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Game Page: http://speeddemosarchive.com/NinjaGaiden.html
Ninja Gaiden (Any %) (Single Segment)
Verifier Responses
Decision: Accept
Congratulations to Daniel 'Dxtr' Eriksson!
Ninja Gaiden (Any %) (Single Segment)
Verifier Responses
Quote:
Video is good, audio is really damn quiet (I had to turn VLC up to it's full 200% just to hear the game at normal audio levels). No cheating detected. The run is very well executed, all the usual Ninja Gaiden speedruning strats are used, and the runner has some amazing button mashing skills to pull off the kills on the 2nd and 3rd forms of the final boss. Timed at 11:54.
Edit: Timed at 12:01, another verifier reminded me that timing stops when the timer after the final boss hits 0, so my mistake.
Edit: Timed at 12:01, another verifier reminded me that timing stops when the timer after the final boss hits 0, so my mistake.
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Holy shit, are you sure you didn't upload a TAS by mistake? This is amazing. I counted only one single solitary of the runner's progression being slowed accidentally, and the time improvement is so great that, aside from the quiet audio I can't think of a reason why this ought not be an instant accept!
Quote:
Flip, Your Royal Sexiness...
Ninja Gay-den:
No cheating, visual is good. But the audio is low. But this could just be Ryu sneaking around quietly, he is a Ninja.
I will go beyond the "This is so awful/awesome I'll just give a quick decision" because this run deserves a little detail.
Alleycat Blues - A little bit of a different route going up top in the beginning. Other than that, business as usual. Screw attack to the boss. Although I've always wondered why the boxers wear gloves. If you're trying to kill the guy, get some brass knuckles or something. With the Butcher out of the way, Ryu is after the Baker and the Candlestick Maker.
Industrial Area - Where did they get these huge I beams? Are they constructing the first level of Donkey Kong? Anyway, The execution here is scary, right down to the regular air slashes to conserve ninpo. Jason didn't stand a chance.
DK Mountain - Did you have to kill that innocent bullet? More flawlessness ensues, a lot. Incredible Roy Koopa fight.
Splatterhouse - It's not even a real level... Oh wait, there's more. The trip through the Island of Sodor is amazing. The platforming through the rest of the cathedral truly is a feat of human limitation. Watch it in silence. Riptor never saw it coming.
Contra - New bird boosting is poultry perfect. Then the climb up level 5. My God the runner is crazy, like a fox. This is layer on layer of difficulty and the runner slices through and then kills satan. Nice.
Bowser's Castle - Now 6-1. That green axe man! You know who he was?! He's the in-bred, overstuffed, worm eating, snake licking, fat ass, bug eyed, brainless, heartless, sack of monkey crap, cock gobbler that kept this run from being 11:5X. But I ain't mad, just gonna keep watching this run. Runner makes sure to not get disqualified by including the 6-2 boost. Did you see that in 6-3? Clear violation, those creepers moved after Ryu got the timer stop. The run must be glitched... Dad is saved and Jaquio is killed as fast as Ninjaly possible. Now the demon statue fight, is something I won't talk about, wait for the run.
ACCEPT this now for the Demon Blade's sake!
Ninja Gay-den:
No cheating, visual is good. But the audio is low. But this could just be Ryu sneaking around quietly, he is a Ninja.
I will go beyond the "This is so awful/awesome I'll just give a quick decision" because this run deserves a little detail.
Alleycat Blues - A little bit of a different route going up top in the beginning. Other than that, business as usual. Screw attack to the boss. Although I've always wondered why the boxers wear gloves. If you're trying to kill the guy, get some brass knuckles or something. With the Butcher out of the way, Ryu is after the Baker and the Candlestick Maker.
Industrial Area - Where did they get these huge I beams? Are they constructing the first level of Donkey Kong? Anyway, The execution here is scary, right down to the regular air slashes to conserve ninpo. Jason didn't stand a chance.
DK Mountain - Did you have to kill that innocent bullet? More flawlessness ensues, a lot. Incredible Roy Koopa fight.
Splatterhouse - It's not even a real level... Oh wait, there's more. The trip through the Island of Sodor is amazing. The platforming through the rest of the cathedral truly is a feat of human limitation. Watch it in silence. Riptor never saw it coming.
Contra - New bird boosting is poultry perfect. Then the climb up level 5. My God the runner is crazy, like a fox. This is layer on layer of difficulty and the runner slices through and then kills satan. Nice.
Bowser's Castle - Now 6-1. That green axe man! You know who he was?! He's the in-bred, overstuffed, worm eating, snake licking, fat ass, bug eyed, brainless, heartless, sack of monkey crap, cock gobbler that kept this run from being 11:5X. But I ain't mad, just gonna keep watching this run. Runner makes sure to not get disqualified by including the 6-2 boost. Did you see that in 6-3? Clear violation, those creepers moved after Ryu got the timer stop. The run must be glitched... Dad is saved and Jaquio is killed as fast as Ninjaly possible. Now the demon statue fight, is something I won't talk about, wait for the run.
ACCEPT this now for the Demon Blade's sake!
Quote:
The level of execution in this run is a joy to behold. The most noticeable hiccup (although very minor) is probably the hit taken from that cock-gobbling axe man in 6-1. Thanks goes to the runner for having the dedication and skill to achieve this run! Accept.
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Video is fine, audio is a bit low as has been mentioned, but not to the point where it is an issue. No cheating. Before I go into my detailed deconstruction of this run I would like to congratulate the runner for beating not only Hotarubi, but Exo as well. The journey has been long for this runner who once struggled mightily to get sub 13. Oh how things have changed. This goes to show that hard work and determination pay big dividends in speedrunning. Let this run be a lesson to all fledgling speed runners. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it and work for it. Many people would see a run of such high quality by a god gamer and not even think to challenge it. That is a mistake friends. Any run can be beaten, you just have to want it bad enough. On to the show:
***WARNING****
Every frame is critical in this game so if you find overly involved critiques of game play regarding frame loss skip to the bottom. This game has been pushed to the limit and the quest for sub 12 makes every frames value increased. Here is a level by level commentary on game play:
1-1: I am happy to finally see the use of a Japanese strat that saves a good quarter to half second which is huge.
1-2: Ryu's hitbox is actually taller than his sprite while he is airborne which allows you to jump before you visually touch the ground. A few frames are lost here by not making the "bunny hop."
2-1: Excellent stage, very few people can get 111 let alone do it consistently.
2-2: I have one beef with this stage and it comes from ninpo/weapons choices in 2-1, and that is that the runner has only 5 ninpo entering the boss. By moving forward slightly before the final 3 enemies a single spinslash will take out all of them, but it is a very precise trick. Having the ten ninpo saves a lot of frames in the boss fight and is worth altering strats for when there is no time cost to do so (there is some risk). Either way the stage is flawless and 108 is very hard to get in 2-2, I like the runners innovative way of handling the end of the first screen ladder drop.
2-3: Standard 5 ninpo fight, would like to see the faster 10 ninpo version.
3-1: First off, brilliant cutscene skip. Not only was there no text, you barely got to see the picture. Saving the frames is key, and cutscenes are no exception. As for the stage itself this is not the fastest strat and some frames are lost taking the steps in a slower manner, I would estimate up to 20 frames total which is pretty significant. If runner ever improves this I would suggest the well known alternate strat that while difficult, is worth the 20 or so frames.
3-2: Great execution for the chosen strat. There is of course a much more difficult strat that can result in 120. The runner is aware of it, and I would encourage him to learn it for future improvements. If he can pull of the 5-1 strats then he can pull of these as they are pretty similar in concept and difficulty.
3-3: Smoked.
4-1: Another masterful cutscene skip. Those frames add up kids, I am not kidding. Perfect execution for the chosen strat. My recommmendation would be to learn the fast climbing technique for this, and other stages which have significant time spent on ladders. I have gotten 120 in this stage but only if using the fast climb strats.
4-2: Bad luck on the bridge and few miniscule missteps mean no 120 for this stage.
4-3: Masterful wall clip to start and near perfect follow up secure a 115 for the runner, no easy feat for this stage. Excellent work here.
4-4: Doggy down.
5-1: How the hell can you criticize a 118 in this stage?!?! Well, I'm about to because I'm a mean man. Where the white disc throwing guy is, a midair pause to make it through smoothly costs some frames. Runner can simply run forward and jump slash the green ninja at the right time and will clear the disc landing directly in front of Mr. White whom he can then jump over. There is some risk involved and I will say that if someone was choosing improvements to omit this one could be left out. Moving on. The most skillful part of the run takes place as the runner approaches the leaping bat kill after eagle boosting. The positioning was juuuuuuust a touch off and runner recognized it and was able to alter his positioning by just a few pixels in order to not only kill the bat, but still land safely on the ground below. This kind of reaction is only developed by true ninja masters and is rarely seen on display in a run of this caliber. Well played ninja master!!
5-2: Another phenomenal stage. I love the strat in the final screen for handling the first 3 enemies, a brilliant innovation. I will say however, that you should jump much earlier and slash cancel Bruce Lee on your way down rather than as you do. Other than that I got no beef with this.
5-3: I GET SO MAD WHEN I SEE YOU PLAY THIS STAGE ARGHHHHHHH!!!!! Runner is too good to be passing up on certain easy to pickup orange ninpos...One day I will watch you get that ninpo, and it will warm my heart. As played 106 is a great time for this stage and under pressure too, well done.
5-4: Bzzzzzzzzzzz
6-1: I am the only NG runner that uses orange throwing star in this stage. Anyone who watches this run will see why. It is a small frame loss investment to prevent disaster which I think is worth is when on certain paces. Granted, the luck the runner got is uncommon, but unless you are behind pace this is the one spot in this game I am willing to give up a few frames to use my orange star and take RNG out of the equation.
6-2: Great stage, only the TAS strat in the final screen can improve it, and it is one worth learning because it is worth a good 30+ frames.
6-3: I think the runners nerves must have kicked into high gear because he skipped a very important 5 ninpo. Luckily he improvised like a true ninja and was not trolled by hammer bros. which would have killed this run. 108 is a great time for this stage.
6-4: Bzzzzzzzz
6-5: HOLY NINJA MASHING!!!! Almost the holy grail of Jaquio fights, the 2.75 rounder, but alas 1 damage short means this fight is ONLY a mid 141 instead of a high 141. To get this fight under pressure is sooooooo impressive.
6-6: This runner is the first that was gutsy enough to use this strat on the demon statue. Others had known of its power but dared not try it at the end of a good run because of the risk involved. Runner throws caution to the wind and mashes his way to a WR!!!! If the demon had cooperated a bit better sub 12 would have been had. Curse the RNG!
Verdict: Are you kidding me?!?! Accept this WR Ninja masterpiece!
Congratulations runner, I know how many attempts ended in crushing defeat before this victorious one. Enjoy your victory, and see you next (race).
***WARNING****
Every frame is critical in this game so if you find overly involved critiques of game play regarding frame loss skip to the bottom. This game has been pushed to the limit and the quest for sub 12 makes every frames value increased. Here is a level by level commentary on game play:
1-1: I am happy to finally see the use of a Japanese strat that saves a good quarter to half second which is huge.
1-2: Ryu's hitbox is actually taller than his sprite while he is airborne which allows you to jump before you visually touch the ground. A few frames are lost here by not making the "bunny hop."
2-1: Excellent stage, very few people can get 111 let alone do it consistently.
2-2: I have one beef with this stage and it comes from ninpo/weapons choices in 2-1, and that is that the runner has only 5 ninpo entering the boss. By moving forward slightly before the final 3 enemies a single spinslash will take out all of them, but it is a very precise trick. Having the ten ninpo saves a lot of frames in the boss fight and is worth altering strats for when there is no time cost to do so (there is some risk). Either way the stage is flawless and 108 is very hard to get in 2-2, I like the runners innovative way of handling the end of the first screen ladder drop.
2-3: Standard 5 ninpo fight, would like to see the faster 10 ninpo version.
3-1: First off, brilliant cutscene skip. Not only was there no text, you barely got to see the picture. Saving the frames is key, and cutscenes are no exception. As for the stage itself this is not the fastest strat and some frames are lost taking the steps in a slower manner, I would estimate up to 20 frames total which is pretty significant. If runner ever improves this I would suggest the well known alternate strat that while difficult, is worth the 20 or so frames.
3-2: Great execution for the chosen strat. There is of course a much more difficult strat that can result in 120. The runner is aware of it, and I would encourage him to learn it for future improvements. If he can pull of the 5-1 strats then he can pull of these as they are pretty similar in concept and difficulty.
3-3: Smoked.
4-1: Another masterful cutscene skip. Those frames add up kids, I am not kidding. Perfect execution for the chosen strat. My recommmendation would be to learn the fast climbing technique for this, and other stages which have significant time spent on ladders. I have gotten 120 in this stage but only if using the fast climb strats.
4-2: Bad luck on the bridge and few miniscule missteps mean no 120 for this stage.
4-3: Masterful wall clip to start and near perfect follow up secure a 115 for the runner, no easy feat for this stage. Excellent work here.
4-4: Doggy down.
5-1: How the hell can you criticize a 118 in this stage?!?! Well, I'm about to because I'm a mean man. Where the white disc throwing guy is, a midair pause to make it through smoothly costs some frames. Runner can simply run forward and jump slash the green ninja at the right time and will clear the disc landing directly in front of Mr. White whom he can then jump over. There is some risk involved and I will say that if someone was choosing improvements to omit this one could be left out. Moving on. The most skillful part of the run takes place as the runner approaches the leaping bat kill after eagle boosting. The positioning was juuuuuuust a touch off and runner recognized it and was able to alter his positioning by just a few pixels in order to not only kill the bat, but still land safely on the ground below. This kind of reaction is only developed by true ninja masters and is rarely seen on display in a run of this caliber. Well played ninja master!!
5-2: Another phenomenal stage. I love the strat in the final screen for handling the first 3 enemies, a brilliant innovation. I will say however, that you should jump much earlier and slash cancel Bruce Lee on your way down rather than as you do. Other than that I got no beef with this.
5-3: I GET SO MAD WHEN I SEE YOU PLAY THIS STAGE ARGHHHHHHH!!!!! Runner is too good to be passing up on certain easy to pickup orange ninpos...One day I will watch you get that ninpo, and it will warm my heart. As played 106 is a great time for this stage and under pressure too, well done.
5-4: Bzzzzzzzzzzz
6-1: I am the only NG runner that uses orange throwing star in this stage. Anyone who watches this run will see why. It is a small frame loss investment to prevent disaster which I think is worth is when on certain paces. Granted, the luck the runner got is uncommon, but unless you are behind pace this is the one spot in this game I am willing to give up a few frames to use my orange star and take RNG out of the equation.
6-2: Great stage, only the TAS strat in the final screen can improve it, and it is one worth learning because it is worth a good 30+ frames.
6-3: I think the runners nerves must have kicked into high gear because he skipped a very important 5 ninpo. Luckily he improvised like a true ninja and was not trolled by hammer bros. which would have killed this run. 108 is a great time for this stage.
6-4: Bzzzzzzzz
6-5: HOLY NINJA MASHING!!!! Almost the holy grail of Jaquio fights, the 2.75 rounder, but alas 1 damage short means this fight is ONLY a mid 141 instead of a high 141. To get this fight under pressure is sooooooo impressive.
6-6: This runner is the first that was gutsy enough to use this strat on the demon statue. Others had known of its power but dared not try it at the end of a good run because of the risk involved. Runner throws caution to the wind and mashes his way to a WR!!!! If the demon had cooperated a bit better sub 12 would have been had. Curse the RNG!
Verdict: Are you kidding me?!?! Accept this WR Ninja masterpiece!
Congratulations runner, I know how many attempts ended in crushing defeat before this victorious one. Enjoy your victory, and see you next (race).
Quote:
A/V: As others mentioned, audio is really low. I have my speakers maxed out and my Media Player Classic volume is at 100% and it's still pretty quiet. If the audio could be boosted somehow, that would be nice. Aside from the audio, the a/v looks great.
Gameplay: It's not worth criticizing this run because unless if you're a dedicated NG runner like the previous verifier is, then you won't notice any flaws until 6-1, where the runner gets trolled by a Friday the 13th wannabe and loses a second.
I also noticed the runner's ninpo was a little low in 5-3, which forced him to take a damage boost or two which cost him a couple of frames at the end, but nothing serious.
Everything else was nearly flawless and the runner's final boss fights were a thing of beauty.
Accept this run because it's nearly flawless and even beats exo's run. Also, like a certain sinister one said, you can count the number of people who beat hotarubi on one hand, and dxtr is one of those guys.
Timing: First frame is 565 (ryu appears which is beginning of control), last frame is 43766 (timer goes down to zero which is end of control). Time is 12:00 on the dot. Sub-12 is possible, but it's definitely not easy.
Gameplay: It's not worth criticizing this run because unless if you're a dedicated NG runner like the previous verifier is, then you won't notice any flaws until 6-1, where the runner gets trolled by a Friday the 13th wannabe and loses a second.
I also noticed the runner's ninpo was a little low in 5-3, which forced him to take a damage boost or two which cost him a couple of frames at the end, but nothing serious.
Everything else was nearly flawless and the runner's final boss fights were a thing of beauty.
Accept this run because it's nearly flawless and even beats exo's run. Also, like a certain sinister one said, you can count the number of people who beat hotarubi on one hand, and dxtr is one of those guys.
Timing: First frame is 565 (ryu appears which is beginning of control), last frame is 43766 (timer goes down to zero which is end of control). Time is 12:00 on the dot. Sub-12 is possible, but it's definitely not easy.
Decision: Accept
Congratulations to Daniel 'Dxtr' Eriksson!
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