Posted: 5/26/2007 4:47 PM
Post subject: Robotrek
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Mlandry
Joined: 8/3/2004
Posts: 325
So I've been playing this game for the past 2 days and I gotta say, it could make an interesting TAS. It's a pretty short game for an RPG (think Magic Knight Rayearth (sp.) short) so while it would be a bit repetitive (what RPG isn't), it wouldn't be too long. With luck manipulation you could get monsters to drop all the scrap you need and in battle get the equip upgrades whenever you fight non-boss battles. The only problem I think might arise is that some bosses are very tough when you are low-level so some strategies would need to be developped so they don't take 1 hour to beat each, or that you don't die in 1 hit. I'm also pretty sure that you would only need 2 robots... the 4000 gold needed to make the 3rd robot could be saved for weapons. Also, the 2nd robot wouldn't need to be made too early so that you can power up your first one. Also, you would need to make RUNs that kill all enemies but don't take too long. For example, using a RUN that's 3-times sword-4 might kill every enemy but if using a RUN that's only 2-times sword-4 kills every enemy as well, obviously you need to think things through. I've also noticed RUNs can do different thing depending on how you mix them. I use a bomb-punch-punch run that makes your robot jump behind the enemy, punch X2, jump back to start. Probably a few combos that do good damage this way. It's also a good idea to check which Inventor's Friend you might need. If you need a certain item so you can upgrade it, you could either manipulate it from a monster though so maybe it's better to just get none of these. So main concerns would be : -Manipulating scrap drops. -Manipulating equip level ups. -Choosing where to level up. -Choosing which weapons to make when to have the best possible damage versus bosses. -Making optimal RUNs. -Choosing which Inventor's Friend you will need if any. -Making the TAS entertaining enough to make someone watch it all... maybe using all the different weapons at least once might be nice. This is probably the most important point right now How do you guys feel about a run of this game? Interesting enough? I don't think it will be too repetitive because you will be upgrading your weapons very often for a large portion of the game.
Posted: 5/26/2007 5:51 PM
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ventuz
He/Him
Player (125)
Joined: 10/4/2004
Posts: 940
I'm very interested, I own a cart of this game. I think that planning out a TAS on this game would be crazy hard. I tried to mess around with this game before, I found that luck manipulate on item-drop on field map is almost impossible. I guess RNG don't change very well in this game.
Posted: 5/29/2007 12:20 AM
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Zedison
Joined: 5/28/2007
Posts: 2
Location: Free Country USA
I'm very interested in seeing a TAS of this game, so I registered just to post about it. I considered the possibility of a TAS of this game recently, and I think there are a few factors that need to be considered when making a run of this game.
  • Prior to Level 10, your Robots will be dangerously underpowered. It will take a mixture of good equipment, good Robot programming and godlike luck manipulation to avoid fighting every monster in sight, which is normally necessary to survive the boss battles. In these early stages, a good special attack to use is Melee/Bomb/Melee (RXR with the default loadout) since it hits all three monsters on the battlefield and usually results in a quick kill. And once you can build Axes and Shields, do so. Your attack and defense will skyrocket when your Robots are carrying these items.
  • You only ever need two Robots to finish the game. The second Robot is typically useful as a boss killer, since the game states that it automatically performs better with melee weapons. Build it as soon as you can, program it for high damage, give it an Axe weapon and a decent shield, and it will be nearly unstoppable.
  • Sword 4 Lv9 and Axe 3 Lv9 are the best weapons in the game. Once you get these, you don't need anything else. Sword 4 lets you be incredibly lazy with non-boss battles outside of a few specific (and avoidable) cases. If you need to win a battle quickly, you only need to turn your robot around and use a special to attack twice. This way, it counts as an attack from behind in addition to the increased damage you get from that special, which is more than enough to kill just about anything. Meanwhile, Axe 3 is the most powerful and easy-to-use weapon in the game (especially against bosses), with a faster attack rate than Blade 4 and a higher chance of critical hits, especially if you give it to Robot #2.
  • Once you gain access to the Rococo Sewers, you can cheat like crazy. Reprogram Robot #2 and pour EVERYTHING into Power and Charge, and equip it with Axe 3. This is so you're strong enough and fast enough to go around fighting the Shell crabs just inside the entrance for massive Experience. With good luck manipulation you could power-level yourself high enough to avoid unnecessary battles for the rest of the game and save huge amounts of time from that point on.
Knowing these key points, and provided the RNG can be figured out, the game's difficulty can be easily stacked in the player's favor early on, making for a fast and extremely efficient TAS.
~Zedison
Posted: 5/29/2007 3:31 AM
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Mlandry
Joined: 8/3/2004
Posts: 325
Yeah power-leveling in the sewers is a good idea... the houses give like 30megs each I think... as long as we can manipulate luck well enough to destroy them easily. I'm not so sure if a shield will be needed, depending on how well luck can be manipulated... just using savestates though it seemed as though there is poor luck manipulation possibilities in this game, but I'm no expert on these type of things
Posted: 5/29/2007 12:05 PM
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Zedison
Joined: 5/28/2007
Posts: 2
Location: Free Country USA
A shield is very handy throughout the game. You only need Axes until you find Sword 4 and enough parts to build Axe 3, and you'll probably only need one or two special attacks, none of which require anything more than a melee weapon and a Bomb pack. With the right kind of shield equipped, and good luck manipulation, you would be able to force all incoming attacks to either miss (which is less likely) or bounce off the shield and do nothing (which is more likely, the better your defense is). A good example early on would be the fight with Meta Crab. His claw attacks will knock your Robot to the back of the arena even if they "miss", but if they are deflected, your Robot won't budge.
~Zedison
Posted: 4/3/2008 6:32 AM
Post subject: Robotrek
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trevor
Joined: 4/3/2008
Posts: 1
Hey everyone, I've been entranced watching TASs of my favorite old RPGs for the past week or so, and I want to do a run of my own. One of my favorites from the SNES era that doesn't get the credit I think it deserves is the Enix RPG Robotrek. I remember the game being quite difficult when I was young'un, but with luck manipulation, I think it could be completed pretty quickly. There are a bunch of random elements (capsules in battle for example) that with exploitation could make the game pretty quick, plus you can avoid battles by not touching enemies. Is there any interest in a TAS of Robotrek? Is anyone aware of any work done previously on strategies, good robot builds, etc? - Trevor
Posted: 4/3/2008 6:51 AM
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Dromiceius
Joined: 10/3/2005
Posts: 1332
I'd love to see a TAS of this. I don't remember anything about the game, other than it being hard, though. Also, there's an existing thread on this game. Check it out: http://tasvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5581