View source for Solomon's Key (NES)/best ending

[[Solomon's_key]]

==Category description==
This category aims to get the best ending by collecting the pages of space and time and finally saving the princess (or "prinsess", as it's spelled in this game). It's possible to both use some golden wings (in rooms 23, 31 and 39) or death abuse (room 32 and 36 - these rooms are skipped when warping), while still getting the best ending. The videos below show the route without warps and without death abuse.<br /><br />

The terminology from the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/Game Mechanics|game mechanics]] page is used below.<br />

==Fireball management==
Given that fireballs are scarce, cost time to both grab and launch and how they need to be shot in the order they are picked up, fireball management is a huge task when routing this game. Below is a document that shows which fireballs are collected and where they are used in the route described in this section. There are also some comments about time saved by fireballs in the different rooms and how much time they take to collect.

<doc id="0ApHg_TO7zs6IdG0zYzN5LWZnUUtJM0IwT2hjOVlnSlE" type="spreadsheet" width="800" height="300"/><br /><br />

==Level-by-level description==
=Room 1=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCeAIyJtLhc<br />
Rooms 1-6 are the same as in the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run.<br />

=Room 2=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTQHB2k_zuU<br />

=Room 3=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RznY8Cdog8E<br />

=Room 4=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJYm0McO474<br />

=Room 5=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOmQZ77BsVo<br />

=Room 6=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt0QmJM-d2w<br />

=Room 7=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRBA35CfQ9Y<br />
Just like in the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run, the room solution looks slow. The enemies quite efficiently prevent faster solutions (without resorting to very tight maneuvers such as shown in the tas). It can also be sped up by one sec with the use of a fireball, but that doesn't seem to work well with the fireball management in the following rooms.<br /><br />

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVbJ2vY_xZo<br />
2.5 seconds faster than the above solution. Of course it comes with a cost of added risk...<br />

=Room 8=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhktlUhFyZs<br /><br />

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le9bfaZyOEs<br />
This is an alternative that is 20 frames faster than above. This means skipping getting a fireball, which would have been used in room 15. You can get through room 15 only a few frames slower without fireball, but it depends on the timing of the player. In total, it should always be faster to use this solution in room 8 and no fireball in room 15.<br />

=Room 9=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqg-BF71asE<br />
It's a bit tight to drop down into the middle without being hit by one of the gargoyles' fireballs. A slightly safer (and a tenth of a second slower) solution is shown below.<br /><br />

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhUsukT_JkA<br />

=Room 10=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0Gzirk8uHs<br />
The jump to the exit must be performed so to allow for the next room to start with a buffered jump (release up before hitting the exit).<br />

=Room 11=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK3Ga1kG7-A<br />

=Room 12=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFXnIEsz58M<br />

=Room 13=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ec3eBSlRQw<br />
Just like in the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run, the ghost is dispatched to reduce slowdown (and also to avoid dealing with the ghost later on).<br /><br />

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5Ue_HVRzhQ<br />
The difference in this video is that Dana doesn't release the sparkballs fast enough and one makes another loop in the previously trapped area. The fireball can then work as an extra lifeline. It doesn't speed up the room solution here. That fireball would otherwise have been used in room 15, but only for a very minor time gain (0.1-0.3 seconds).<br />

=Room 14=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSoMhKld3v4<br />
Same as in the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run (the fireball inventory doesn't necessary match with previous/next rooms).<br />

=Room 15=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID09KdwsHuk<br />
The fireball saves a few frames, but the fireball needs to be gone before room 17 (unless the alternative room 8 solution is used). There are no better alternatives found for the fireball use than here.<br />

=Room 16=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1ysfKdXeFw<br />

=Room 17=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbBej_CiyLI<br />
It's possible to jump from the second to last ledge to the exit, but it's one frame slower than just walking into the exit.<br /><br />

In this video, one of the enemies drops an upgrade jar, which will end up saving time in room 19 (more about the time saved is described under room 19). The enemy drops are sort of rng based. It hasn't been researched exactly how this works (but the tas authors might know?). However, from empirical testing, the exact same actions have a good probability of reproducing the same drops between attempts. The table below shows if one of the enemies will drop an upgrade jar when ducking from the beginning of the room and shooting the fireball at different frames (measured from the first frame of movement in the room). As can be seen, there is a 50/50 chance of getting an upgrade jar. Another observation is that there is a 10/12 chance of an upgrade jar in the interval 73-84. These frames can be identified by looking at the sparkball positions. The below gif shows this interval in slow motion. Be aware of that the above information is not 100% accurate. The drops will vary slightly for unknown reasons, but the overall information seems to hold (50% overall chance of an upgrade jar and the interval with increased probability).<br />
[[File:Solomon_sparkball17.gif]]
<doc id="0ApHg_TO7zs6IdGt1aUhVQklWWFg1LXROTS1pcGFOb1E" type="spreadsheet" width="520" height="450"/><br />

=Room 18=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T-qop9CTnk<br />

=Room 19=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbA4mM63gZ0<br />
This shows how to complete the room without using any fireballs and without picking up the super fireball. This is used when getting an upgrade jar in room 17.<br /><br />

If you arrive here without getting an upgrade jar in room 17, you have to get rid of the normal fireball and collect the super fireball in this room (for use in room 22). Below are two solutions showing that scenario.<br /><br />

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RQF7KI6wiI<br />
Roughly 2.5 seconds slower than above.<br /><br />

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCgBt8pNiZ0<br />
This is an alternative with the aim to avoid the hard jump to the super fireball in the first solution. It's one second slower though.<br />

=Room 20=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LLouZVPeoQ<br />
There are a few alternatives in this room. Should the blocks be created already during the initial drop? How about start out by a buffered jump to the key when the room starts? Is it faster to approach the constellation sign from the left or the right side? More analysis of this room could be beneficial.<br />

=Hidden room (page of time)=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buLZATLjyng<br />

=Room 21=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgtQ5mR8DdE<br />
Very similar to the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run.<br />

=Room 22=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCgXzA2jTs8<br />
Same as in the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run (the fireball inventory doesn't necessary match with previous/next rooms).<br />

=Room 23=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3-EAChIoEQ<br />
Very similar to the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run.<br />

=Room 24=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z57AEUhQZcM<br />

=Room 25=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvcYj1MPTLk<br />
The last jump to below the exit is a bit precise, but can be done consistently.<br />

=Room 26=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RllHmHX2SI<br />

=Room 27=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkkDGL1ulTw<br />
The "safe" solution.<br /><br />

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZvqtLl6hWw<br />
This variant is a good deal riskier than the solution above, but is also almost a second faster.<br />

=Room 28=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RaT0NBa8HI<br />

=Room 29=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpAdQOeKHnQ<br />
Just like in the normal ending category, the gargoyle can start out by going either left or right and again right is the best (shown here).<br /><br />

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxiuHIQeMDs<br />
This is how the room plays out if the gargoyle starts walking to the left. This solution is around one second slower. From experience, it luckily seems like the gargoyle most of the time starts out to the right.<br />

=Room 30=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUnErkf0qQw<br />
Same as in the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run (the fireball inventory doesn't necessary match with previous/next rooms).<br />

=Room 31=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcojiKUjtic<br />
Just like the comment for the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run, this room could be faster with more use of advanced techniques (zigzag climbing etc). It's fairly late in the game and risk increases dramatically though. The solution shown here is not trivial, but still relatively safe.<br /><br />

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B68-pNOcVs<br />
Reference solution with zigzag jumping. It's 4.5 seconds faster than above (1.5 enemy cycles faster). There might be even better solutions in real-time, but it hasn't been thoroughly tested. The difficulty of this solution is already quite high (it took more than 60 real-time attempts to make this video, including a save state when picking up the key).<br />

=Room 32=
This is one of the rooms that can benefit from death abuse (drop down to the key and into the blue flame, jump to the exit when restarting the room). However, the solution shown here completes the room normally.<br /><br />

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VODRpiWZRqE<br />

=Room 33=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxAP3cDw_AI<br />
This room solution is quite carefully designed to avoid trouble from the birds and sparkballs.<br />

=Room 34=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9yGobiLK54<br />
Combining the increased countdown speed from the grey jar and the yellow hourglass allows for a low timer when exiting the room (and thus saving time during point countdown during the following room transition). Using the block magic on the grey jar is only to create a controlled delay. Picking up the grey jar and then the hourglass asap will have the time run out before being able to reach the exit.<br />

=Room 35=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS8u3NXJPik<br />
Problematic room. Dana needs to wait a few times near the top. The timing of the gargoyles' fireballs and the spawning of the demon heads don't allow for much time to be saved without making everything a whole cycle faster. The gargoyles' fireballs can create a sprite overload that prevent some demon heads from spawning, which is used in this solution. It's also possible to come up with faster solutions involving the use of a super fireball (to be replaced in room 39). But there is no obvious solution as of yet that can squeeze out more time without adding lots of more risk.<br /><br />

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdtKOTj8_ks<br />
For reference, this solution is around 4 seconds faster than above by using advanced techniques (zigzag climbing and a difficult drop after the key). Possible in real-time, but it adds a considerable risk this late in a run.<br />

=Room 36=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvZ382uPi9w<br />
Death abuse would save around half a second (right after picking up the key).<br />

=Room 37=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wokuhxgur1c<br />
Same as in the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run (the fireball inventory doesn't necessary match with previous/next rooms).<br />

=Room 38=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VO7LK3V5PE<br />
Same as in the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run (the fireball inventory doesn't necessary match with previous/next rooms).<br /><br />

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnJREXSFXyw<br />
This solution makes the drop in the middle easier. It's one second slower than the first solution though.<br />

=Room 39=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq9wj7CNh60<br />
The climbing becomes one second faster by the use of a fireball (as shown in the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run).<br />

=Room 40=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ekox-Bq4dso<br />

=Room 41=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTjslv2Rxm4<br />
Just like in room 10, make sure to set up for a buffered jump at the start of room 42. During the last drop to the floor, it's easy to first land on the block that is destroyed by the demon head. That stops the vertical momentum and renders the shown solution impossible (not enough time to avoid the demon heads when jumping up on the left side). When that happens, jump up on the right side instead (one second slower though).<br />

=Room 42=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ok175atLRU<br />

=Room 43=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imAfZqK2N1s<br />

=Room 44=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp9ovThMWPs<br />

=Hidden room (page of space)=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUeQ79t9dyQ<br />
The bottom grey block only becomes breakable once Dana used block magic on the exit.<br />

=Room 45=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RUgpqaZ4tM<br />
Same as in the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run.<br />

=Room 46=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLG9UniRlds<br />
Very similar to the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run.<br />
There is a trick for the positioning on the block below the exit. If Dana's nose is covered by the white border surrounding the exit (or even more to the left), the position is correct for making the Solomon's seal appear like shown here. If Dana's nose is visible to the right, create a block to the right of the exit, jump to it, turn around and make the seal appear. It wastes around two seconds though.<br />

=Room 47=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJHcjjnt6FI<br />

=Room 48=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2FMdxWLglQ<br />
Same as in the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run.<br />

=Prinsess' room=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOI2r8CW2u0<br />
The grey block on the left side that allows Dana to enter the outer heart becomes breakable by using the block magic on the right red flame.<br /><br />

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk0wnz0vlxM<br />
This solution is half a second slower than above. Both of the solutions are difficult, so it's just a matter of taste. It's not strictly necessary to break two grey blocks during the drop on the left side, but it makes it slightly easier to not drop the whole way down.<br />

=Solomon's room=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcAHLq2U1Ew<br />
Same as in the [[Solomon's Key (NES)/normal ending|normal ending]] run. (to be confirmed that the rng doesn't change in the best ending run)<br />