But not for everyone, no no. There is an obsessive subculture that revolves around setting new world records under one and only one category: the completion of video games in the shortest possible amount of time.
Enter the realm of speed running. A highly dedicated base of gaming fans have banded together to complete certain video games in ungodly short time spans.
This, though, takes a lot of thinking outside the box. Normal players indulge themselves into the world of the game, enjoying the journey. Speedrunning takes this artistic side out and turns the game almost into a science.
The main site that hosts the recorded evidence of the runs is Speed Demos Archive. They set strict rules and analyses to prove the validity of the runs.
The official game list off the site includes basically every famous (or infamous) video game one could think of. From Mario to Zelda, Final Fantasy to Grand Theft Auto, basically every well-loved video game has been devoured by these intense gamers.
Most of these games, as familiar fans know, are intensely long and would require hours of play even at the fastest rate possible. But a simple understanding of how game engines work will allow you to see how these games can be completed in mere minutes.
Most video games progress via triggers. When the character runs into a certain area, it loads another. When he kills a certain boss, he is granted access into a previously blocked region. Only when these triggers are reached does the game allow the player to progress. Certain triggers can be skipped, allowing the player to avoid certain sections of the game. This is known as a sequence break
For example, in Super Mario 64, you only technically need to beat every Bowser stage (the main boss has three stages that allow Mario to advance into new areas) in order to trigger the ending video. This is how, via internal glitches, players are able to beat the entire Super Mario 64 game (which normally requires the collection of at least 70 stars) to be completed with zero stars in under 6 minutes. Yes, that is right. The game, from start to finish, is completed in 6 minutes:
Speedrunning got it's start primarily with the original NES Metriod, where at the end the game presented the player with a time of play. This created the desire in certain players to see how low they could make it. Eventually, it was chiseled down to a mere 18 minutes.
Glitches are also heavily used to complete games faster. Use what many people call the greatest game of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, as an example:
Note: if you are unfamiliar with the game, you will not understand any of this. Ocarina of Time is probably the most focused on of all the speedran (speedrunned?) games. Endless hours have been spent to uncover every glitch the game possesses. And, man, did they find a lot. From canceling a sword slash, allowing them to slightly jump whenever they want, to rolling into a bomb and quickly switching to their hoverboots, allowing them to literally fly across the world, these guys have broken the game down to almost disgusting levels. Search "reverse bottle adventure" on youtube (highlight is below) to view tutorials and a speedrun of the game where they skip every single level in the game by tricking the engine into giving the player all the weapons and items they need. All of this is done with a mere bottle. That, and a hell of a lot of tedious trial and error.
Watching these runs can be almost mesmerizing. Imagine the planning. The practice runs. The mind-numbing perfection that must be achieved to establish the fastest possible time a game can be completed.
On the site's forums, players carefully analyze routes, techniques and necessary glitches (some glitches are so hard to fulfill that they may take more time than the actual section they skip) needed to break a game down even further.
Thousands of hours of dedication are put forth when trying to create the newest speed run. Imagine playing through Super Mario Bros. 3 in 11 minutes. No, don't imagine it, watch it:
And some games must be divided into subcategories for different types of runs. For example, Metroid Prime has 9 individual runs for just the American version. These are divided into segmented vs. single-segment (meaning, does the player take breaks through the game or play it in one single sitting), any % vs. 100% (meaning does the player collect just the bare minimum or every single item in the game) and easy vs. hard mode (some games have different difficulty settings) The best overall time, segmented, for Metroid Prime is 1 hour and 3 minutes. The best Hard Mode 100% is 1 hour and 37 minutes.
Another example that might be easier to comprehend is Super Mario 64. Whereas the one posted above obtains zero stars, an alternate speedrun of 2 hours and 9 minutes has the player collecting every single 120 stars before completing the game.
It is hard to keep up with these videos. They truly are insane.
Here is a list of a few of the highlights I feel the site has to offer:
Bioshock in 1 hour, 4 minutes
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in 34 minutes, 34 seconds
Chrono Trigger in 3 hours, 34 minutes
Contra in 10 minutes, 17 seconds
Final Fantasy VII in 7 hours, 41 minutes
Grand Theft Auto III in 1 hour, 14 minutes
Metal Gear Solid in 1 hour, 54 minutes
Portal in 13 minutes, 16 seconds
Super Metroid in 32 minutes
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past in 1 hour, 29 minutes
But, please, take a look at the entire listings to see all 505 games available. And stop by the forum to see the current runs in progress. As of now, the newest run added to the site is The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess in 3 hours and 56 minutes.
This subculture of dedicated fans pay awe-inspiring tributes to some of the most cherished video games of all time. If you grew up with video games, I highly recommend you partake in viewing some of these, as they have nostalgia written all over them.
It really is incredible the strenuous dedication these players put forth for our entertainment.
I will leave you with a clip from the Super Metroid 100% run. An amazing game and an amazing feat:
Cheers!
