After being inspired to play Time Crisis to improve my skills again,
Smraedis said he needed a co-op partner to see what the highest score can be
achieved on Time Crisis II (At first the PS2 port and later the arcade version). I was willing to help despite not having much confidence or experience in my skills. And so we attempted to reach a new milestone. As SM demonstrated, increasing knowledge of the scoring and combo system and regular practice is the key to improving oneself in the sequels of Namco's hit light gun game.
TIME CRISIS II (LINK PLAY)
PLAYSTATION 2 VERSION
On a trip to Manchester, I visited SM's place to see what we could do. SM managed to calculate that the highest score that was practical was just above 2.2 million. A much higher score could be possible in theory but would require a completely flawless playthrough (the only way would be by doing a
"Tool-assisted speedrun"/TAS which wouldn't be fair game). Human error always has to be factored into when you play a game.
In an average game, it's not unusual to lose a few lives although we both managed a "No-miss" (meaning no lives were lost in the entire playthrough) run many times. To get a decent score and increase your skill, it is recommended to practice until you can regularly managed a 1CC (1 credit clear - the ultimate challenge in an arcade game. Basically means to clear the game without losing all lives and using the continue function). To do a 1CC and/or a No-miss requires playing the game to study the enemy/bosses' patterns, getting the hang of your aim and honing your reflexes to dodge "Crisis sightings" (red marked bullets coming towards the centre of the screen - the game's warning that your character is about to be hit and lose one life).
This can take a lot of time to succeed so don't give up if you're losing confidence as time passes. If you're feeling extremely frustrated, a little break from playing can work wonders. In the end however, persistence pays off. For more information on how to effectively clear TCII and understand the scoring system,
GameFAQs has a few great guides for reference.
With the use of a capturing device, SM recorded many runs on TCII to study when was best to either clear a section of a stage as quickly as possible (while maintaining a high combo and score) or to milk as much points as possible. He figured that it was best for one player (the 1P side) to take care of certain scenes (usually a large constant wave of enemies) on their own as it would ensure a higher score and combo than two players co-operating. As I usually played on the 2P side, my character would reach some scenes faster than the 1P side so it would be up to me to take care of what awaits.
Here were our playthrough results.
20/4/13:
- 1,843,830
- 1,824,370
- 1,986,990
- 2,008,350
In the first few attempts, it was clear that I had to get used to new tactics and we experimented with a few differences to see what would give us a superior score. It was during these warm-up playthroughs I realised something important: I never paid full attention to the scoring and effectively taking down enemies before. The best way for score would be to shoot the enemy three time.
Ideally, all three shots should be to the head (most points are awarded for head shots, least are shots to the limbs) but because of the way the enemy falls and the risk of losing your no-miss streak bonus, this isn't always possible (You're rewarded 500 points for every ten shots that successfully hit. Miss one shot and the streak resets. The highest hit streak bonus is 5000 if you land 99+ hits without missing! Knowing this can make a big difference in your score). To minimise the risk of missing your streak and keep a good score going, it is best to try a counter terrorist unit style takedown: One shot to the head, two to the torso.
If we were going to reach a new high score, I would have to play big or not at all. I paid more attention than ever before to clearing the areas. I was familiar with the patterns but my method of scoring needed to improve and fast. In the end, 2 million was finally reached! I never thought we would ever reach it but we were both happy. Our afternoon of practicing gave us the results we were looking for!
20th April 2013: Reached 2 million!
We felt we were on such a roll, we even attempted to score high on the arcade version of TCII in the Trafford Centre*. Results on that later.
*As of this writing, the TCII machine is no longer at the Trafford Centre. To my knowledge, few TCII cabs remain across the UK. Currently, there is one in workable condition in Oasis (Morecambe) and one in Heart of Gaming (London). The Trocadero in London has a few machines but both are at very poor condition (most of the machines in the Trocadero are working terrible to be frank).
Several months later, I returned to SM's place to try and crack the ideal goal of 2.2 million. After a few practice runs prior to arriving, I was feeling more confident. We discovered a few changes were needed to improve our score and to keep going at it. A few differences on my end was to take care of the wave of enemies after the tank in Stage 2, Area 1 and trying to concentrate all rounds on the satellite (and if possible to reach 99 hits) in the final boss stage.
And our results? See for yourself.
19/11/13:
19th November: 2.2 million achieved! Close to the ideal score!
As far as I can remember, getting used to the new changes in our strategy and understanding why they worked better is what landed us 2.2 million! You may have noticed that my score (2P side) is lower than SM's score. This is partly because SM cleared some scenes on his own as it would benefit our total score. It was better for one to get as the highest combo and bonuses possible. My skill level still needs much development but I can safely say I got a better hang of things than ever before. We finally triumphed!
TIME CRISIS II (LINK PLAY)
ARCADE VERSION
Celebrating our success, SM suggested we try to achieve a higher score on the arcade version. As we were on a roll, I went for it.
One thing worth pointing out is that there are small subtle differences between the AC and PS2 version that can make differences to the scoring. (one little example is that in Stage 3, Area 2, you can still pile in hits on the attack helicopters even after taking them down on the PS2 version. You can't on the AC version).
I also had to admit that I'm not used to the AC version entirely. The arcade guns are more heavier than the PS Guncons and the recoil feature on the AC guns take some getting used to (the slide blows back when you fire to imitate the automatic function of a handgun - a neat feature). There's also a difference between sitting down and standing for a few hours (my foot on the reload pedal gets worn out after a while) which could speak volumes of my physical stamina!
20-21/4/13:
At first, our best was at 1.4 million. Then we reached the impressive feat of 1.5 million. But we weren't satisfied...
...until we filled the top 5 with 1.5 million!! This happened a few hours into our practice.
Small anecdote: Before I caught up to SM for our co-op session, a couple of idiots were fighting each other around the cinema and grappling on the ground near SM. But he carried on playing the game like a trooper! Now that takes nerves of steel!!
I don't have an exact record of our scores but the above photos shows it all. We fed quite a few credits and were on such a roll, we filled the link play ranking board. All previous players were blown out of the competition!
Could we go even further? Fast foward several months later...
11/10/13
The day before Play Expo 2013, we arranged to meet up in the evening and see if we could go beyond 1.5 million. I was quite exhausted and felt rusty as I didn't regularly practice around the time. And I spent most of the day wandering around Manchester city centre with a friend which did take its toll on me.
After a few minor adjustments to our tactics and much persistence...
First success: Close to 1.6 million.
One hour later: 1.6 million! Close to 1.7 as well. Unfortunately, as I was exhausted and rusty, I had to continue once right at the last boss. I mistimed dodging the satellite lasers.
We were pretty much satisfied with the end results. We believed we could have gone further but the machine was removed around a month later. This sadly leaves very little arcade games worth playing in the Trafford Centre. Even so, we were pleased we reached so far on both versions. It was all worth it.
TIME CRISIS II (SOLO)
PLAYSTATION 2 VERSION
As for me?
18/7/13:
Reached 1.3 million. (Amateur photography by Hokuto no Shock)
What you don't see are my old initials I used a decade ago. G.F (Gray Fox) and SFK (Slugfest King - Too long to explain the origin of that name)
Compared to when I first played this game many years ago, I couldn't reach 1 million (on average it was 600,000-800,000 points) which showed that I used to never carefully consider the scoring as much. Many runs over the years have been 1CC however and No-miss at best. It was since seeing SM in action that I was inspired to play again to improve myself even if it was a slight boost in score.
As said before, SM uses a capturing device to record (and occasionally stream) his playthroughs. Great for playing back and studying what needs working on (and a good way to broadcast your best moments on the internet). I bought one sometime after April and started to record several attempts on TCII.
It's nothing impressive but I have uploaded a few runs. This one is admittedly not my best but an attempt to return to form. This double gun run is just for a laugh as I mix shotgun on Gun 1 and machine gun on Gun 2. Trying to breeze through the game John Woo style. As you'll see, it can be game breaking!
If you want to see some high level play, I recommend Smraedis and otoko4th/KRT. (I may update more channels as I come across more)
TIME CRISIS II (SOLO)
ARCADE VERSION
UPDATE: SM has confirmed his best AC Solo score is 1,707,120. Done at Heart of Gaming. Quite a record. As for me, I've only begun to scratch the surface:
9/3/13:
Reached 1 million twice in one day. Both 1CC! This was in the Oasis arcade in Morecambe (the only video game in there)
4/5/13: 1,088,610 (Not pictured - Failed to 1CC)
Not much of an improvement. This was when I kept attending arcades on a weekend. That came to a stop as I couldn't handle a 2 hour train ride every week and the weekend does bring out some obnoxious people. On on of my last trips however...
22/6/13:
Two attempts: 1.13 million and then 1.17 million (with 1CC)! Quite a boost between two runs. This is so far my best score on the AC version.
Also at some point the score reset between my trips (note the default score on 4th and 5th place)
And for now, that's the highest I managed on both versions. I'll be the first to admit that I need more practice if I want to reach a higher score. But as I won't be able to play the AC version much, I'll need to concentrate on the home version and see if I can beat 1.3 million and if I can take it further.
And after that? I'll likely try to get decent at the sequels. I must confess I have still yet to clear Time Crisis 3 with a 1CC. I find the difficulty spikes near the end of the game. Since TCII, the future entries have a dynamic difficulty adjustment system. The better you are, the more fierce the enemies will be.
As for TC4, I did manage to 1CC it once on the PS3 version. The PS3 version does have quite a few changes from the AC version which takes some getting used to. Furthermore, TC 3 and 4 are more longer than the first two entries (Average game of TCII: 15 minutes. TC3/4: 30 minutes).
But for now as SM and I continue to better ourselves in this light gun game series, our hunt for a superior score still goes on.
"Keith and Robert are on their way...No one can beat them..."
北斗のショック
