Ikaruga two-handed replay

stratos · Post by **stratos** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:47 pm

If I don't see it I'll never belive it's true...

I read on many topics in the forum that one guy (don't remember neme or nickname) made an Ikaruga amazing play using two ships at the same time playing with both hands...

Where coul'd I find this video? I've seen incredible things from japanese (and also western) players with very difficult shmups, but this thing sounds really fakey...

Another question: are visible in the video the player hands (otherwise it shoul'd be clearly a big fake)?

Thanks

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:54 pm

Oh it's real. Check super-play.co.uk for the vids.

LUNardei · Post by **LUNardei** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:55 pm

Uh uh, it's absolutely real, it's VTF-INO's magic! It's like a piano player... And yes, you can see the hands in some videos. Try super-play or even google video and enjoy

Pointman · Post by **Pointman** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:03 pm

I've seen this vid, and while it's impressive it's not as impressive as a two handed ESPGaluda run I saw once. THAT was shooting greatness!

Plasmo · Post by **Plasmo** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:07 pm

wtf link?

Pointman · Post by **Pointman** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:21 pm

I'm afraid you'll have to take my word for it. I saw this player in the HEY arcade in Aki and he tackled ESPGaluda with two ships at the same time. He only went onto demolish the game with both ships intact. The funny thing was when he got up to leave and the credits were rolling, he could see my jaw on the floor and gave a little wry smile. HEY arcade: best arcade in the world!

zakk · Post by **zakk** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:33 pm

Search for 'ikaruga' on google video. If you can't view videos on google video, they are up on http://www.super-play.co.uk Look for Ikaruga and player VTF-INO

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:47 pm

I'm afraid you'll have to take my word for it.

Sheeeeeet.

Pointman · Post by **Pointman** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:59 pm

Heh yeah. I swear all the best players have never even thought of posting their skills on the Internet. To them it's just something to do on a Saturday afternoon. Still it's nice to see good gamesplaying outside of the Net for a change.

stratos · Post by **stratos** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:02 pm

Ok, I've seen all the double play videos on super-play.co.uk from VTF-INO, but only one let's you to see the hands, and hands image is splitted... not only this: you can't see the hands and the screen in the same image. I know that INO is a great player, but... an entire image that showed him with hands and screen woul'd be certainly less enjoiable, but at least more beliveable... Yes, it seems really done simultaneously because he often puts one ship on hold, shooting in a safe corner, but...

Forgive me if I'm sceptic on a player of this greatness, but I can't explain why he didn't make a complete image showing him in person playing the game near the cab that woul'd have cleared all doubts...

Anyway, if Pointman says that he saw a man do things like that, I coul'd belive

However, if you know about other two-handed videos that show the player, or have more informations about them, let me know, I'm interested.

elvis · Post by **elvis** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:03 pm

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... &q=ikaruga

Watch the video twice, and focus on a single hand each time. It looks pretty convincing to me, as the movements match up with what's going on onscreen pretty well.

Judge for yourself.

WarpZone · Post by **WarpZone** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:12 pm

Not to undermine VTF-INO's achievements, but that looks like it would be more of a pain to fake (so well) than to really pull off.

LUNardei · Post by **LUNardei** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:25 pm

stratos wrote:...

Believe it stratos, he is not the first and not the last player. Imho the most impressive, simply. But hey, a great piano player to me is more impressive that VTF-INO on Ika.

Btw, I've heard from a friend about the Galuda double runs, and there is (I don't know where, but I own it) a run by SIN in Mushihimesama original. If I remember well he clear the game with both ships in one credit.

Ah, don't forget to watch two other achievements by VTF:
- Gigawing 2, 0 point run
- Radiant Silvergun, sword only run
all on super-play

stratos · Post by **stratos** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 12:00 am

If you say so, I shoul'd probably belive... impressive guy he is... I'd like to discover more about players like that.

I can't find many infos about VTF-INO on the web... Some people say that he is really a woman... Do you know about fan site or personal webpages about this incredible japanese virtuoso?

LUNardei · Post by **LUNardei** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 12:24 am

http://www.interrupt.ne.jp/~vtf/

Frederik · Post by **Frederik** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 12:35 am

I guess that is what japanese people are made of: Dedication. And the earlier you start and the more consequent you play, the more likely you will be able to make such things.

I bet if you have a little kid and let it play shooter games the whole day, you will have a shmup god in the end.

Remember there are blind people that can beat most seeing guys in Tekken or the like just be HEARING the game. I read about it in a magazine, and a fairly good one, so its not a internet legend or something.

I think the piano player methaphor is fitting very well. Start early, have a wee bit of talent, and the moves will move up your hands and carve into your brain. Japanese kids seem to grow up in a extremely videogameish country. Live in germany like I do, and you discover something like shmups when you`re twenty, and thats far too late if you want to be a double-play guy. The brain just doesn`t learn that quick.

Oh, and you know those videos about little kids that move around paper cups forming pyramids and breaking them down so fast you get dizzy? I guess those are contest, and in the video it looked like it was in a american shool. The girl that made that must have been 10 at best.

LUNardei · Post by **LUNardei** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 1:52 am

Well, imho talent exists, and it's not any kind of god-given universal shit. It's just a bunch of parameters higher than the normal, like hand-eye coordination or something similar, in our case.
Given that, I agree with you. Start early is great, and I want to underline that the environment around the player is ultra-important. Competition, sharing of knowledge and the best places where play are not optionals.

japtor · Post by **japtor** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 9:21 am

stratos wrote:I can't find many infos about VTF-INO on the web... Some people say that he is really a woman

i remember that, it was hilarious. i forget if it happened on here, or on another forum, but it was great. off the top of my head, the main arguments were:
- lady like hands
- s/hes wearing spandex!
many nerds fantasies were shattered and im sure many of them ended up with nightmares when they found out it was a man.

anyways back to double playing. if you have an arcade panel and free time, its something to do. if you get bored with single player, its pretty fun to try double playing. the last time i really got into it was way back with dangun feveron, i think i could get to the 3rd level. double playing with uo-poko is awesome, but the lack of bombs makes it a bitch for tight spots sometimes. i did a little with ketsui, but other than that, i havent tried much in any other games.

Macaw · Post by **Macaw** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 11:35 am

Show me a video of someone double playing Ikaruga with their feet and never dropping their chain and getting no miss and i'll be impressed.

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 1:42 pm

stratos wrote:Forgive me if I'm sceptic on a player of this greatness, but I can't explain why he didn't make a complete image showing him in person playing the game near the cab that woul'd have cleared all doubts...

VTF-INO, specifically, is not playing on a cab. He has constructed a pair of joysticks with a front-piece from a cab that's bolted to a table (with the camera positioned above). Note that the wires from the joysticks lead to a pair of gutted DC pads.

Secondly, filming a player "over their back" is both annoying to film and to watch. It offers limited visibility of the the screen and you will most likely have visible scan-lines on the screen being filmed. Not to mention you'll only be able to truly film one hand.

Thirdly, VTF-INO spent a good 2 years solid playing Ikaruga in Double-Play. He practiced like mad, starting with Easy and then playing through Normal. I have over 20 Double-Play videos by him (both with hands and without) and I can see the improvement over time as he became more comfortable with the play-style. This didn't occur overnight, he devoted serious time to learning to play in this format.

As has been mentioned above, he isn't the only player to experiment with this style of play. I've seen ESPGaluda demonstrations in Double-Play as well as heard of Shiki 2 being played this way. Hell, even I've sat down and played Strikers 1945 Plus in Double-Play... it just takes practice (a considerable amount, yes).

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 8:34 pm

I wouldn't be suprised if VTF-INO had something to do with Double Mode in Raiden III.

I'm starting to think about shmup design in those terms now, more than ever.

oxtsu · Post by **oxtsu** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 8:43 pm

TGA-RET has a nice FAQ on double-playing (Japanese language):
http://page.freett.com/ww74epm/shooting ... _index.htm

In his blog he says he's 22 years old and playing shooters for 6 years. The first double-play he tried was with Dodonpachi.

Plasmo · Post by **Plasmo** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 8:43 pm

shiki2 double play vids up at www.super-play.co.uk
(TGA-RET again...)

landshark · Post by **landshark** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 2:45 am

Downloading ...

I can't even get past 4-1 playing 1 player