
|0xFA
|3
|-
|0xF9
|1
|-
|0xF8
|1
|-
|0xF7
|1
|-
|0xF6
|1
|-
|0xF5
|1
|-
|0xF4
|1
|-
|0xF3
|3
|-
|0xF2
|2
|-
|0xF1
|4
|-
|0xF0
|3
|-
|0xEF
|3
|-
|0xEE
|3
|-
|0xED
|3
|-
|0xEC
|3
|-
|0xEB
|3
|-
|0xEA
|3
|-
|}
As can be seen in the table above, the ideal position to throw the potion from is 0xF1, which will ensure the potion scare stays to the left (this postion is shown in the screenshot below). Earlier than that and many trajectories will include the right side, while throwing the potion later gives a 75% chance for it to say on the left. 
[[File:Potion_throw0xF1_roomD.png|300px]]
 

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, with quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side, the success rate will most likely be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves up and right (towards above the table).
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table. The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer is less risky.
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method_
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way. Occasionally it will escape though.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it). The health and potion situation for room 0x11 should however also be taken into account (to avoid entering that room already with 2 hit points).
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11, instead of waiting for an enemy to appear in room 0x10.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the room of flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically around
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter (horizontally) if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-04T20:39:17Z

Ktwo: /* Storm drains */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight and requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern monster in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies.2FFrogs.2FGolden_beetles.2FOctopus.2FScorpions_.28side_view.29|frog]] repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the door and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, and either continue to the right or move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Option 2 and 3 eliminates the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating t
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Taking damage is in average ~40 frame time loss (or more if it happens to incur another continue). It's therefore well worth waiting briefly to avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to the sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Try and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA. The table below details how many potion scare trajectories (out of 4 possible) that will stay on the left side for each y-position:

{| class="wikitable"
|'''y ($3C1)'''
|'''Left trajectories'''
|-
|0xFA
|3
|-
|0xF9
|1
|-
|0xF8
|1
|-
|0xF7
|1
|-
|0xF6
|1
|-
|0xF5
|1
|-
|0xF4
|1
|-
|0xF3
|3
|-
|0xF2
|2
|-
|0xF1
|4
|-
|0xF0
|3
|-
|0xEF
|3
|-
|0xEE
|3
|-
|0xED
|3
|-
|0xEC
|3
|-
|0xEB
|3
|-
|0xEA
|3
|-
|}
As can be seen in the table above, the ideal position to throw the potion from is 0xF1, which will ensure the potion scare stays to the left (this postion is shown in the screenshot below). Earlier than that and many trajectories will include the right side, while throwing the potion later gives a 75% chance for it to say on the left. 
[[File:Potion_throw0xF1_roomD.png|300px]]
 

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, with quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side, the success rate will most likely be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves up and right (towards above the table).
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table. The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer is less risky.
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method_
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way. Occasionally it will escape though.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it). The health and potion situation for room 0x11 should however also be taken into account (to avoid entering that room already with 2 hit points).
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11, instead of waiting for an enemy to appear in room 0x10.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the room of flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically around
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter (horizontally) if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-04T20:33:29Z

Ktwo: /* 1st boss */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three with a significantly lower success rate.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth a 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern frog in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the frog repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the entrance and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest (:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Option 2 and 3 eliminates the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating t
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Taking damage is in average ~40 frame time loss (or more if it happens to incur another continue). It's therefore well worth waiting briefly to avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to the sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Try and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA. The table below details how many potion scare trajectories (out of 4 possible) that will stay on the left side for each y-position:

{| class="wikitable"
|'''y ($3C1)'''
|'''Left trajectories'''
|-
|0xFA
|3
|-
|0xF9
|1
|-
|0xF8
|1
|-
|0xF7
|1
|-
|0xF6
|1
|-
|0xF5
|1
|-
|0xF4
|1
|-
|0xF3
|3
|-
|0xF2
|2
|-
|0xF1
|4
|-
|0xF0
|3
|-
|0xEF
|3
|-
|0xEE
|3
|-
|0xED
|3
|-
|0xEC
|3
|-
|0xEB
|3
|-
|0xEA
|3
|-
|}
As can be seen in the table above, the ideal position to throw the potion from is 0xF1, which will ensure the potion scare stays to the left (this postion is shown in the screenshot below). Earlier than that and many trajectories will include the right side, while throwing the potion later gives a 75% chance for it to say on the left. 
[[File:Potion_throw0xF1_roomD.png|300px]]
 

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, with quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side, the success rate will most likely be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves up and right (towards above the table).
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table. The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer is less risky.
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method_
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way. Occasionally it will escape though.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it). The health and potion situation for room 0x11 should however also be taken into account (to avoid entering that room already with 2 hit points).
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11, instead of waiting for an enemy to appear in room 0x10.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the room of flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically around
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter (horizontally) if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-04T20:31:43Z

Ktwo: /* Village */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or can relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly de-spawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop
* It's possible to skip the first beehive/cloud elevator by dropping down to the platform below and then quickly jump up and to the right when the screen has scrolled down sufficiently. This is not faster though. The second beehive must however be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth a 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern frog in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the frog repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the entrance and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest (:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Option 2 and 3 eliminates the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating t
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Taking damage is in average ~40 frame time loss (or more if it happens to incur another continue). It's therefore well worth waiting briefly to avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to the sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Try and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA. The table below details how many potion scare trajectories (out of 4 possible) that will stay on the left side for each y-position:

{| class="wikitable"
|'''y ($3C1)'''
|'''Left trajectories'''
|-
|0xFA
|3
|-
|0xF9
|1
|-
|0xF8
|1
|-
|0xF7
|1
|-
|0xF6
|1
|-
|0xF5
|1
|-
|0xF4
|1
|-
|0xF3
|3
|-
|0xF2
|2
|-
|0xF1
|4
|-
|0xF0
|3
|-
|0xEF
|3
|-
|0xEE
|3
|-
|0xED
|3
|-
|0xEC
|3
|-
|0xEB
|3
|-
|0xEA
|3
|-
|}
As can be seen in the table above, the ideal position to throw the potion from is 0xF1, which will ensure the potion scare stays to the left (this postion is shown in the screenshot below). Earlier than that and many trajectories will include the right side, while throwing the potion later gives a 75% chance for it to say on the left. 
[[File:Potion_throw0xF1_roomD.png|300px]]
 

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, with quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side, the success rate will most likely be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves up and right (towards above the table).
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table. The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer is less risky.
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method_
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way. Occasionally it will escape though.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it). The health and potion situation for room 0x11 should however also be taken into account (to avoid entering that room already with 2 hit points).
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11, instead of waiting for an enemy to appear in room 0x10.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the room of flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically around
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter (horizontally) if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-04T20:27:05Z

Ktwo: /* House */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
[[File:Torch_damage_boost.gif|200px]]
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored.
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit to avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the door's hitbox, while being outside the smiley's hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly despawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop, so it doesn't matter which pixel Beetlejuice enters on
* It's possible to skip the first beehive, but not faster. However, the second beehive must be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth a 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern frog in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the frog repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the entrance and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest (:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Option 2 and 3 eliminates the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating t
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Taking damage is in average ~40 frame time loss (or more if it happens to incur another continue). It's therefore well worth waiting briefly to avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to the sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Try and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA. The table below details how many potion scare trajectories (out of 4 possible) that will stay on the left side for each y-position:

{| class="wikitable"
|'''y ($3C1)'''
|'''Left trajectories'''
|-
|0xFA
|3
|-
|0xF9
|1
|-
|0xF8
|1
|-
|0xF7
|1
|-
|0xF6
|1
|-
|0xF5
|1
|-
|0xF4
|1
|-
|0xF3
|3
|-
|0xF2
|2
|-
|0xF1
|4
|-
|0xF0
|3
|-
|0xEF
|3
|-
|0xEE
|3
|-
|0xED
|3
|-
|0xEC
|3
|-
|0xEB
|3
|-
|0xEA
|3
|-
|}
As can be seen in the table above, the ideal position to throw the potion from is 0xF1, which will ensure the potion scare stays to the left (this postion is shown in the screenshot below). Earlier than that and many trajectories will include the right side, while throwing the potion later gives a 75% chance for it to say on the left. 
[[File:Potion_throw0xF1_roomD.png|300px]]
 

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, with quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side, the success rate will most likely be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves up and right (towards above the table).
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table. The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer is less risky.
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method_
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way. Occasionally it will escape though.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it). The health and potion situation for room 0x11 should however also be taken into account (to avoid entering that room already with 2 hit points).
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11, instead of waiting for an enemy to appear in room 0x10.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the room of flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically around
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter (horizontally) if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

File:Torch damage boost.gif

2025-08-04T20:21:36Z

Ktwo: Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-04T20:08:34Z

Ktwo: /* Outside */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if the jump was too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit o avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly despawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop, so it doesn't matter which pixel Beetlejuice enters on
* It's possible to skip the first beehive, but not faster. However, the second beehive must be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth a 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern frog in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the frog repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the entrance and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest (:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Option 2 and 3 eliminates the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating t
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Taking damage is in average ~40 frame time loss (or more if it happens to incur another continue). It's therefore well worth waiting briefly to avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to the sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Try and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA. The table below details how many potion scare trajectories (out of 4 possible) that will stay on the left side for each y-position:

{| class="wikitable"
|'''y ($3C1)'''
|'''Left trajectories'''
|-
|0xFA
|3
|-
|0xF9
|1
|-
|0xF8
|1
|-
|0xF7
|1
|-
|0xF6
|1
|-
|0xF5
|1
|-
|0xF4
|1
|-
|0xF3
|3
|-
|0xF2
|2
|-
|0xF1
|4
|-
|0xF0
|3
|-
|0xEF
|3
|-
|0xEE
|3
|-
|0xED
|3
|-
|0xEC
|3
|-
|0xEB
|3
|-
|0xEA
|3
|-
|}
As can be seen in the table above, the ideal position to throw the potion from is 0xF1, which will ensure the potion scare stays to the left (this postion is shown in the screenshot below). Earlier than that and many trajectories will include the right side, while throwing the potion later gives a 75% chance for it to say on the left. 
[[File:Potion_throw0xF1_roomD.png|300px]]
 

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, with quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side, the success rate will most likely be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves up and right (towards above the table).
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table. The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer is less risky.
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method_
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way. Occasionally it will escape though.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it). The health and potion situation for room 0x11 should however also be taken into account (to avoid entering that room already with 2 hit points).
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11, instead of waiting for an enemy to appear in room 0x10.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the room of flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically around
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter (horizontally) if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-04T20:03:53Z

Ktwo: /* Vouchers */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|750
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing the where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if he jumped too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit o avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly despawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop, so it doesn't matter which pixel Beetlejuice enters on
* It's possible to skip the first beehive, but not faster. However, the second beehive must be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth a 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern frog in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the frog repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the entrance and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest (:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Option 2 and 3 eliminates the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating t
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Taking damage is in average ~40 frame time loss (or more if it happens to incur another continue). It's therefore well worth waiting briefly to avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to the sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Try and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA. The table below details how many potion scare trajectories (out of 4 possible) that will stay on the left side for each y-position:

{| class="wikitable"
|'''y ($3C1)'''
|'''Left trajectories'''
|-
|0xFA
|3
|-
|0xF9
|1
|-
|0xF8
|1
|-
|0xF7
|1
|-
|0xF6
|1
|-
|0xF5
|1
|-
|0xF4
|1
|-
|0xF3
|3
|-
|0xF2
|2
|-
|0xF1
|4
|-
|0xF0
|3
|-
|0xEF
|3
|-
|0xEE
|3
|-
|0xED
|3
|-
|0xEC
|3
|-
|0xEB
|3
|-
|0xEA
|3
|-
|}
As can be seen in the table above, the ideal position to throw the potion from is 0xF1, which will ensure the potion scare stays to the left (this postion is shown in the screenshot below). Earlier than that and many trajectories will include the right side, while throwing the potion later gives a 75% chance for it to say on the left. 
[[File:Potion_throw0xF1_roomD.png|300px]]
 

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, with quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side, the success rate will most likely be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves up and right (towards above the table).
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table. The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer is less risky.
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method_
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way. Occasionally it will escape though.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it). The health and potion situation for room 0x11 should however also be taken into account (to avoid entering that room already with 2 hit points).
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11, instead of waiting for an enemy to appear in room 0x10.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the room of flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically around
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter (horizontally) if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Any%

2025-08-04T20:02:53Z

Ktwo: /* Inventory management */

==Inventory management==
Items in the inventory carry over between levels. There are different alternatives for how to manage the vouchers (for buying scares in the side view levels) and potions (for defeating enemies in some of the rooms in the overhead levels). It's therefore worth some additional discussion to go through the considerations behind the one shown in the route described on this page.

===Vouchers===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Vouchers'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|Key (outside the house)
| +75
|75
|
|-
|Book (house)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Fly in the clouds (village)
| +75
|225
|
|-
|Beetle
| +25 (or more)
|250
|There is a slight advantage in getting more vouchers here, since it can allow for more birdman scares to be purchased in the shop in level 2. However, the advantage isn't big enough to make any detours for.
|-
|Skeleton scare (shop)
| -250
|0
|(In practice) mandatory to proceed
|-
|Extra life
| +75
|75
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|Free umbrella scare]] (at the 1st cavern monster)
| +75
|150
|
|-
|Defeat 1st cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|675
|
|-
|Free umbrella scare (at the 2nd cavern monster)
| +75
|825
|
|-
|Defeat 2nd cavern monster
| +7x75 = 525
|1275
|
|-
|Buy scares - option 1 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x400-5x150
|125
|One umbrella and five birdman scares. This is the fastest option, but also introduces a bit of risk later on (the third cavern monster, the sewer boss and the graveyard boss). Note that if you earned 50 vouchers or more during the beetle farming in the first level, you can buy a 5th birdman scare. This can be used to mitigate some of the risk for a very minor time loss (just one press of select, so only a few frames).
|-
|Buy scares - option 2 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-5x150
|25
|One ogre and five birdman scares. This is safer than option 1 since you can use the ogre's special ability of 1-hit killing the 3rd cavern monster. It also makes the boss fight faster since the ogre has enough attacks to defeat it without having to activate a birdman scare. The downside is that it requires two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] visits. The additional shop visit costs around 3 seconds, but 1-1.5s are then saved compared to option 1 against the third cavern monster and the sewer boss (depending on button mashing and menuing). So this is in total 1.5-2s slower than option 1.
|-
|Buy scares - option 3 (after the 2nd cavern monster)
| -1x500-1x250-3x150
|75
|One ogre, one skeleton and three birdman scares. Slightly safer than option 2 (easier graveyard boss fight), but at the cost a little more menuing. Half a second slower than option 2?
|-
|}

===Potions===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Room # (see $55)'''
|'''Potions'''
|'''Accumulated'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|8]]
| +1
|1
|Can in theory be collected without time loss, but will in practice likely be a few frames slower. However, by delaying 15 frames, the second buzzsaw (?) can be avoided, which is a good trade-off. Collecting the potion within this delay should not be a problem in real-time.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|9]]
| +1
|2
|On the way. Another potion just to the right can be collected for a cost of ~80 frames, but is not recommended when attempting an optimized speedrun.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_8_through_C|B]]
| -2 +3
|3
|The potions are used in a semi-random fight with sweepers. Using 3 potions is a realistic goal for a good fight, but sometimes more will be required. It's usually possible to collect the 3 potions in the upper right room without time loss.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|D]]
| -1
|2
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_D_and_E|E]]
| +3
|5
|
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_F|F]]
| -2
|3
|It's debatable if one or two potions should be used in this fight. Partly it depends on how the art pieces move, partly personal preference.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x10]]
| -1/-2? +1
|2-4?
|Beetlejuice will very often take two forced hits in this room. If that means Beetlejuice is down to his last health, the auto-scroller in the next room can be risky to get through on the right side and it might in that case be worth taking an additional third hit (or taking the left path in 0x11). See routing video and comments for this room for suggestions on how to use potions.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x11]]
| -1?
|1-3?
|Throwing a potion here is far from a guarantee to avoid taking any hits. At least if the sweepers are separated, it's probably worth using a potion since there is otherwise a risk of taking two hits in this room.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x10_through_0x12|0x12]]
|
|1-3?
|The potion below the fly swatter is ~40 frames out of the way. Out of the optional potions not collected in the route shown on this page, this one is the least out of the way.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x13_through_0x17|0x14]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take a hit at the start of this room, which will usually mean one or more legs getting stuck around the exit and a forced second hit (and sometimes even a third hi). By throwing a potion, the first hit can sometimes be avoided and it's then less likely for any of the legs to get stuck near the exit. As a bonus, there is also a decent chance of the potion killing one of the legs and thereby create a chance for a health beetle.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x18]]
| -1?
|1-2?
|It's common to take two hits by the legs in this room. Using a potion can usually avoid one hit, with a rare chance of even killing the legs and getting a beetle).
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Room_0x18_and_0x19|0x19]]
|
|1-2?
|There is an optional potion in the top right corner, which costs ~70 frames.
|-
|[[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Level_5_.28Attic.2C_overhead.29|0x1D]]
| -1? or -2?
|0
|Using one potion is risky, but a fairly significant time save (~7s). Two well thrown potions are however almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers. Saving a potion in this room could also open up for another potion use earlier on, e.g. in room 0x18, leading to another potential (minor) time save.
|-
|}
 

==Level 1==
===Outside===
https://vimeo.com/1106918043 
* An explanation of the death warp can be found here: [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Movement_mechanics|movement mechanics]] (about "saved" position)
* The death warp typically saves ~0.8-0.9s in real-time, compared to collecting the key and returning to the house door on foot (a bit depending on the execution). However, it's worth noting that the death can lead to an additional continue, which then offsets most/all of that time gain.
* The setup shown in this video consists of two full jumps and then one minor jump
** The first jump doesn't pose any problem as long as you jump somewhere in front of the right side of the door
** The second jump has a 2-frame window. Too early and you'll land on the beetle. Too late and the game will update the "saved" position and Beetlejuice will not re-spawn in front of the door. By observing the where Beetlejuice lands after the beetle, it's fairly easy to tell if he jumped too late.
** The third jump shouldn't pose any problem of triggering an update of the "saved" position. So it's mainly about jumping as tight as possible to collect the key and then fall in the pit as fast as possible.

===House===
Since the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cloud_elevators|cloud elevators]] run on a fixed timer that starts when entering the house, the route can be adjusted to the possible cycles. Each cloud cycle is ~3s and the difference between an "early" and a "late" cycle is around half of that (an "early" cycle means jumping off the third and last cloud elevator while it's still ascending, while a "late" cycle is jumping off it after it's started descending). The fastest way to get through the first section of the house is on a "late" 5-cycle cloud elevator. However, this requires very tight execution (and probably favorable RNG of the lights on the bottom floor). It's more reliable to aim for an "early" 6-cycle: 
https://vimeo.com/1106918050 (not displayed well due to sprite flickering) 
* Depending on the timing of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]], it's not always possible to run through the two rightmost lights on the bottom floor. In that case, you can damage-boost through the last light by jumping and taking a hit against the torch before the light.
* Note that the weight falling down when flipping the first exit switch needs to disappear off-screen before the second switch can be flipped.
* It's important to keep track of which [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|invincibility flower(s)]] that are collected and when:
** The best case is to get both the lower and the upper flower (like in the linked video). All enemies and lights (after flipping the first switch) can be ignored
** Getting invincibility AFTER flipping the first switch, but not getting the upper flower requires some attention when exiting the house. You need to jump or drop while triggering the exit o avoid the "bouncing urn" (see below for more details).
** If you collect the lower flower BEFORE the first switch is flipped, the invincibility will wear off right before crossing the exit door. Getting through without time loss then depends on good RNG of not colliding with the "bouncing smiley". It's also worth mentioning that the "urn" the "bouncing smiley" jumps out from is also an insta-death obstacle that can be hit if you're too fast after flipping the first of the two exit switches.
** It's possible to get through the house without invincibility without time loss, but it requires even more favorable RNG from the lights and enemies and tighter execution in a few spots.
 

The mechanics of the exit might not be evident from a glance and are worth studying a bit more in detail. The exit is triggered by Beetlejuice touching its hitbox (no need to press up or other input). The following is an illustration (not pixel-perfect) of the exit's hitbox with respect to Beetlejuice's shoe soles (y) and his centerline (x): 
[[File:Exit_hitbox.PNG|200px]] 
If Beetlejuice has flower invincibility, he can just run into the hitbox from the right without issues. But running into the exit without invincibility will stop Beetlejuice at the rightmost pixel of the hitbox and he is almost guaranteed to be killed by the smiley. However, if Beetlejuice is in the air, he will not stop his movement, but will still trigger the exit. There are a few ways to achieve this:
# Make a small jump before the hitbox
# Drop through the floor and let the momentum have Beetlejuice trigger the exit
# Make a big jump both flipping the second switch and then land inside the hitbox
'1' and '3' work when the smiley is around the urn. '2' works when the smiley is above the platform. By exploiting the hitbox in this way, the last part of the house can often, but not always, be cleared without time loss.

===Village===
https://vimeo.com/1106918056 
* 25 vouchers will be missing to buy a skeleton scare in the shop. The only reasonable way to get them is to stomp on [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Beetles_.28side_view_levels.29|beetles]]. Either three red ones (worth 10 each) or (preferably) one of the three more valuable types (worth 25, 50 or 75).
* Note Beetlejuice's position when waiting for beetles to spawn. When standing in this position, beetles spawning from the left hole either spawn at Beetlejuice's feet or relatively quickly be chased down. Beetles spawning from the right hole will quickly despawn if they jump right, but be in reach if jumping to the left, towards Beetlejuice. Another advantage of not staying further to the right is to not trigger the scorpion.
* All the inputs in the shop for buying the skeleton scare can be [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Buffered_inputs|buffered]].
* Beetlejuice exits the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Shops|shop]] with the same x-position he entered it on and there is only one set of scares available in this shop, so it doesn't matter which pixel Beetlejuice enters on
* It's possible to skip the first beehive, but not faster. However, the second beehive must be destroyed or else Beetlejuice won't be able to open the boss door.

===1st boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918063 
* There is a very real risk of a "double KO", which then doesn't count in Beetlejuice's favor. It can therefore be a good habit to run away from the boss after attacking the third time to potentially avoid getting hit by a last-moment spray puff.
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#1st_boss_.28Level_1.29|boss]] is not consistent in a speedrun and requires good RNG. With only three scare attacks to deal with the boss, there is no alternative to playing aggressively. There are still a few different possibilities on how to approach the fight:
# Run to the right, jump and then attack once mid-air, adjust the jump to ensure landing in front of the boss and to some extent dodge a possible boss attack. (shown in the linked video)
# Run right as the fight starts and attack once when in front of the right side of the fireplace. Then quickly stop to halt the x-momentum. Short jump to the right (anticipating jumping over a potential attack from the boss) and then two more quick scare attacks.
# Ignore what the boss does and try to do three consecutive attacks without any jumps
 

'1' and '2' are seemingly quite similar, but real-time experience appears to favor '1' in terms of success rate. In practice, a significant number of patterns will however be difficult to deal with either method, so RNG definitely plays a role in this fight. '3' is a few tenths of a second faster, but also the riskiest of the three.
 

==Level 2==
===Storm drains===
https://vimeo.com/1106918077 
* It's faster to take the first two (intentional) deaths by falling off-screen than getting killed by the octopus
* At the second death, it's slightly faster to let the screen scroll up (like shown in the linked video), than to drop down off-screen as early as possible. The difference is only a few frames though.
* Note the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Free_scare_at_the_cavern_monsters|free umbrella scare]] at the first two cavern monsters
* The [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Cavern_monsters|cavern monsters']] attacks are random. More often than not, they will hit Beetlejuice during the fight. The further away Beetlejuice stands, the smaller portion of the attacks will hit Beetlejuice. Another mitigation is to take an intentional death by falling off-screen. The deaths of course cost time (~2s), but also ensure consistent fights by providing invincibility.
* The "intended" route after the first cavern monster is to continue up to the top of the level and then descend down to the second cavern monster. Manipulating the window position so Beetlejuice can jump directly right towards the second monster is a shortcut worth a 5 or so seconds and was found by 'bartaan'.
* Dropping down in front of the frog (instead of jumping over it) after the 1st cavern monster fight is a bit tight requires the following:
** Not getting hit by the cavern monster or the frog
** Defeat the cavern frog in "average" time. Too fast and Beetlejuice will hit the spider on the ledge below. Too slow and Beetlejuice will hit the frog when dropping down.
** When jumping up to the platform with the frog and the cavern monster, there is a risk the frog repeatedly de- and re-spawns when disappearing off-screen. This will interfere with the frog movements and it becomes difficult to predict where the frog will be when getting back and dropping down to the ledge with the spider.
** Trigger the cavern monster fight before jumping over it, or else you will have to wait for the free umbrella scare when landing
* See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Vouchers|voucher section]] for a discussion about the purchases in the shop. In this shop, there are 2 sets of inventory on the left x-pixels of the entrance and 2 other sets on the right. It's the ones on the left that are needed (the ones on the right don't have birdman scares). The inventory sets alternate every x-pixel. So enter the shop, buy the scares from that inventory set. Exit, move 1 pixel and enter the shop again to buy the remaining scare(s). The following table shows the x-pixels of interest (:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''x-pixel ($3BE)'''
|'''Image left'''
|'''Image right'''
|'''Shop inventory'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|0xA7
|[[File:x167.png]]
|[[File:0xA7_right.gif]]
| -
|Not in front of the shop
|-
|0xA8
|[[File:x168.png]]
|[[File:0xA8_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xA9
|[[File:x169.png]]
|[[File:0xA9_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAA
|[[File:x170.png]]
|[[File:0xAA_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAB
|[[File:x171.png]]
|[[File:0xAB_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory2left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAC
|[[File:x172.png]]
|[[File:0xAC_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1left.png]]
|
|-
|0xAD
|[[File:x173.png]]
|[[File:0xAD_right.gif]]
|[[File:Inventory1right.png]]
|From this position and to the right, the shop doesn't have any birdman scares
|-
|}
* This is the last shop visit, so vouchers are irrelevant from this point onwards
* It's a 50% chance to jump through the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Octopus|octopus]], not possible to control in real-time. However, remember to keep holding A during the knockback, to buffer the next jump.
* Note that a little bit of time can be saved by setting up the inventory to the "two-headed man" after activating the umbrella scare. Setting it up this way allows buffering the next scare activation ("up+A" to activate the birdman).
* The linked video goes for "option 1" when purchasing scares in the shop, which introduces a risk against the 3rd cavern monster. A way to mitigate the risk of getting hit by the 3rd cavern monster is to let the screen scroll far enough that you can start attacking it during the jump. With sufficient mashing, the cavern monster can be killed before attacking.
* Even if you get hit by the 3rd cavern monster, it's worth continuing the fight by activating a birdman scare. Hopefully, you can take out the monster with one additional attack and then use the remaining attack and two more from another birdman scare against the boss. A time loss, but not a reset.
* Option 2 and 3 eliminates the risk against the 3rd cavern monster by using the ogre's special ability of 1-hit defeating t
* It's possible to skip the cavern monster fights by not allowing the screen to scroll far enough. However, the boss door will not be open if not all three cavern monsters have been defeated.

===2nd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918089 
* Similar to the first boss, the same three methods can be used to fight the boss in this level. However, the third method (running straight at it) seems to rarely ever work. The sub-routine for the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#2nd_boss_.28Level_2.29|boss]] results in a higher chance of an attack than the first boss, so it's unlikely to get a fight without the boss attacking.
* Like the first boss, the best case scenario is a 3-attack fight.
 

==Level 3 (both overhead levels grouped together)==
The room numbers refer to RAM-address $55.

===Room 8 through C===
https://vimeo.com/1106918104 
* To avoid getting hit by the second buzzsaw in room 8, a minimum of a 16-frame delay is required. Taking damage is in average ~40 frame time loss (or more if it happens to incur another continue). It's therefore well worth waiting briefly to avoid the damage and the potion can then also be collected without time loss as a bonus.
* [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Spiders|Spider]] damage can sometimes be avoided and it's often worth doing so in these rooms. Taking hits early on risks resulting in a death, while not dying can often be rewarded in the coming rooms with restoring health from beetles from defeated enemies.
* There is an optional potion to the right of the one on the way in room 9, but it requires a detour of ~80 frames and is not recommended to grab
 

The sweeper fight in room B is one of the critical points in a speedrun. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers']] and [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potions']] movements depend on RNG, they can be manipulated to a certain extent. The steps outlined below and demonstrated in the link are in no way guaranteed to work, but do exploit the game mechanics and have been developed to improve the chances of a successful 2-potion fight.
# Most of the time, one of the sweepers will home in on Beetlejuice from atop the sofa group (like shown here). In that case, try to dodge and hope for the best. It's also possible to throw a potion and try to run through the sweeper during its damage frames, but this is not guaranteed to work. If Beetlejuice does end up taking a hit, the sweepers will move away from him, resulting in a time loss of usually a few seconds.
# Wait at the top of the narrow corridor to bait the two sweepers below to follow Beetlejuice. The third sweeper will at this point hopefully be stuck in the lower left corner of the room to the right. The chances of this being the case increases if Beetlejuice isn't positioned too far above the corridor. There is again an element of RNG here, which makes this step non-consistent and there is always a risk of one of the sweepers getting stuck in the room below or the sweeper to the right escaping pre-maturely and start chasing you.
# If Beetlejuice took a hit when trying to run past the sweeper in the first step, it can be worth throwing a potion in the room to try and inflict some damage while waiting for the sweepers to move towards the narrow corridor to the upper-left room.
# When one (or hopefully both) of the lower sweepers start to come up through the narrow corridor, move to the upper left corner of the table and time a potion throw to inflict damage, but also making sure to not get it (or else the sweepers will likely disperse into the lower room again). Throwing a potion from this position will likely have the scare moving around in the upper left room and continue to inflict damage to the sweepers. However, some potion trajectories will end up in the right room.
# Try and get past the sweeper that should now be coming from the right, preferably without getting hit (but that's mainly RNG), and move into the right room. If taking a hit seems unavoidable, it should at least be done so to avoid the sweeper returning back into the right room.
# Collect the three potions in the right room and wait for the sweepers to approach. Align Beetlejuice's vertical position with the corridor to bait the sweepers to enter the corridor.
# When the sweepers are about to enter the right room, throw a potion from the position shown in the linked video. All potion scare trajectories thrown from around here (hug the right wall) will stay inside the right room.
# If necessary, throw additional potions and dodge as required to avoid hits.
 

It's of course possible to start throwing potions earlier than in the method above and take out the sweepers faster. This will in the end be a personal choice, but a few advantages of the approach outlined above:
* The less potions thrown in this room means more potions available to use in other rooms
* Throwing a potion from the top-left corner of the table seems to work well. If a potion was thrown in the lower room, it's possible that it's still active and prevents the next potion to be thrown.
* By throwing first a potion in the lower room and then in the upper-left room, at least one of the sweepers will often die in the upper-left room. With the 75% chance of dropping a health beetle, this will mean health beetles are often blocked from spawning in the right room. By following the method outlined above, the three sweepers will often be defeated in the right room, leaving more opportunities to get one or more health beetles.
 

===Room D and E===
https://vimeo.com/1106918134 
The strategy in room D is to throw a potion to deal with the two [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces]] on the left side of the room and then take care of the art piece on the right side with the hammer. Since the art pieces move randomly, there is no consistent way to do this. Often, you'll end up having to chase one or both of the left pieces and finish the work with the hammer. By studying possible potion trajectories, one can control that the potion stays on the left side. There seems to be at least a few options for this:
# As shown in the linked video, move up to the hammer, turn left and throw a potion. Not all positions have been tested, but this general area seems to give very reliable results with the potion scares staying on the left side.
# Throw a potion vertically from around the lower left corner of the carpet. Not all trajectories in this area have been investigated, but this seems like a consistent way to get the potion scare to stay on the left side. See the following screenshot for the general position: [[File:Potion_throw2_roomD.png|300px]]
# As you enter the room, walk straight up (no sideways movement) and throw a potion from y-position 0xF1-0xEA. The table below details how many potion scare trajectories (out of 4 possible) that will stay on the left side for each y-position:

{| class="wikitable"
|'''y ($3C1)'''
|'''Left trajectories'''
|-
|0xFA
|3
|-
|0xF9
|1
|-
|0xF8
|1
|-
|0xF7
|1
|-
|0xF6
|1
|-
|0xF5
|1
|-
|0xF4
|1
|-
|0xF3
|3
|-
|0xF2
|2
|-
|0xF1
|4
|-
|0xF0
|3
|-
|0xEF
|3
|-
|0xEE
|3
|-
|0xED
|3
|-
|0xEC
|3
|-
|0xEB
|3
|-
|0xEA
|3
|-
|}
As can be seen in the table above, the ideal position to throw the potion from is 0xF1, which will ensure the potion scare stays to the left (this postion is shown in the screenshot below). Earlier than that and many trajectories will include the right side, while throwing the potion later gives a 75% chance for it to say on the left. 
[[File:Potion_throw0xF1_roomD.png|300px]]
 

Options '1' and '2' (shown in the linked video) are fairly similar. A quick test of 20 throws with each option was done from save states on a Powerpak (all of them different ones). 7/20 throws with method 1 took care of both art pieces, while 10/20 throws with method 2 were successful. By only comparing 20 throws for each method, it might be misleading to jump to too far-reaching conclusions regarding which method is best. Generally speaking, option 1 seems to cover more area on the left side, while most trajectories with option 2 move close to the NW/SE diagonal. Deciding on the throw depending on the art pieces initial movements could therefore be worth considering. '3' has the (slight) advantage of being thrown as early as possible when entering the room. However, with quite a few trajectories not staying on the left side, the success rate will most likely be lower than '1' and '2'. 

A strategy that can make sense is to take an intentional hit to freeze the art pieces in place for a short time. If this is done before throwing the potion, it could even influence whether to go for option '1' or '2'. 

The right path through room E is 16 frames slower than the left path. However, this is easily compensated by the three potions on the way.

===Room F===
https://vimeo.com/1106918146 
* Throwing a potion from the position in the linked video will ensure the potion scare stays in the lower left corner (at least most of the time).
* An alternative to throwing the hammer vertically (as shown in the linked video) is to throw it horizontally, e.g. above the chair to the left of the table. This can be a good option in case one of the pieces moves up and right (towards above the table).
* The two first [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Delia.27s_art_pieces|art pieces']] health (starting at 4) should be decimated by quite a bit from the hammer and the potion scare. While this is the fastest way to dispatch of the two lower art pieces, it's also a risky strategy (1/3 - 1/2 chance???). A few things to consider when returning back down after collecting the key in case they don't seem to be defeated:
** If one of the art pieces moves up to the area above the table, either re-collect the hammer and throw horizontally above the table or throw a potion to the left from e.g. the top-right corner of the table. The potion will not stay here, but often long enough to inflict one or two damage (especially if it moves down left and then comes back before it exhausts). Throwing the potion is the faster option, but re-throwing the hammer is less risky.
** From time to time, an art piece gets trapped in the left corridor (leading to Saturn). Other than wasting time chasing after it, there isn't much to be in this case. Fortunately, it's not too common though.
* A safer and ~6s slower way to clear this room is the following method_
# Throw the first potion the same as in the linked video
# Manually take care of the two lower art pieces with the hammer
# Take a hit from the upper piece when collecting the key and throw the hammer. The by far most common result is that the hammer will destroy the piece before it can move out of the way. Occasionally it will escape though.
 

===Room 0x10 through 0x12===
https://vimeo.com/1106918110 
* If you don't use any potions in room 0x10, the typical case is that you take two damage (one on the way to the key and then another one when making your way to the exit).
* If you throw a potion, like in the linked video, the typical case is to run through one footballer's legs during its damage frames, but then take damage against the second pair of legs. Assuming the potion scare stays in the lower room, the first legs will then most of the time take one more hit (occasionally two, like in the linked video). If the legs taking damage earlier is still in the room below, it should only have one hit point left. It's therefore worth throwing a second potion when returning after collecting the key to defeat those legs and a likely health beetle. In summary, two (sometimes only one) potions will often result in a net zero damage in this room.
* Based on the two points above, it's worth considering using potions in this room, especially if you enter it with 0 hit points (but with 1 hit point can also be worth it). The health and potion situation for room 0x11 should however also be taken into account (to avoid entering that room already with 2 hit points).
* The right path in room 0x11 is 80 frames (1.3s) faster than the left path. However, Beetlejuice will quite often take a hit along the right path, even when using a potion. The left path is safer since it only has one enemy along the way, but still not guaranteed to pass without taking damage. In case you get to the end of room 0x10 with only one hit point left and no enemies to take another damage on, it's worth considering moving on and then take the left path in room 0x11, instead of waiting for an enemy to appear in room 0x10.
* The relative x-pixel Beetlejuice enters a portal on will also be the one he exits on, so move diagonally (and not just vertically) to adjust to the most favorable x-position.
* If you're one potion short, the one below the fly swatter is the least "off-route" of the ones not collected in the route shown on this page.
 

===Room 0x13 through 0x17===
https://vimeo.com/1106918121 
Room 0x13 is one of the most critical rooms in a speedrun. There is no known method for consistently clearing the room of flies quickly. Taking advantage of the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flies|flies' movement mechanics]] can however improve the success rate.
# Walk roughly to the end of the initial narrow corridor when entering the room
# If you don't get hit at the start (or the flies aren't aligned for a vertical throw with the swatter), throw the swatter to the right. However, if you are getting hit by a fly, see if the other flies are aligned for a vertical throw right at the start (strat first suggested by 'golden1ink'). Keep in mind that the flies are immobilized longer the fewer flies that are left in the room. So if you get hit right at the start, there isn't much time to chase down the immobilized flies with the swatter.
# Walk to the right without stopping and Beetlejuice will avoid both the door and the saw.
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter horizontally once (to avoid the swatter getting off-screen)
# Catch and immediately re-throw the swatter vertically around
# Move around in a circular motion while avoiding the door and saw (the saw won't reach Beetlejuice when he's hugging the walls)
# If Beetlejuice gets hit by a fly, use the flies' immobility time to either "drag" more flies to the where the swatter moves or even consider collecting and re-throwing the swatter (horizontally) if a direct hit seems possible
# When there is only one fly left, consider slowly moving towards the exit. If the last fly isn't defeated quickly enough, this will however trap Beetlejuice between the closed door and the door to Saturn. So this is a risky strat.
* The swatter can't hit flies when it's off-screen. The method above aims to minimize the swatter's time off-screen.
* There are other possible ways to throw the swatter than what's described here. The flies move around randomly and it doesn't seem like any part of the screen would be better than others. There are however a few ideas behind throwing the swatter like in the linked video:
** You have a bit of room to "drag" immobilized flies in front of the swatter. Especially horizontally, but to some extent also vertically.
** It stays on-screen the whole time
** The swatter can be of use in room 0x1A if it's re-collected here in room 0x13. Throwing it in this way sometimes makes it possible to re-collect without a big detour or wait.
* If hit by the buzzsaw, Beetlejuice will not be able to collide with any flies during the invincibility period and the flies aren't immobilized either
* When throwing the potion as shown in room 0x14, there is roughly a 1/4 chance the potion will bounce off the obstacles so it stays on the left side. This gives a good opportunity to take out one of the footballer's legs and a chance for a health beetle. It can be difficult to avoid damage against the legs before entering the portal though, in which case they will scatter and are unlikely to take full damage from the potion.
 

===Room 0x18 and 0x19===
https://vimeo.com/1106918128 
* Room 0x18 is another highly random room. While the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Mouse|mouse's movement mechanics]] are stiff, they're also completely random. The only knowledge that can be used to slightly improve the chances of catching the mouse is that the time between each direction change is the same.
* If you have any potions to spare when entering 0x18, it's sometimes possible to avoid a hit from the footballer's legs at the start and rarely the potion scare will completely defeat the legs.
* If you re-collected the swatter in room 0x13, it should be thrown before chasing after the mouse. Below are three possible options for where to throw the swatter:
** Throw it vertically as soon as you enter the room. The disadvantage with this option is that will often interfere when you want to scare away Delia (instead of releasing the mouse in front of Delia, you can end up collecting the swatter).
** Throw it vertically one tile to the right of entrance. Throwing it from this position will prevent it from interfering with scaring away Delia. Re-collecting the swatter will always cost a little bit of time though.
** Throw it horizontally a little below Delia. Quite similar to the previous method in that it won't interfere with scaring Delia, but it will cost a little more time to get in position to throw it.
 

===Room 0x1A===
https://vimeo.com/1106918093 
* One can expect typically two-three hits in this room from colliding with flies.
* Keep in mind the portal mechanics to adjust the x-position as required (see note above under room 0x10)
* There is an interesting alternative strat in this room discovered by 'Bassguy'. It consists of re-collecting the swatter in room 0x13 after the last fly is destroyed and then throw it in the long horizontal corridor here in room 0x1A. It will then hit flies that are one screen off, thanks to a (probable) [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flaw_in_the_flies.27_hit_detection_.28overhead_sections.29|bug in the code of the flies' hit detection]]. This trick is demonstrated in https://vimeo.com/811727457. If we assume the average number of hits from flies without the swatter is 3 and the average number of times Beetlejuice hits a fly with the swatter strat is 1, the time save in average is ~1.5-2s. So if re-grabbing the swatter in room 0x13 (and 0x18!) isn't too much out of the way, it's worth considering this alternative strat.
* The linked video collects the key at the end before the glasses, while the opposite would have been slightly faster. However, first going for the glasses will result in getting hit by the buzzsaw (assuming no delays elsewhere in this room). Even when another hit can be afforded here without taking, it's recommended to still avoid it by collecting the key first. The additional HP will be of better use in the upcoming overhead section (or as a back-up in the graveyard).
 

==Level 4==
===Graveyard===
https://vimeo.com/1106918170 
* The inputs are buffered during the cutscene after 3-3, so just hold down any button to skip the map screen on the first possible frame
* The big jump after the moving cloud is a 2-frame jump
* By holding "up" during the last jump to the tower, you will enter the door without having to stand in front of it and wait for the screen to scroll up
* The routes through the first section of the graveyard and the tower can be difficult to get consistent. https://vimeo.com/1107082569 demonstrates a much safer route. Other than being a bit slower, it also relies on getting a flower inside the tower:
** The outside is around 3.5s slower (1s from taking longer to navigate the first part and 2.5s from missing the 2-frame jump mentioned above)
** The tower is around 0.75s slower
* The shop visible at around 1:08 contains birdman scares. At this point, you're guaranteed to have enough vourchers to buy at least one. This is not required for the route and will lead to a pretty significant time loss (5+s?), but can still be worth keeping in mind for more casual or marathon speedruns. There appears to only be one other shop in this level that has birdman scares. It's located below the shop just mentioned, near the bottom of the level. This one is very out of the way and not recommended for any type of speedrun.

===3rd boss===
https://vimeo.com/1106918186 
* The ideal boss fight is done in 2 jumps/4 attacks. The inputs are quite precise though, so even when the boss doesn't cast magic, it can be tricky to do consistently. There are a few ways to mitigate this. One is to go for option 3 in the shop in level 2 (= buy a skeleton scare). This will give you 7 attacks in total. You can also continue using up birdman scares and attack, as long as you have one birdman scare left for the last level (but very preferably two).
* If Beetlejuice already has one or two hit points at the end of this level, it can lead to minor time losses in the next level (or even 2+s if an unintentional death is taken). As a mitigation, an option is to take a hit at the end of the boss fight to reset the hit points. This is very risky if you have exhausted all attacks of the scare though, risking a "double KO" instead.
 

==Level 5 (Attic, overhead)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918190 
* Use diagonal movement to set up the x-position before entering portals. This will both save pixels throughout the level, but also help avoid the Saturn door chasing Beetlejuice.
* When exiting the portal to the room with the sweepers, the y-position will always be the same. This can be used to easier control the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Potions|potion trajectories]]. The x-position is still a variable, as well as the throw direction. By entering the portal vertically, Beetlejuice will exit it facing down, while he will face left if the portal was entered diagonally (regardless of if it was diagonal left or right). The sweepers can't move past the locked door, so the best case is when the potion scare stays in the lower room. The graph below shows the result of a test of how many potion scare trajectories stay inside the lower room for the different x-positions Beetlejuice can exit the portal on and for the different throwing directions, while keeping the y-position at 0x49. 
[[File:Potion trajectories Attic2.PNG]] 

For reference, this is the leftmost x-position (0xA2) Beetlejuice can exit the portal on: 
[[File:0xA2.PNG]] 

As can be seen in the graph, most trajectories from down-facing throws stay in the lower room, but not all. However, when facing left, all trajectories stay in the lower room (except for two from the far right side of the portal, which are anyways out of the way and shouldn't be used). Note that Beetlejuice can't exit this portal facing right, but the right throw direction is still interesting to consider. Most of the time, the sweepers will be on the right side of the room, so throwing a potion directly in their direction could have the benefit of reaching them slightly earlier and thereby increase the average number of hits, compared to throwing the potions to the left or down. This throw direction was therefore included in the test, but the results are not very good. Many trajectories leave the lower room, making the right-facing throws less attractive. Maybe a wider search, including different y-values would provide better results?
* Assuming the potion scare stays in the same room as the sweepers, there seems to be a roughly 1/4 chance to take out both sweepers in one throw (difficult to estimate theoretically, so based on limited testing). Throwing a second potion is almost guaranteed to take out the sweepers (again, assuming the second one also stays in the lower room with the sweepers). See the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Any%25#Potions|potion management]] section for some additional comments about the available options.
* By holding B+Up while inside the portal, Beetlejuice will buffer a potion throw in the direction he exited the portal and then immediately re-enter the portal. However, the potion throw will then be from y-position 0x48 and not 0x49! At least some trajectories from left-facing throws will now leave the lower room, so it's not recommended to buffer both the throw and the re-entering of the portal (at least not without fully testing the different outcomes from throws from the new y-position).
* Buffering the potion throw generally doesn't have any downsides, except in one case. If one (or both) sweeper is sort of stuck in the lower left corner, it will probably not be hit by the potion right at the start. It's recommended in this case to wait for the sweeper(s) to start moving towards Beetlejuice and the portal before throwing the potion. This should ensure getting an early hit.
* Before leaving this level, remember to take a look at the number of lives remaining, as it has an impact on the number of death abuses available in the last level. (remaining lives are only shown when in the menu during the last level)
 

==Level 6 (Afterlife)==
https://vimeo.com/1106918198 
* If the screen scrolls too much vertically when collecting ticket #4 (the first one collected in the linked video), there is a risk of bumping into the golden beetle next to it on the way to ticket #3. To avoid this risk, one can drop down from the platform below (with the octopus) and then continue right from there. It's slightly slower than immediately moving to the right, but it's better than risking to bump into the golden beetle.
* This demonstrates the currently known fastest route in terms of order to collect tickets and death abuses. However, for the last death abuse (to collect ticket #5) to save time, it can't trigger a continue or get any knockbacks against the frogs above the "rail magnet" (?) on the right side. There doesn't appear to currently be a consistent setup for getting past the frogs without taking any hits.
* The following video demonstrates grabbing ticket #5 without death abuse, https://vimeo.com/1106918215. It's around a second slower than the death abuse route, but becomes about the same if a continue or knockback is included in the death abuse route.
* It's worth preparing for the possibility of arriving here with only one birdman scare. The following route is ~4s slower than primary route (assuming no continues are triggered): https://vimeo.com/1106918227.
* Having no birdman scares in this level will result in a much slower completion that is only of interest as a last resort in a marathon or no-reset run
* It has been confirmed through code analysis that all tickets need to be collected in order to exit (the game checks that $85 equals 0x3F, corresponding to all tickets collected, or else the door won't open)
* The jump to the exit after death abuse for ticket #5 can be buffered by holding down A before re-spawning

Beetlejuice (NES)/Game Mechanics and Techniques

2025-08-04T19:54:46Z

Ktwo: /* Buffered inputs */

==Animations==
===Movement mechanics===
* 3BF/3BE/3BD - Big/Small/Sub x-position
* 3C4/3C3 - Small/Sub x-speed
* 3C2/3C1/3C0 - Big/Small/Sub y-position
* 3C7/3C6 - Small/Sub y-speed
* 497/49A - Temporary storage of the sub x/y-position (used to transfer the sub-position from before to after the house of the start level and the tower in the graveyard)
* 44D/44C//450/44F - "Saved" big/small x//y-position
 

Beetlejuice accelerates in the x-direction with 32 sub-pixels/frame^2 up to a speed of 2 pixels/frame. The acceleration is the same on the ground as in the air. However, jumping has a wind-up frame, so it's slightly slower to jump when accelerating. Letting go of the direction button will make him stop immediately when on the ground, while momentum is kept (no brake effect) when jumping. "Braking" in the air decelerates Beetlejuice with 64 sub-pixels/frame^2. 

The "saved" position is used to determine where Beetlejuice will respawn after a death. It's updated every 8 ticks of the global timer. However, it's only updated if Beetlejuice is running, but not while in the air. This can be used to set up "death warps" by jumping across a level, die and warp back instead of back-tracking normally. 

An oddity, albeit a very small one, is that there is an immobility frame if Beetlejuice runs (or drops) off a platform. Although the screen scrolling will in many cases be more important than an immobility frame, some platforms can be jumped off of without consequence for one frame saved.
 

===Time cost comparisons===
* A continue screen costs from 45 frames and upwards, depending on how quickly it's clicked away, on top of the other costs associated with a death.
 

Side view levels
* A knockback costs 54 frames
* Falling into a pit from roughly half the screen's height costs ~140 frames. 30-40 of those are from the fall itself, the rest from re-spawning. On top of that, 8 frames more will be lost from having to accelerate from 0 when re-spawning.
* Losing the last health from taking a hit in the same position as above and triggering the "skeleton" death animation costs ~20 frames more
* Entering a shop and purchase one item costs 3.4s
* A menu trip and selecting the highlighted or an adjacent scare is 1.1s
 

Overhead levels
* A death from mid-screen costs ~120 frames
 

==Scares==
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Cost'''
|'''Shots'''
|'''Special ability'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[File:Medusa.png]] Medusa head
|100
|1
|Freezes enemies in underground areas (beetle holes)
|Activated by shooting
|-
|[[File:Birdman.png]] Birdman
|150
|2
|Increases jump height
|The jump ability allows for shortcuts and is very useful in a speedrun
|-
|[[File:Two-headed man.png]] Two-headed man
|200
|3
|1-hit kills the sandworm on Saturn
|
|-
|[[File:Skeleton.png]] Skeleton
|250
|5
|No damage from bees, 1-hit kills the beehives (both only found in level 1)
|
|-
|[[File:Umbrella.png]] Umbrella head
|400
|9
|None?
|The manual hints about giving some sort of advantage against the octopuses in the sewer stage
|-
|[[File:Ogre.png]] Ogre
|500
|12
|1-hit kills the cavern monsters in level 2 (Storm drains)
|
|-
|[[File:Ghost.png]] Ghost (called "spooksheet" in the game)
|600
|15
|None?
|Only available in the graveyard level. The manual does not seem to hint about any special ability. It sounds more like it's an "all-purpose" scare with lots of shots.
|-
|[[File:Snake.png]] Snakeman
|750
|19
|None?
|Same comments as for the ghost scare.
|-
|}
 

==RNG==
The RNG-addresses in RAM are $24-$27. There are three different algorithms that are used to update their values.
# Starting at $99E8, various logical operations on and between the RNG-addresses are done, with the previous set of RNG and the global timer ($3BB) as seeds.
# Starting at $DFA5, a similar algorithm to the first.
# Starting at $909A, only two of the RNG-values are updated. This is done based on Beetlejuice's x- and y-position (influencing $24 and $25, respectively).

The first two algorithms are used throughout the game with what appears to be a room-dependent frequency (usually every 2-8 frames), with additional calls if there are RNG-dependent enemies present. The sub-routine for the third algorithm is only used in the side-scrolling levels and only called every 256 frames ($3BB = 0x1D). Room 0x09 (the very first overhead room in the game) is special in the sense that the RNG is never updated in this room. 

There is no indication that the RNG-values would be possible to manipulate in real-time. In TAS-conditions, the RNG is fairly "stiff" and can only be manipulated to a certain extent (unless introducing waiting frames is considered). In the side-view levels, it's done by changing Beetlejuice's position before '3' is called. In the overhead levels, it's mainly done by throwing a potion at different times or in some cases defeating enemies on different frames. In the room with Delia (0x19), picking up the mouse and scaring off Delia on different frames can also be used to influence the RNG. These methods have in common that they influence the number of calls to the RNG sub-routine. 

==Enemies and objects==
===1st boss (Level 1)===
[[File:1st_boss.PNG|75px]] 
* $5E9/$5E8 - Small/Sub x-position of shots
* $5EC/$5EB - Small/Sub x-speed of shots
* $535/$536 - x/y boss
* $5E7 – Shot flag
 

When the shot flag is not set, the RNG function is called every 16 frames, based on the global timer ($3BB). One of the results is compared with 0x46 (instruction $C8F9). If it's less, the boss will shoot a puff of spray. Since the player neither knows the global timer, nor the RNG values, shots can be considered random and outside player control with a probability of (1/16)*(70/256) ~ 1/59 per frame. The fastest method to defeat the boss is to run straight at him and fire off three quick shots. This way, a typical fight takes ~80 frames, which will allow 5 or 6 opportunities for the boss to fire. The success rate will therefore be between (186/256)^6 ~15% and (186/256)^5 ~20%. A slightly more consistent method is to jump and shoot, regardless of if the boss has actually fired or not. The fight will then typically take ~100 frames. It's not as straight-forward to calculate the success rate in this case and has not been attempted, but it's noticeably more consistent. 

The speed of the puff is either 1 or 2 pixels/frame and with a sub-speed that is a multiple of 0x40 (a sub-speed >0 slows down the puffs). Both the main and sub speeds directly depend on $24 (the first RNG-address) and should therefore be equally distributed with no possibility to predict in real-time. 

===2nd boss (Level 2)===
[[File:2nd_boss.PNG|75px]] 
This boss works in essentially the same way as the first one, but with a few different parameters. The ball speed is always 1 pixel/frame (instruction $C95D). When the shot flag is not set, the boss will kick a ball based on a check every 16 frames (based on the global timer in $3BB) with a 50% chance (instruction $C93C). 

===3rd boss (graveyard level)===
[[File:3rd_boss.PNG|75px]] 
* $537 - Magic timer
 

If the boss isn't already casting magic, the game calls the RNG function every second frame. The check that follows has a 5/256 ~ 1/51 chance to pass (instruction $C85A), resulting in the boss casting magic. The duration of the spell is always 22 or 24 frames. 

===Delia's art pieces===
[[File:Art_piece1.PNG]] [[File:Art_piece2.PNG]] [[File:Art_piece3.PNG]] 
* $59A+X – Health (starting at 2 for the art pieces in room 0xD and 4 in 0xF)
 

The following description refers to the art pieces' x-position, the y-position works in an analog way. The description is applicable to both the objects in room 0xD and 0xF (from $55). 

Every 16th frame, the RNG function is called and through various calculations updates [$5CA+X]. This address has double purposes. First it determines a base movement of the object for the next 16 frames. This base movement is either move left or stand still. Then through logical manipulations, it adds a number to [$5D0+X] every frame (always the same number during the 16 frames). The new x-position (5AC+X) is then calculated by taking ”move left or standstill” plus if there was a carry in the calculation of the new [$5D0+X]. 

Several steps have been skipped in the description above, but the end result and conclusion are that the game achieves something similar to a sub-pixel movement. During 16 frames, the art piece will move 0 or 1 pixel every frame, depending on how often the carry is produced in the calculation of [$5D0+X]. 

With the art pieces' movement at the core relying on RNG, it's difficult to see how any real-time manipulation would be possible. 

===Beetles (side view levels)===
[[File:Beetle_(side_view_levels).PNG]] 
* $414+X/$411+X - Big/Small x-position
* $41D+X/$41A+X/$417+X - Big/Small/Sub y-position
* $426+X/$423+X/$420+X - Big/Small/Sub y-speed
* $429+X - Movement state (0x01 - idling, 0x02 - moving right, 0x42 - moving left)
* $42C+X - Sub y-acceleration
* $42F+X - Beetle type (0 – 10, 1 – 25, 2 – 50, 3 – 75)
 

Every 4 frames, the RNG function is called and a result is compared with 0x32 (instruction $A835). If it's smaller, another check is done with a 1/4 chance of passing per active beetle hole on screen (instruction $A83F). A beetle will then spawn from the corresponding hole. 

The type of beetle is again determined by running the RNG function. The result is this time compared with 0x50 (instruction $A875). If it's smaller, a red beetle (worth 10 vouchers) will spawn. If it's greater, another check is done with equal probability of the remaining 3 types (instruction $A879). 

In summary, as long as the three available beetle memory addresses aren't filled, the probability of one of the 3 more valuable types spawning per second and per hole is 15*(48/256)*(1/4)*(176/256) ~ 48%. 

Once a beetle has spawned and is in idle state, it has a 1/16 chance to initiate a jump every frame. The x-speed is always +-1 pixel/frame, depending on the movement state (which is determined by RNG). The beetle types 0 and 1 will start with a small y-speed of 0xFE. The beetle types 2 and 3 will start with a small y-speed between 0xFE and 0xFA (random). The sub y-acceleration remains constant during a jump and the calculation is the same for all beetle types, 0x32+[random value between 0 and F]+[random carry]. 

===Beetles (overhead levels)===
[[File:Beetle_(overhead_levels).PNG]] 
* $60C – Beetle flag
* $611/$60E/$60D – Big/Small/Sub x-position
* $610/$60F – Small/Sub x-speed
* $619/$616/$615 – Big/Small/Sub y-position
* $617/$618 – Small/Sub y-speed
 

There is a 75% chance that an enemy drops a beetle (instruction $9E8C, when enemy health goes to 0). Same for all enemy types. There can however only be one beetle at a time (controlled by the beetle flag). 

The speed is recalculated every second frame as the current speed and an addition based on a result from calling the RNG function (see e.g. Instruction $BD50).
 

===Buzzsaw===
[[File:Buzzsaw.PNG]] 
* $7DD/$7E6+X – x/y-position
* $7F5/$7F8 – x/y-movement timer
 

The buzzsaws move with 1 pixel/frame in the same direction until the movement timer has run out, after which it changes direction. The initial positions and movement patterns are read from look-up tables when the room loads, based on room parameters. Playing a room consistently will therefore result in predictable position(s) of the buzzsaw(s).
 

===Cavern monsters===
[[File:Cavern_monster.PNG|75px]] 
* $5E9/$5E8 - Small/Sub x-position of projectiles
* $5EC/$5EB - Small/Sub x-speed of projectiles
* $5EF/$5EE - Small/Sub y-position of projectiles
* $5F2/$5F1 - Small/Sub y-speed of projectiles
* $5F4 – Projectile timer
* $795 - "Health" (the actual health is calculated in a kind of convoluted way based on this address with the end result being that 7 hits are needed or one hit with the ogre scare - it's unclear why this enemy's health is calculated and not directly shown in the RAM)
* $5F8 - Flag that is set after defeating the monster and unset once the screen has been centered around Beetlejuice again.
 

As soon as Beetlejuice is close enough to trigger the fight, the cavern monster will fire off a projectile and the projectile timer starts counting down from 0x3F (no dependence on external factors, such as RNG or the global timer). When the timer reaches 0, a new projectile is fired. 

Below is a description of how the game calculates the projectile direction (= the projectile's x- and y-speeds) without going into too many code details. The following picture illustrates the concepts used (Beetlejuice's physical position in the screenshot was selected to show the x-pixel that triggers this particular fight): 

[[File: Virtual_position_Cavern_monster.gif|250px]]
 

The first step is for the game to calculate a "virtual position" of Beetlejuice. This is done by taking Beetlejuice's actual position and add a random number between 0xC0 and 0x3F to it (so 64 pixels in each direction). $459 and $45A are used as temp variables to store this "virtual position". The distance is then calculated from the cavern monster projectile's initial position. Through a series of logic operations, the calculated distance is then converted to a speed of the projectile. In short, the resulting speed in sub-pixels/frame is [calculated distance in pixels] x 0x8. 
''Note1: the virtual x- and y-positions (and hence x- and y-speeds) are calculated independently. RNG-address $24 is used for the x-position, while $25 is used for the y-position.'' 
''Note2: if Beetlejuice is close enough, the virtual position can be on the opposite side of the cavern monster and projectiles can then be shot in the "wrong" direction'' 
''Note3: even though the x- and y-projectile speeds are calculated independently, the algorithm is set up in such a way that they will always go through Beetlejuice's "virtual position". By freezing $24 and $25 to a value of 0x40 and activating invincibility for Beetlejuice (for example by freezing the invincibility timer, $1AD, to a non-zero value), the cavern monster will always fire in the direction of Beetlejuice's physical position.'' 
''Note4: there is limited room for manipulation. One can for example consider jumping into the fight so Beetlejuice moves towards the vertical edge of the area of potential "virtual positions" that was used to determine the projectile direction. 

Some simplified estimations of how likely Beetlejuice is to get hit by a projectile indicated that there is roughly a 1/3 chance when Beetlejuice is far away (and standing still). The risk of getting hit increases as Beetlejuice stands closer to the cavern monster, up to roughly a 50% of getting hit when Beetlejuice stands as close as possible. If Beetlejuice moves around, the probabilities of getting hit will change. For example, running towards the cavern monster will increase the risk of getting hit, while jumping will slightly decrease it. 

When the monster has been defeated, the game will try to center the screen around Beetlejuice (checks at instructions $911F and $9124, for the y- and x-directions, respectively). Until then, the game doesn't take player inputs, freezing Beetlejuice in place when on the ground. However, the speed is not reset, so if Beetlejuice is in the air when the last attack connects, he'll continue jumping. If the screen catches up and centers around Beetlejuice during this jump, the flag in $5F8 is unset and Beetlejuice will be able to continue without being frozen in place upon landing. The conditions for this to happen are fairly strict though and not trivial to set up even in a TAS, as it requires a correct combination of positioning (including sub-pixels) and speed. The time save is only counted in frames, but still mentioned here for its applications in TASes.
 

===Cloud elevators===
[[File:Cloud_elevator.PNG]] 
* $463 - Elevator counter
* $5D - y-position of the elevator currently on screen, an offset of $463
 

$463 runs in the background when entering the house (level 1). When a switch is flipped, the corresponding elevator will teleport to wherever in the cycle $463 is and start to move from there. A cloud cycle takes 192 frames. 

===Door to Saturn===
[[File:Door_to_Saturn.gif]] 
* $F3/$F2/$F1 - Big/Small/Sub x-position
* $F6/$F5/$F4 - Big/Small/Sub y-position
* $59/$58/$57 - Big/Small/Sub speed (the same addresses are first used to calculate the x-speed and then a new calculation is made for the y-speed)
 

The door always homes in on Beetlejuice, except when he's invincible after a hit. The speed (in sub-pixels per frame) is calculated as twice the distance (in pixels) between Beetlejuice and the door. 

==="Fish in cauldron"===
[[File:Fish_in_cauldron.PNG|75px]] 
* $5B2+X - y-position
* $5A6+X - y-speed
 

Every 16 frames, the game calls the RNG function and calculates a number between 0 and 7. If the number is in the range 0-4 (instruction $AC82) and the corresponding fish is in its cauldron (instruction $AC85), it will initiate a jump of that fish with a set trajectory. 

===Flies (overhead sections)===
[[File:Fly.PNG]] 
* $5AC/$5B2+X – x/y-position (relative to the window position)
* $5BE/$5C4+X – x/y-speed (relative to the window position)
* $59A+X - Health/Status (0xFF - alive; 0 - dead)
 

The flies get a 1 pixel/frame speed change every 4 frames (instruction $A1CB and onwards). The speed is capped at 3 pixels/frame in both directions. The calculation is only based on the RNG. It's therefore difficult to see how their movement could be possible to manipulate in real-time. It's worth noting that the speed is relative to the window position. Unless Beetlejuice moves without the screen moving with him (so when he is near the edge of the room border), there is no point trying to dodge the flies since they will just be "dragged" along with the window. When Beetlejuice is hit, the flies will only follow the screen during the invincibility period, which can allow for free hits by aligning flies with the swatter.
The RNG is updated before each speed calculation, so each fly moves independently of the others. 

Flies can only be destroyed by the swatter or by colliding with Beetlejuice (the hammer or the potion scares don't touch them). 

===Flies/Frogs/Golden beetles/Octopus/Scorpions (side view)===
[[File:Fly_side.PNG]] [[File:Frog.PNG]] [[File:Golden_beetle.PNG]] [[File:Octopus_side.PNG]] [[File:Scorpion.PNG]] 
* $7A0/$7AC+X - x/y-position
* $7D1+X - invincibility timer (after colliding with Beetlejuice)
* $7BF+X - movement timer x (before turning around)
* $7BC+X - "y status" (shows the frogs' jump status)
 

These enemies are activated by the screen having scrolled sufficiently close to them (Beetlejuice's position doesn't matter). They always spawn in the same locations and move predictably, even when off-screen, according to their timers. 

The frogs have an unwanted property that can easily be encountered both during casual play and a speedrun. If the frog jumps "sufficiently" off-screen, it will re-spawn with its position reset and jump again: 
[[File:Respawning_frog.gif|100px]] 
This is not a graphical glitch and should be considered in areas where close calls with frogs are part of the route. There is additional risk of getting hit and resetting the frog's position can lead to the frog ending up blocking a series of tight movements. Allowing the screen to scroll sufficiently will prevent this from happening. 

''Note: the game only checks for a specific enemy every 12 frames, which introduces some variability to when the individual enemies spawn in a playthrough''

===Flowers===
[[File:Flower.PNG|50px]] 
Not yet fully understood. The addresses $6B-$6F appear to be linked to the flower cycle, but the exact relationship has not been described. 

Purely based on empirical observations, the flowers seem to bloom roughly every 8-9s and each blooming lasts for around 2s on average. It can be worth mentioning that if the RNG addresses are frozen, the flowers will bloom every 256 frames. 

===Footballer's legs===
[[File:Legs.PNG]] 
Same mechanics as the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers]], but with 4 (iso 2) consecutive direction changes towards the player every 64 frames. As a result, any random movement changes are more likely to be cancelled and replaced by movements homing in on Beetlejuice. The legs therefore tend to follow Beetlejuice more closely around than the sweepers do.
 

===Lights===
[[File:Light.PNG|25px]] 
$62B increases by one every 2 or 4 frames (not fully understood what determines the delay). Every 4 increases of $62B, a bit is set in $628 (0->1->3->7->0xF) and one of the lights is lit. When all lights are lit, the bits are instead unset, one at a time (0xE->0xC->8->0). The lower leftmost light is lit when the first bit of $628 is set and is unlit when the first bit is unset. The other lights are shifted by one and two (lower middle and right) and three (the upper light) bits, respectively, in the cycle.
 

===Mouse===
[[File:Mouse.PNG]] 
* $62D/$63B - x/y-position
* $673 - Movement direction (x or y)
 

The mouse always starts in the same position in the right side of room 0x18 (see $55) and always starts moving up when entering the room. A new movement direction is then calculated (or keeping the current) every time the global timer in $3BB is a multiple of 0x20. If the mouse hits a wall, it will continue in the opposite direction until the next direction calculation is due. Input to the calculation of a new direction comes directly from the RNG-addresses in $24-$27, meaning real-time manipulation is not possible. 

The best (/fastest) scenario occurs when the mouse enters the narrow corridor and moves towards the left room. Given the fairly stiff mechanics of the mouse movements, this is not always immediately possible. A more detailed description of how the mouse can enter the narrow corridor can be found in https://tasvideos.org/6440S.
 

===Octopus===
[[File:Octopus.PNG|75px]] 
* $792 - Health (starts at 7)
 

When Beetlejuice has a scare equipped, he can with a 50% chance jump through an octopus without dying by using the invincibility frames. The invincibility ($1AD) decreases every 4 frames, depending on the global timer ($3BB), while the game checks for Beetlejuice getting hit every second frame.
* If Beetlejuice is hit so the first decrease of the invincibility timer is after 2 frames, he will take damage from the octopus and die before jumping out of its hitbox.
* If the first decrease is after 4 frames, Beetlejuice will be outside the octopus's hitbox before the invincibility wears off.
Since there is no indication of the value of the global timer, it's in practice random if Beetlejuice can jump through the octopus or not in a real-time attempt.
 

===Potions===
[[File:Potion.PNG]] [[File:Potion_scare.PNG|47px]] 
* $585/$588 - x/y.position
* $58D - Potion timer – starts at 0x14 and decreases when the operation AND(global timer in $3BB, 0xF) results in 0
* $58E – Movement direction (1 - NE; 3 - SE; 5 - SW; 7 - NW)
 

The initial movement direction when throwing a potion is determined entirely by the RNG, with equal probability of the four possible movement directions. Once the initial direction has been calculated, the potion will continue in that direction until hitting an obstacle. It will then bounce according to ”everyday logic/physics”. A part from the initialization, the rest of the trajectory is therefore deterministic. By throwing potions in locations where the 4 possible trajectories have been tested beforehand, one can therefore to some extent control the movements of the potion.
 

===Shops===
[[File:Shop.PNG|50px]] 
Some shops have different sets of inventory. Which set is loaded depends on which x-pixel the shop is entered on. This is hard-coded and therefore possible to predict.
 

===Spiders===
[[File:Spider.PNG]] 
* $7DF/$7DC/$7D9+X - Big/Small/Sub x-position
* $7E8/$7E5/$7E2+X - Big/Small/Sub y-position
* $7EB+X - Determines movement direction and speed
 

The game calls the RNG-function every second frame to first do a 4/32 check (instruction $8E57) and then selects a number in the range 0-3 based on the global timer in $3BB. If the result is 0-2 (instruction $8E61) and the corresponding object index is not already occupied (instruction $8E67), a spider spawns. 

All rooms with spiders have a carpet (or two). The spiders' spawn positions haven't been fully analyzed. However, possible spawn positions appear to be on a grid, where each point is separated by 8 pixels in both the x- and y-directions, limited by the carpet. The spawn point on this grid appears to be based on RNG. The address for movement direction and speed is calculated based on the RNG-addresses and the global timer ($3BB).
 

===Sweepers===
[[File:Sweeper.PNG|50px]] 
* $5BE/$5AC+X – Big/Small x-position
* $5C4/$5B2+X – Big/Small y-position
* $5D0+X – Movement direction, x
* $5D6+X – Movement direction, y
* $59A+X – Health (starting at 3)
 

The RNG-function is called every 4 frames for a 1/32 probability of a random movement direction change (instruction $9CC6). 

There is also a check every 8th frame which only depends on the global timer ($3BB) and the object index of the sweeper (instruction $9C5F). When this comparison branches, a new direction is calculated towards the player. Skipping the code details, the end result is that each sweeper gets two consecutive (8 frames apart) direction changes every 64 frames and they will be in the direction of the player. 

When Beetlejuice has been hit and the invincibility timer ($1AD) runs, the sweepers' movements are inversed. 

The object index dependence and the random direction changes (calculated independently for each sweeper) ensure they move independently of each other. 

The sweepers can only be damaged by potion scares (they don't interact with the hammer or the swatter).

==="Urn with bouncing smiley"===
[[File:Urn_and_smiley.PNG|35px]] 
* $5F9/$5F8 – Small/Sub y-position of smiley
* $5FC/$5FB – Small/Sub y-speed of smiley

The smiley starts moving when entering the house and then follows a set pattern. However, when it falls back into the urn, it will only bounce back out wih a 1/8 chance every frame, based on a check of the RNG-function (instruction $A36F). The position is therefore largely random when reaching the top of the house. A statistical analysis could probably reveal positions that are more likely, depending on in which platform cycle Beetlejuice has reached the top of the house, but this has not been attempted.
 

==Buffered inputs==
Below are examples of situations where buffered inputs can be used:
* Hold up to enter a door while jumping
* Hold A to buffer a jump after getting hit (useful to e.g. damage boost past an octopus)
* Hold A/start to buffer a jump/open the menu after a death. There are some deaths where this doesn't work. For example when riding the raft in the storm drains.
* Hold any button when the screen turns black before the map screen to click it away on the first possible frame
* In the level transitions that contain more than one splash screen (before the sewer level), the input for the second screen can be buffered after the first screen has been clicked away (as long as the button that clicked away the first screen isn't continuously pressed)
* The map screen to the afterlife level can be buffered by just keep holding up
* Hold A (and up/down) while opening the inventory to select a scare
* Three inputs can be buffered at once when entering a shop. Hold select (+ left/right) + down to buy an item (, to the left/right of the default position) and exit the shop on the first possible frame.
* Hold any button during the "skeleton" death animation to re-spawn on the first possible frame (the same does not work falling into a pit). Note that this works in both the side view as well as the overhead levels.
* Hold up during an off-screen fall to buffer the re-spawning on the first possible frame
 

==Glitches==
===Screen warping in the overhead levels (TAS-only)===
By simultaneously pressing all directions on the same frame when in the overhead levels, Beetlejuice is teleported one screen to the right (256 pixels). This allows for bypassing some of the triggers in the game for significant time saves. Since it involves illegal inputs, it's only used in TASes though.

===Softlocks===
* The second door in room 0x15 (see $55) did not open, despite having destroyed all art pieces (reported by 'ktwo' on console, no recording available)
 

==Additional game mechanics and tricks==
==="Platform attraction"===
With a precise jump to a platform from below, Beetlejuice can be "sucked" up to the platform, gaining 6-7 pixels for free. Since time is spent scrolling the screen in these sections, getting the "platform attaction" saves time. However, it's a small time gain for a relatively precise trick, so it should be considered an advanced technique.

===Free scare at the cavern monsters===
If Beetlejuice doesn't have any scares when the screen is locked around a cavern monster, an umbrella head scare will spawn to the right of it within 64 frames (check done at instruction $9A9C), based on when AND(global counter ($3BB); 0x3F) equals 0x33. This is likely to avoid soft-locking the game since the game locks the screen around the monster and it's not possible to escape the fight.

===Flaw in the flies' hit detection (overhead sections)===
The sub-routine for checking if a fly is hit by the swatter does not check for the big value of the y-positions. This can be used in room 0x1A (see $55) by letting the swatter bounce off-screen and still keep decimating the number of flies. This trick was presumably found by 'Bassguy'. Various tests have been done on other objects, but this has not (yet) revealed similar flaws in the code.

===Quest dialog skips (overhead sections)===
By dropping the quest item just in front of the character blocking the path, they will move without triggering a dialog. There is a 6-pixel window when delivering the quest item horizontally for this to work and a 20-pixel window when delivering vertically.

===Open locked doors without killing all enemies===
Doors in the overhead levels that are unlocked by killing all sweepers in the room, will open after a set amount of time. The room timer in $675/$674 is reset upon entering a new room. When it has cycled 14 times ($675 = 0xE), the door will automatically unlock. This is likely to avoid soft-locking the game since the sweepers can only be damaged by potions, which are in limited supply. 

This game mechanic is unlikely to find any use in a speedrun since it will be much slower than killing the sweepers in the rooms where this applies.
 

==Open questions==
===Unused quest items===
The toilet paper is found at the top of room 0xF (see $55) and the brick is found at the top of room 0x10. Upon collection, the game hints about some kind of secret use for them: 
''I wonder what this paper roll is for?'' (toilet paper) 
''This brick should knock a bit of sense into the average football player.'' (brick) 
 

However, there doesn't appear to be any claims of anyone having found any use for them.
 

If we assume that if an item provides any ability, it should either do so by having Beetlejuice carrying it (e.g. providing invincibility or impacting enemy movements) or by Beetlejuice releasing it (e.g. working as a projectile upon release). Let's look at both cases.
 

When Beetlejuice collects an item, $657+X is populated by the item's corresponding value. $65E tracks how many items Beetlejuice carries around and also serves as the item index, X. The possible item values are: 1 - Hammer; 2 - Book; 3 - Spray can; 4 - Paper roll; 5 - Ring; 6 - Rubber duck; 7 - Swatter; 8 - Fire extinguisher; 9 - Glasses; 0xA - Brick; 0xB - Mouse. When Beetlejuice releases an item, the value of $657+X is copied to $64F-X and $65E is decreased by one.
 

Let's first look at the possibility of items providing Beetlejuice with new abilities or properties. If this was the case, the game should regularly check which items Beetlejuice is carrying. However, the game only seems to read the content of $657+X in two cases. The first is when an item is dropped to copy the address value to $64F-X and also to check for special item types (more about that below). The other case is coded into certain rooms to check that he doesn't leave without items that will be needed to progress later on. In summary, it doesn't seem like carrying an item can provide any new abilities or properties.
 

Let's now consider how the game processes when Beetlejuice drops an item. If an item is dropped anywhere, the game will first check if it's the fire extinguisher (instruction $A04E). If that's the case and Beetlejuice is in front of the burning portal in room 0x12 (see $55), he will hold on to it and use it to extinguish the fire. Next, the game will check if the item is the hammer, the swatter or the mouse (checks starting at instruction $ADB4). These items have in common that they start to move upon release, which triggers additional code to be executed. Another check that is possible is when Beetlejuice is within range of one of the Deetz family members that need to be dispatched by specific items (instruction $A15E). The check is based on the look-up table at $B093-$B098. In the rooms where an item is needed to progress, $593 is set when the room is loaded and is used as the offset for the table. The six possible values of the table correspond to the book, spray can, ring, rubber duck, glasses and mouse. These are the items that any regular playthrough anyways requires. There are no unused items in the table, hinting at secret additional checks.
 

In summary, none of the studied code sections contain any checks for the TP or the brick. It's still possible that code sections that are triggered under special circumstances (e.g. Beetlejuice being in a certain position) and contain checks for the TP or the brick could still exist. It can therefore not be completely ruled out that these items have some kind of use.
 

===Timing of flowers===
A full description of how the timing of [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|flowers]] works is still missing.
 

===Timing of lights===
A full description of how the timing of [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]] works is still missing.
 

===Are there any more scares with special abilities?===
Three of the scares don't appear to give Beetlejuice any special abilities. Intentional or could there be secret abilities yet to be discovered? The descriptions in the game manual could be read as hints about special abilities for at least one of them (the umbrella scare).
 

For the purpose of the question of this section, it's assumed that a special ability would be related to one of the following areas:
# Protection against certain enemies
# Changed game mechanics (e.g. faster movement or different jump ability)
# Stronger attacks (against certain enemies)

$575 contains the value of the scare Beetlejuice is currently using (the value corresponds to the order the scares are shown in the scare menu). If a scare provided additional abilities, one would expect this address to be read by the game either continuously or at least when relevant events occur. The following cases have been observed to produce checks of this address:
* When jumping, it checks if Beetlejuice is in the birdman scare (instruction $D300)
* When pressing B, it checks if Beetlejuice should stomp (no scare) or fire a shot (in a scare) (instruction $D15E)
* The game checks every frame if Beetlejuice is in the skeleton scare (instruction $A632)
* If Beetlejuice has already taken two hits (or is about to take an "insta-kill" hit), check upon collision if Beetlejuice should lose a life or just the scare (instruction $D726)
* When shooting, the value of $575 is copied to $796. One or the other address can then be checked when Beetlejuice shoots.
 

It makes sense that the game checks if Beetlejuice is in the skeleton scare, since it provides invincibility against the bees in stage 1. The scare check at an enemy collision doesn't look at the type of scare, only if Beetlejuice has a scare (since this determines if Beetlejuice should lose the scare at his last hit point or lose a life). In summary, other than the skeleton scare, it doesn't seem like any of the scares provide additional protection.
 

The only check related to changed game mechanics that has been observed is for the additional jump height from the birdman scare.
 

When a cavern frog is hit, the game looks at the value of $796 to see if Beetlejuice fired as an ogre (instruction $B968). Similarly, when the sandworm on Saturn is hit, the game checks if Beetlejuice fired as a "two-headed man" (instruction $B876). When a beehive is hit in level 1, the game checks $575 for the skeleton scare (instruction $A2C0) and when in the underground ($1AE = 1), it checks for the medusa scare as soon as Beetlejuice shoots (instruction $D168). No other scare checks have been observed when shooting. There is for example no special check when attacking an octopus in level 2, which could have been a possibility if the umbrella scare had some special property against this type of enemy, as suggested by the game manual.
 

In summary, no evidence has been found regarding any special properties of the umbrella, ghost or snake scares. It's still possible that code sections that are triggered under special circumstances and contain additional scare checks could exist. It can therefore not be completely ruled out that these scares don't provide any special abilities.
 

==Selection of known RAM-addresses==
More addresses for objects and enemies are listed under the respective sections above
* 24-27 - RNG-addresses
* 28 - Controller input/buttons held down
* 29 - New buttons pressed this frame (value then added to $28, before $29 is reset)
* 2D/2C - Big/Small x-position, window
* 2F/2E - Big/Small y-position, window
* 55 - Room number
* 85 - Tickets collected in the Afterlife level (the six rightmost bits correspond to the six different tickets - the value is 0x3F when all tickets have been collected)
* 1AA - Health, Beetlejuice
* 1AC - Continues remaining
* 1AD - Invincibility timer, Beetlejuice
* 1FE - Potions
* 3BB - Global timer
* 3CC - Beetlejuice's animation (used by the game for checks of which direction he's facing etc)
* 3D2/3D1 - Big/Small vouchers
* 3D3 - Lives remaining
* 3D4-3DB - Medusa head/Birdman/Two-headed man/Skeleton/Umbrella man/Ogre/Ghost/Snakeman scares
* 581 - Remaining scare attacks
* 657+X, X is the object index - Quest items in the inventory (1 - Hammer; 2 - Book; 3 - Spray can; 4 - Paper roll; 5 - Ring; 6 - Rubber duck; 7 - Swatter; 8 - Fire extinguisher; 9 - Glasses; 0xA - Brick; 0xB - Mouse)
* 65E - Number of quest items in the inventory (used as an offset to $656 to keep track of which address contains the latest collected item)

Beetlejuice (NES)/Game Mechanics and Techniques

2025-08-04T19:44:00Z

Ktwo: /* Flies/Frogs/Golden beetles/Octopus/Scorpions (side view) */

==Animations==
===Movement mechanics===
* 3BF/3BE/3BD - Big/Small/Sub x-position
* 3C4/3C3 - Small/Sub x-speed
* 3C2/3C1/3C0 - Big/Small/Sub y-position
* 3C7/3C6 - Small/Sub y-speed
* 497/49A - Temporary storage of the sub x/y-position (used to transfer the sub-position from before to after the house of the start level and the tower in the graveyard)
* 44D/44C//450/44F - "Saved" big/small x//y-position
 

Beetlejuice accelerates in the x-direction with 32 sub-pixels/frame^2 up to a speed of 2 pixels/frame. The acceleration is the same on the ground as in the air. However, jumping has a wind-up frame, so it's slightly slower to jump when accelerating. Letting go of the direction button will make him stop immediately when on the ground, while momentum is kept (no brake effect) when jumping. "Braking" in the air decelerates Beetlejuice with 64 sub-pixels/frame^2. 

The "saved" position is used to determine where Beetlejuice will respawn after a death. It's updated every 8 ticks of the global timer. However, it's only updated if Beetlejuice is running, but not while in the air. This can be used to set up "death warps" by jumping across a level, die and warp back instead of back-tracking normally. 

An oddity, albeit a very small one, is that there is an immobility frame if Beetlejuice runs (or drops) off a platform. Although the screen scrolling will in many cases be more important than an immobility frame, some platforms can be jumped off of without consequence for one frame saved.
 

===Time cost comparisons===
* A continue screen costs from 45 frames and upwards, depending on how quickly it's clicked away, on top of the other costs associated with a death.
 

Side view levels
* A knockback costs 54 frames
* Falling into a pit from roughly half the screen's height costs ~140 frames. 30-40 of those are from the fall itself, the rest from re-spawning. On top of that, 8 frames more will be lost from having to accelerate from 0 when re-spawning.
* Losing the last health from taking a hit in the same position as above and triggering the "skeleton" death animation costs ~20 frames more
* Entering a shop and purchase one item costs 3.4s
* A menu trip and selecting the highlighted or an adjacent scare is 1.1s
 

Overhead levels
* A death from mid-screen costs ~120 frames
 

==Scares==
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Cost'''
|'''Shots'''
|'''Special ability'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[File:Medusa.png]] Medusa head
|100
|1
|Freezes enemies in underground areas (beetle holes)
|Activated by shooting
|-
|[[File:Birdman.png]] Birdman
|150
|2
|Increases jump height
|The jump ability allows for shortcuts and is very useful in a speedrun
|-
|[[File:Two-headed man.png]] Two-headed man
|200
|3
|1-hit kills the sandworm on Saturn
|
|-
|[[File:Skeleton.png]] Skeleton
|250
|5
|No damage from bees, 1-hit kills the beehives (both only found in level 1)
|
|-
|[[File:Umbrella.png]] Umbrella head
|400
|9
|None?
|The manual hints about giving some sort of advantage against the octopuses in the sewer stage
|-
|[[File:Ogre.png]] Ogre
|500
|12
|1-hit kills the cavern monsters in level 2 (Storm drains)
|
|-
|[[File:Ghost.png]] Ghost (called "spooksheet" in the game)
|600
|15
|None?
|Only available in the graveyard level. The manual does not seem to hint about any special ability. It sounds more like it's an "all-purpose" scare with lots of shots.
|-
|[[File:Snake.png]] Snakeman
|750
|19
|None?
|Same comments as for the ghost scare.
|-
|}
 

==RNG==
The RNG-addresses in RAM are $24-$27. There are three different algorithms that are used to update their values.
# Starting at $99E8, various logical operations on and between the RNG-addresses are done, with the previous set of RNG and the global timer ($3BB) as seeds.
# Starting at $DFA5, a similar algorithm to the first.
# Starting at $909A, only two of the RNG-values are updated. This is done based on Beetlejuice's x- and y-position (influencing $24 and $25, respectively).

The first two algorithms are used throughout the game with what appears to be a room-dependent frequency (usually every 2-8 frames), with additional calls if there are RNG-dependent enemies present. The sub-routine for the third algorithm is only used in the side-scrolling levels and only called every 256 frames ($3BB = 0x1D). Room 0x09 (the very first overhead room in the game) is special in the sense that the RNG is never updated in this room. 

There is no indication that the RNG-values would be possible to manipulate in real-time. In TAS-conditions, the RNG is fairly "stiff" and can only be manipulated to a certain extent (unless introducing waiting frames is considered). In the side-view levels, it's done by changing Beetlejuice's position before '3' is called. In the overhead levels, it's mainly done by throwing a potion at different times or in some cases defeating enemies on different frames. In the room with Delia (0x19), picking up the mouse and scaring off Delia on different frames can also be used to influence the RNG. These methods have in common that they influence the number of calls to the RNG sub-routine. 

==Enemies and objects==
===1st boss (Level 1)===
[[File:1st_boss.PNG|75px]] 
* $5E9/$5E8 - Small/Sub x-position of shots
* $5EC/$5EB - Small/Sub x-speed of shots
* $535/$536 - x/y boss
* $5E7 – Shot flag
 

When the shot flag is not set, the RNG function is called every 16 frames, based on the global timer ($3BB). One of the results is compared with 0x46 (instruction $C8F9). If it's less, the boss will shoot a puff of spray. Since the player neither knows the global timer, nor the RNG values, shots can be considered random and outside player control with a probability of (1/16)*(70/256) ~ 1/59 per frame. The fastest method to defeat the boss is to run straight at him and fire off three quick shots. This way, a typical fight takes ~80 frames, which will allow 5 or 6 opportunities for the boss to fire. The success rate will therefore be between (186/256)^6 ~15% and (186/256)^5 ~20%. A slightly more consistent method is to jump and shoot, regardless of if the boss has actually fired or not. The fight will then typically take ~100 frames. It's not as straight-forward to calculate the success rate in this case and has not been attempted, but it's noticeably more consistent. 

The speed of the puff is either 1 or 2 pixels/frame and with a sub-speed that is a multiple of 0x40 (a sub-speed >0 slows down the puffs). Both the main and sub speeds directly depend on $24 (the first RNG-address) and should therefore be equally distributed with no possibility to predict in real-time. 

===2nd boss (Level 2)===
[[File:2nd_boss.PNG|75px]] 
This boss works in essentially the same way as the first one, but with a few different parameters. The ball speed is always 1 pixel/frame (instruction $C95D). When the shot flag is not set, the boss will kick a ball based on a check every 16 frames (based on the global timer in $3BB) with a 50% chance (instruction $C93C). 

===3rd boss (graveyard level)===
[[File:3rd_boss.PNG|75px]] 
* $537 - Magic timer
 

If the boss isn't already casting magic, the game calls the RNG function every second frame. The check that follows has a 5/256 ~ 1/51 chance to pass (instruction $C85A), resulting in the boss casting magic. The duration of the spell is always 22 or 24 frames. 

===Delia's art pieces===
[[File:Art_piece1.PNG]] [[File:Art_piece2.PNG]] [[File:Art_piece3.PNG]] 
* $59A+X – Health (starting at 2 for the art pieces in room 0xD and 4 in 0xF)
 

The following description refers to the art pieces' x-position, the y-position works in an analog way. The description is applicable to both the objects in room 0xD and 0xF (from $55). 

Every 16th frame, the RNG function is called and through various calculations updates [$5CA+X]. This address has double purposes. First it determines a base movement of the object for the next 16 frames. This base movement is either move left or stand still. Then through logical manipulations, it adds a number to [$5D0+X] every frame (always the same number during the 16 frames). The new x-position (5AC+X) is then calculated by taking ”move left or standstill” plus if there was a carry in the calculation of the new [$5D0+X]. 

Several steps have been skipped in the description above, but the end result and conclusion are that the game achieves something similar to a sub-pixel movement. During 16 frames, the art piece will move 0 or 1 pixel every frame, depending on how often the carry is produced in the calculation of [$5D0+X]. 

With the art pieces' movement at the core relying on RNG, it's difficult to see how any real-time manipulation would be possible. 

===Beetles (side view levels)===
[[File:Beetle_(side_view_levels).PNG]] 
* $414+X/$411+X - Big/Small x-position
* $41D+X/$41A+X/$417+X - Big/Small/Sub y-position
* $426+X/$423+X/$420+X - Big/Small/Sub y-speed
* $429+X - Movement state (0x01 - idling, 0x02 - moving right, 0x42 - moving left)
* $42C+X - Sub y-acceleration
* $42F+X - Beetle type (0 – 10, 1 – 25, 2 – 50, 3 – 75)
 

Every 4 frames, the RNG function is called and a result is compared with 0x32 (instruction $A835). If it's smaller, another check is done with a 1/4 chance of passing per active beetle hole on screen (instruction $A83F). A beetle will then spawn from the corresponding hole. 

The type of beetle is again determined by running the RNG function. The result is this time compared with 0x50 (instruction $A875). If it's smaller, a red beetle (worth 10 vouchers) will spawn. If it's greater, another check is done with equal probability of the remaining 3 types (instruction $A879). 

In summary, as long as the three available beetle memory addresses aren't filled, the probability of one of the 3 more valuable types spawning per second and per hole is 15*(48/256)*(1/4)*(176/256) ~ 48%. 

Once a beetle has spawned and is in idle state, it has a 1/16 chance to initiate a jump every frame. The x-speed is always +-1 pixel/frame, depending on the movement state (which is determined by RNG). The beetle types 0 and 1 will start with a small y-speed of 0xFE. The beetle types 2 and 3 will start with a small y-speed between 0xFE and 0xFA (random). The sub y-acceleration remains constant during a jump and the calculation is the same for all beetle types, 0x32+[random value between 0 and F]+[random carry]. 

===Beetles (overhead levels)===
[[File:Beetle_(overhead_levels).PNG]] 
* $60C – Beetle flag
* $611/$60E/$60D – Big/Small/Sub x-position
* $610/$60F – Small/Sub x-speed
* $619/$616/$615 – Big/Small/Sub y-position
* $617/$618 – Small/Sub y-speed
 

There is a 75% chance that an enemy drops a beetle (instruction $9E8C, when enemy health goes to 0). Same for all enemy types. There can however only be one beetle at a time (controlled by the beetle flag). 

The speed is recalculated every second frame as the current speed and an addition based on a result from calling the RNG function (see e.g. Instruction $BD50).
 

===Buzzsaw===
[[File:Buzzsaw.PNG]] 
* $7DD/$7E6+X – x/y-position
* $7F5/$7F8 – x/y-movement timer
 

The buzzsaws move with 1 pixel/frame in the same direction until the movement timer has run out, after which it changes direction. The initial positions and movement patterns are read from look-up tables when the room loads, based on room parameters. Playing a room consistently will therefore result in predictable position(s) of the buzzsaw(s).
 

===Cavern monsters===
[[File:Cavern_monster.PNG|75px]] 
* $5E9/$5E8 - Small/Sub x-position of projectiles
* $5EC/$5EB - Small/Sub x-speed of projectiles
* $5EF/$5EE - Small/Sub y-position of projectiles
* $5F2/$5F1 - Small/Sub y-speed of projectiles
* $5F4 – Projectile timer
* $795 - "Health" (the actual health is calculated in a kind of convoluted way based on this address with the end result being that 7 hits are needed or one hit with the ogre scare - it's unclear why this enemy's health is calculated and not directly shown in the RAM)
* $5F8 - Flag that is set after defeating the monster and unset once the screen has been centered around Beetlejuice again.
 

As soon as Beetlejuice is close enough to trigger the fight, the cavern monster will fire off a projectile and the projectile timer starts counting down from 0x3F (no dependence on external factors, such as RNG or the global timer). When the timer reaches 0, a new projectile is fired. 

Below is a description of how the game calculates the projectile direction (= the projectile's x- and y-speeds) without going into too many code details. The following picture illustrates the concepts used (Beetlejuice's physical position in the screenshot was selected to show the x-pixel that triggers this particular fight): 

[[File: Virtual_position_Cavern_monster.gif|250px]]
 

The first step is for the game to calculate a "virtual position" of Beetlejuice. This is done by taking Beetlejuice's actual position and add a random number between 0xC0 and 0x3F to it (so 64 pixels in each direction). $459 and $45A are used as temp variables to store this "virtual position". The distance is then calculated from the cavern monster projectile's initial position. Through a series of logic operations, the calculated distance is then converted to a speed of the projectile. In short, the resulting speed in sub-pixels/frame is [calculated distance in pixels] x 0x8. 
''Note1: the virtual x- and y-positions (and hence x- and y-speeds) are calculated independently. RNG-address $24 is used for the x-position, while $25 is used for the y-position.'' 
''Note2: if Beetlejuice is close enough, the virtual position can be on the opposite side of the cavern monster and projectiles can then be shot in the "wrong" direction'' 
''Note3: even though the x- and y-projectile speeds are calculated independently, the algorithm is set up in such a way that they will always go through Beetlejuice's "virtual position". By freezing $24 and $25 to a value of 0x40 and activating invincibility for Beetlejuice (for example by freezing the invincibility timer, $1AD, to a non-zero value), the cavern monster will always fire in the direction of Beetlejuice's physical position.'' 
''Note4: there is limited room for manipulation. One can for example consider jumping into the fight so Beetlejuice moves towards the vertical edge of the area of potential "virtual positions" that was used to determine the projectile direction. 

Some simplified estimations of how likely Beetlejuice is to get hit by a projectile indicated that there is roughly a 1/3 chance when Beetlejuice is far away (and standing still). The risk of getting hit increases as Beetlejuice stands closer to the cavern monster, up to roughly a 50% of getting hit when Beetlejuice stands as close as possible. If Beetlejuice moves around, the probabilities of getting hit will change. For example, running towards the cavern monster will increase the risk of getting hit, while jumping will slightly decrease it. 

When the monster has been defeated, the game will try to center the screen around Beetlejuice (checks at instructions $911F and $9124, for the y- and x-directions, respectively). Until then, the game doesn't take player inputs, freezing Beetlejuice in place when on the ground. However, the speed is not reset, so if Beetlejuice is in the air when the last attack connects, he'll continue jumping. If the screen catches up and centers around Beetlejuice during this jump, the flag in $5F8 is unset and Beetlejuice will be able to continue without being frozen in place upon landing. The conditions for this to happen are fairly strict though and not trivial to set up even in a TAS, as it requires a correct combination of positioning (including sub-pixels) and speed. The time save is only counted in frames, but still mentioned here for its applications in TASes.
 

===Cloud elevators===
[[File:Cloud_elevator.PNG]] 
* $463 - Elevator counter
* $5D - y-position of the elevator currently on screen, an offset of $463
 

$463 runs in the background when entering the house (level 1). When a switch is flipped, the corresponding elevator will teleport to wherever in the cycle $463 is and start to move from there. A cloud cycle takes 192 frames. 

===Door to Saturn===
[[File:Door_to_Saturn.gif]] 
* $F3/$F2/$F1 - Big/Small/Sub x-position
* $F6/$F5/$F4 - Big/Small/Sub y-position
* $59/$58/$57 - Big/Small/Sub speed (the same addresses are first used to calculate the x-speed and then a new calculation is made for the y-speed)
 

The door always homes in on Beetlejuice, except when he's invincible after a hit. The speed (in sub-pixels per frame) is calculated as twice the distance (in pixels) between Beetlejuice and the door. 

==="Fish in cauldron"===
[[File:Fish_in_cauldron.PNG|75px]] 
* $5B2+X - y-position
* $5A6+X - y-speed
 

Every 16 frames, the game calls the RNG function and calculates a number between 0 and 7. If the number is in the range 0-4 (instruction $AC82) and the corresponding fish is in its cauldron (instruction $AC85), it will initiate a jump of that fish with a set trajectory. 

===Flies (overhead sections)===
[[File:Fly.PNG]] 
* $5AC/$5B2+X – x/y-position (relative to the window position)
* $5BE/$5C4+X – x/y-speed (relative to the window position)
* $59A+X - Health/Status (0xFF - alive; 0 - dead)
 

The flies get a 1 pixel/frame speed change every 4 frames (instruction $A1CB and onwards). The speed is capped at 3 pixels/frame in both directions. The calculation is only based on the RNG. It's therefore difficult to see how their movement could be possible to manipulate in real-time. It's worth noting that the speed is relative to the window position. Unless Beetlejuice moves without the screen moving with him (so when he is near the edge of the room border), there is no point trying to dodge the flies since they will just be "dragged" along with the window. When Beetlejuice is hit, the flies will only follow the screen during the invincibility period, which can allow for free hits by aligning flies with the swatter.
The RNG is updated before each speed calculation, so each fly moves independently of the others. 

Flies can only be destroyed by the swatter or by colliding with Beetlejuice (the hammer or the potion scares don't touch them). 

===Flies/Frogs/Golden beetles/Octopus/Scorpions (side view)===
[[File:Fly_side.PNG]] [[File:Frog.PNG]] [[File:Golden_beetle.PNG]] [[File:Octopus_side.PNG]] [[File:Scorpion.PNG]] 
* $7A0/$7AC+X - x/y-position
* $7D1+X - invincibility timer (after colliding with Beetlejuice)
* $7BF+X - movement timer x (before turning around)
* $7BC+X - "y status" (shows the frogs' jump status)
 

These enemies are activated by the screen having scrolled sufficiently close to them (Beetlejuice's position doesn't matter). They always spawn in the same locations and move predictably, even when off-screen, according to their timers. 

The frogs have an unwanted property that can easily be encountered both during casual play and a speedrun. If the frog jumps "sufficiently" off-screen, it will re-spawn with its position reset and jump again: 
[[File:Respawning_frog.gif|100px]] 
This is not a graphical glitch and should be considered in areas where close calls with frogs are part of the route. There is additional risk of getting hit and resetting the frog's position can lead to the frog ending up blocking a series of tight movements. Allowing the screen to scroll sufficiently will prevent this from happening. 

''Note: the game only checks for a specific enemy every 12 frames, which introduces some variability to when the individual enemies spawn in a playthrough''

===Flowers===
[[File:Flower.PNG|50px]] 
Not yet fully understood. The addresses $6B-$6F appear to be linked to the flower cycle, but the exact relationship has not been described. 

Purely based on empirical observations, the flowers seem to bloom roughly every 8-9s and each blooming lasts for around 2s on average. It can be worth mentioning that if the RNG addresses are frozen, the flowers will bloom every 256 frames. 

===Footballer's legs===
[[File:Legs.PNG]] 
Same mechanics as the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers]], but with 4 (iso 2) consecutive direction changes towards the player every 64 frames. As a result, any random movement changes are more likely to be cancelled and replaced by movements homing in on Beetlejuice. The legs therefore tend to follow Beetlejuice more closely around than the sweepers do.
 

===Lights===
[[File:Light.PNG|25px]] 
$62B increases by one every 2 or 4 frames (not fully understood what determines the delay). Every 4 increases of $62B, a bit is set in $628 (0->1->3->7->0xF) and one of the lights is lit. When all lights are lit, the bits are instead unset, one at a time (0xE->0xC->8->0). The lower leftmost light is lit when the first bit of $628 is set and is unlit when the first bit is unset. The other lights are shifted by one and two (lower middle and right) and three (the upper light) bits, respectively, in the cycle.
 

===Mouse===
[[File:Mouse.PNG]] 
* $62D/$63B - x/y-position
* $673 - Movement direction (x or y)
 

The mouse always starts in the same position in the right side of room 0x18 (see $55) and always starts moving up when entering the room. A new movement direction is then calculated (or keeping the current) every time the global timer in $3BB is a multiple of 0x20. If the mouse hits a wall, it will continue in the opposite direction until the next direction calculation is due. Input to the calculation of a new direction comes directly from the RNG-addresses in $24-$27, meaning real-time manipulation is not possible. 

The best (/fastest) scenario occurs when the mouse enters the narrow corridor and moves towards the left room. Given the fairly stiff mechanics of the mouse movements, this is not always immediately possible. A more detailed description of how the mouse can enter the narrow corridor can be found in https://tasvideos.org/6440S.
 

===Octopus===
[[File:Octopus.PNG|75px]] 
* $792 - Health (starts at 7)
 

When Beetlejuice has a scare equipped, he can with a 50% chance jump through an octopus without dying by using the invincibility frames. The invincibility ($1AD) decreases every 4 frames, depending on the global timer ($3BB), while the game checks for Beetlejuice getting hit every second frame.
* If Beetlejuice is hit so the first decrease of the invincibility timer is after 2 frames, he will take damage from the octopus and die before jumping out of its hitbox.
* If the first decrease is after 4 frames, Beetlejuice will be outside the octopus's hitbox before the invincibility wears off.
Since there is no indication of the value of the global timer, it's in practice random if Beetlejuice can jump through the octopus or not in a real-time attempt.
 

===Potions===
[[File:Potion.PNG]] [[File:Potion_scare.PNG|47px]] 
* $585/$588 - x/y.position
* $58D - Potion timer – starts at 0x14 and decreases when the operation AND(global timer in $3BB, 0xF) results in 0
* $58E – Movement direction (1 - NE; 3 - SE; 5 - SW; 7 - NW)
 

The initial movement direction when throwing a potion is determined entirely by the RNG, with equal probability of the four possible movement directions. Once the initial direction has been calculated, the potion will continue in that direction until hitting an obstacle. It will then bounce according to ”everyday logic/physics”. A part from the initialization, the rest of the trajectory is therefore deterministic. By throwing potions in locations where the 4 possible trajectories have been tested beforehand, one can therefore to some extent control the movements of the potion.
 

===Shops===
[[File:Shop.PNG|50px]] 
Some shops have different sets of inventory. Which set is loaded depends on which x-pixel the shop is entered on. This is hard-coded and therefore possible to predict.
 

===Spiders===
[[File:Spider.PNG]] 
* $7DF/$7DC/$7D9+X - Big/Small/Sub x-position
* $7E8/$7E5/$7E2+X - Big/Small/Sub y-position
* $7EB+X - Determines movement direction and speed
 

The game calls the RNG-function every second frame to first do a 4/32 check (instruction $8E57) and then selects a number in the range 0-3 based on the global timer in $3BB. If the result is 0-2 (instruction $8E61) and the corresponding object index is not already occupied (instruction $8E67), a spider spawns. 

All rooms with spiders have a carpet (or two). The spiders' spawn positions haven't been fully analyzed. However, possible spawn positions appear to be on a grid, where each point is separated by 8 pixels in both the x- and y-directions, limited by the carpet. The spawn point on this grid appears to be based on RNG. The address for movement direction and speed is calculated based on the RNG-addresses and the global timer ($3BB).
 

===Sweepers===
[[File:Sweeper.PNG|50px]] 
* $5BE/$5AC+X – Big/Small x-position
* $5C4/$5B2+X – Big/Small y-position
* $5D0+X – Movement direction, x
* $5D6+X – Movement direction, y
* $59A+X – Health (starting at 3)
 

The RNG-function is called every 4 frames for a 1/32 probability of a random movement direction change (instruction $9CC6). 

There is also a check every 8th frame which only depends on the global timer ($3BB) and the object index of the sweeper (instruction $9C5F). When this comparison branches, a new direction is calculated towards the player. Skipping the code details, the end result is that each sweeper gets two consecutive (8 frames apart) direction changes every 64 frames and they will be in the direction of the player. 

When Beetlejuice has been hit and the invincibility timer ($1AD) runs, the sweepers' movements are inversed. 

The object index dependence and the random direction changes (calculated independently for each sweeper) ensure they move independently of each other. 

The sweepers can only be damaged by potion scares (they don't interact with the hammer or the swatter).

==="Urn with bouncing smiley"===
[[File:Urn_and_smiley.PNG|35px]] 
* $5F9/$5F8 – Small/Sub y-position of smiley
* $5FC/$5FB – Small/Sub y-speed of smiley

The smiley starts moving when entering the house and then follows a set pattern. However, when it falls back into the urn, it will only bounce back out wih a 1/8 chance every frame, based on a check of the RNG-function (instruction $A36F). The position is therefore largely random when reaching the top of the house. A statistical analysis could probably reveal positions that are more likely, depending on in which platform cycle Beetlejuice has reached the top of the house, but this has not been attempted.
 

==Buffered inputs==
Below are examples of situations where buffered inputs can be used:
* Hold up to enter a door while jumping
* Hold A to buffer a jump after getting hit (useful to e.g. damage boost past an octopus)
* Hold A/start to buffer a jump/open the menu after a death. There are some deaths where this doesn't work. For example when riding the raft in the storm drains.
* Hold any button when the screen turns black before the map screen to click it away on the first possible frame
* In the level transitions that contain more than one splash screen (before the sewer level), the input for the second screen can be buffered after the first screen has been clicked away (as long as the button that clicked away the first screen isn't continuously pressed)
* The map screen to the afterlife level can be buffered by just keep holding up
* Hold A (and up/down) while opening the inventory to select a scare
* Three inputs can be buffered at once when entering a shop. Hold select (+ left/right) + down while to buy an item (, to the left/right of the default position) and exit the shop on the first possible frame.
* Hold any button during the "skeleton" death animation to re-spawn on the first possible frame (the same does not work falling into a pit). Note that this works in both the side view as well as the overhead levels.
* Hold up during a fall to buffer the re-spawning on the first possible frame
 

==Glitches==
===Screen warping in the overhead levels (TAS-only)===
By simultaneously pressing all directions on the same frame when in the overhead levels, Beetlejuice is teleported one screen to the right (256 pixels). This allows for bypassing some of the triggers in the game for significant time saves. Since it involves illegal inputs, it's only used in TASes though.

===Softlocks===
* The second door in room 0x15 (see $55) did not open, despite having destroyed all art pieces (reported by 'ktwo' on console, no recording available)
 

==Additional game mechanics and tricks==
==="Platform attraction"===
With a precise jump to a platform from below, Beetlejuice can be "sucked" up to the platform, gaining 6-7 pixels for free. Since time is spent scrolling the screen in these sections, getting the "platform attaction" saves time. However, it's a small time gain for a relatively precise trick, so it should be considered an advanced technique.

===Free scare at the cavern monsters===
If Beetlejuice doesn't have any scares when the screen is locked around a cavern monster, an umbrella head scare will spawn to the right of it within 64 frames (check done at instruction $9A9C), based on when AND(global counter ($3BB); 0x3F) equals 0x33. This is likely to avoid soft-locking the game since the game locks the screen around the monster and it's not possible to escape the fight.

===Flaw in the flies' hit detection (overhead sections)===
The sub-routine for checking if a fly is hit by the swatter does not check for the big value of the y-positions. This can be used in room 0x1A (see $55) by letting the swatter bounce off-screen and still keep decimating the number of flies. This trick was presumably found by 'Bassguy'. Various tests have been done on other objects, but this has not (yet) revealed similar flaws in the code.

===Quest dialog skips (overhead sections)===
By dropping the quest item just in front of the character blocking the path, they will move without triggering a dialog. There is a 6-pixel window when delivering the quest item horizontally for this to work and a 20-pixel window when delivering vertically.

===Open locked doors without killing all enemies===
Doors in the overhead levels that are unlocked by killing all sweepers in the room, will open after a set amount of time. The room timer in $675/$674 is reset upon entering a new room. When it has cycled 14 times ($675 = 0xE), the door will automatically unlock. This is likely to avoid soft-locking the game since the sweepers can only be damaged by potions, which are in limited supply. 

This game mechanic is unlikely to find any use in a speedrun since it will be much slower than killing the sweepers in the rooms where this applies.
 

==Open questions==
===Unused quest items===
The toilet paper is found at the top of room 0xF (see $55) and the brick is found at the top of room 0x10. Upon collection, the game hints about some kind of secret use for them: 
''I wonder what this paper roll is for?'' (toilet paper) 
''This brick should knock a bit of sense into the average football player.'' (brick) 
 

However, there doesn't appear to be any claims of anyone having found any use for them.
 

If we assume that if an item provides any ability, it should either do so by having Beetlejuice carrying it (e.g. providing invincibility or impacting enemy movements) or by Beetlejuice releasing it (e.g. working as a projectile upon release). Let's look at both cases.
 

When Beetlejuice collects an item, $657+X is populated by the item's corresponding value. $65E tracks how many items Beetlejuice carries around and also serves as the item index, X. The possible item values are: 1 - Hammer; 2 - Book; 3 - Spray can; 4 - Paper roll; 5 - Ring; 6 - Rubber duck; 7 - Swatter; 8 - Fire extinguisher; 9 - Glasses; 0xA - Brick; 0xB - Mouse. When Beetlejuice releases an item, the value of $657+X is copied to $64F-X and $65E is decreased by one.
 

Let's first look at the possibility of items providing Beetlejuice with new abilities or properties. If this was the case, the game should regularly check which items Beetlejuice is carrying. However, the game only seems to read the content of $657+X in two cases. The first is when an item is dropped to copy the address value to $64F-X and also to check for special item types (more about that below). The other case is coded into certain rooms to check that he doesn't leave without items that will be needed to progress later on. In summary, it doesn't seem like carrying an item can provide any new abilities or properties.
 

Let's now consider how the game processes when Beetlejuice drops an item. If an item is dropped anywhere, the game will first check if it's the fire extinguisher (instruction $A04E). If that's the case and Beetlejuice is in front of the burning portal in room 0x12 (see $55), he will hold on to it and use it to extinguish the fire. Next, the game will check if the item is the hammer, the swatter or the mouse (checks starting at instruction $ADB4). These items have in common that they start to move upon release, which triggers additional code to be executed. Another check that is possible is when Beetlejuice is within range of one of the Deetz family members that need to be dispatched by specific items (instruction $A15E). The check is based on the look-up table at $B093-$B098. In the rooms where an item is needed to progress, $593 is set when the room is loaded and is used as the offset for the table. The six possible values of the table correspond to the book, spray can, ring, rubber duck, glasses and mouse. These are the items that any regular playthrough anyways requires. There are no unused items in the table, hinting at secret additional checks.
 

In summary, none of the studied code sections contain any checks for the TP or the brick. It's still possible that code sections that are triggered under special circumstances (e.g. Beetlejuice being in a certain position) and contain checks for the TP or the brick could still exist. It can therefore not be completely ruled out that these items have some kind of use.
 

===Timing of flowers===
A full description of how the timing of [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|flowers]] works is still missing.
 

===Timing of lights===
A full description of how the timing of [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]] works is still missing.
 

===Are there any more scares with special abilities?===
Three of the scares don't appear to give Beetlejuice any special abilities. Intentional or could there be secret abilities yet to be discovered? The descriptions in the game manual could be read as hints about special abilities for at least one of them (the umbrella scare).
 

For the purpose of the question of this section, it's assumed that a special ability would be related to one of the following areas:
# Protection against certain enemies
# Changed game mechanics (e.g. faster movement or different jump ability)
# Stronger attacks (against certain enemies)

$575 contains the value of the scare Beetlejuice is currently using (the value corresponds to the order the scares are shown in the scare menu). If a scare provided additional abilities, one would expect this address to be read by the game either continuously or at least when relevant events occur. The following cases have been observed to produce checks of this address:
* When jumping, it checks if Beetlejuice is in the birdman scare (instruction $D300)
* When pressing B, it checks if Beetlejuice should stomp (no scare) or fire a shot (in a scare) (instruction $D15E)
* The game checks every frame if Beetlejuice is in the skeleton scare (instruction $A632)
* If Beetlejuice has already taken two hits (or is about to take an "insta-kill" hit), check upon collision if Beetlejuice should lose a life or just the scare (instruction $D726)
* When shooting, the value of $575 is copied to $796. One or the other address can then be checked when Beetlejuice shoots.
 

It makes sense that the game checks if Beetlejuice is in the skeleton scare, since it provides invincibility against the bees in stage 1. The scare check at an enemy collision doesn't look at the type of scare, only if Beetlejuice has a scare (since this determines if Beetlejuice should lose the scare at his last hit point or lose a life). In summary, other than the skeleton scare, it doesn't seem like any of the scares provide additional protection.
 

The only check related to changed game mechanics that has been observed is for the additional jump height from the birdman scare.
 

When a cavern frog is hit, the game looks at the value of $796 to see if Beetlejuice fired as an ogre (instruction $B968). Similarly, when the sandworm on Saturn is hit, the game checks if Beetlejuice fired as a "two-headed man" (instruction $B876). When a beehive is hit in level 1, the game checks $575 for the skeleton scare (instruction $A2C0) and when in the underground ($1AE = 1), it checks for the medusa scare as soon as Beetlejuice shoots (instruction $D168). No other scare checks have been observed when shooting. There is for example no special check when attacking an octopus in level 2, which could have been a possibility if the umbrella scare had some special property against this type of enemy, as suggested by the game manual.
 

In summary, no evidence has been found regarding any special properties of the umbrella, ghost or snake scares. It's still possible that code sections that are triggered under special circumstances and contain additional scare checks could exist. It can therefore not be completely ruled out that these scares don't provide any special abilities.
 

==Selection of known RAM-addresses==
More addresses for objects and enemies are listed under the respective sections above
* 24-27 - RNG-addresses
* 28 - Controller input/buttons held down
* 29 - New buttons pressed this frame (value then added to $28, before $29 is reset)
* 2D/2C - Big/Small x-position, window
* 2F/2E - Big/Small y-position, window
* 55 - Room number
* 85 - Tickets collected in the Afterlife level (the six rightmost bits correspond to the six different tickets - the value is 0x3F when all tickets have been collected)
* 1AA - Health, Beetlejuice
* 1AC - Continues remaining
* 1AD - Invincibility timer, Beetlejuice
* 1FE - Potions
* 3BB - Global timer
* 3CC - Beetlejuice's animation (used by the game for checks of which direction he's facing etc)
* 3D2/3D1 - Big/Small vouchers
* 3D3 - Lives remaining
* 3D4-3DB - Medusa head/Birdman/Two-headed man/Skeleton/Umbrella man/Ogre/Ghost/Snakeman scares
* 581 - Remaining scare attacks
* 657+X, X is the object index - Quest items in the inventory (1 - Hammer; 2 - Book; 3 - Spray can; 4 - Paper roll; 5 - Ring; 6 - Rubber duck; 7 - Swatter; 8 - Fire extinguisher; 9 - Glasses; 0xA - Brick; 0xB - Mouse)
* 65E - Number of quest items in the inventory (used as an offset to $656 to keep track of which address contains the latest collected item)

Beetlejuice (NES)/Game Mechanics and Techniques

2025-08-04T19:42:49Z

Ktwo: /* Flies/Frogs/Golden beetles/Octopus/Scorpions (side view) */

==Animations==
===Movement mechanics===
* 3BF/3BE/3BD - Big/Small/Sub x-position
* 3C4/3C3 - Small/Sub x-speed
* 3C2/3C1/3C0 - Big/Small/Sub y-position
* 3C7/3C6 - Small/Sub y-speed
* 497/49A - Temporary storage of the sub x/y-position (used to transfer the sub-position from before to after the house of the start level and the tower in the graveyard)
* 44D/44C//450/44F - "Saved" big/small x//y-position
 

Beetlejuice accelerates in the x-direction with 32 sub-pixels/frame^2 up to a speed of 2 pixels/frame. The acceleration is the same on the ground as in the air. However, jumping has a wind-up frame, so it's slightly slower to jump when accelerating. Letting go of the direction button will make him stop immediately when on the ground, while momentum is kept (no brake effect) when jumping. "Braking" in the air decelerates Beetlejuice with 64 sub-pixels/frame^2. 

The "saved" position is used to determine where Beetlejuice will respawn after a death. It's updated every 8 ticks of the global timer. However, it's only updated if Beetlejuice is running, but not while in the air. This can be used to set up "death warps" by jumping across a level, die and warp back instead of back-tracking normally. 

An oddity, albeit a very small one, is that there is an immobility frame if Beetlejuice runs (or drops) off a platform. Although the screen scrolling will in many cases be more important than an immobility frame, some platforms can be jumped off of without consequence for one frame saved.
 

===Time cost comparisons===
* A continue screen costs from 45 frames and upwards, depending on how quickly it's clicked away, on top of the other costs associated with a death.
 

Side view levels
* A knockback costs 54 frames
* Falling into a pit from roughly half the screen's height costs ~140 frames. 30-40 of those are from the fall itself, the rest from re-spawning. On top of that, 8 frames more will be lost from having to accelerate from 0 when re-spawning.
* Losing the last health from taking a hit in the same position as above and triggering the "skeleton" death animation costs ~20 frames more
* Entering a shop and purchase one item costs 3.4s
* A menu trip and selecting the highlighted or an adjacent scare is 1.1s
 

Overhead levels
* A death from mid-screen costs ~120 frames
 

==Scares==
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Name'''
|'''Cost'''
|'''Shots'''
|'''Special ability'''
|'''Comments'''
|-
|[[File:Medusa.png]] Medusa head
|100
|1
|Freezes enemies in underground areas (beetle holes)
|Activated by shooting
|-
|[[File:Birdman.png]] Birdman
|150
|2
|Increases jump height
|The jump ability allows for shortcuts and is very useful in a speedrun
|-
|[[File:Two-headed man.png]] Two-headed man
|200
|3
|1-hit kills the sandworm on Saturn
|
|-
|[[File:Skeleton.png]] Skeleton
|250
|5
|No damage from bees, 1-hit kills the beehives (both only found in level 1)
|
|-
|[[File:Umbrella.png]] Umbrella head
|400
|9
|None?
|The manual hints about giving some sort of advantage against the octopuses in the sewer stage
|-
|[[File:Ogre.png]] Ogre
|500
|12
|1-hit kills the cavern monsters in level 2 (Storm drains)
|
|-
|[[File:Ghost.png]] Ghost (called "spooksheet" in the game)
|600
|15
|None?
|Only available in the graveyard level. The manual does not seem to hint about any special ability. It sounds more like it's an "all-purpose" scare with lots of shots.
|-
|[[File:Snake.png]] Snakeman
|750
|19
|None?
|Same comments as for the ghost scare.
|-
|}
 

==RNG==
The RNG-addresses in RAM are $24-$27. There are three different algorithms that are used to update their values.
# Starting at $99E8, various logical operations on and between the RNG-addresses are done, with the previous set of RNG and the global timer ($3BB) as seeds.
# Starting at $DFA5, a similar algorithm to the first.
# Starting at $909A, only two of the RNG-values are updated. This is done based on Beetlejuice's x- and y-position (influencing $24 and $25, respectively).

The first two algorithms are used throughout the game with what appears to be a room-dependent frequency (usually every 2-8 frames), with additional calls if there are RNG-dependent enemies present. The sub-routine for the third algorithm is only used in the side-scrolling levels and only called every 256 frames ($3BB = 0x1D). Room 0x09 (the very first overhead room in the game) is special in the sense that the RNG is never updated in this room. 

There is no indication that the RNG-values would be possible to manipulate in real-time. In TAS-conditions, the RNG is fairly "stiff" and can only be manipulated to a certain extent (unless introducing waiting frames is considered). In the side-view levels, it's done by changing Beetlejuice's position before '3' is called. In the overhead levels, it's mainly done by throwing a potion at different times or in some cases defeating enemies on different frames. In the room with Delia (0x19), picking up the mouse and scaring off Delia on different frames can also be used to influence the RNG. These methods have in common that they influence the number of calls to the RNG sub-routine. 

==Enemies and objects==
===1st boss (Level 1)===
[[File:1st_boss.PNG|75px]] 
* $5E9/$5E8 - Small/Sub x-position of shots
* $5EC/$5EB - Small/Sub x-speed of shots
* $535/$536 - x/y boss
* $5E7 – Shot flag
 

When the shot flag is not set, the RNG function is called every 16 frames, based on the global timer ($3BB). One of the results is compared with 0x46 (instruction $C8F9). If it's less, the boss will shoot a puff of spray. Since the player neither knows the global timer, nor the RNG values, shots can be considered random and outside player control with a probability of (1/16)*(70/256) ~ 1/59 per frame. The fastest method to defeat the boss is to run straight at him and fire off three quick shots. This way, a typical fight takes ~80 frames, which will allow 5 or 6 opportunities for the boss to fire. The success rate will therefore be between (186/256)^6 ~15% and (186/256)^5 ~20%. A slightly more consistent method is to jump and shoot, regardless of if the boss has actually fired or not. The fight will then typically take ~100 frames. It's not as straight-forward to calculate the success rate in this case and has not been attempted, but it's noticeably more consistent. 

The speed of the puff is either 1 or 2 pixels/frame and with a sub-speed that is a multiple of 0x40 (a sub-speed >0 slows down the puffs). Both the main and sub speeds directly depend on $24 (the first RNG-address) and should therefore be equally distributed with no possibility to predict in real-time. 

===2nd boss (Level 2)===
[[File:2nd_boss.PNG|75px]] 
This boss works in essentially the same way as the first one, but with a few different parameters. The ball speed is always 1 pixel/frame (instruction $C95D). When the shot flag is not set, the boss will kick a ball based on a check every 16 frames (based on the global timer in $3BB) with a 50% chance (instruction $C93C). 

===3rd boss (graveyard level)===
[[File:3rd_boss.PNG|75px]] 
* $537 - Magic timer
 

If the boss isn't already casting magic, the game calls the RNG function every second frame. The check that follows has a 5/256 ~ 1/51 chance to pass (instruction $C85A), resulting in the boss casting magic. The duration of the spell is always 22 or 24 frames. 

===Delia's art pieces===
[[File:Art_piece1.PNG]] [[File:Art_piece2.PNG]] [[File:Art_piece3.PNG]] 
* $59A+X – Health (starting at 2 for the art pieces in room 0xD and 4 in 0xF)
 

The following description refers to the art pieces' x-position, the y-position works in an analog way. The description is applicable to both the objects in room 0xD and 0xF (from $55). 

Every 16th frame, the RNG function is called and through various calculations updates [$5CA+X]. This address has double purposes. First it determines a base movement of the object for the next 16 frames. This base movement is either move left or stand still. Then through logical manipulations, it adds a number to [$5D0+X] every frame (always the same number during the 16 frames). The new x-position (5AC+X) is then calculated by taking ”move left or standstill” plus if there was a carry in the calculation of the new [$5D0+X]. 

Several steps have been skipped in the description above, but the end result and conclusion are that the game achieves something similar to a sub-pixel movement. During 16 frames, the art piece will move 0 or 1 pixel every frame, depending on how often the carry is produced in the calculation of [$5D0+X]. 

With the art pieces' movement at the core relying on RNG, it's difficult to see how any real-time manipulation would be possible. 

===Beetles (side view levels)===
[[File:Beetle_(side_view_levels).PNG]] 
* $414+X/$411+X - Big/Small x-position
* $41D+X/$41A+X/$417+X - Big/Small/Sub y-position
* $426+X/$423+X/$420+X - Big/Small/Sub y-speed
* $429+X - Movement state (0x01 - idling, 0x02 - moving right, 0x42 - moving left)
* $42C+X - Sub y-acceleration
* $42F+X - Beetle type (0 – 10, 1 – 25, 2 – 50, 3 – 75)
 

Every 4 frames, the RNG function is called and a result is compared with 0x32 (instruction $A835). If it's smaller, another check is done with a 1/4 chance of passing per active beetle hole on screen (instruction $A83F). A beetle will then spawn from the corresponding hole. 

The type of beetle is again determined by running the RNG function. The result is this time compared with 0x50 (instruction $A875). If it's smaller, a red beetle (worth 10 vouchers) will spawn. If it's greater, another check is done with equal probability of the remaining 3 types (instruction $A879). 

In summary, as long as the three available beetle memory addresses aren't filled, the probability of one of the 3 more valuable types spawning per second and per hole is 15*(48/256)*(1/4)*(176/256) ~ 48%. 

Once a beetle has spawned and is in idle state, it has a 1/16 chance to initiate a jump every frame. The x-speed is always +-1 pixel/frame, depending on the movement state (which is determined by RNG). The beetle types 0 and 1 will start with a small y-speed of 0xFE. The beetle types 2 and 3 will start with a small y-speed between 0xFE and 0xFA (random). The sub y-acceleration remains constant during a jump and the calculation is the same for all beetle types, 0x32+[random value between 0 and F]+[random carry]. 

===Beetles (overhead levels)===
[[File:Beetle_(overhead_levels).PNG]] 
* $60C – Beetle flag
* $611/$60E/$60D – Big/Small/Sub x-position
* $610/$60F – Small/Sub x-speed
* $619/$616/$615 – Big/Small/Sub y-position
* $617/$618 – Small/Sub y-speed
 

There is a 75% chance that an enemy drops a beetle (instruction $9E8C, when enemy health goes to 0). Same for all enemy types. There can however only be one beetle at a time (controlled by the beetle flag). 

The speed is recalculated every second frame as the current speed and an addition based on a result from calling the RNG function (see e.g. Instruction $BD50).
 

===Buzzsaw===
[[File:Buzzsaw.PNG]] 
* $7DD/$7E6+X – x/y-position
* $7F5/$7F8 – x/y-movement timer
 

The buzzsaws move with 1 pixel/frame in the same direction until the movement timer has run out, after which it changes direction. The initial positions and movement patterns are read from look-up tables when the room loads, based on room parameters. Playing a room consistently will therefore result in predictable position(s) of the buzzsaw(s).
 

===Cavern monsters===
[[File:Cavern_monster.PNG|75px]] 
* $5E9/$5E8 - Small/Sub x-position of projectiles
* $5EC/$5EB - Small/Sub x-speed of projectiles
* $5EF/$5EE - Small/Sub y-position of projectiles
* $5F2/$5F1 - Small/Sub y-speed of projectiles
* $5F4 – Projectile timer
* $795 - "Health" (the actual health is calculated in a kind of convoluted way based on this address with the end result being that 7 hits are needed or one hit with the ogre scare - it's unclear why this enemy's health is calculated and not directly shown in the RAM)
* $5F8 - Flag that is set after defeating the monster and unset once the screen has been centered around Beetlejuice again.
 

As soon as Beetlejuice is close enough to trigger the fight, the cavern monster will fire off a projectile and the projectile timer starts counting down from 0x3F (no dependence on external factors, such as RNG or the global timer). When the timer reaches 0, a new projectile is fired. 

Below is a description of how the game calculates the projectile direction (= the projectile's x- and y-speeds) without going into too many code details. The following picture illustrates the concepts used (Beetlejuice's physical position in the screenshot was selected to show the x-pixel that triggers this particular fight): 

[[File: Virtual_position_Cavern_monster.gif|250px]]
 

The first step is for the game to calculate a "virtual position" of Beetlejuice. This is done by taking Beetlejuice's actual position and add a random number between 0xC0 and 0x3F to it (so 64 pixels in each direction). $459 and $45A are used as temp variables to store this "virtual position". The distance is then calculated from the cavern monster projectile's initial position. Through a series of logic operations, the calculated distance is then converted to a speed of the projectile. In short, the resulting speed in sub-pixels/frame is [calculated distance in pixels] x 0x8. 
''Note1: the virtual x- and y-positions (and hence x- and y-speeds) are calculated independently. RNG-address $24 is used for the x-position, while $25 is used for the y-position.'' 
''Note2: if Beetlejuice is close enough, the virtual position can be on the opposite side of the cavern monster and projectiles can then be shot in the "wrong" direction'' 
''Note3: even though the x- and y-projectile speeds are calculated independently, the algorithm is set up in such a way that they will always go through Beetlejuice's "virtual position". By freezing $24 and $25 to a value of 0x40 and activating invincibility for Beetlejuice (for example by freezing the invincibility timer, $1AD, to a non-zero value), the cavern monster will always fire in the direction of Beetlejuice's physical position.'' 
''Note4: there is limited room for manipulation. One can for example consider jumping into the fight so Beetlejuice moves towards the vertical edge of the area of potential "virtual positions" that was used to determine the projectile direction. 

Some simplified estimations of how likely Beetlejuice is to get hit by a projectile indicated that there is roughly a 1/3 chance when Beetlejuice is far away (and standing still). The risk of getting hit increases as Beetlejuice stands closer to the cavern monster, up to roughly a 50% of getting hit when Beetlejuice stands as close as possible. If Beetlejuice moves around, the probabilities of getting hit will change. For example, running towards the cavern monster will increase the risk of getting hit, while jumping will slightly decrease it. 

When the monster has been defeated, the game will try to center the screen around Beetlejuice (checks at instructions $911F and $9124, for the y- and x-directions, respectively). Until then, the game doesn't take player inputs, freezing Beetlejuice in place when on the ground. However, the speed is not reset, so if Beetlejuice is in the air when the last attack connects, he'll continue jumping. If the screen catches up and centers around Beetlejuice during this jump, the flag in $5F8 is unset and Beetlejuice will be able to continue without being frozen in place upon landing. The conditions for this to happen are fairly strict though and not trivial to set up even in a TAS, as it requires a correct combination of positioning (including sub-pixels) and speed. The time save is only counted in frames, but still mentioned here for its applications in TASes.
 

===Cloud elevators===
[[File:Cloud_elevator.PNG]] 
* $463 - Elevator counter
* $5D - y-position of the elevator currently on screen, an offset of $463
 

$463 runs in the background when entering the house (level 1). When a switch is flipped, the corresponding elevator will teleport to wherever in the cycle $463 is and start to move from there. A cloud cycle takes 192 frames. 

===Door to Saturn===
[[File:Door_to_Saturn.gif]] 
* $F3/$F2/$F1 - Big/Small/Sub x-position
* $F6/$F5/$F4 - Big/Small/Sub y-position
* $59/$58/$57 - Big/Small/Sub speed (the same addresses are first used to calculate the x-speed and then a new calculation is made for the y-speed)
 

The door always homes in on Beetlejuice, except when he's invincible after a hit. The speed (in sub-pixels per frame) is calculated as twice the distance (in pixels) between Beetlejuice and the door. 

==="Fish in cauldron"===
[[File:Fish_in_cauldron.PNG|75px]] 
* $5B2+X - y-position
* $5A6+X - y-speed
 

Every 16 frames, the game calls the RNG function and calculates a number between 0 and 7. If the number is in the range 0-4 (instruction $AC82) and the corresponding fish is in its cauldron (instruction $AC85), it will initiate a jump of that fish with a set trajectory. 

===Flies (overhead sections)===
[[File:Fly.PNG]] 
* $5AC/$5B2+X – x/y-position (relative to the window position)
* $5BE/$5C4+X – x/y-speed (relative to the window position)
* $59A+X - Health/Status (0xFF - alive; 0 - dead)
 

The flies get a 1 pixel/frame speed change every 4 frames (instruction $A1CB and onwards). The speed is capped at 3 pixels/frame in both directions. The calculation is only based on the RNG. It's therefore difficult to see how their movement could be possible to manipulate in real-time. It's worth noting that the speed is relative to the window position. Unless Beetlejuice moves without the screen moving with him (so when he is near the edge of the room border), there is no point trying to dodge the flies since they will just be "dragged" along with the window. When Beetlejuice is hit, the flies will only follow the screen during the invincibility period, which can allow for free hits by aligning flies with the swatter.
The RNG is updated before each speed calculation, so each fly moves independently of the others. 

Flies can only be destroyed by the swatter or by colliding with Beetlejuice (the hammer or the potion scares don't touch them). 

===Flies/Frogs/Golden beetles/Octopus/Scorpions (side view)===
[[File:Fly_side.PNG]] [[File:Frog.PNG]] [[File:Golden_beetle.PNG]] [[File:Octopus_side.PNG]] [[File:Scorpion.PNG]] 
* $7A0/$7AC+X - x/y-position
* $7D1+X - invincibility timer (after colliding with Beetlejuice)
* $7BF+X - movement timer x (before turning around)
* $7BC+X - "y status" (shows the frogs' jump status)
 

These enemies are activated by the screen having scrolled sufficiently close to them (Beetlejuice's position doesn't matter). They always spawn in the same locations and move predictably, even when off-screen, according to their timers. 

The frogs have an unwanted property that can easily be encountered both during casual play and a speedrun. If the frog jumps "sufficiently" off-screen, it will re-spawn with its position reset and jump again: 
[[File:Respawning_frog.gif|100px]] 
This is not a graphical glitch and should be considered in areas where close calls with frogs are part of the route. There is additional risk of getting hit and resetting the frog's position can lead to the frog ending up blocking a series of tight movements. 

''Note: the game only checks for a specific enemy every 12 frames, which introduces some variability to when the individual enemies spawn in a playthrough''

===Flowers===
[[File:Flower.PNG|50px]] 
Not yet fully understood. The addresses $6B-$6F appear to be linked to the flower cycle, but the exact relationship has not been described. 

Purely based on empirical observations, the flowers seem to bloom roughly every 8-9s and each blooming lasts for around 2s on average. It can be worth mentioning that if the RNG addresses are frozen, the flowers will bloom every 256 frames. 

===Footballer's legs===
[[File:Legs.PNG]] 
Same mechanics as the [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Sweepers|sweepers]], but with 4 (iso 2) consecutive direction changes towards the player every 64 frames. As a result, any random movement changes are more likely to be cancelled and replaced by movements homing in on Beetlejuice. The legs therefore tend to follow Beetlejuice more closely around than the sweepers do.
 

===Lights===
[[File:Light.PNG|25px]] 
$62B increases by one every 2 or 4 frames (not fully understood what determines the delay). Every 4 increases of $62B, a bit is set in $628 (0->1->3->7->0xF) and one of the lights is lit. When all lights are lit, the bits are instead unset, one at a time (0xE->0xC->8->0). The lower leftmost light is lit when the first bit of $628 is set and is unlit when the first bit is unset. The other lights are shifted by one and two (lower middle and right) and three (the upper light) bits, respectively, in the cycle.
 

===Mouse===
[[File:Mouse.PNG]] 
* $62D/$63B - x/y-position
* $673 - Movement direction (x or y)
 

The mouse always starts in the same position in the right side of room 0x18 (see $55) and always starts moving up when entering the room. A new movement direction is then calculated (or keeping the current) every time the global timer in $3BB is a multiple of 0x20. If the mouse hits a wall, it will continue in the opposite direction until the next direction calculation is due. Input to the calculation of a new direction comes directly from the RNG-addresses in $24-$27, meaning real-time manipulation is not possible. 

The best (/fastest) scenario occurs when the mouse enters the narrow corridor and moves towards the left room. Given the fairly stiff mechanics of the mouse movements, this is not always immediately possible. A more detailed description of how the mouse can enter the narrow corridor can be found in https://tasvideos.org/6440S.
 

===Octopus===
[[File:Octopus.PNG|75px]] 
* $792 - Health (starts at 7)
 

When Beetlejuice has a scare equipped, he can with a 50% chance jump through an octopus without dying by using the invincibility frames. The invincibility ($1AD) decreases every 4 frames, depending on the global timer ($3BB), while the game checks for Beetlejuice getting hit every second frame.
* If Beetlejuice is hit so the first decrease of the invincibility timer is after 2 frames, he will take damage from the octopus and die before jumping out of its hitbox.
* If the first decrease is after 4 frames, Beetlejuice will be outside the octopus's hitbox before the invincibility wears off.
Since there is no indication of the value of the global timer, it's in practice random if Beetlejuice can jump through the octopus or not in a real-time attempt.
 

===Potions===
[[File:Potion.PNG]] [[File:Potion_scare.PNG|47px]] 
* $585/$588 - x/y.position
* $58D - Potion timer – starts at 0x14 and decreases when the operation AND(global timer in $3BB, 0xF) results in 0
* $58E – Movement direction (1 - NE; 3 - SE; 5 - SW; 7 - NW)
 

The initial movement direction when throwing a potion is determined entirely by the RNG, with equal probability of the four possible movement directions. Once the initial direction has been calculated, the potion will continue in that direction until hitting an obstacle. It will then bounce according to ”everyday logic/physics”. A part from the initialization, the rest of the trajectory is therefore deterministic. By throwing potions in locations where the 4 possible trajectories have been tested beforehand, one can therefore to some extent control the movements of the potion.
 

===Shops===
[[File:Shop.PNG|50px]] 
Some shops have different sets of inventory. Which set is loaded depends on which x-pixel the shop is entered on. This is hard-coded and therefore possible to predict.
 

===Spiders===
[[File:Spider.PNG]] 
* $7DF/$7DC/$7D9+X - Big/Small/Sub x-position
* $7E8/$7E5/$7E2+X - Big/Small/Sub y-position
* $7EB+X - Determines movement direction and speed
 

The game calls the RNG-function every second frame to first do a 4/32 check (instruction $8E57) and then selects a number in the range 0-3 based on the global timer in $3BB. If the result is 0-2 (instruction $8E61) and the corresponding object index is not already occupied (instruction $8E67), a spider spawns. 

All rooms with spiders have a carpet (or two). The spiders' spawn positions haven't been fully analyzed. However, possible spawn positions appear to be on a grid, where each point is separated by 8 pixels in both the x- and y-directions, limited by the carpet. The spawn point on this grid appears to be based on RNG. The address for movement direction and speed is calculated based on the RNG-addresses and the global timer ($3BB).
 

===Sweepers===
[[File:Sweeper.PNG|50px]] 
* $5BE/$5AC+X – Big/Small x-position
* $5C4/$5B2+X – Big/Small y-position
* $5D0+X – Movement direction, x
* $5D6+X – Movement direction, y
* $59A+X – Health (starting at 3)
 

The RNG-function is called every 4 frames for a 1/32 probability of a random movement direction change (instruction $9CC6). 

There is also a check every 8th frame which only depends on the global timer ($3BB) and the object index of the sweeper (instruction $9C5F). When this comparison branches, a new direction is calculated towards the player. Skipping the code details, the end result is that each sweeper gets two consecutive (8 frames apart) direction changes every 64 frames and they will be in the direction of the player. 

When Beetlejuice has been hit and the invincibility timer ($1AD) runs, the sweepers' movements are inversed. 

The object index dependence and the random direction changes (calculated independently for each sweeper) ensure they move independently of each other. 

The sweepers can only be damaged by potion scares (they don't interact with the hammer or the swatter).

==="Urn with bouncing smiley"===
[[File:Urn_and_smiley.PNG|35px]] 
* $5F9/$5F8 – Small/Sub y-position of smiley
* $5FC/$5FB – Small/Sub y-speed of smiley

The smiley starts moving when entering the house and then follows a set pattern. However, when it falls back into the urn, it will only bounce back out wih a 1/8 chance every frame, based on a check of the RNG-function (instruction $A36F). The position is therefore largely random when reaching the top of the house. A statistical analysis could probably reveal positions that are more likely, depending on in which platform cycle Beetlejuice has reached the top of the house, but this has not been attempted.
 

==Buffered inputs==
Below are examples of situations where buffered inputs can be used:
* Hold up to enter a door while jumping
* Hold A to buffer a jump after getting hit (useful to e.g. damage boost past an octopus)
* Hold A/start to buffer a jump/open the menu after a death. There are some deaths where this doesn't work. For example when riding the raft in the storm drains.
* Hold any button when the screen turns black before the map screen to click it away on the first possible frame
* In the level transitions that contain more than one splash screen (before the sewer level), the input for the second screen can be buffered after the first screen has been clicked away (as long as the button that clicked away the first screen isn't continuously pressed)
* The map screen to the afterlife level can be buffered by just keep holding up
* Hold A (and up/down) while opening the inventory to select a scare
* Three inputs can be buffered at once when entering a shop. Hold select (+ left/right) + down while to buy an item (, to the left/right of the default position) and exit the shop on the first possible frame.
* Hold any button during the "skeleton" death animation to re-spawn on the first possible frame (the same does not work falling into a pit). Note that this works in both the side view as well as the overhead levels.
* Hold up during a fall to buffer the re-spawning on the first possible frame
 

==Glitches==
===Screen warping in the overhead levels (TAS-only)===
By simultaneously pressing all directions on the same frame when in the overhead levels, Beetlejuice is teleported one screen to the right (256 pixels). This allows for bypassing some of the triggers in the game for significant time saves. Since it involves illegal inputs, it's only used in TASes though.

===Softlocks===
* The second door in room 0x15 (see $55) did not open, despite having destroyed all art pieces (reported by 'ktwo' on console, no recording available)
 

==Additional game mechanics and tricks==
==="Platform attraction"===
With a precise jump to a platform from below, Beetlejuice can be "sucked" up to the platform, gaining 6-7 pixels for free. Since time is spent scrolling the screen in these sections, getting the "platform attaction" saves time. However, it's a small time gain for a relatively precise trick, so it should be considered an advanced technique.

===Free scare at the cavern monsters===
If Beetlejuice doesn't have any scares when the screen is locked around a cavern monster, an umbrella head scare will spawn to the right of it within 64 frames (check done at instruction $9A9C), based on when AND(global counter ($3BB); 0x3F) equals 0x33. This is likely to avoid soft-locking the game since the game locks the screen around the monster and it's not possible to escape the fight.

===Flaw in the flies' hit detection (overhead sections)===
The sub-routine for checking if a fly is hit by the swatter does not check for the big value of the y-positions. This can be used in room 0x1A (see $55) by letting the swatter bounce off-screen and still keep decimating the number of flies. This trick was presumably found by 'Bassguy'. Various tests have been done on other objects, but this has not (yet) revealed similar flaws in the code.

===Quest dialog skips (overhead sections)===
By dropping the quest item just in front of the character blocking the path, they will move without triggering a dialog. There is a 6-pixel window when delivering the quest item horizontally for this to work and a 20-pixel window when delivering vertically.

===Open locked doors without killing all enemies===
Doors in the overhead levels that are unlocked by killing all sweepers in the room, will open after a set amount of time. The room timer in $675/$674 is reset upon entering a new room. When it has cycled 14 times ($675 = 0xE), the door will automatically unlock. This is likely to avoid soft-locking the game since the sweepers can only be damaged by potions, which are in limited supply. 

This game mechanic is unlikely to find any use in a speedrun since it will be much slower than killing the sweepers in the rooms where this applies.
 

==Open questions==
===Unused quest items===
The toilet paper is found at the top of room 0xF (see $55) and the brick is found at the top of room 0x10. Upon collection, the game hints about some kind of secret use for them: 
''I wonder what this paper roll is for?'' (toilet paper) 
''This brick should knock a bit of sense into the average football player.'' (brick) 
 

However, there doesn't appear to be any claims of anyone having found any use for them.
 

If we assume that if an item provides any ability, it should either do so by having Beetlejuice carrying it (e.g. providing invincibility or impacting enemy movements) or by Beetlejuice releasing it (e.g. working as a projectile upon release). Let's look at both cases.
 

When Beetlejuice collects an item, $657+X is populated by the item's corresponding value. $65E tracks how many items Beetlejuice carries around and also serves as the item index, X. The possible item values are: 1 - Hammer; 2 - Book; 3 - Spray can; 4 - Paper roll; 5 - Ring; 6 - Rubber duck; 7 - Swatter; 8 - Fire extinguisher; 9 - Glasses; 0xA - Brick; 0xB - Mouse. When Beetlejuice releases an item, the value of $657+X is copied to $64F-X and $65E is decreased by one.
 

Let's first look at the possibility of items providing Beetlejuice with new abilities or properties. If this was the case, the game should regularly check which items Beetlejuice is carrying. However, the game only seems to read the content of $657+X in two cases. The first is when an item is dropped to copy the address value to $64F-X and also to check for special item types (more about that below). The other case is coded into certain rooms to check that he doesn't leave without items that will be needed to progress later on. In summary, it doesn't seem like carrying an item can provide any new abilities or properties.
 

Let's now consider how the game processes when Beetlejuice drops an item. If an item is dropped anywhere, the game will first check if it's the fire extinguisher (instruction $A04E). If that's the case and Beetlejuice is in front of the burning portal in room 0x12 (see $55), he will hold on to it and use it to extinguish the fire. Next, the game will check if the item is the hammer, the swatter or the mouse (checks starting at instruction $ADB4). These items have in common that they start to move upon release, which triggers additional code to be executed. Another check that is possible is when Beetlejuice is within range of one of the Deetz family members that need to be dispatched by specific items (instruction $A15E). The check is based on the look-up table at $B093-$B098. In the rooms where an item is needed to progress, $593 is set when the room is loaded and is used as the offset for the table. The six possible values of the table correspond to the book, spray can, ring, rubber duck, glasses and mouse. These are the items that any regular playthrough anyways requires. There are no unused items in the table, hinting at secret additional checks.
 

In summary, none of the studied code sections contain any checks for the TP or the brick. It's still possible that code sections that are triggered under special circumstances (e.g. Beetlejuice being in a certain position) and contain checks for the TP or the brick could still exist. It can therefore not be completely ruled out that these items have some kind of use.
 

===Timing of flowers===
A full description of how the timing of [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Flowers|flowers]] works is still missing.
 

===Timing of lights===
A full description of how the timing of [[Beetlejuice_(NES)/Game_Mechanics_and_Techniques#Lights|lights]] works is still missing.
 

===Are there any more scares with special abilities?===
Three of the scares don't appear to give Beetlejuice any special abilities. Intentional or could there be secret abilities yet to be discovered? The descriptions in the game manual could be read as hints about special abilities for at least one of them (the umbrella scare).
 

For the purpose of the question of this section, it's assumed that a special ability would be related to one of the following areas:
# Protection against certain enemies
# Changed game mechanics (e.g. faster movement or different jump ability)
# Stronger attacks (against certain enemies)

$575 contains the value of the scare Beetlejuice is currently using (the value corresponds to the order the scares are shown in the scare menu). If a scare provided additional abilities, one would expect this address to be read by the game either continuously or at least when relevant events occur. The following cases have been observed to produce checks of this address:
* When jumping, it checks if Beetlejuice is in the birdman scare (instruction $D300)
* When pressing B, it checks if Beetlejuice should stomp (no scare) or fire a shot (in a scare) (instruction $D15E)
* The game checks every frame if Beetlejuice is in the skeleton scare (instruction $A632)
* If Beetlejuice has already taken two hits (or is about to take an "insta-kill" hit), check upon collision if Beetlejuice should lose a life or just the scare (instruction $D726)
* When shooting, the value of $575 is copied to $796. One or the other address can then be checked when Beetlejuice shoots.
 

It makes sense that the game checks if Beetlejuice is in the skeleton scare, since it provides invincibility against the bees in stage 1. The scare check at an enemy collision doesn't look at the type of scare, only if Beetlejuice has a scare (since this determines if Beetlejuice should lose the scare at his last hit point or lose a life). In summary, other than the skeleton scare, it doesn't seem like any of the scares provide additional protection.
 

The only check related to changed game mechanics that has been observed is for the additional jump height from the birdman scare.
 

When a cavern frog is hit, the game looks at the value of $796 to see if Beetlejuice fired as an ogre (instruction $B968). Similarly, when the sandworm on Saturn is hit, the game checks if Beetlejuice fired as a "two-headed man" (instruction $B876). When a beehive is hit in level 1, the game checks $575 for the skeleton scare (instruction $A2C0) and when in the underground ($1AE = 1), it checks for the medusa scare as soon as Beetlejuice shoots (instruction $D168). No other scare checks have been observed when shooting. There is for example no special check when attacking an octopus in level 2, which could have been a possibility if the umbrella scare had some special property against this type of enemy, as suggested by the game manual.
 

In summary, no evidence has been found regarding any special properties of the umbrella, ghost or snake scares. It's still possible that code sections that are triggered under special circumstances and contain additional scare checks could exist. It can therefore not be completely ruled out that these scares don't provide any special abilities.
 

==Selection of known RAM-addresses==
More addresses for objects and enemies are listed under the respective sections above
* 24-27 - RNG-addresses
* 28 - Controller input/buttons held down
* 29 - New buttons pressed this frame (value then added to $28, before $29 is reset)
* 2D/2C - Big/Small x-position, window
* 2F/2E - Big/Small y-position, window
* 55 - Room number
* 85 - Tickets collected in the Afterlife level (the six rightmost bits correspond to the six different tickets - the value is 0x3F when all tickets have been collected)
* 1AA - Health, Beetlejuice
* 1AC - Continues remaining
* 1AD - Invincibility timer, Beetlejuice
* 1FE - Potions
* 3BB - Global timer
* 3CC - Beetlejuice's animation (used by the game for checks of which direction he's facing etc)
* 3D2/3D1 - Big/Small vouchers
* 3D3 - Lives remaining
* 3D4-3DB - Medusa head/Birdman/Two-headed man/Skeleton/Umbrella man/Ogre/Ghost/Snakeman scares
* 581 - Remaining scare attacks
* 657+X, X is the object index - Quest items in the inventory (1 - Hammer; 2 - Book; 3 - Spray can; 4 - Paper roll; 5 - Ring; 6 - Rubber duck; 7 - Swatter; 8 - Fire extinguisher; 9 - Glasses; 0xA - Brick; 0xB - Mouse)
* 65E - Number of quest items in the inventory (used as an offset to $656 to keep track of which address contains the latest collected item)

File:Respawning frog.gif

2025-08-04T19:35:20Z

Ktwo: Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice