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.