My feelings on The Demon Rush
Game Page: http://speeddemosarchive.com/Rygar.html
Kristian Emanuelsen's PAL run
Verifier Responses
Decision: Accept
Reason: It's a significant improvement over the rejected run.
Kristian Emanuelsen's PAL run
Verifier Responses
Quote:
I time the new PAL Rygar run at 28:39. A minute and change of improvements with a few seconds lost against Sagila and Deathpigor. Looked like his Ligar fight was in "panic mode".
The question now is which button do I press? My finger goes to the Accept button, on the grounds of a better run.
The question now is which button do I press? My finger goes to the Accept button, on the grounds of a better run.
Quote:
No cheating, deaths, or major technical problems. The -v copy had about 30 seconds of extra crap on the end of it that should probably be clipped off.
This run is a lot smoother than the last one, and didn't have any mistakes in it that made me say 'wtf'. I was thinking 30 seconds would be a reasonable expectation for an improvement, so I'm pleased that it was double that. It's not flawless but it's got a consistently high level of execution that doesn't look out of place when put side by side with the NTSC version, unlike the last submission. I do have to ask, though, what's with that pause before climbing the rope at 1:30?
Also, yes, I went and tested my 'bounce on head' idea, but I guess that only works when you're powered up beyond the point where the time required is worth it. In other words, doesn't work at all in PAL, even with recover and a life potion. Of course, I only wondered if it would work, I didn't say "do this or I'll reject it".
Accepted.
This run is a lot smoother than the last one, and didn't have any mistakes in it that made me say 'wtf'. I was thinking 30 seconds would be a reasonable expectation for an improvement, so I'm pleased that it was double that. It's not flawless but it's got a consistently high level of execution that doesn't look out of place when put side by side with the NTSC version, unlike the last submission. I do have to ask, though, what's with that pause before climbing the rope at 1:30?
Also, yes, I went and tested my 'bounce on head' idea, but I guess that only works when you're powered up beyond the point where the time required is worth it. In other words, doesn't work at all in PAL, even with recover and a life potion. Of course, I only wondered if it would work, I didn't say "do this or I'll reject it".
Accepted.
Quote:
-Audio/visual notes: Everything looks and sounds good except for one thing which I note in the comments themselves (A weird noise that sometimes accompanies Attack & Assail, if you can't be bothered to read down that far). A quick note that it takes about 20 seconds on this copy before we see the title screen, and there's a few seconds after where he goes back to the title screen and..I don't know, pushes start and swings his weapon for no reason. I'm sure they'll be eliminated in the final copy, though.
Comments on the run itself:
-In the early going, he seems to fight a bit more frequently than in any other run. As he mentioned, it's probably to build up Mind Points as quickly as possible.
-In Garloz the first time, it's possible, given frame-perfect timing, to simply jump the river in the PAL version. I don't know what the success rate is for actually finishing a run on the PAL version (Probably not very high), but it's early enough in the run that, before getting the pulley, he may want to consider going for it on just that first jump. As noted, it takes frame precision and so isn't a deal-breaker on the run by any means, but it could yield a nice time savings for anyone sufficiently motivated to try and improve the run (Strictly speaking, jumping the river is probably faster than even pulleying across, but the risk-reward ratio isn't really worth it once you have the pulley).
-Nice recovery after bouncing on Eruga's head in that fight. I'm a bit confused as to why he can't consistently get three hits in per shot. The comments say that 3-2-3-2-etc. is the quickest that can be done, but he never explains why. Are the shots not a consistent speed? Does the boss invincibility time differ between hits? Or is it something different? On the plus side, I like his precision (IE not just mashing the button like I do) on that fight.
-Admirable performance on the way to Sagila's Cave. I don't know if it's the toughest part of the game (Especially on PAL), but it's the hardest for me to do cleanly, and he does very well given the position of that 3 Mind Power.
-After practicing this game on the NTSC version several times, I get the feeling that my hitting the Sagila fight perfectly in my 30:30 was the exception rather than the norm. Still, it's an area of improvement, albeit one I'm no longer judging as harshly as I had been in the past.
-Looks like he wanted to recover on the way to Dorago's, but didn't have enough Mind Points, so he decided to Power Up instead (I don't think you need to move the cursor at all to Power Up). No big deal, since he needs to Power Up at some point anyway, just pointing it out.
-His leveling in Dorago's Palace is probably the best I've seen in any of his runs. I must admit that I was confused about why he didn't just go ahead and level to the max while he was there, but the mandatory Tower of Garba fights took care of that.
-Instant reject for screwing up the name of the boss of the Tower of Garba. I'm kidding, I'm kidding, calm down (But his name is Deathpigor, if you're curious). Nice fight overall, though, despite the damage taken.
-Just dropping down from the top level instead of jumping the pit and then climbing down the next available rope would probably have been a bit (Like a second or two) faster. Minor slipup, though.
-I like the two enemies who simply walk through the cliff to their deaths on the way to Lapis. This has nothing whatsoever to do with the runner's performance, but I found it amusing enough to note anyway. Ah, Rygar, you glitchfest you.
-That last grapple in Lapis was particularly nice. I would probably have just gone back up and tried again at that point.
-The Ligar fight was, again, a bit cautious, but I can't say I blame him. And yeah, the strategy for getting what amounts to an extra Attack and Assail on Ligar is indeed ingenious. What's up with the weird noise that sometimes accompanies an A&A attack though? You can hear it when he's trying to pulley up to Ligar's "house" and a couple more times during the fight itself. I've never heard it before..maybe version differences or something.
Anyway, I was on the fence about the previous run. I have no such reservations about this one. If nothing else consider this: I have yet to match this time in practice for the upcoming MAGFest event..and I'm on NTSC.
Accept.
Comments on the run itself:
-In the early going, he seems to fight a bit more frequently than in any other run. As he mentioned, it's probably to build up Mind Points as quickly as possible.
-In Garloz the first time, it's possible, given frame-perfect timing, to simply jump the river in the PAL version. I don't know what the success rate is for actually finishing a run on the PAL version (Probably not very high), but it's early enough in the run that, before getting the pulley, he may want to consider going for it on just that first jump. As noted, it takes frame precision and so isn't a deal-breaker on the run by any means, but it could yield a nice time savings for anyone sufficiently motivated to try and improve the run (Strictly speaking, jumping the river is probably faster than even pulleying across, but the risk-reward ratio isn't really worth it once you have the pulley).
-Nice recovery after bouncing on Eruga's head in that fight. I'm a bit confused as to why he can't consistently get three hits in per shot. The comments say that 3-2-3-2-etc. is the quickest that can be done, but he never explains why. Are the shots not a consistent speed? Does the boss invincibility time differ between hits? Or is it something different? On the plus side, I like his precision (IE not just mashing the button like I do) on that fight.
-Admirable performance on the way to Sagila's Cave. I don't know if it's the toughest part of the game (Especially on PAL), but it's the hardest for me to do cleanly, and he does very well given the position of that 3 Mind Power.
-After practicing this game on the NTSC version several times, I get the feeling that my hitting the Sagila fight perfectly in my 30:30 was the exception rather than the norm. Still, it's an area of improvement, albeit one I'm no longer judging as harshly as I had been in the past.
-Looks like he wanted to recover on the way to Dorago's, but didn't have enough Mind Points, so he decided to Power Up instead (I don't think you need to move the cursor at all to Power Up). No big deal, since he needs to Power Up at some point anyway, just pointing it out.
-His leveling in Dorago's Palace is probably the best I've seen in any of his runs. I must admit that I was confused about why he didn't just go ahead and level to the max while he was there, but the mandatory Tower of Garba fights took care of that.
-Instant reject for screwing up the name of the boss of the Tower of Garba. I'm kidding, I'm kidding, calm down (But his name is Deathpigor, if you're curious). Nice fight overall, though, despite the damage taken.
-Just dropping down from the top level instead of jumping the pit and then climbing down the next available rope would probably have been a bit (Like a second or two) faster. Minor slipup, though.
-I like the two enemies who simply walk through the cliff to their deaths on the way to Lapis. This has nothing whatsoever to do with the runner's performance, but I found it amusing enough to note anyway. Ah, Rygar, you glitchfest you.
-That last grapple in Lapis was particularly nice. I would probably have just gone back up and tried again at that point.
-The Ligar fight was, again, a bit cautious, but I can't say I blame him. And yeah, the strategy for getting what amounts to an extra Attack and Assail on Ligar is indeed ingenious. What's up with the weird noise that sometimes accompanies an A&A attack though? You can hear it when he's trying to pulley up to Ligar's "house" and a couple more times during the fight itself. I've never heard it before..maybe version differences or something.
Anyway, I was on the fence about the previous run. I have no such reservations about this one. If nothing else consider this: I have yet to match this time in practice for the upcoming MAGFest event..and I'm on NTSC.
Accept.
Decision: Accept
Reason: It's a significant improvement over the rejected run.
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