A look back at 5 of the best moments from Games Done Quick speedruns
Turns out playing games as fast as possible over the years has created a lot of memorable moments.
The twice-annual charity speedrunning marathons put on by Games Done Quick showcase some of the fastest gamers in the world beating games as quickly as possible, all while raising millions of dollars for charities. These gamers have pulled off some impressive--and funny--feats.
With Awesome Games Done Quick 2017 in full swing, we compiled some of the best moments of past GDQ events that sum up why speedrunning marathons have grown in popularity so much over the past six years.
1. The intense Super Mario World race that ended with a dance
With a multitude of categories to race through, Super Mario World is one of the most popular games to speedrun. In this three-way race at Summer Games Done Quick 2014, RibbedKilla started off at quite a disadvantage but somehow managed to make his way back to the lead by the end of the race (which required all switches and banned the use of capes). To celebrate his comeback, Killa broke it down for the audience.
2. When blindfolded runners took on Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
What's more impressive than beating games at insane speeds? Doing it without your vision. At Awesome Games Done Quick 2016, Sinister1 and Zallard1 donned blindfolds and ran through Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! using nothing but pattern memorization and sound cues. What's extra impressive about this run is that, just two years prior, it was believed to be impossible to beat the final boss Mike Tyson without using your eyes, but both these runners proved that wrong.
3. The insanity of this Tetris: The Grand Master 3 speedrun
Tetris is one of the most approachable and famous puzzle games in the world, but seeing it at AGDQ 2015 put it in a whole new light. KevinDDR managed to beat Tetris: The Grand Master 3 during his speedrun of the game, which by itself is an impressive feat for Tetris pros. Once you get halfway through the game, blocks fall instantly and players have to be aware of the playing field and what shape is incoming at all times. Then you have to get through the credits, where the blocks you've placed become invisible. KevinDDR made it all the way.
4. When two more seconds were everything
In the world of speedrunning, time is everything. In this quick run of Streemerz at SGDQ 2016, Andy took on Tonic in a 16 bags of cash race that was neck and neck from beginning to end. Tonic just managed to beat Andy with a difference of just two seconds, and it was enough for Tonic to crown Andy with a garbage can because if you aren't first, you're trash.
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5. That time Pepsiman made an appearance
Pepsiman is bizarre. You play as Pepsiman in this 1999 PlayStation action game, running through a myriad of minigames while the omnipresent Pepsi brand is thrown in your face over and over and over. At Summer Games Done Quick 2016, Pepsiman was run by TheBoyks and Pepsiman himself showed up on commentary, much to the delight of the crowd.
Honorable mention: "I would really prefer if you would be quiet."
Speedrunners need to focus when running through their games, and distractions can be a nuisance. During a run of Tomba 2 at SGDQ 2014, the commentary was a bit too much for runner CavemanDCJ. He famously quieted his couch-mate about 28 minutes into the run. Above is a compilation of all the awkward interactions between the two throughout the run.
