TASBot slides his way through Mega Man 3 in

TASBot plays Pike & Tiancaiwhr's NES Mega Man 3 (JPN) TAS in 30:21 at Mega Man-athon 7 with commentary by KayeXP and Skipper
Mega Man-athon 7 presented by (and at) MAGFest 2019 included a non-stop gauntlet of Mega Man, Mega Man-inspired games, and music all for the charitable cause of raising money for Child’s Play. TASBot was invited to participate in his favorite past time - destroying games faster than any human ever could. This run features extensive sliding, death abuse, extraordinary glitches beyond human ability, and plenty of other surprises. This segment is posted here on this channel with permission.
NES Mega Man 3 (JPN Rockman 3) in 30:21.08 by Pike & Tiancaiwhr - For additional notes on this run see: tasvideos.org/2...
Mega Man-athon credits and links:
www.MegaManath...
/ halfemptyenergytank
/ halfemptyetank
/ megamanathon
/ megamanathon
TASBot links:
Discord - Discord.TASBot.net
TASBot home - TASBot.net
More TAS's - TASVideos.org
Live stream - / dwangoac
All TASVideos.org content used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 licensing.

[@HalfEmptyETank]

Hey. I know those folks. :D Thanks again DwangoAC and TASbot for joining us on the Mega Man-athon stage!

[@Pensive_Scarlet]

The HalfEmpty! ;D So, as a minor character from several games, including Mega Man, could you give us an official statement? Does this run indeed prove and confirm that Shadow Blade is Snake Man's definitive weakness? ;x

[@mrshin8035]

ROB. console add on, playable character in smash, and now elite speed runner!

[@mami1455]

he's the boy

[@zweismoblastus]

@@mami1455 *mkds

[@Wolfshadow6]

Still super happy I got to hold TASBot after the run, thank you again Dwango! You made this gamer's (and her Husband's) Day at MAG!

[@sophiegrey9576]

Are you ready to *rock, man?*

[@davemarx7856]

ahahahahahahahahahahaha

[@28Pluto]

More like, HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!HAHAHA!!!!!!!

[@arcticafrostbite617]

run starts at 1:33

[@masopup]

you dropped this 👑

[@ThrowedGenji]

been binge watching TASbot, interesting to see my favorite games being destroyed

[@cosmickatamari]

I knew this was going to be serious when I saw the Framemeister sync screen.

[@夜空が素晴らしいです]

Nice commentary save at 7:00 dwango :-D

[@BlazeGamma]

Shout out to Roahm Mythril finding the Shadowman stage music erasure by accident.

[@ricinmuffins7645]

I didn't know he's ever mentioned outside of his little corner of the internet.

[@JasonMeeks79]

Hey. I am enjoying that royal wedding DVD. Thank you guys.

[@bms8723]

Tasbot is a fucking beast... This game took me like 6 months to beat when it first came out

[@daywalker3735]

Love these videos!

[@ZipplyZane]

TAS videos can be a little confusing. They list it under Rockman, not Megaman, for some reason. Every other one is Megaman, but not the NES version. I get having Rockman as the title, but they should also link to it as Megaman, so that people not acquainted with the Japanese name can find it.

[@ZipplyZane]

Also, they don't seem to have anything to explain the Rush despawning, either.

[@SPEXWISE]

@@ZipplyZane They can't explain how RJ despawns. They mention that in the video. TASBOT only knowledge.

[@ZipplyZane]

Spex Wise But they also said it might be in the info on the TASvideos site. I was saying it was not.

[@SPEXWISE]

@@ZipplyZane I see. So then how does TASBOT do these things if no-one knows, yet it is pre-programmed. Weird indeed.

[@ZipplyZane]

What I'm guessing right now is just that the makers of the TAS just happened to stumble upon it while making it, and don't know why it happens. Alternatively, they do know why it happens, but didn't think of it as being that important, and so didn't write about it.

[@Rikard_Nilsson]

22:12 it was so that he'd end up on 0 energy remaining after the boss, he did it before too.

[@wojiaobill]

that guy's name is a Chinese word "tian cai" (天才), which means "genius." presumably the whr after that are initials of the person's real name?

[@curtisfugitt3970]

This guy plays like a machine!

[@SproingBoing]

PSA: Megaman Tool Assisted Speedruns are powered by lemons and the souls of sacrificed animals

[@IngwiePhoenix]

And supported by the saved frames.

[@SirJoelsuf1]

I'd love to see a Mega Man 3 Buster Only TAS...

[@lankymaccrazyhair264]

I don't want to mock your previous MM3 video. I hope you appreciate my restraint.

[@dwangoAC]

Do you feel that this final performance was an improvement?

[@lankymaccrazyhair264]

@@dwangoAC Yes, it was. Just for the record, I DID enjoy the previous MM3 video, even with your lack of Mega Man Knowledge.

[@deatheternal720]

With every shot, rushjet will despawn.

[@AstroTibs]

Magnet Man is equally weak to Spark Shock and Shadow Blade.

[@weezel365]

"Can't Stop the Top" Nice Megas reference

[@degen83]

Wow this run went by so fast the commentators barely had time to commentate on anything. I remember playing this game for hours. Tasbot makes it look so easy.

[@hezepe]

Is TASBot a minor form of Ai?

[@codieb5612]

No, it's entirely prerecorded inputs. No AI at all

[@shadowproductions969]

there's a point in the video where they talked about the creator of this speedrun had to do it over 130,000 times to get every input perfect. That's a lot of micromanaging.

[@jasonmnosaj]

NS as the grand prize... bye...

[@kadel300]

I'm BEGGING these speed runners to do a NATURAL run, the way the developers intended the game to be played. No bug exploitation, no glitches, just the playing and completing the game the fastest, normally. Being an expert in a game shouldn't be able memorizing the correct frames to exploit glitches in 30 year old games.

[@markbraden4795]

What you're looking for are known as "glitchless runs". They're out there, and they're pretty dang impressive.

[@duffman18]

Glitchless runs exist. If you don't like runs that use glitches, then why on earth are you watching runs with glitches!? Go watch glitchless runs instead. You're very bizzare

[@thehousehack]

Did you assume TASBot's gender?

[@dwangoAC]

I've taken him apart, he's definitely a he.

[@thehousehack]

That just raises further questions.

[@dwangoAC]

@@thehousehack With even more intrigue. Swing by Discord.TAS.Bot and check out #tasbot-x for more.

[@GeekGameCulture]

To complete a thought that the commentators were beginning about Robot Master weaknesses in this game, there are two "weakness circles" in the game. Weakness circles in Mega Man games refer to weakness orders, but the completion of the circle is that the weapon you get from the last Master you beat in the order would be the weakness of the first Robot Master within the order you killed. For instance, in the first Mega Man, if you followed the primary weakness order, facing Bomb Man first, then the last Master you'd face would be Fire Man, and his weapon would be the primary weakness for Bomb Man, completing the circle. Some circles became disjointed because of secondary weaknesses that some sites tend to list as primary (making it difficult to tell which weakness Capcom intended that Master to have) though since MM1 is the easiest to know the order for since it's so obvious which weapon would work on who, that's the game I listed for the example. This might be stating things most MM Vets know, but for those that don't, that's what a "weakness circle" is. For MM3, there are two intended weakness circles in the game. Five in one, three in the other. You might notice that if you go through the five Master one (Magnet > Hard > Top > Shadow > Spark), not only is Spark Shot Magnet Man's primary weakness, but you do not have any of the weaknesses for the other three (Snake > Gemini > Needle). Needle Cannon is Snake Man's primary weakness. They could be used as secondary weaknesses (a few from the five Master circle will succumb to the Needle Cannon and a few from the 3 circle don't like the Hard Knuckle or Shadow Blade too much), but this was one where either Capcom's rush to get this game out made them not realize they had two circles here, or they did that to switch some things up. I was waiting for them to complete that thought, but they never did. So decided to come with the knowledge swag.

[@wolfumz]

Thank you for helping to explain this

[@SpiralPegasus]

It gets better when you learn that _all_ of the robot masters are _weak to their own weapon._ I noticed this "two circles" thing, but as Magnet Man is weak to Shadow Blade as well, Spark Man had been left out. So on the second fight I used Spark Shock on him and *bam!* Learning that the game was rushed out quite justifies that.

[@tech6hutch]

@Willz __ two rock-paper-scissors groups with some overlap

[@VoidHalo]

In the American version, the room before the boss at 26:15 doesn't have the platform in the middle, but has a ledge to the right with the weapon power ups on it.

[@davemarx7856]

I wish TASbot videos had a controller display in the corner. I love watching buttons flash like it's at a rave.

[@dwangoAC]

You're in luck because almost all do! This one is a little hard to see but he's holding a visualization board here too.

[@davemarx7856]

@@dwangoAC I was actually talking about the controller graphic that you'll sometimes see while people play. It is neat that TASbot does have the blinking controllers physically... but it's hard to see. Because I know there are moments where TASbot is basically pressing ALL the buttons and some that don't technically exist. Love what you and the TASers do regardless. The one where somebody WRITES FLAPPYBIRD into Super Mario World is my favorite 😂

[@grandlancer]

When I was young Dr. Light always looked like he had giant pig nostrils.

[@Dave96939]

dude needs to finish conversations with himself before starting more conversations with himself

[@dwangoAC]

Commentary on stage can definitely be harder than it looks, especially for those of us afflicted with attention deficit... hey look, a squirrel!

[@Pensive_Scarlet]

@@dwangoAC In my experience, people such as the person you're responding to will say things like that because they have similar issues, so never take it too personally. They're basically just irked due to their own inability to process what they're hearing or reading. No offense to the OP of course. :

[@jimfrick8091]

@@Pensive_Scarlet "They're basically just irked due to their own inability to process what they're hearing or reading." Then go on saying "No offense to the OP of course".. I hope sarcasm find it's way in here..

[@Pensive_Scarlet]

@@jimfrick8091 Not sarcasm. Just genuinely trying to state a fact. Human dynamics can be complicated. Sometimes there are "ugly" facts that need to be addressed for the betterment of the self and society. That is not to say I don't indulge in sarcasm now and then, but my previous comment here came from a place of pure sympathy, making an effort to understand people, etc.

[@jimfrick8091]

@@Pensive_Scarlet But also with the intention to offend someone who is not living the life the way you do. And that because you believe that you can justify (if even needed to) offfending someone by handling it as fact.

[@danted4917]

When I grow up I want to be a "resident megaman 3 expert"

[@kunjunction1]

the jump at 26:48 .... WHAT! lol

[@misterturkturkle]

The 3 jumps

[@stu729]

3:05 Megas reference!

[@eckitronix]

God I love TASBot. He's so fast and amazing, and he hardly ever screws up! I don't think I've ever seen him do it

[@Wolficefang]

Anyone want to try the lag drinking game?

[@Wolficefang]

Every time someone say lag, you take a drink.

[@garvensman]

You don’t get Rush Jet at Magnet Man... good video though

[@Pensive_Scarlet]

Ugh, when that lag generator pukes out a dust cube, am I right, guys? >:0 Speed run lingo is just as great as head canon game lore. Mega Man taught me that twins hate snakes! o_o

[@cyrusjames4625]

Tasbot the hero we need but not the one we deserve

[@hyshade5132]

Back when I was young I legitimately thought that Dr. Light meant that Dr. Wiley stole some radiation.

[@deatheternal720]

What..?

[@BlackCubone]

@@deatheternal720 because gamma radiation.

[@duffman18]

What?

[@justatesco2877]

That music at 15:18 sounds pretty *bizarre.*

[@CallieSqueakz]

(15:04) I think I actually got that softlock once. Huh.

[@PrinzessinRamode]

2:44 I am always surprised that I never see Tas Bots doing slide off the screen. You have to press up and A on player 2 controller in order to walk off the screen.

[@horseblacked2592]

Very informative run. Had no idea about that snake slide skip👀

[@jacobstallard2678]

Spark man got owned!

[@DiamondWolfX]

The music isn't disappearing. Capcom secretly included the Mega Man 2 Wily 6 theme and that's how you trigger it. ;)

[@joshuaperry4112]

Also, that commenter looks like the dude from Leprechaun; except with a magnificent head of hair.

[@gorkskoal9315]

"wasn't finished when it put out" so modern games? :P we used to call that Alpha or beta level. So I gues game companies haven't changed all that much lol.

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

And by Child's Play.. there aren't any red headed possessed and homicidal Chucky dolls involved right 😂

[@matju2]

The flashing and various background animations in Spark man and other levels don't require much effort from the game, as it's done by just swapping elements in a font-like structure that is being rendered directly by the video chip (and I mean not a GPU, I mean the producer of the video signal). I say "font" because it's structured similar to "text modes" found in DOS programs and various non-PC computers of the 80s.

[@HoboVibingToMusic]

Megaman goes god speed. xd

[@murakumo65]

24:24 TASbot: health? Any more than 0 means that I'm good to go.

[@shadowproductions969]

kind of funny.. every time it could easily slide through health and get some back it goes out of its way to jump and avoid it just to prove a point.

[@TheMamaluigi300]

Shadow Productions Interestingly it’s to save frames, since the game pauses when you refresh health or energy

[@Bigbacon]

lets have un-knowledgeable people commentate a TAS...

[@sethytrashroad2561]

HARD MAN LMAO

[@jeremiahblum7833]

This game is notoriously notorious

[@deesint5901]

HOW DO I SLIDE

[@SPEXWISE]

Press down and B? I dunno can't really remember cos it was nearly 30 years ago I last played on a NES.

[@markula_4040]

I wonder if you can get that run under 30 minutes on the PS2 anniversary edition since you don't have to go to the menu to switch weapons

[@SaberKittyZero]

Ah man I want that switch!

[@MrJibaku]

Break Man? That’s Blues!

[@misterturkturkle]

No

[@MrJibaku]

@@misterturkturkle Rock, Roll, and Blues

[@misterturkturkle]

@@MrJibaku and thats Break man. A fake blues/protoman. You can tell by the cyclops eye

[@deatheternal720]

The rush armour makes these games like 10x easier

[@SnowmanTF2]

The MegaMan series games seem possibly the most fitting to be bot controlled

[@dollors1]

What pit are they talking about where you need rush jet?

[@lakekoocanusa]

After the crash man fight in the Gemini stage revisit (19:45), you pop out in area where you need Rush Jet, (or coil) to get out of. The jump is to tall to get out of normally, and there is no way to get weapon energy while in it.

[@letcreate123]

Timer starts at 1:34

[@bicarbonateofsoda117]

Thanks

[@samjackcollection7413]

Notoriously

[@wojiaobill]

Lag-a Man 3

[@joshuaperry4112]

So, how does a TAS work? Does a person save-state every single input or like, what? Seriously, I'd love TF out of a "Let's TAS" video explaining how it works and an example.

[@dwangoAC]

I do have an older video on my channel done with Sand_Knight that walks through the basics but you may find it easier to start by joining us at Discord.TAS.Bot - we can get you started and if you get too far into TAS creation the TASVideos Discord server is also linked.

[@kwilliamg]

Notorious

[@imaginaryboy2000]

Shouldn't Gemini Man be called Gemini Men?

[@ztoxtube]

TASbot is pretty good at games

[@numinous4789]

While other guys are out dating ... LOL. Half-joking aside, great TAS run.

[@Silvia.Sparks]

Is it possible to buy a tas bot?

[@dwangoAC]

Please come by Discord.TASBot.net

[@GustavoValdiviesso]

At 19:45 it is no true about having to have energy for Rush Jet, or you need to reset. Rush Coil spends no energy (despite having an energy bar), so you can always get out of that pit.

[@JNeepshow]

i love how tasbot is a he. mansplaining at its best

[@michaelh7437]

Why am I not surprised to see a comment like this

[@misterturkturkle]

Knecked

[@PokeMaster22222]

How does TASBot work? I mean, how does it know what to do in each stage?

[@loganonamac7]

Here's how it works. A video game is a manipulable program. A TAS is a very controlled set of inputs thrown into that program frame-by-frame in order to guarantee certain results. The bot itself isn't "thinking" while it's playing the game, it's just relaying those inputs through the controller port on the NES at the precise timing necessary.

[@PokeMaster22222]

@@loganonamac7 How does it do glitches and exploits humans can't do, and cannot explain? For example, there's a A Link to the Past speedrun on this channel (the one with the minimap in the upper-right corner), where TASBot enters an extremely glitched map and does things no-one can explain.

[@loganonamac7]

@@PokeMaster22222 These things can be explained. The bot didn't invent what it's doing. Some Speedrunners got together and analyzed the game frame by frame and came up with a perfect input set in order to perform those tricks. The bot is just putting those inputs directly into the console. It's not voodoo, it's not magic, and it's all very procedural. (Up; Up; Down+A; B; X; R+X...) Therefore it can all be explained. Besides, humans can do glitches too. It's just a matter of a perfect input at a perfect time. I don't know how I can explain this any better.

[@maxdecphoenix]

have you never used an emulator or save state? That's all this is, it iterates through the game frame by frame allowing inputs. Then it just records those inputs into a file, which can be loaded later. Did you never see one of those self-playing pianos with a song-reel paper? That's all it is. The piano was not sentient.

[@SPEXWISE]

Recorded inputs frame by frame for perfect execution. E.g. the 30dps section. Game runs at 60fps but to fire you need to press button then release and press again so if frame perfect you can get 30 bullets out in 1 second. Humanly impossible as far as I know. TASBOT is pre-programmed with a string of perfectly timed inputs. TASBOT is essentially one giant macro that has been determined and tested by humans first, TB just plays the recording back.

[@brianthibaudeau8081]

Umm, no, Magnet Man is not "much more weak to the Shadow Blade" than Spark Shock. They do the same damage. Only it's vertical range makes the Shadow Blade the better weapon

[@brianthibaudeau8081]

Also, you're not stuck in the pit after Doc Flash Man if you have Rush Coil energy as well. Rush Jet isn't the only way to traverse vertically

[@ruktipp2627]

@@brianthibaudeau8081 And you don't get Rush Jet from Magnet Man; you get him from Needle Man.

[@TheSoundSpell]

Strangely, Spark Man is super weak against Spark Shock. Two Hits and he goes down. At least in the Genesis Version.

[@puniopenetrante]

pfffft...only 30 dps.....what a hack

[@jasonpiwarski5016]

Total cheating BS! How dare you...

[@dwangoAC]

There was no cheating and this played through the game within the rules of how the game was programmed.

[@A.ITakeovers]

Video without commentary would be great

[@dwangoAC]

See TASVideos.org for a version without commentary

[@A.ITakeovers]

Thanks

[@din_5817]

Tas bot should've been called tas man

[@marcmarc4776]

Yes there is an order and its been known since it was first published in Nintendo Power. You start with Snake Man.

[@misterturkturkle]

Magnet > Hard > Top > Shadow > Spark > Snake > Gemini > Needle

[@Bootymeatson]

27:58 Best Music in MM3!

[@OriruBastard]

Also, who the hell thought Magnet Man was easier than Top Man? Jeesh!

[@malcovich_games]

I did when i was a kid! Always went magnet man first heh heh

[@OriruBastard]

About Shadowman. I've top spinned him to death instantly "dunno what the conditions are, since I've also managed to do minimal damage and lose all the weapon energy..." so this tasbot could do a tad bit better on that one.