Impromptu High Score Competition (Jelly Monsters)

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English Invader
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Impromptu High Score Competition (Jelly Monsters)

Post by English Invader »

Yes, I know we've got the Wiki but I think it's too remote from the forum to be successful and I always get in a mess when I try and edit the thing so I thought I'd start something along the lines of a kickabout in the local park (you just put a couple of jumpers down for goal posts and make up the rest as you go along).

I just scored 30490 in Jelly Monsters. Still gunning for Boray's 50k score in the Wiki.
English Invader
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Re: Impromptu High Score Competition (Jelly Monsters)

Post by English Invader »

I'm on the real hardware but there's no shame in using an emulator. The Mega-Cart ROM is available in this thread:
http://sleepingelephant.com/ipw-web/bul ... =14&t=7237
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joshuadenmark
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Re: Impromptu High Score Competition (Jelly Monsters)

Post by joshuadenmark »

I will surely give this a shot 8)
Kind regards, Peter.
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Ola H
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Re: Impromptu High Score Competition (Jelly Monsters)

Post by Ola H »

Ah ... my first Vic-20 game, my first own video game ever, and still my favorite home version of Pac Man! I actually rank it equal to the arcade version. The sounds are better (except the start jingle, as it is only one voice); the flicker of the ghosts just make them more ghostly; the fruits are bigger and the maze is a little smaller, which makes for shorter, more intense rounds :D

And it plays like a dream, even the AI feels pretty much spot on. And the arcade graphics are a pefect match for Vic's single color and palette - only the ghosts's eyes suffer, yet still look good.

I plugged it in today for the first time in many, many years and got 26 400 the first try, not recalling my old patterns perfectly, but it soon came back to me - 96 730 in second try. My old personal best is 350 690 from back in 1983 though!
English Invader
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Re: Impromptu High Score Competition (Jelly Monsters)

Post by English Invader »

Ola H wrote:I plugged it in today for the first time in many, many years and got 26 400 the first try, not recalling my old patterns perfectly, but it soon came back to me - 96 730 in second try. My old personal best is 350 690 from back in 1983 though!
:shock:
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Ola H
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Re: Impromptu High Score Competition (Jelly Monsters)

Post by Ola H »

It's all about having a good pattern to clean out all the dots and eat the two fruits (very important on later levels) before eating the power pellets - and also some complementary patterns for rounding up the ghosts after the loss of a life.

But when you reach the levels with the key (the last fruit - worth 5000p) you have to improvise your endgame in each round as the ghosts dont turn blue at all!

Really tempted to have a go at my old score. I used to comb through the high score papers of all the computer magazines of the early 80s to look for Jelly Monsters - I remember the shock of finding a Finnish guy claiming about 300 000 p in 1982 when my own record was 111 650, but it forced me to improve on my pattern :)

Later in 1998 I bought the Twin Galaxies videogame & pinball book of world records and found that one Graham Thornton from Peoria IL was listed as the Jelly Monsters record holder with 228 780 p. Almost all other Vic 20 records belonged to Mark Longridge, Oshawa Canada, so it's obvious they didn't have a very large collection of Vic scores.
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beamrider
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Re: Impromptu High Score Competition (Jelly Monsters)

Post by beamrider »

Nice background. Perhaps you can make a YouTube longplay video some day. I personally can never get passed about the 5th level.

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eslapion
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Re: Impromptu High Score Competition (Jelly Monsters)

Post by eslapion »

Gotta try that game again!
Be normal.
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beamrider
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Re: Impromptu High Score Competition (Jelly Monsters)

Post by beamrider »

Just had a try but could only manage 20,700 although I blame my joystick :P
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Ola H
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Re: Impromptu High Score Competition (Jelly Monsters)

Post by Ola H »

Try this for a starter! It is a great intro pattern to round up the ghosts. You can also use it as the basis for a longer pattern, but it is not ideal as it doesn't allow you to eat the first fruit. (If you avoid making the second loop and instead continue downwards you will, however, have the beginning of a great pattern.)

Image
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