This topic is for the purpose of discussing #5284: BrunoRaji's Arcade Shadow Dancer in 08:51.83

Always appreciate more arcade games getting TASed. This one was pretty entertaining and seemingly well optimized with enough variety and a short enough length that it didn't get too boring

Pretty impressive, but I found the wobbling and ducking to be very irritating, especially in the last two stages. There's nothing wrong with just standing still when you're waiting for something.

On the whole this run was pretty good, and I like to see this game published. I did notice some stuff that is questionable regarding speed however. Please feel free to debunk or argue if you feel that it is wrong. I don't mean to demotivate you. Here goes... Early in stage 1-1 you tend to use the sword to hit the enemies. That is slower than jumping forward throwing shurikens or kicking the enemies. In stage 1-2 you wait a long time before you jump kick the disc-throwing npc. You bump into the wall, loosing a bit of time it looks like. Is it possible to jump over the second disc thrower and give the gunner a shuriken in the face instead? At the boss of stage 1 you use magic to finish him off. If I calculated this correctly the magic takes 78 frames per hp dealt, while shurikens only take 75 frames per hit. Skipping magic could be better unless it is possible to execute the magic sooner. In stage 2-1 you jump over the first fence in order to dodge a bullet, and thus you land on the disc thrower before you disarm the bomb. Could it be quicker to early on throw another shuriken to hit the gunner in the face before he can shoot at you and thus giving you a better spot to jump over the fence? Right before the SEGA oil truck you wait long before you jump against the disc thrower to kill him. It looks like a bit of wasted time as you should be able to jump sooner in order to kill him and then making it up to the wall. Finishing level 2-1 looks cool though. Level 2-2, the skipping down the stairs look a bit sub-optimal. You should be able to jump sooner instead of walking down the stairs to give you a better position at jumping up onto the train waggon. Using shurikens on the way down instead of making an extra jump to take out your enemies. After the first train waggon you stop to hit an enemy with the sword. You stop while using the sword. Same goes for the disc thrower. At the next disc thrower you bump into him instead of dealing him a foot to the face. When you take the third last bomb you turn around for a split moment. Would it be possible to clear the jumps earlier to have a better position and land on the bomb instead? Level 2-3 you stop to hit the purple ninja with the sword. Can it be done in a quicker fashion? Also, right before the exit of the level you turn around to kill an enemy. Might be unavoidable, not sure. Stage 2 Boss - Not sure if shurikens or magic are faster as I did not clock it. Stage 3-1 - Would it be possible to jump earlier and clear the first box smoother? It looks like you hog the corner of it slightly. At the molotov throwing guy you wait for the gunman's shot to clear over your head, but you could have thrown a shuriken at him on the way down from the box you jump from. That way he could never have fired the shot in the first place. At the disc thrower you wait a while, then hit him with the sword. Why? Also you could have taken down the gunman with a shuriken at the same time as the knife man behind him. The purple ninjas I'm not sure about. Maybe it is possible to clear them without bumping into one of them an loosing time. Shortly after the ninjas you take out three guys with the sword. At the next disc thrower there is a gunman laying on the ground. Is it possible to manipulate him to stand up so you don't bounce back before grabbing the bomb and make your way up? Towards the end of the stage you use magic. Are you sure it's not clearable with shurikens and jump kicks instead? Stage 3-2 - Is it possible to jump over the gunman at 4:20 instead of bounce against him, or is the molotov in the way? Stage 3-3 - While it is cool and all to dodge bullets and knives it looks a bit sub-optimal. Shurikens could be used to clear the enemies a bit swifter. Stage 3 Boss - Magic again... (Wobling is OK in my opinion.) Stage 4-1 - Jump kick the first purple ninja instead of using the sword. Stage 4-2 - Is it necessary to wait that long for the first ninja to spawn before you kill it? It looks spawned and ready for a while before you decide to kill it. After you kill the disc thrower, you stand still while throwing a shuriken to kill a gunman that is laying on the next platform. You should be able to jump and throw at the same time. You wait and wobble before you kill the disc thrower. Isn't it possible to jump right away and kick him in the face? Same goes for the next one too. Stage 4-3 - You slash the purple ninja with the sword. After you disarm the bomb at 7:15 you jump down and bounce a lot between enemies. The crouching gunman could have been taken out earlier with a shuriken it looks like. Stage 4 Boss - Magic again. Edit: Actually - This is a good place to use magic as you can end the input as soon as you trigger it. Edit 2: So you should probably replace the submitted file as you clearly can end input over 2k frames earlier. You could keep the submitted file for the encoders later as you want to input your name etc.

om, nom, nom... crunchy!