Am I the only one that is nonplussed/unimpressed at the speed runs seen on the MOTD lately? I like speed runs yes, but these are of the "tool assisted" variety, meaning that they were run and edited and feel like what a machine might do if it played the game. It doesn't seem like a human was at the controls, as it's almost a certainty no human is going to be able to play to such an exacting degree. I dunno, it just feels "fake" to me.

Impressive? Watching the video of somebody playing Donkey Kong Jr. on Level E in the stages leading up to the kill screen (which I didn't know existed until recently).

Impressive? Beating Star Force for the NES using a regular controller (NOT an NES Advantage with its slow mo and turbo capabilities). I wonder if my reaction time is still good enough for this...

Impressive? Getting an NES to play on both left and right channels of an 8-track stereo player's amplifier by splicing the left input into the right input's PCB terminals. (Yes, that was me that did it - I was ten years old and didn't know of this thing called a Y-splitter for RCA cables...there's a pic below of the 8-track player I used)

Impressive? Entering the final password for Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, turning off the TV and using the stereo (mentioned above) to beat the game without video. Yes, I did this too, from memory. I dare anyone else to try it.

Not impressive? Seeing an emulator run, stop-edited speed run. I prefer seeing any speed runs be those of humans that are actually playing the game, mistakes and all, not some computerized couldn't-do-it-in-real-life-if-my-life-depended-on-it-totally-perfect-beyond-belief run nobody could possibly physically accomplish.

The 8-track player:

Craig_8_Track_Player.jpg
Some of the runs posted have been SDA, and if SDA lets TAS runs in, they'll be the first to be furious. The others... haven't watched many, but I have a general recollection of them not being even SDA quality. So disappointing, yes, but perhaps not for the same reasons.
Just to clarify, so I'm not completely left in the dark...

SDA and TAS are what?
Squisy, definitely disagree with you on that. I definitely think that an official speed run (done by a human on original) is impressive and definitely in a league of it's own. However a tool-assisted run is artistic, showing off the entire game as quickly as possible in a calculated way. It's like solving a math problem. I am much less impressed by speed runs which exploit bugs in the game (Metroids door bug for instance), but even they still have a certain appeal showing off parts of the game that is simply lost to a regular player.
Wait, wait... I blew past that yesterday thinking "Ninja Gaiden" or some random NES ninja game. Ninja... Golf?! I... that... WHERE has this game BEEN for the past decade?!
seanstar wrote:
Wait, wait... I blew past that yesterday thinking "Ninja Gaiden" or some random NES ninja game. Ninja... Golf?! I... that... WHERE has this game BEEN for the past decade?!


Or two decades, its an old Atari game!
I was the same, I saw it and burst out laughing, the box art was hilarious.
The concept.... inspired!
a month later
ZERO WING!!! Ohhhh, the memories. They have chance to survive make their time ;)
9 days later
Okay, somebody owes me sanity points for having watched that Dig Dug ad... :blink:
2 months later
Ohhh, US Gold MegaMan... Kinda like WonderSwan RockMan & Forte in "actually works better than you want to first give it credit for, but still just feels wrong" >_<
seanstar wrote:
Ohhh, US Gold MegaMan... Kinda like WonderSwan RockMan & Forte in "actually works better than you want to first give it credit for, but still just feels wrong" >_<


/scratches head

:huh:
a month later
Squishy Tia wrote:
seanstar wrote:
Ohhh, US Gold MegaMan... Kinda like WonderSwan RockMan & Forte in "actually works better than you want to first give it credit for, but still just feels wrong" >_<


/scratches head

:huh:


WS R&F stars Quint as the main antagonist. Quint, as in from the end of GameBoy MegaMan II, who mysteriously stopped showing up in titles released after the WS game. And is apparently a "MegaMan from the Future." But the game itself is actually playable and has great ports of the SNES soundtrack.

Meanwhile, Power Pete. That was a game. Possibly one of the first decent dedicated Mac-original arcade games I ever saw. And yet the concept of running around as a big buff action figure rescuing fluffy bunnies... :blink:
2 months later
Duuurrrrrr....the MotD for today is the Super Street Fighter 2 Speed Run (Part 1). That was posted on July 18th already. :o
2 months later
Mmm...Slowdown Salad 2...I mean ActRaiser 2.

The first was so much better than the second.
Squishy Tia...I actually agree with you this. Well done good Sir. Well done.
I agree with her too, a rarity. lol