Beyond the Final Shirase Torikan

[Shuey]

Info on the term "torikan"

In Shirase mode (from TGM3), Level 1300 is the highest level that has been attained by players so far, and the game displays "Shirase Mode All Clear" when a player finishes the game at that point. However, Ichiro Mihara, creator of the TGM series, has stated in his blog that levels beyond 1300 exist. Methods to reach such levels are yet unknown because the 1300 barrier has not yet been broken, even at the current (as of July 2008) record clear time of 4:09:26.

The first time I saw someone reach level 1300, I about crapped myself.  I haven't even reached level 999 on the first TGM, so the thought of being able to reach level 1300 on TGM3 is pretty much unfathomable for me for the time being.

But it's in our nature to continue pushing the boundaries.  When I first started playing Tetris (the year Tetris was released for the NES), my friends and I couldn't imagine making it past level 9.  But soon after, we were all making it past level 9.  Then it was level 19 that we couldn't imagine getting past, until one of us finally did.

Where players are at now[/i] with Tetris is ridiculous compared to the NES Tetris from years ago.  But I know that it's only a matter of time before a handful of players take the game to the next level.

A couple questions:

1.  How long do you think it will take for someone to break the 1300 barrier?
2.  What conditions will a player have to meet in order to break the 1300 barrier, and if speed is one of them, how much faster will a player have to go?
3.  What conditions will exist in levels 1301 and beyond? (will players be able to continue playing under an even shorter lock delay and/or even higher speeds?)
4.  How much more can the game be taken to the extreme?

This also raises the question of "What more can game developers do with Tetris to keep it exciting, fresh, and continually evolving as a game in a positive direction?"

I found an unofficial video of someone playing what appears to be a TGM3 clone in big mode, beyond level 1300.  It doesn't seem to be any faster and the lock delay doesn't seem to be any shorter - I don't really know what to think of this video yet...

[Kitaru]

In Shirase mode (from TGM3), Level 1300 is the highest level that has been attained by players so far, and the game displays "Shirase Mode All Clear" when a player finishes the game at that point. However, Ichiro Mihara, creator of the TGM series, has stated in his blog that levels beyond 1300 exist. Methods to reach such levels are yet unknown because the 1300 barrier has not yet been broken, even at the current (as of July 2008) record clear time of 4:09:26.

It turns out that Mihara was just being coy. Excepting the most barren of technicalities, -- the level counter will _display_ above 1300 for _one frame_ before applying the level cap when finishing the game -- there only seems to be evidence against levels beyond 1300 in Ti.

4.  How much more can the game be taken to the extreme?

Hard to say. Early info regarding TGM4 seemed that the game was to trend a bit more toward optional speed (as in low gravity 40 Lines where the player forces the game) rather than forced; it was going to have move reset lock delay for ARS as in TGM ACE, as well as a Special button used to enable Instant DAS -- a first for official Tetris games.

This also raises the question of "What more can game developers do with Tetris to keep it exciting, fresh, and continually evolving as a game in a positive direction?"

There are so few players in the world that have exhausted the possibilities of TGM, so I think we're in a pretty decent spot in terms of single player challenge gaming. It's hard to imagine how to move forward from here, but it was hard to imagine how much of an improvement TGM3 would be upon TGM2+ back when it was first released as well. I've heard some interesting ideas bandied about, but it's hard to say what direction official developers would actually take.

How official devs can move multiplayer Versus up to the level expected by dedicated players and beyond is a whole other long discussion.

I found an unofficial video of someone playing what appears to be a TGM3 clone in big mode, beyond level 1300.  It doesn't seem to be any faster and the lock delay doesn't seem to be any shorter - I don't really know what to think of this video yet...

The game slows down for the Big credit roll, so that should be accurate. NDS_TGM just doesn't have a timed credit roll -- it continues the challenge endlessly, allowing you to rack up levels as long as you can withstand it.

[Rosti_LFC]

It actually really surprises me how persistent the whole "Mihara said 1300 could be beaten" rumour is despite the fact it's been known for a while that it isn't possible (and suspected long, long before then).

[Alexsweden]

This made me want to play some more TGM, rumours like this, while untrue (if they are) are good for the game - it keeps people hoping

[Beastin_Shen]

[Alexsweden]

lol, thats how I felt. Then I started a game and failed to clear a single line. ARS, sigh...

[Shuey]

Thanks for the replies everyone, particularly Kitaru

[Rosti_LFC]

This made me want to play some more TGM, rumours like this, while untrue (if they are) are good for the game - it keeps people hoping

Not so much when we've already sort of used KAN to systematically smash any criteria which it could possibly work under. If it wasn't known that 1300+ is impossible, we'd at least already ruled out anything that isn't totally stupid and gimmicky, and it'd be really unlikely that it'd be anything speed-wise above what's already been done, just because most of the other criteria in the game involving speed are far below the level of the best players.

[nahucirujano]

I don't remember where but I read sometime that Levels beyond 1300 don't exist, it was confirmed, but as I said I don't remember where I read it...

Plus, just check the bgm files in TGM3 data... There is no BGM_1p_lv7 existing...