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The goal of this movie is to win a game of Tecmo Super Bowl as fast as possible in real time. It is not competing with the published playaround branch. There is a “win a single game” category for Tecmo Super Bowl on speedrun.com, and with RTA timing the record is 7:29, but with TAS timing (from power-on) it would be about 7:34. And so this TAS is about 24 seconds faster. There is also a TAS on YouTube that takes about 7:16 with TAS timing, with most of the 6-second difference coming in the third quarter.
———
The complete play-by-play for this game:
First Quarter
D.Biasucci kicks 30 yards from IND 35 to BUF 35. D.Smith ran ob at IND 49 for 16 yards.
Second Quarter
1-10-IND 49 (5:00) Q.Bills pass short left to T.Thomas ran ob at IND 47 for 2 yards.
Third Quarter
S.Norwood kicks 50 yards from BUF 35 to IND 15. C.Verdin to IND 31 for 16 yards. FUMBLES, RECOVERED by BUF-R.Bentley at IND 31. R.Bentley ran ob at IND 9 for 22 yards.
Fourth Quarter
1-10-IND 10 (5:00) T.Thomas left end to IND 3 for 7 yards.
2-3-IND 3 (0:03) S.Norwood 20 yard field goal is GOOD. BUF 3 IND 0
———
Obviously the plan is to keep the clock running as much as possible. It’s important to avoid getting a first down on the two offensive plays from scrimmage, because the first down message takes time. And if the ball carrier gets close to a first down, the refs will bring out the chains for a measurement, and so that also has to be avoided.
The 3rd quarter is by far the most difficult to do. I need to manipulate a fumble AND my team needs to recover it AND the player needs enough space to not get immediately tackled. That is not easy. Furthermore, fumble recovery returns are much more challenging than regular kick returns, and it is difficult to evade all the tackles even with rerecording. It’s five minutes of just trying to survive.
I cannot use the “safety glitch” in the 4th quarter to reduce the number of plays from five to four because the glitch is time-limited (can’t run out the whole five minutes). I also cannot score a touchdown in the 4th quarter to reduce the number of plays from five to four because I would still have to kick the PAT afterward.
nymx: Claiming for judging.
nymx Excellent job! This TAS uses playing field time to the very last drop, without any menu interruptions. Alternate endings, suggested in the thread, could end the inputs earlier, but the feeling of a victory would have been lost. Arc's stylistic choice, for his ending, brings up the final scoreboard faster, yet makes the TAS time a bit longer...which is OK with me. Excitement to the very end!
Movie meets the the requirement for "Fastest Completion"...so, accepting as a new branch for publication.
EZGames69: Processing...

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Posted: 2/12/2023 1:36 PM
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TASVideoAgent
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #8028: Arc's NES Tecmo Super Bowl in 07:10.09
Posted: 2/12/2023 2:43 PM
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nymx
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DUDE! This is absolutely hilarious! Not only have you completed the game as fast as possible, but you've also created a "Play-Around"! Very clever. This was very entertaining and a shock to watch. Yes, Yes, Yes Vote.
I recently discovered that if you haven't reached a level of frustration with TASing any game, then you haven't done your due diligence. ---- SOYZA: Are you playing a game? NYMX: I'm not playing a game, I'm TASing. SOYZA: Oh...so its not a game...Its for real? ---- Anybody got a Quantum computer I can borrow for 20 minutes? Nevermind...eien's 64 core machine will do. :) ---- BOTing will be the end of all games. --NYMX
Posted: 2/12/2023 3:01 PM
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LoganTheTASer
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it’s great to see one of the pioneers of tasing still around after all these years! very entertaining as usual. yes vote.
YouTube: @LoganL2008 Discord: sneakers_o_toole Watch my TASes here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmcAd4CTuEymf4qWKIE0Pv_NlA031cYR1&si=m1hP9qz9c8Ip35Ur
Posted: 2/12/2023 5:18 PM
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Invariel
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That was an amusing run(around). One question though: you say you can't use the "safety glitch" (I'm not up to date on Tecmo Bowl glitches, so I'm not sure what that means), but am I right in assuming that you can't force a fumble at the 1 yd line, end input, let the opposing team grab the ball, get safety'd, (maybe run the clock out in the process), and if necessary have a kickoff and get tackled without input?
I am still the wizard that did it. "On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer." -- Satoru Iwata <scrimpy> at least I now know where every map, energy and save room in this game is
Posted: 2/12/2023 5:54 PM
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despoa
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I think the fact that Arc submitted this TAS almost 19 years after his first TAS of the game was published deserves mention.
Posted: 2/12/2023 5:56 PM
(Edited: 2/12/2023 5:57 PM)
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Chamale
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This is a great run, I love that dodging tackles for 5 minutes works as a speedrunning strategy and as a playaround. It's possible to end input a bit sooner with a different ending strategy. Here's an example that is 438 frames faster. I modified your input to kick a field goal with 50 seconds left, and then made a long kickoff that runs out the clock to 0. The longest kick return I was able to luck manipulate was 50 seconds of in-game time, but longer ones should be theoretically possible. It may be possible to end input by punting the ball with the score at 0-0, and manipulate the other team into catching it on the 1-yard line, fumbling backwards into their end zone, recovering the ball, and then getting tackled for a safety. This would be improbable to manipulate, but with the kicker at the right distance, it might be doable. Happy Super Bowl Sunday.
Posted: 2/12/2023 8:59 PM
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Arc
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Thanks y'all.
Invariel wrote:
am I right in assuming that you can't force a fumble at the 1 yd line, end input, let the opposing team grab the ball, get safety'd, (maybe run the clock out in the process), and if necessary have a kickoff and get tackled without input?
I fooled around with fumbles at the goal line. The computer doesn't run backward, so it would require a backward fumble into the end zone by the defensive player who recovered (not sure that's realistically manipulatable), and even then the game might consider it a touchback instead of a safety. Typically when the defense recovers in the end zone, it's automatically a touchback. Interestingly, a fumble that goes into the end zone and out of bounds is returned to the offense in the game, whereas it would be a turnover/touchback in the NFL.
Chamale wrote:
It may be possible to end input by punting the ball with the score at 0-0, and manipulate the other team into catching it on the 1-yard line, fumbling backwards into their end zone, recovering the ball, and then getting tackled for a safety. This would be improbable to manipulate, but with the kicker at the right distance, it might be doable.
Even on a minimum distance punt to the 1, the returner can get to around the 10-yard-line before coverage gets to him.
Chamale wrote:
It's possible to end input a bit sooner with a different ending strategy. Here's an example that is 438 frames faster. I modified your input to kick a field goal with 50 seconds left, and then made a long kickoff that runs out the clock to 0. The longest kick return I was able to luck manipulate was 50 seconds of in-game time, but longer ones should be theoretically possible.
That is a sharp idea. However, the movie rules do say that the final input is a stylistic choice. It's not easy to decide which way is better. Your method is shorter input, but then the final scoreboard appears 188 frames later. I think that kicking the field goal so early is rather unnatural in real-life football, and it leads only to an underwhelming failed kickoff return, and so I think that ending would leave a viewer feeling less entertained than a game-winning score as time expires. More feedback is welcome here.
Posted: 2/12/2023 9:44 PM
(Edited: 2/13/2023 1:32 AM)
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Chamale
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Arc wrote:
That is a sharp idea. However, the movie rules do say that the final input is a stylistic choice. It's not easy to decide which way is better. Your method is shorter input, but then the final scoreboard appears 188 frames later. I think that kicking the field goal so early is rather unnatural in real-life football, and it leads only to an underwhelming failed kickoff return, and so I think that ending would leave a viewer feeling less entertained than a game-winning score as time expires. More feedback is welcome here.
That makes sense. I think the fastest way to see the final scoreboard would be to fumble the ball into the end zone right before time expires, let the AI recover it, and have an AI teammate tackle them in the end zone. That would reduce the total number of plays to four. Sometimes a teammate gets thrown into the end zone after doing a block, so he should be able to recover and make a tackle. Edit: Or, if you want to end it with a field goal, it could be kicked from as far as possible so that you can end input sooner and still finish with the same overall time. Edit 2: Never mind, I just tried that, the clock doesn't count down while a field goal kick is in the air.
Posted: 2/13/2023 5:38 PM
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LoganTheTASer
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Arc wrote:
I think that ending would leave a viewer feeling less entertained than a game-winning score as time expires.
good reasoning. i would’ve gone for early input end, but you do you :)
YouTube: @LoganL2008 Discord: sneakers_o_toole Watch my TASes here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmcAd4CTuEymf4qWKIE0Pv_NlA031cYR1&si=m1hP9qz9c8Ip35Ur
Posted: 2/14/2023 5:01 AM
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Invariel
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Arc wrote:
Invariel wrote:
am I right in assuming that you can't force a fumble at the 1 yd line, end input, let the opposing team grab the ball, get safety'd, (maybe run the clock out in the process), and if necessary have a kickoff and get tackled without input?
I fooled around with fumbles at the goal line. The computer doesn't run backward, so it would require a backward fumble into the end zone by the defensive player who recovered (not sure that's realistically manipulatable), and even then the game might consider it a touchback instead of a safety. Typically when the defense recovers in the end zone, it's automatically a touchback. Interestingly, a fumble that goes into the end zone and out of bounds is returned to the offense in the game, whereas it would be a turnover/touchback in the NFL.
Fair! I'm glad that you at least tried.
I am still the wizard that did it. "On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer." -- Satoru Iwata <scrimpy> at least I now know where every map, energy and save room in this game is
Posted: 2/23/2023 4:53 PM
(Edited: 2/23/2023 5:18 PM)
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DeathByTroggles
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Wouldn't it be faster to have Thomas just run out of the side of his own endzone for a safety as time expires? EDIT: Never mind, you said the goal was to win.
Posted: 2/24/2023 1:39 AM
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TiKevin83
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This reminds me of the strategy I developed for Backyard Soccer, simply running in circles after getting a single score. It's interesting to see it in a TAS context
Posted: 3/18/2023 5:43 PM
Post subject: Movie published
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TASVideoAgent
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This movie has been published. The posts before this message apply to the submission, and posts after this message apply to the published movie. ---- [5171] NES Tecmo Super Bowl by Arc in 07:10.09