Except, how is it that replays become screwed up if the game can record exactly when a trip occurs in a normal uncoded match?
This can easily be explained.
The disc loads the characters and stages (hence the loading.... screen before the replay starts) while the replay handles status and random occurrences that happened in the match while it keeps track of the button input done by the players. So, replays record button input as well as keep track of where items spawned and whether tripping occurred or not. When someone trips and it didn't happen in the original replay (i.e with no tripping on in the match) the replay simply makes due with that error and continues the match by continuing the button input whether you kill yourself or not.
I even tried a replay that had tripping originally and turned the no tripping code on. It acted on the button inputs right after I tripped the very first time and soon, it looked like I was fighting nothing when those were my
exact button presses and movements done on the person in the actual match. So, when I'm knocked off stage or coming back, the replay doesn't read that, it reads the button input of the character not where they are standing much less calculates their area of motion. It's just button input and random occurrence data recorded, that's why the replays are only 1 block because everything else is loaded from the disc.
Also, keep in mind, replays also don't record who the winner is. If the replay is acting on button input alone and random data (such as tripping and the item spawns) then it most likely is assumed that with just that data alone it could "re-play" the match just fine. Sakurai and his team didn't think the replays would need to keep track of the stocks or the winner. So, when you use no tripping on a replay that originally had tripping, prepare for the results to be skewed and the winner to come out from someone who tripped originally but with the code on no longer did and continues the button input winding up in the player killing themselves all three times (or more depending on the stocks).
The replay doesn't record the winner or loser. And, I'm pretty sure it doesn't keep track of the stocks, that's all done by the disc if I'm not mistaken.
I'd be happy to record a match that had tripping before and after I put no tripping on to prove this if you'd like.