Game:

Super R-Type (1991)

Duration: 19:25

7,437 views

118

This is a tool-assisted speedrun. For more information, see http://tasvideos.org/1157M.html. TAS originally published on 2008-08-09.

Super R•Type (1991) is the 4th game of the classic R•Type series of arcade shooters, whose distinct gameplay and level design inspired numerous developers to create clones and various look-alikes. However, this particular installment isn't considered canon—it is an SNES-exclusive mash-up of the first two R•Type games.

In a nutshell, the series' plot is about the evil Bydo empire, which is a highly developed alien lifeform with hivemind mentality—akin to the Borg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borg_(Star_Trek)) or the Zerg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerg). The player pilots a spacecraft on a mission to destroy the Bydo. The craft's most prominent weapon is the so-called force—a spherical pod which is, in fact, a living piece of Bydo flesh and an indestructible mineral at the same time! Conveniently, the pod can be attached to the player's craft to shield it from bullets, or launched at enemies to inflict large amounts of damage.

All R•Type games are known to be very unforgiving; they require the player to learn strict paths that revolve memorizing safe paths through stages and tactically using the force pod to quickly dispatch of enemies and protect the ship. The author of this TAS, however, throws all the strictness and tacticalness out the window to play around and just ram most of the enemies with the pod. (Try this in realtime if you want to know true frustration.)
Other than that, the movie uses a password to access the second loop's difficulty level (eloquently called "PRO") without having to beat the game twice. It still doesn't get the good ending, though.