The cursed 4th elevator...

[V3rby]

Hey guys,

I'm pretty new to the board, i'm a 21 year old donkey kong fanatic from germany since the day i first got to put my hands on a real dk cab.

I've been playing much on my custom build mame cab, mostly dk.

After many tries the third elevator pretty much lost all its "dangers", but the 4th one seems to be cursed for me, i only got past it once, with a lot of luck and losing 2 man, hitting 119k.

In general, my gameplay ends with around 80-85k on the last ladder.

Is it just me, or is the 4th one significantly harder than the 3rd one, or am i taking the wrong path? Has anyone any ideas, how i can get past this obstacle?

best regards.

[hchien]

The 3rd and 4th elevator springs are identical (I assume you mean the elevator on L4 and L5).  The only difference is the fireballs are slightly faster on the 4th elevator.  Your problems are probably mainly psychological.  Just pretend you're on the 3rd elevator and you'll be fine.

[stella_blue]

Welcome to the forum!

From the range of scores you've given (80-85k), it sounds like you're having difficulty with the 3rd elevator stage, not the 4th.  It's a bit confusing, because there is no elevator board on Level 01, so the 1st elevator stage is on Level 02, the 2nd is on Level 03, the 3rd is on Level 04, and so on.

The good news is that the 3rd elevators are the hardest in the game.  From there, it doesn't get any worse.  The difficulty has been maxed out.

Are you familiar with the general method?  Do you watch for long, medium and short springs?  Do you know when to retreat?

Sorry for answering your question with more questions.   

Many players have found this short instructional video to be helpful:

Donkey Kong Arcade 3rd Elevator Stage Walkthrough

[V3rby]

Thanks for the response!

Stella_blue, you're right its the L4 elevator (3rd one), for some reason i thought it was the 4th.
Now i know why the L3 elevator, which i thought was the 3rd one, was easier than i thought it would be. :/

The general method is clear, but i guess i have to work on my "peripheral" view to get past it.
I'm trying to go for a long spring, is this correct? Is it just a matter of timing, or am i going for the wrong one?

If it is correct, i guess all i can do is savestate me over and over through the 3rd elevator, right?

[KIG666]

Great to see another germany DK player here, I almost tought I'm the only one in germany that plays DK LOL

About your elevator questions.

You should definitely not limit your attempts to long springs only, it can take quite some time to wait for the perfect long spring at that can make you nervous.

General you can start to run after a short spring as well, the only important thing is that the following one is short again. If not you run back to the starting position to try again.

You can go on long/short or on short/short, makes no difference imo.

Just in case you got something wrong a long spring is one that bounces more to the right, a short spring is one that bounces more to the left.

Just create a savestat and see for yourself. Many times you get very short springs after a short one so short/short is as save as long short.

It just takes some time to get the eye for it to see if you can go for it or if you need retreat to the starting position but the elevators are for sure the easiest screens of the game so I'm sure you will master them pretty soon if you practice them a bit via savestat.

[marinomitch13]

Actually, I would say it is pretty important to always have the spring you start running on be a long spring. The second spring needs to be short, but not too short, otherwise it'll have time to bounce back up and nip you in the right foot. In the end, using a savestate is the best practice.

[V3rby]

Well, i guess i have to go and try it with savestates,

So i should go for a spring that goes right to DK's feet? Or one that goes between his legs?

@KIG666, if i may ask, where do you come from?

Anyways, thanks for all the support!

[marinomitch13]

A 'long' spring lands on the right half/edge of the first yellow up-elevator pulley. A 'short' spring lands on the left half/edge of the same yellow up-elevator pulley. Always run for the ladder on a long spring, and retreat if the following spring is either long, medium, or super short. I would say a 'super short' spring is one that lands completely to the left of the pulley. The ideal length of the 2nd spring that you would want so that you can keep going with the most safety is one that is short to medium-short. However, depending on how good of a jump you have on the first spring, sometimes super-short and medium springs are survivable too, but you'd rather not risk it. Good luck! 

[marinomitch13]

Here is a good example of a 'short' spring being too short (i.e 'super short') and killing Jumpman, despite having a good jump. I think this may be survivable if you have basically a perfect 'jump' on the long spring, but it proves, bare minimum, that the best 'short' spring to go on is not the extreme short springs.

http://www.twitch.tv/danman123456/c/2296663

Edit: looking at it again (no offense to Dan), the jump could actually have been a lot better. :/ But still, the video shows you how super short springs can nip you on the right side of the ladder instead of the left side, as do other types of medium springs.

[Shane_NC]

For the sake of this discussion, a long spring bounces nearly flush with the yellow box on the first elevator. A short spring bounces to the left or flush with DK's right foot.

The lvl 4 elevator stage imo appears to be a bit faster than the level 3 elevator stage, ie the springs bounce slightly faster. Lvl 4 elevator stage is the start of the retreat spring strategy, meaning you are going to have to wait for the right combination of springs in order to safely make it to the ladder. When standing in the yellow safe spot directly above the elevator you need to wait for a long spring to go over your head, before you run to the ladder. If the next spring is short, continue on to and up the ladder. However, if the next springs comes long, you must quickly retreat back to the yellow safe spot.

You have to time it out with a save state and practice, but it will come


In addition, there is also a slightly more advanced spring strategy that can serve to better your reaction time once you master the basic strategy, but until then it will only serve to complicate things more. I wont go into too much detail, but the crux of it is taking 2-3 steps towards the ladder on a long spring BEFORE ever seeing the spring behind it. With the right timing this gives you less distance to the ladder and can make the elevator stages slightly easier.

[danman123456]

Naw I know I could have gotten a better jump but if that was not a "super short spring" I would have been fine. Even with a "good" jump I think I probably would have died as well. Its just like the super long spring on lvl 3 elevator can kill you too.

Here is a good example of a 'short' spring being too short (i.e 'super short') and killing Jumpman, despite having a good jump. I think this may be survivable if you have basically a perfect 'jump' on the long spring, but it proves, bare minimum, that the best 'short' spring to go on is not the extreme short springs.

http://www.twitch.tv/danman123456/c/2296663

Edit: looking at it again (no offense to Dan), the jump could actually have been a lot better. :/ But still, the video shows you how super short springs can nip you on the right side of the ladder instead of the left side, as do other types of medium springs.