We went to the "RTA in JAPAN 2019" in Asakusabashi!
This was Funglr Games' first time to cover an RTA event.
We will report on the unique style of competition, which is different from e-sports.
You can read more about RTA in JAPAN in "RTA in JAPAN 2019 Event Report & Interview with the Organizer!" Please read on!
RTA in JAPAN 2019 Event Report & Interview with organizers!
RTA with the nostalgic classic "Pikachu Genki De Chuu"!
During the time of our visit, Mr. Spins was playing an Any% RTA of "Pikachu Genki De Chuu", a classic Pikachu game.
Pikachu Genki De Chuu was released by Nintendo in 1998 and was the world's first game to use the voice recognition system.
The game was a hit, selling 740,000 copies in Japan. It was marketed overseas under the name "Hey You, Pikachu!"
The player on the right is Mr. Spins and the commentator on the left is Mr. SaSaSa.
Mr. Spins recorded the world's second fastest time in this Pikachu Genki Dechu, 1 hour, 10 minutes and 18 seconds.
SaSaSa was 5th in the world with a time of 1 hour, 14 minutes and 44 seconds. In addition to Pikachu Genki Dechu, the RTA in Japan is also full of other top 10 players from around the world.
One of the interesting aspects of RTA in JAPAN is that in addition to the players, there are also commentators.
Not only do they explain the game, but they also explain the story of the game and the terminology used only in that RTA, so you can enjoy the RTA even if you have never played before.
Unique phrases and interesting talk are also a specialty of RTA in JAPAN. Many players come prepared with stories such as costumes, cosplay, and items related to RTA.
Interesting game-specific terminology and moves!
Pikachu Genki De Chuu is a game that uses voice.
Basically, it recognizes words, which affect Pikachu's behavior.
The real fun of the game is to enjoy chatting with Pikachu in this way. However, in this RTA, research is being done to see what can be said to shorten the time.
For example, Pikachu responds to "Good morning", "Good afternoon" and "Good evening", but he uses "Good morning" because of the difference of one letter.
Even in the first tutorial, they use only "ah" to get a response no matter what they say, and they thoroughly omit words that can be omitted.
The audience often laughed at the smooth progress of this unique communication.
In RTAs, you must be aware of time loss due to processing downtime.
In this scene, Pikachu is very close-up, but this is done to lighten the loading time by not moving other objects on the screen. This is done to lighten the loading time and prevent processing downtime.
Pikachu moves around freely, but if you say "cute" to him, he gets embarrassed and stops moving.
In order to shorten the time, Mr. Spins just kept saying "Kawaii" without any emotion. To speed up the scene changeover, he would say "I hate you" to make Pikachu angry and have him leave quickly.
This is the kind of fun that can only be had in a game that uses voices.
Even a trouble is also a spice that makes the delivery interesting
Just when you think everything is going well, suddenly the microphone goes bad.
No matter how much I talk to him, his voice is not recognized.
Due to the nature of the game, if your voice is not recognized, it is impossible to proceed with the game at all.
However, Pikachu begins to collect the items he is targeting on his own, even without talking to you.
"I drew an excellent individual!" and while he was rejoicing, the microphone was also restored. The game is safely resumed.
He praises Pikachu as an "excellent individual", but his parting words are always "I hate you." The gap between the two is a big hit with the viewers.
By the way, basically, hardware and software are brought in by each participant.
Since it has been 20 years since Pikachu Genki De Chuu was released, the cassette may have deteriorated, and the special microphone may be broken.
The author also played Pikachu Genki De Chuu when it was first released, but the microphone had deteriorated, making it impossible to play....
Information is often shared about hardware problems that older games may encounter, and advice is often given on how to use a microphone instead.
Overcoming the problems and finishing the race!
And finally, the end of the race!
Mr. Spins has said "What's he laughing at?" to Pikachu, who was blowing his trumpet in joy, and he immediately threw away Pikachu's gift, saying "Thanks!". Spins has been throwing away Pikachu's gifts immediately after receiving them, saying, "Thank you!"
All of this was done in order to shorten the time, the epitome of an RTA runner.
However, when it was almost time to clear the site, there were a few tears in his eyes.
It seemed as if he was applying eye drops to his eyes before and after the race, but I guess he was moved by the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing a race.
Mr. Spins said, "If I'm moved, I'm lost."
The world record holder remained calm until the end, finishing the race in 1 hour, 11 minutes, and 44 seconds.
He finished the race in 1 hour, 11 minutes, and 44 seconds, which is the third best record in the world.
He regretted that he could have set a world record if he had not had microphone trouble.
You can enjoy RTA with any game. Try your hand at your favorite game!
During the streaming, the number of simultaneous viewers on Twitch exceeded 20,000 and "Pikachu Genki" became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter.
(Apology: At the time of publication, the number of viewers was mistakenly reported as 30,000 instead of 20,000.)
It is an old game, but this may be an opportunity to make it popular again.
There are many other games that have seen a resurgence in popularity through RTAs.
If you have a game that you have been playing for a long time or used to be good at, perhaps you can shine as an RTA runner.
The world of RTA will continue to expand in the future. We hope you, our readers, will give it a try!
