Made a quick little test with this game. Haven't tried the emulator before.
Not sure if this is entertaining or not. I would love to see the entire game made though.
What should the goals be? I'm sure that just time won't be fun enough.
A 100% run could be made with the street mode. Would be sweet.
Here is two test demos I did for two single fights:
http://133an.sytes.net/~highness/puzzle.pxm
and
http://133an.sytes.net/~highness/Test2.pxm
The second test is set to higher speed and difficulty. Also I set the damage level to max.
Non of the movies are frame perfect. They are just a test.
If going for a full Arcade mode TAS, what settings and character should be used? Any comments?
A run of this game would have to go for the secret boss, which means going 2-0 on every opponent and killing them with a maximum-power attack animation (where your chibi does their super). At least, that's what I remember the unlock condition being. In general I'd say build up huge attack combos. Pick a character with entertaining attack animations, since your drop pattern doesn't matter a whole lot. I'd say Hsien-Ko, or maybe Felicia because her pattern is ordinarily so horrid. Plus it's amusing to see the characters get beat down by a chibi cat.
Or, y'know, Dan.
Pyrel - an open-source rewrite of the Angband roguelike game in Python.
Set damage to max, choose the weakest character (Dan), beat the secret boss (Devilot), and otherwise go for speed.
And play the arcade version with fba-rr.
PSX version has nothing to offer for a TAS.
I actually don't think speed is necessarily the best way to go for this game. I'd see a speed game as consisting of repeatedly building up the shortest combo necessary to defeat your opponent, which in many cases wouldn't be particularly large -- plus, you wouldn't get to show off many of the amusing animations during the fights. I say you should try to overkill every enemy as much as possible.
Pyrel - an open-source rewrite of the Angband roguelike game in Python.
Dammit - Are there any drawbacks between the versions?
I like the suggestion though. Especially since there are no loading screens in the arcade version.
Here are the goals:
*Challenge Devilot
*Challenge Dan
*Aim for fastest speed
*Playing as Dan
According to this guide: http://www.gamefaqs.com/coinop/arcade/file/583635/931 it is possible to challenge both Dan and Devilot in the same run.
This is what the guide has to say about it:
III.3 Is it possible to get both CPU challengers in the same game?
Actually... yes. It's kinda tricky, though. You have to get Dan
first, then use the Dan battle to complete the Devilot conditions. Since
all four conditions are mutually exclusive, you're going to have to
fulfill all four conditions during the Dan battle. Not very easy for a
1-round match (a 4-chain Super Finish involving a 20-gem, within 60
seconds...(!)). A lot more doable in a 3-round match... Still tricky,
but doable.
Highness: I haven't played it but it looks like the only extra thing the PSX version has is unlockable treats in Street Puzzle mode. It's not going to affect a TAS.
To fight vs. Dan you have to play slowly and badly. Plus the fight against Dan would not be so fun to watch because he's helpless. So maybe not a good idea.
Derakon: Your point is true in general, but Dan has such a poor attack grid (all red) that he has no choice but to go for big sexy combos.
I don't think that Dan necessarily has to be the chosen character. I mean, yes, in normal play, he's generally the hardest to play as, but I doubt that'll make much of a difference in a TAS. It's like giving all the enemies 5x health in a run where the fastest playstyle is pacifist.
Though if you do decide to use Dan, remember to make use of his unlimited taunts.
Pyrel - an open-source rewrite of the Angband roguelike game in Python.
It might actually be easier to play as Dan.
If the enemy gets more counter hits, it would allow me to assimilate greater combo chains as my enemy would give me some free jewels to crash. :)
So perhaps start off with a couple of small attacks, just to help the enemy build larger chains, that would naturally hit me. Then I could launch them right back, but bigger and better? =D
