====================AWESOME GAMES DONE QUICK 2022==================== ========Raising $3,416,780 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation========= =========================January 9-15, 2021========================== -------------------------------SUNDAY-------------------------------- Nioh 2 (PS5 - Team Ninja 2020, 2021) Any% Featherless by AxelSanGo [WRH][ORH] host PurpleGhostKasper, no couch 1h27m15s (est 1h35m, wr 1h19m54s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube BShG5Si8xAY+275 Review: A dubious choice to start the marathon with. This feels more like late-night filler than a triumphant show-starter, not bad but not as good as I was expecting. The run isn't super polished (as expected from a game this new), and could have benefitted from a good couch to explain things better. Axel's self-commentary was rather stilted, low-energy, and sometimes hard to understand. It's a jargon-heavy game and not all of it is obvious just from watching. Metroid Prime Hunters (DS - Nintendo Software Technology 2006) All Items by Mr_Shasta [3RH] host PurpleGhostKasper, no couch 1h20m12s (est 1h30m, wr 1h09m55s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube uv9Y_-HkDW4+20 Review: Much like other Metroid Prime runs, but with some unique twists. It still has a lot of sequence breaking and out-of-bounds, but it adds some unique movement breaks like rocket-jumping. Metroid Prime Hunters (DS - Nintendo Software Technology 2006) First Hunt by Mr_Shasta host PurpleGhostKasper, no couch 2m01s igt (no est, wr 1m31s igt) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube uv9Y_-HkDW4+5041 Review: Just a tiny dessert after the main run. Mostly just fast shooting, with one clip and some clever movement to spice things up. NM: Retime this Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES - Rare 1995) Any% race Eazinn vs V0oid [WRH] vs SBDWolf [2RH] vs Tonkotsu host Skybilz, couch SpikeVegeta, SilentWolf 39m39s, 39m40s, 40m44s, 41m00s (est 48m, wr 38m13s) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube LcSbzqq2gk4+21 Review: I was worried this was going to be a dull race, after the early splits just kept growing, ultimately spreading the runners across three levels, but it pulled around into a nail-biting finish. We had excellent commentary throughout, SilentWolf giving tech primers and SpikeVegeta giving a rainbow of color commentary. DEATHLOOP (PC - Arkane 2021) Any% by CreeperHntr host Skybilz, couch BloodThunder, Meta, Joe [DEV] 26m46s (est 25m, wr 17m13s loadless) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube eds2jAhP6T0+0 Review: Not the most polished run, as expected of something so new. A bit hard to follow - they explain low-level tech but not the high-level objectives, so it's a freefloating sort of run, but better than you'd expect of such a new game. NM: Overlay listed "Thud Rogers" as third couch member, but introduced as "Joe", not sure how exactly to credit. Axiom Verge 2 (PC - Thomas Happ 2021) Any% Major Glitches by SeraphinEveles [WRH] host Skybilz, couch Bullets, foxyjira 11m54s (est 13m, wr 10m50s igt) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube -EFqkI-fHSg+0 Review: Another 2021 game being run, this one so broken that it bears almost no resemblance to the normal game flow. It's just movement, cutscene skips, and a few glitches to completely break the intended pathing. I don't think a single bit of combat happened. But that got it down to twelve minutes, and Seraphin kept a very good pace. Mega Man 2 (NES - Capcom 1988) Any% Difficult by coolkid [2RH] host Skybilz, couch Mithical9 27m02s (est 32m, wr 26m34s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube hlQaRTDvthA+0 Review: It's a classic of the speedrunning scene, and coolkid is one of the best. You've probably seen Mega Man runs before, so it's the expected series of wall-clips, boss quick-kills, and i-frame abuse... but it's a good performance, with just a few minor mistakes that keep things interesting. Mithical9 put some serious effort in on commentary, a bit scripted but very informative, without being too dry. Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (PC - Konami 2001, 2002) [BONUS] Tanker Blindfolded by ApacheSmash host Skybilz, couch MackMcD 10m26s (est 15m, wr sighted 5m38s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube BvW52GiO6jM+85 Review: Not the flashiest or most difficult blindfolded run, but not an uninteresting one. Movement is actually much faster, because precise distances can be counted by footsteps. I would be interested in seeing a full-game run of this. NM: for WR, assumed Very Easy, could not actually confirm Death's Door (PC - Acid Nerve 2021) Current Patch Any% by Scrublord [2RH] host Mr. Game and Shout, couch Bullets, foxyjira [3RH] 1h01m33s (est 1h15m, wr 56m02s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube yhMSDU6Xvfo+215 Review: As expected from a recent game, it's inconsistently executed, and has long stretches of as-intended gameplay, but it still has more tech than I expected from such a game. The runners clearly love the game, but perhaps more as a casual run than a speedrun... I'm tempted to check it out but I doubt I'd try to run it. Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered (PS5 - Insomniac 2018, 2020) Silver Lining Any% Ultimate by Pessilist [WRH][ORH] host Mr. Game and Shout, couch JHobz296, SeaAverage, Oreo (🐱) 32m24s (est 38m, wr 30m58s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube h5zmw8bB--8+87 Review: A game with far more depth than I expected, in both movement and in combat. Great couch work and great execution - I think the only real drag was the mandatory six-minute wait. And it spawned a good meme for this marathon, with Game And Shout's hilarious J. Jonah Jameson impressions. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (GBC - Flagship 2001) All Essences by TGH [WRH] host Char_bunny, couch AstrasEvolution, xIceblue 1h42m04s (est 1h45m, wr 1h35m50s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube uE8Khfcxvac+40 Review: It's a run that mostly mirrors the standard route, but manages to skip almost every single bit of dead time, has constant minor skips, and is executed with ridiculous precision. Commentary is a good mix of informative and entertaining - so long as you like groanworthy puns. Dead Space 2 (PC - Visceral 2011) Any% by sharkhat87 [WRH] host Char_bunny, couch LivingLooneyBin, Waifu, sirkyle95 1h11m07s (est 1h20m, wr 1h08m15s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube -zqTSUrrDS4+63 Review: A particularly busted game, in fairly entertaining ways. There's some big skips that cut out a lot of the dead time, and we had some good couch banter (though the mix of remote and in-person did lead to some convo clashing and audio mix issues). -------------------------------MONDAY-------------------------------- Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (PC - Soleil 2020) Any% NG+ by A Flyin Coconut [WRH] host Brutal_Melo, couch Matt Ponton [2RH], StrikingDarkness 32m03s (est 45m, wr 30m14s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube emLFqgjdycQ+28 Review: A bit of a mixed bag. There's a good bit of content skipping - jumping over fight triggers, and some OoB - but it also does have to do a lot of combat that Easy NG+ makes trivial. The artstyle is lovely, and it sounds like Samurai Jack fans love it, but this run skips all the fun references, so I'm not sure it's great for them. It's not quite a "friends on couch Let's Play", it does feel like an actual speedrun, but it definitely has some of those vibes. If that's what you're into, might be worth a watch, but it's not a must-see by any stretch. RITE (PC - Pond Games 2020) Any% by Lincher [WRH] host Brutal_Melo, no couch 27m33s (est 30m, wr 24m31s) Overall ☆☆☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ☆☆☆☆☆ Youtube 32zjUtl9XWA+40 Review: Has this runner ever *seen* a GDQ run before? He seemed completely unprepared to do anything except play through the game. No explanations, no commentary, he even seemed surprised when Brutal_Melo tried to prompt him to say anything, literally *anything*. This run started off with two solid minutes of awkward silence, and never got better. Mail Mole (PC - Talpa 2021) Any% by headstrong1290 [WRH] host Brutal_Melo, couch isbullets [2RH] 1h01m09s (est 1h05m, wr 59m30s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube 99uN6PtS_ms+0 Review: Bullets described it as a chill run, which I don't think is perfectly accurate. It's a very slow run - for every thirty-second level played, there's another thirty or forty seconds of cutscenes and transitions. It's not a bad platformer run when it's actually platforming, but so much of it just... isn't. And the gameplay we do get isn't outstanding enough to make up for it - a few tight cycles, a few shortcuts, a few major skips, but nothing that justifies the tedium between stages. Antichamber (PC - Demruth 2013) "100%" by Ozmourn [WRH] host Sandsh8rk, couch Voetiem 21m39s (est 30m, wr 18m58s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube _Og4I3t6ix0+39 Review: This is a hard game to figure out even playing as intended, so the speedrun only adds to the confusion. The commentary tries to keep up with the speed tech but this is probably not a great run if you want to understand things but have not played the game. If you have, or if you don't care, it's a nice fast-moving puzzle speedrun, with very little downtime. Antichamber (PC - Demruth 2013) Any% by Ozmourn host Sandsh8rk, couch Voetiem [WRH] 1m11s (est 5m, wr 43s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube _Og4I3t6ix0+1503 Review: Literally just glitching to get to the end, using the same trick the above run did, just without doing anything else. So if you watched the 100% run, this adds nothing. Judge Dredd (SNES - Probe 1995) Any% by Traviktox [WRH][ORH] host Sandsh8rk, couch Vorime, Latt Millard 26m05s (est 35m, wr 25m48s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube ly5ed4SjpTY+0 Review: I was pleasantly surprised to find this was actually a decent-looking speedgame. The labyrinthine level layout works well with the multiple methods of clipping, and while the vanilla movement isn't much to speak of, going fast requires some precise and rapid shooting to bypass enemies. Bust-A-Move 4 (PS1 - Taito 1998) Puzzle - Arcade (Expert) [INCENTIVE] by poshi [WRH] host Sandsh8rk, couch TokuHer0 17m17s (est 30m, wr 13m48s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube D9oMjiHsSQ4+0 Review: This game has enough RNG that it's basically unscripted, making it a lot more improvised than other puzzle-game speedruns. poshi's dramatic reactions, to mistakes and bad RNG, were entertaining, but they did feel a bit excessive. If that's the kind of thing that bothers you, maybe this isn't the run for you. ActRaiser (SNES - Quintet 1990) Professional! Mode race Aquas [2RH] vs Teleo1 [WRH] host Sandsh8rk, couch JaekRock, Tetsuoooo 22m15s, 23m33s (est 24m, wr 21m49s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube SUiIai6mZxw+34 Review: This run is polished enough that even one mistake can put you far behind... and unfortunately, one runner just didn't make any mistakes. So it became a bit boring, might have been better as a solo run, but maybe it was just bad luck. There's a bit of tech to the game, a few clips and a lot of tightly-routed movement, but it's not the most interesting, and splitting the attention detracted a bit from the polish. Beyond Oasis (PC - Ancient 1994) Any% by Delekates [WRH] host Sandsh8rk, no couch 44m06s (est 50m, wr 39m00s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube -zCJEzhpc4U+29 Review: It's a run that clearly needs a larger community to really polish, performed by a runner that isn't really sure how to commentate. Despite his fears, he did speak well enough when he was able to, but he spent much of the run in silence, focusing on execution (which, to his credit, did seem pretty good). Gunstar Heroes (Genesis - Treasure 1993) Any% Expert by dagronSR [WRH] host NerdyExcursions, couch Jim2hu, WJ 38m30s (est 45m, wr 37m29s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube 0F2RHq8dVMI+9 Review: An curious sort of run-and-gun game, primarily using a weapon with interesting controls and a very high skill ceiling. There's a bit too much repetition and RNG in the game, but dagron handles it well, and it's sort of fun to see the best possible bad RNG. Environmental Station Alpha (PC - Hempuli Oy 2015) Surface Ending by Vicas [WRH] host NerdyExcursions, couch Serene Dragon 25m53s (est 30m, wr 22m04s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube Z85j1wqik5o+0 Review: A neat little metroidvania, with the typical out-of-orderness speedrun that implies. Commentary was good, helped a lot by being in-person. Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs (GBA - Digital Eclipse 2003) Any% by Breadghost [2RH] host NerdyExcursions, no couch 20m41s (est 23m, wr 19m33s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube eupzUw50p5k+0 Review: One under-appreciated aspect of week-long marathons is that they offer a chance for smaller communities to showcase themselves. This seems like a game that's still ripe for some more optimization, some more glitch-hunting. It's a perfectly competent speedrun already, and Breadghost did a good job showing it, but it's not at the level of polish of the bigger games. So if you want a chance to make your mark, maybe look into this game. It seems promising. Part Time UFO (Switch - HAL Lab 2017, 2020) Any% by ykrin [WRH] host frozenflygone, couch riekelt [3RH] 26m59s (est 30m, wr 24m41s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube 84epGvxqEPA+15 Review: A weird but *adorable* physics game. Riekelt kept describing it as "like Angry Birds" but it's more "Angry Birds in reverse". I was surprised at the sheer speed and consistency of ykrin's execution, and for handling all commentary duties, riekelt did well on the couch. Kirby's Dream Land 3 (SNES via Switch - HAL Lab 1997) Any% No 2P by Darksol188 [3RH] host frozenflygone, couch DarkRiolu27, GlitchAston 1h05m35s (est 1h10m, wr 1h01m10s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube v3q3Srop0RI+101 Review: Not the most skill-heavy game, but a very clean run of it. Good couch work too - a good mix of info and jokes. A bit heavy on autoscrollers and flyover levels, though. Is this the SMB3 of the Kirby series? Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PC - Ember Lab 2021) Any% NMG Hard by InsertLogic [WRH][ORH] host frozenflygone, couch Rox_, Silo93 28m35s (est 35m, wr 29m20s) [WR] Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube v8oAAqwJjwI+40 Review: A very busted run, even for such a new game. Lots of out-of-bounds, in numerous ways, and no lack of other skips. I'm not sure Hard mode added all that much to the difficulty - it only ups the combat, which was mostly skipped - but a great run nonetheless. Chicory: A Colorful Tale (PC - Greg Lobanov 2021) All Bosses And Trials by Punchy [WRH] host frozenflygone, couch thebanov [DEV] 33m13s (est 35m, wr 32m40s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube iNAIr9kY62w+60 Review: An artsy pixely indie adventure game. The boss fights are a bit too autoscrolly, and the commentary is a bit heavy on "gushing about how good the game is" (from everyone except the dev), but it's still a good speedrun. Crash Team Racing (PS1 via PS2 - Naughty Dog 1999) Any% NMG by hypnoshark [WRH] host Edobean, no couch 50m47s (est 1h05m, wr 48m56s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube hF4yxXFoXzc+10 Review: Like many kart racers, this is a run with a lot of tech to shave seconds. Good self-commentary and clean execution. The glitch exhibition afterward is interesting but not as well-explained as I'd have liked. Webbed (PC - Sbug 2021) Any% by ShadowthePast [3RH] host Edobean, couch Torqqes [2RH], SteelOsprei, Noah [DEV] 17m21s (est 25m, wr 17m39s) [WR] Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube Fa0xZoqcXs4+20 Review: A new speed game, but one you might want to keep an eye on. The movement tech is very powerful, and gives you all your options from the start. It's already kind of nuts, and could get crazier as runners solidify their skills. About the only problem with this run is that it was too short to really explain everything that was going on. NM: confirm wr Mega Man X4 (PS1 - Capcom 1997) 100% Zero [BIDWAR] by Luiz Miguel [WRH] host Edobean, couch Hetfield90, The_Sid 44m54s (est 50m, wr 41m56s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube Qgf5nkH_pqs+15 Review: One of the marks of a good speedrunner is being able to execute well even on bad RNG. The game didn't want to cooperate, but Luiz performed well anyways, and the couch put on some informative (if low-energy) commentary. Psychonauts 2 (PC - Double Fine 2021) Any% by ItzBytez [WRH] host ateatree, couch DemonicRobots, KinkyCadence [2RH], Milkydere 1h30m56s (est 1h45m, wr 1h32m07s) Overall N/R Skill N/R Fun N/R Youtube kh4PGF0auE4+15 Review: (Skipped watching because I haven't played it yet, no spoilers plz. Will review once I beat the game.) Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania (PC - Ryu Ga Gotoku 2021) [BONUS] Story Mode All Worlds race Helix [2RH] vs PetresInc [WRH] host ateatree, no couch 38m30s, 39m20s (est 48m, wr 31m49s loadless) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube 9yxB4Sbog4E+130 Review: Monkey Ball is always a good game to watch, and this was one of the better races. Very competitive, well-commentated, ridiculous strats that fail just enough to let you grok how hard it is. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania (PC - Ryu Ga Gotoku 2021) [INCENTIVE] Dark Banana race Helix [2RH] vs PetresInc [WRH] host ateatree, no couch 4m43s, 5m55s (est 8m, wr 3m07s loadless) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube 9yxB4Sbog4E+2760 Review: An added challenge mode, as a traditional victory lap for Monkey Ball runs. Nothing too special but if you watched the All Worlds run, you'll want to see this too. Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (PC - Moon 2015, 2016) All Cells (No OOB/TA) by rinSR [WRH] host ateatree, couch Shayfe, Grimelios 48m40s (est 50m, wr 43m13s) [NV] Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube NOQoKZlyvlc+0 Review: There's a million indie-ish metroidvanias out there now, but Ori still ranks highly as a speed game. There's just so much movement tech, by the end, Rin was just blazing, and they had a good couch to handle their commentary. Invalidated by timer issues fairly early into the run. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii via Wii U - Nintendo EAD 2007) Any% Luigi race Tibs vs HardcoreGaming [2RH] vs Jhay [WRH] vs Mr. Cloud Kirby [3RH] host Char_bunny, couch Sailo, Rox 2h19m17s, 2h19m31s, 2h20m56s, 2h21m30s (est 2h35m, wr 2h18m15s) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★★★ Youtube vUeQK2CXvLs+0 Review: The reigning champ versus the up-and-coming underdog, with two other top contenders nipping at their heels... easily one of the most competitive races we've seen in years, and in a game with no end of speed tech. Pumpkin Jack (PC - Nicolas Meyssonnier 2020) NG+ No OOB by Jaxler [WRH] host Char_bunny, couch Bryonato, CorundumCore 53m17s (est 1h15m, wr 47m16s igt) [WR] Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube n8sDx2IG5PU+15 Review: Jaxler's execution was already looking pretty solid, hitting some very impressive tricks consistently. And then he got an unbelievably-rare glitch, skipping an entire boss phase, getting a world record by multiple minutes. Add some very informative commentary from the runner and CorundumCore, and some very entertaining commentary from Bryonato, and this really did make for a great run. -------------------------------TUESDAY------------------------------- Hitman: Codename 47 (PC - IO Interactive 2000) All Missions by valdemarka [WRH] host Prolix, couch Mekarazium 39m49s (est 40m, wr 26m47s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube gzfDzyFEBN8+0 Review: Just a very dull run. The tricks are mundane - mostly, it's just making a beeline for each objective, broken up by the occasional AI manip or animation cancel. The execution never rose to the level of impressive, and at one point sank to amateurish, requiring a lengthy wait period be repeated. The commentary was clunky, mostly just narrating events without explaining them. Serious Sam 4 (PC - Croteam 2020) All Levels by Tezur0 [WRH] host Prolix, couch Apple1417, THE LAW [CM] 1h06m40s (est 1h13m, wr 58m28s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube bt1SON__CYc+0 Review: Crogame runs are always a bit different. This one, is mostly broken by huge flings across the level, somewhat reminescent of Doom Eternal speedruns. Some lengthy less-broken sections do drag the pace down, but it's broken up by a few other amusing glitches, like bringing a giant mech into a boss fight never meant for it. And having a developer, even just a QA and community management one, is always a plus. Serious Sam 4 (PC - Croteam 2020) Any% by Tezur0 host Prolix, couch Apple1417, THE LAW [CM] 2m16s (est 3m, wr 35s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube bt1SON__CYc+4115 Review: An any% run this short, kind of has to get tacked on as a bonus. Sadly, it's based on one trick with no good setup, so this was basically two minutes of quickloading until it worked. Not the most engaging thing to watch, sadly. Marathon 2: Durandal (MacOS via Xb360 via Xb1 - Bungie 1995, Freeverse 2007) Kindergarten by tbcr [3RH] host Prolix, no couch 35m35s (est 43m, wr 31m31s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube NB11jl35oLE+0 Review: It's not as technical a speedrun as, say, Doom, but it's got a lot of tricks and tbcr hits them well. But he also manages to keep up a great stream of self-commentary - informative, witty, and just a bit zonked out from lack of sleep. Beast Wars: Transformers (PS1 - SCE Cambridge 1997) Predacon Campaign by AilisNoon [WRH][ORH] host Prolix, no couch 24m38s (est 27m, wr 18m55s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube _EtYQjJN9bE+0 Review: Not the most tightly-executed run, as you'd expect from a single-person leaderboard, but the route seemed surprisingly well-developed. Ailis did well in the first half, other than a few repeatedly-missed tricks, but seemed to run out of steam later on, throwing it over for long stretches of donation reading. Metal Warriors (SNES - LucasArts 1995) Any% by Omnigamer [WRH] host Sandsh8rk, no couch 16m00s (est 22m, wr 19m24s) [NF] Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube B4_0TrAmagE+0 Review: A neat little mecha shooter. Very fluid movement, not many *intended* glitches. A new softlock cut the run short at the very last stage, so you do actually get to see most of the game. This run really could have used a live couch, though, if only to see some reactions besides Omnigamer's deadpan. Astalon: Tears of the Earth (PC - LABS Works 2021) Any% by strizer86 [WRH] host Sandsh8rk, couch Coltaho [3RH] 52m31s (est 57m, wr 49m47s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube 6DQJjeNUg9c+0 Review: An indie metroidvania with some roguelike design aspects, never heard of it but it seems interesting. Nothing spectacularly novel, but competently played and well-commentated. Very clutch ending, as well. Willow (NES - Capcom 1989) Any% by Sathdresh [WRH] host Sandsh8rk, couch vanni_van, brottster [2RH] 1h03m19s (est 1h00m, wr 55m13s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube 6dstvQrT_0A+19 Review: A licensed-but-not-shovelware zeldalike, this has a lot of the right elements. Lots of commentary, even if not necessarily the best, and a glitch is used to bypass huge amounts of grinding, which is always nice to see. But it just didn't seem that good of a speedrun? The movement is nowhere near as skilled as Zelda 1 speedrunning, and the combat seems downright trivial when they bother with it at all. And there's just so much backtracking and walking through empty screens - the couch keeps things engaging, but that doesn't make the gameplay any better. Seems like a runner and couch to follow, but maybe not a game to get into. Willow (NES - Capcom 1989) Debug% by Sathdresh host Sandsh8rk, couch vanni_van [3RH], brottster 2m12s (est 2m, wr 1m15s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube 6dstvQrT_0A+3944 Review: A short bonus run, a seldom-played category allowing the use of the debug menu, pretty much exclusively for warping around the map. A common idea for a bonus run, but rather slapdash in execution, since the runner hadn't really practiced it, and nobody seemed to be on the same page with presenting it. Still, if you sat through the Any% run, it's probably worth sticking around for. Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger (NES - Angel 1992) Easy Mode by KLM1187 host SuperJamoose, couch Apollo 7m20s (est 8m, wr 6m37s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube BCDonqtKYaY+124 Review: This was hard to watch mostly because the framerate was so low - NES games are laggy but not "three frames a second" laggy, so I think this was just tech issues. Beyond that, it's a fairly mundane action platformer, with commentary mostly running play-by-play, or explaining the name differences between US and Japan. (Which I didn't get at all, because I never watched Power Rangers.) Bucky O'Hare (NES - Konami 1992) Normal Mode by KLM1187 host SuperJamoose, couch Nick-HardMadeEZ, DanTheVP 26m21s (est 28m, wr 23m23s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube tfwCFAG-Ujs+13 Review: A pretty ordinary action-platformer - not too much tech outside the boss fights, but a solid run regardless, and some good chemistry on the couch kept it engaging. Gargoyle's Quest II (NES - Capcom 1992) Any% by vanni_van [2RH] host SuperJamoose, couch FlannelKat, NME 26m49s (est 32m, wr 25m28s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube RzfwI5CZ-AQ+36 Review: An action-platformer-RPG with some really nice graphics for an NES title. The run is sort of reminescent of Shovel Knight runs - mostly just good platforming, mixed with some very tight damage boosts and a few death warps. Excellent commentary, really helping to sell how close Vanni was cutting it sometimes. Spacegulls (NES - Morphcat 2021) 100% v1.1 by Oopla [WRH] host SuperJamoose, no couch 8m16s (est 9m, wr 7m48s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube b0oElGesbb0+36 Review: It looks like a mini action-platformer with Flappy Bird movement mechanics? A strange mashup but it seems to work, and definitely one of the better sub-10m runs I've seen. The Krion Conquest (NES - Vic Tokai 1990) Any% JP race KLM1187 [3RH] vs stone_clive [2RH] host SuperJamoose, couch EndySWE, Nick-HardMadeEZ 19m28s, 21m37s (est 20m, wr 17m36s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube 2eujCe5uohA+23 Review: A curious little Mega Man clone, complete with clips, boss quick-kills, and rush jets. The race was tighter than the final times might indicate, due to an unfortunate death on the final boss rush. Final Fantasy XIII (PC - Square Enix PD1 2009, 2014) Any% by Kayarune host Bobby Blackwolf, SaberaMesia, couch Roosta, Mr. Zwanzig, Z3r01337 [2RH] 4h42m37s (est 5h00m, wr 4h29m13s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube tlcmBG2FrDA+22 Review: Long JRPG runs are divisive - their focus on deep knowledge rather than mechanical execution, and their length, makes them a different beast than most other speedruns. This was one of the better ones, but that doesn't mean it isn't still a long JRPG run. The commentary was good but inevitably jargon-heavy, the execution was pretty clean, and fortunately this game allow you to skip cutscenes. The focus on evading overworld encounters and highly-scripted boss fights reminds me more of Pokemon runs than other Final Fantasy runs I've seen, but it was enjoyable at that. Nier: Automata (PC - PlatinumGames 2017) [A]ny% VC3 Mod race BlueMetal [2RH] vs Ameiii host Xenadir, couch Shabu Shabu, Mytherium, RodG 1h24m39s, 1h25m26s (est 1h30m, wr 1h20m12s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube TYxVC7Aoepg+0 Review: A very different experience than my casual run. Lots and lots of clipping, and some major damage glitches for the obligatory boss fights. Commentary could have been better - even having played the game, I didn't always know what was going on - but it was a fun race. Ratchet & Clank (PS3 - Insomniac 2002) NG+ by deltadoid host Xenadir, couch Jishkared, Xem92, Hank9399 22m10s (est 23m, wr 18m30s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube -E5sVCA7LxU+0 Review: I'm not sure what was more busted, this run, or this couch. Lots of levels skipped almost entirely, lots of out-of-bounds, lots of joking around. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PS5 - Insomniac 2021) NG+ by mobius host Xenadir, couch NauticalTurtle [3RH], Syn [WRH] 1h30m43s (est 1h35m, wr 1h19m41s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube A1VuRdDSO-k+0 Review: A less busted run than the last, though whether that's down to coding or the release date remains to be seen. There's still lots of small clips and tricks, and I still question why NG+ is the norm for this series, when it makes combat downright trivial and doesn't seem to open up movement options. Be aware there's some major bitrate issues - I don't know if it's just the game, or lingering tech issues, but it was a pretty blocky image much of the time. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (PS5 - Square Enix BD1 2021) INTERmission Normal Any% by GenericallyNamed [3RH], DutchPotato [2RH] host TheCrankMachine, couch steamed_hams_with_cheese, WoadyB 48m35s, 50m34s (est 52m, wr 47m37s) Overall N/R Skill N/R Fun N/R Youtube ZmqFfj3y0vo+0 Review: (Skipped because I haven't played Remake yet, no spoilers plz. Will review once I finish a casual playthru.) Returnal (PS5 - Housemarque 2021) Fresh File Any% by cavecavecave [WRH] host TheCrankMachine, couch xenwall, MentalToast 46m04s (est 1h06m, wr 42m38s) [NV] Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube DY9ZT8wLBWA+0 Review: Nominally a roguelite, but this beats it in one straight shot, so it's more like a regular shooter, just with more RNG and a heavy bullet-hell influence. As a very new game, it was basically glitchless, with only an anim-cancel for movement tech, but as a near-glitchless run, it's not bad. Invalidated by stream issues. Returnal (PS5 - Housemarque 2021) NG+ Any% [INCENTIVE] by cavecavecave [WRH] host TheCrankMachine, couch xenwall [3RH], MentalToast 8m10s (est 6m, wr 4m08s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube DY9ZT8wLBWA+3175 Review: A quick bonus run. Two runs, nearly - due to a first attempt dying halfway through. That, heavy RNG, and a poor explanation of what the rules were or what was going on, makes this a skippable run for anyone that isn't a devotee of Returnal. [[[SPOOKY BLOCK]]] Dead Rising (PC - Capcom PS1 2006) TimeSkip NG by Ecdycis [2RH] host AnEternalEnigma, no couch 36m01s (est 40m, wr 34m47s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube R_M1_5Nh-W0+0 Review: There's not too much in the way of tech - this is a very play-game-good run, but Ecdycis makes it a fun experience. The bonus boss fight afterward is a good way to cap it off. Tormented Souls (PC - Dual Effect 2021) Full Game Any% by RebeccaRE [3RH] host AnEternalEnigma, couch Kaneblueriver 1h01m40s (est 1h08m, wr 55m51s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube ldNy1B1Poro+0 Review: A new game in the PS1 RE style, which is probably the biggest draw to the run. Everything else is middling - the commentary is constant but not very informative, the strats are as unpolished as you'd expect of a year-old game, and the game itself holds few surprises in its gameplay. It's mostly just walking around enemies and memorizing puzzle solutions, which isn't great to watch. One for the horror fans, but not a must-watch for even them. FAITH: Chapter II (PC - Airdorf 2019) Ending III: Initiation by Vynn [2RH] host Nichole Goodnight, couch Vysetra [WRH] 21m42s (est 30m, wr 20m12s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube vlq7D__234A+0 Review: Two chapters in, and I'm still not sure what this speedrun is about. The gameplay looks minimal, even compared to walking sims. The only commentary given was explaining the story, barely any mention of how the game plays, let alone strategies. It's interesting as a bite-sized Let's Play, and somewhat improved from the last appearance, but I still am not sure what the appeal is supposed to be. ------------------------------WEDNESDAY------------------------------ PAON-ぱおん- BEYOND THE PIEN (PC - Tadasumen 2021) Any% by Swordfish4649 host Nichole Goodnight, no couch 4m39s (est 20m, wr 3m01s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ☆☆☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube mFNL0eretAo+197 Review: One of the upsides of online marathons is that it allows runners from around the globe to participate, not just those who can travel to the US. We've seen many great runs that simply wouldn't have been possible at an in-person event... but this was not one of them. Perhaps with a couch team that actually spoke English fluently, this could have been good, but both explanations and jokes fall flat when I can barely understand them. That can't help but overshadow everything else. It had some good ingredients - a runner in costume, some funny jumpscare reactions, and I think a lot of memes - but you're practically better off watching this on mute. NM: Kind of unsure on dev name, hard to find any info on this game besides Let's Plays, but it does match with what I'd found for PIEN last year Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (GC via Wii - Silicon Knights 2002) Any% No Cutscene Storage by Pandora_jane [WRH] host THEKyleThomas, couch kazmcdemon, GibGirl, BigNoNo [2RH] 1h29m03s (est 1h45m, wr 1h26m56s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube cZCQiQA03IY+80 Review: If this run had been half the length, it would have been fine. But at ninety minutes, it was a real drag. There's some interesting tech, but it's sprinkled rather sparingly throughout, and while the couch was informative, they weren't all that entertaining. I just found myself bored, most of the time. Kuon (PS2 - From 2004) Yang Phase [BIDWAR] by MissScarletTanager [WRH] host THEKyleThomas, couch Ecdycis, Tally (🐇), Karis (🐇) 42m09s (est 40m, wr 43m51s) [WR] Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube a1foBZx_bzc+388 Review: This was like a lot of horror speedruns - dodging enemies while bouncing between triggers and a few mandatory fights. The run was surprisingly sloppy for a WR - several route mistakes (she'd been practicing Yin Phase), and some safety strats (though some seem like they might be faster). It was still decently executed overall, but the real draw here was the commentary, trying to explain the story in a sarcastic and low-spoiler way. [[[/SPOOKY BLOCK]]] Three Dirty Dwarves (Saturn - Appaloosa 1996) Normal by Lizstar [WRH] host AmberCyprian, couch Zandra, Lucky_Bun 46m45s (est 55m, wr 32m46s) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube n1WS07DfMQo+34 Review: Like Lizstar's other runs, this is more a showcase of a weird, weird game. The cutscenes are the big draw, but even normal gameplay has some very strange characters. Otherwise, it's a fairly routine brawler, barely any glitches and only some mundane routing. An excellent sleep-deprived madness run. We Love Katamari (PS2 - Namco 2005) Any% by Harutomo [WRH] host AmberCyprian, couch Enzor_AU, Shamana 57m18s (est 1h00m, wr 54m54s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube jbTSqCwAKEo+0 Review: Another run that did several things well, but didn't really know what it was trying to be. The couch tried to give informative, speed-tech explanations, but ran out of steam halfway through, as this isn't really the most technical speed game. Haru mostly kept silent (not being fluent in English) but seemed to be more suited for a relaxed, charming run, fitting the vibes of the game, frequently trying to push Royal Rainbow! as a meme. Maybe some better coordination beforehand would have helped? The Typing of the Dead (PC - WOW 2000) Arcade% by teapartycthulu host Edobean, no couch 30m16s (est 35m, wr 28m08s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube cGza2YhLpDg+0 Review: This run had more speed tech than I expected, given that it's a rail shooter. It's still very autoscroller-y but not as bad as I was expecting. The strats are actually more about managing the auto-balance and taking the right branches, rather than simply typing fast - TPC was no slouch but I've seen faster typists. But he kept up some solid self-commentary, only occasionally running out of things to say, making for an engaging run. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (Genesis - Konami 1992) Hard% by Crunan [WRH] host AmberCyprian, couch SpaceCoastGaming, LRock, TurboGilman [3RH] 22m48s (est 26m, wr 21m58s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube F5TSHeAFTNU+0 Review: A pretty standard beat-em-up, with a pretty standard run. It's a Genesis game so not as much depth as modern examples, but very tightly routed. You barely see a lot of the enemies before they're sent flying off the screen. No real tricks, just play game good, and Crunan play game *very* good. [[[SONIC BLOCK]]] SNOLF 0 (Genesis - Sonic Team 1991, DrMelon 2021) Any% by dowolf host NerdyExcursions, couch Brossentia 27m05s (est 40m, no wr) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube EWGQTghURh4+0 Review: A ridiculous run of a ridiculous hack. Sonic played as a golf game seems to work surprisingly well, and it's an even better speedrun. There's a nice mix of skipping over massive sections by driving over them, and some easy parts that became quite challenging under the new controls, and it's all accompanied by entertaining commentary. NM: Could not find a leaderboard for this, only for the original SNOLF Sonic R (GC via Wii - Traveller's Tales 1997, 2005) 100% No OOB by Risuruuu host NerdyExcursions, couch SilverSh33p, Matoi, Daily 15m28s (est 17m, wr 13m59s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube xoNc3MNcsII+0 Review: An unconventional Sonic game, the run feels more like Diddy Kong Racing than anything else. There's not too much precision or depth, but it's a neat little run. Sonic Robo Blast 2 (PC - Sonic Team Junior 1998) Sonic Any% by Lemin [WRH] host NerdyExcursions, couch Refrag [2RH] 26m09s (est 30m, wr 23m07s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube Z41SIqcsJVU+0 Review: A Sonic fangame on the Doom engine? That's worth watching just for the incongruity. And it looks like a better 3D Sonic game than most actual 3D Sonic games? And the speedrun is pretty tight, to boot? The only real drag was some hard-to-understand bits of commentary, but that wasn't enough to hold it back too much. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II (PC - Dimps 2012) Any% coop Argick, AmberCyprian [COOP WRHs] host Edobean, no couch 43m47s (est 55m, wr 47m08s) [WR] Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube vF0Sns9ZEwQ+0 Review: Who needs a couch when you have Argick and his mile-a-minute mouth? Hilarious and yet still informative commentary, punctuated with co-op chatter. And then they got a world record while cosplaying and vtubing, respectively. Sonic Adventure DX (PC - Sonic Team 2001) Sonic's Story by AFWagers host Edobean, couch Argick, Badlex 31m46s (est 34m, wr 28m51s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube db7uEZ0QZFE+49 Review: Early 3D Sonic runs are infamously busted, and this was no exception. Fast-paced (save all the autoscrollers) and with some good couch banter. [[[/SONIC BLOCK]]] Pokemon Crystal Key Item Randomizer (GBC - Game Freak 2000, Erudnick Cohen 2018) Beat Red race Keizaron vs 360Chrism vs Shenanagans (vs Chat) host Skybilz, no couch 2h12m39s, 2h17m04s, 2h34m41s (est 2h45m, no wr) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★★★ Youtube MxMV7rMAH4U+15 Review: Keizaron giving more material for the Jynx compilation, Shenanagans getting a Canceled% wr, and oh yeah, a speedrun happened. There wasn't all that much discussion of the game or strats, but it was an excellent madness run. NM: Need confirmation on randomizer dev Slay the Spire (PC - MegaCrit 2019) 4 Character Unseeded by SpeedFrog [2RH] host Xenadir, couch OohBleh, Z 38m04s (est 50m, wr 24m46s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube Q7FlPBFKX_Q+37 Review: Unfortunately, too fast-paced and too complex to explain well enough for outsiders to follow. I could appreciate the skill on display but I admit, I did not understand most of it. Slay the Spire (PC - MegaCrit 2019) The Silent Seeded [INCENTIVE] by SpeedFrog host Xenadir, couch OohBleh [WRH], Z 2m09s (est 4m, wr 1m48s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube Q7FlPBFKX_Q+2412 Review: A tour de force of menuing, but not much more. If you've not played the game, start here, and maybe continue to the main run if you liked it. GeoGuessr (PC - Anton Wallen 2013) Perfect Score coop havrd, Janmumrik host Xenadir, no couch 40m19s (est 1h00m, no wr) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube aV2VuWleEeY+76 Review: Are you ready to watch two geographical geniuses instantly recognize what country they're in, but then spend twenty minutes trying to pin down a street intersection? This is the run for you. It might not involve as much twitchy platforming or out-of-bounds glitching as most speedruns, but the menuing is blinding-fast and the depth of knowledge is absurd. ShootMania Storm (PC - Nadeo 2013) Hard Map Showcase by SBVille host iggyzig, no couch ~25m (est 29m, no wr - showcase) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube 2kYWe67xe3A+16 Review: I've never seen this game before, but it's an interesting sort of parkour platformer. Not too much variety in tech, and the levels stretch on a bit too long, but overall, an interesting watch. Trackmania (PC - Nadeo 2020) Community Maps Showcase by Rastats host iggyzig, no couch ~1h15m (est 1h00m, no wr - showcase) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube -BiUZRQhGeE+182 Review: The best of this little showcase block. Each level is short, so we get plenty of variety, and as someone who played a lot of TM Nations Forever, it was fascinating to see the new options from the latest release. Rocket League (PC - Psyonix 2015) [BONUS] Workshop Showcase by BoneyPlatypus, blaku, Jimingo, ThundaSurge host iggyzig, couch Plumato, Liefx ~1h05m (est 58m, no wr - showcase) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube 6wzaB9yhl4A+194 Review: This was a bonus run? Everything felt stretched - I was literally yawning by the halfway point. Sure, it's amazing to see those long hovers and precise dribbles, but the pacing on this was far, far too slow. There was perhaps enough variety for a half hour - there was nothing that seven minutes of hovering through rings gave us, that the first minute did not, and for all their talk of specialization and unique levels, I think half of them were Superman 64 solve-my-maze tedium. Commentators spent as long shilling the game and the workshop as they did explaining tech, because there fundamentally isn't that much tech to this game. Risk of Rain 2 (PC - Hopoo 2020) Any% by Gothrand host iggyzig, couch CHON, Whakc 10m00s (est 12m, wr 7m45s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube ATfYx7gzg-g+149 Review: I think ten minutes was insufficient for this game. The explanations were very heavy on jargon, and they were nearly at the final boss before I actually understood anything that was going on. One for the Risk of Rain fans, surely, but not a good one for outsiders. Halo 5: Guardians (Xb1 - 343 Industries 2015) Full Game Legendary by Distro [2RH] host cartridgeblowers, couch Phobic 1h32m54s (est 1h37m, wr 1h14m51s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube q-XcM0F1e9c+166 Review: This had more OoB and glitching than most Halo runs I've seen. There's still plenty of good shooting, but it felt more like a Doom 2016 run than an MCC run. Not that I'm complaining. Diddy Kong Racing (N64 - Rare 1997) All Trophy Races race Obiyo [2RH] vs Sweenerdog [WRH] vs tridenttail [3RH] host cartridgeblowers, couch MrsGizamaluke, Draqueus 23m37s, 23m39s, 23m41s (est 26m, wr 23m18s) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube FQXxLbrs-bA+0 Review: An exceptionally tight race - never more than a few seconds apart, and constantly vying for position. Despite a few errors, they were still within half a minute of WR, so the execution couldn't have been cleaner. The only thing that could have made commentary better was being live - the delay between events and reactions made me glad I caught this on VOD instead of live, so I could rewind and watch the cool bits they called out. Splatoon 2 (Switch - Nintendo EPD 2017) NG+ by talontrottinian [2RH] host TheCrankMachine, couch OboeMasterOzzy [3RH], Nobobin 1h04m01s (est 1h08m, wr 1h02m24s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube 8i5dI_uAdNY+0 Review: The game has exceptional movement mechanics, which Talon takes full advantage of, but that's about it. Normal enemies are almost never a threat, and even bosses are dispatched quickly and without hassle. It struggles to stay interesting, a full hour in. That's mostly down to the game, though, and not the runner or couch. ------------------------------THURSDAY------------------------------- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (3DS - Nintendo EAD 2000, Grezzo 2015) [BIDWAR] Any% by gymnast86 [2RH] host TheCrankMachine, couch joaish, BenStephens56 38m50s (est 40m, wr 33m23s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube pJ4Lw7I0fgI+25 Review: This is kind of an awkward speedrun. The first half is stuffed with cutscenes, and the first cycle is played almost entirely as intended. Then it's a trek over to the Deku Palace and a very glitchy wrong-warp straight to end of the final dungeon. It's very well-explained for something so technical - Gymnast and couch could probably teach a comp sci class better than my actual college professors did - but it's unfortunate that so much time is spent on the fixed-length intro. [[[AWFUL BLOCK]]] Zelda's Adventure (CD-i - Viridis 1995) Any% by Douggernaught [WRH] host Lanaruse, couch 0rganics, MC 1h16m11s (est 1h24m, wr 1h09m25s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube fLC6pa3T7m4+120 Review: The game is much more like conventional Zelda games, at least in the top-down perspective, clear dungeons and bosses, and the very bouncy level design. And the cutscenes, though still not good, are at least less memetastically awful. But that makes it not quite awful enough to be a good Awful Block run, while still not being good enough to be outside Awful Block. It's mostly just tedious loading times, opaque quest design, and some killing bosses with chip damage because going a few screens over to grab the intended weapon would take longer. Garshasp: The Monster Slayer (PC - Fanafzar Sharif 2011) No Void Rolling by Stacky McBears [2RH] host Lanaruse, couch playinglikeass as playinglikebutts [WRH] 26m04s (est 37m, wr 26m16s) [WR] Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube bTs8Xo1yX8M+0 Review: Not the most broken game of Awful Block, but not a bad watch. It's got a weird mix of actual speed tech, bad game design, and a very cringe story, but they didn't actually spend too long talking about the last. If you want a very exploitable 3D brawler, this one is up there, but they played it a bit too straight for an Awful Block game. Taz-Mania (Game Gear - NuFX 1992) Any% by Grumpmeister host SporadicErratic, couch brossentia, Raelcun, Biscuit (🐶), Furry (🐶) 8m09s (est 11m, no wr) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube yMDxrBecBgg+0 Review: The fun part of Awful Game speedruns is making fun of them, but Grumpmeister doesn't really do any of that. He's just playing a game with awful music and a lot of lag, but trying to sing its praises regardless. There's very limited tech - the game is mostly autoscrollers - so it's not a good speed game, but if you're not riffing on it, where's the fun? NM: no leaderboard for Game Gear version? Meegah Mem II (PC - Crapcom 2019) Any% by LV Creed host SporadicErratic, no couch 28m19s (est 33m, no wr) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube ctR79y1O5bg+120 Review: Now this is some proper Awful Block material. Perhaps it's a deliberately bad game, but between the kazoo soundtrack, the mspaint sprites, and the glitchy everything, this is what Awful Block should be. LV Creed might need some more practice at speaking, he was frequently disjointed and meandering, but he did well enough. Captain Novolin (SNES - Sculptured Software 1992) Any% by Asuka424 [2RH] host SporadicErratic, couch pk4787, Marten Broadcloak 7m44s (est 10m, wr 7m07s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube zzrQJu9k8xQ+17 Review: Imagine a modestly jank hold-right platformer, where between levels, you have to check your blood sugar. That's kind of it. It's neither a horrendous game nor a good speedrun, but the commentary makes it worth watching. The Simpsons: Bart's House of Weirdness (DOS - Distinctive 1992) Any% by Fyzzu [WRH] host SporadicErratic, couch Corndan, Flannelkat [2RH], Brossentia 8m16s (est 15m, wr 7m30s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube -Vuit529v-E+0 Review: It's a bit hard to show off games with bad controls, because if you're good, you mostly don't see it. But there's enough obvious jank that this is well within Awful Block turf, and the surprisingly good animations (for a DOS game) make it an interesting watch regardless. Short, but I'm not sure it would have held interest for much longer. Darkman (NES - Painting by Numbers 1991) Any% by Neetsel [WRH] host SporadicErratic, couch corndan, Brossentia 12m36s (est 14m, wr 9m53s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube YoC2dx5ZyvE+22 Review: A broken, busted NES movie tie-in. A lot of it's bad controls, which Neetsel is good enough that it doesn't come across, but there's enough baffling game design that you can tell, this, is an awful game. Sonic Jam (Game.Com - Sonic Team 1997, 1998) All Games by Finalflame [WRH] host AmberCyprian, couch CrankThatSNES 16m27s (est 26m, wr 15m44s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube hd8WeV2B598+27 Review: Frame-perfect is a lot easier with a single-digit framerate. There's some novelty from being a Game.Com title, but that mostly just makes it not that great of a game. Commentary was informative but very unenthused - with Awful Block, I've come to expect excitement, either hyping up a game that does not deserve it, or unreservedly hating a game that does. This was more "yeah, it's a Game.Com game, the framerate is awful, we don't know how all these glitches happen, most of them aren't useful, I can't tell which level I'm on because they all look the same". Zadette (PC - Le Club des Sacs 2021) Real Gamer% [INCENTIVE] race NPC [3RH] vs Neetsel [WRH] vs TenMicu [2RH] vs mooware host AmberCyprian, couch corndan, flannelkat 25m37s, 26m37s, 27m32s, 28m04s (est 37m, wr 23m25s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube Zve6YJiEnEY+24 Review: A sort of shitpost game - the platforming is extremely limited, the combat is simple as possible, and the art is the best MSPaint can provide. Which makes for a pretty decent Awful Block game. Real Gamer% added a lot of extra RNG in the final boss, so it wasn't that great as a race, but it was definitely a fun watch. Only real problem was the audio mix, the grating music pretty frequently drowned out the commentary. [[[/AWFUL BLOCK]]] Cranked Up (PC - BBLack 2021) Floor is Lava by Bullets [WRH] host AmberCyprian, no couch 11m08s (est 12m, wr 9m42s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube uYLmK0OIrwE+27 Review: A quirky momentum platformer, somewhat in the vein of Trials. It's a chill run, not very technical but not super zany either. I'm a bit surprised this is in, or maybe adjacent to, Awful Block, since the game actually looks decent, but the lines between Awful Block and Silly Block have been blurring for a while. Discworld (DOS via PC - Perfect 10 1995) Any% ScummVM No Act Return by Mindez [WRH] host AmberCyprian, no couch 19m00s (est 25m, wr 13m20s) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube JsiC7mx1kzw+30 Review: Strictly as a speedrun, this was pretty good. Blazing menuing, some truly busted glitches, skipping almost half the game with one trick, and fairly well explained. But if you also happen to be a Discworld fan, this has even more to offer. Silly cosplay? Pointing out all the witty jokes? Far too many character references? I'm not even the biggest Pratchett fan, and I was loving it. Maybe it'll fall a bit flat if you've never read any of the books the game is based on, but if you did? Definitely a must-watch. [[[CASTLEVANIA BLOCK]]] Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (PS2 via PS3 - Konami 2003, 2012) Any% Leon by LonerHero [2RH] host Ashewyn, couch DECosmic, DargondarchSDA [3RH], CarcinogenSDA 46m51s (est 55m, wr 43m16s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube AA79r8kLiPM+122 Review: One of the less traditional Castlevania games. Not too rich in tech, but some clever boss strats, and what tech there was, was well-commentated. If you like early-00s 3D action-adventure, this is for you. Castlevania: Dracula X (SNES - Konami 1995) Any% Bad Ending race SBDWolf [WRH] vs Crunan [2RH] host Ashewyn, couch bencarnate, Lucha_Gym 14m55s, 15m36s (est 24m, wr 13m35s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube A71OfEnjabw+30 Review: A short but competitive race of a pretty straightforward Castlevania. The only glitches were a few damage clips, it's almost all execution, and both runners were excellent. This era of Castlevania isn't the deepest gameplay-wise, but fifteen minutes is nowhere near enough time to wear out its welcome. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (PC - Konami 2001, 2021) Vampire Killer All Bosses by JupiterClimb [WRH] host Ashewyn, no couch 29m32s (est 36m, wr 26m35s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube WSS2J1Pmb_M+32 Review: I enjoyed this one a good bit - not for any individual quality it excelled at, but for the full package. It's glitchy enough to be fun, and skip a lot of boring bits, while not being a straight-to-final-boss run. It's not the most tense and exciting run, but it was only rarely boring. (And can we get JupiterClimb on host duties sometime? Dude has an excellent radio voice.) Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (PC - Konami 2001, 2021) Magician Any% by JupiterClimb [WRH] host Ashewyn, no couch 4m27s (est 6m, wr 3m18s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube WSS2J1Pmb_M+1857 Review: And here's that straight-to-the-end-boss category. An unfortunately large amount of time was spent just watching two dozen level-ups, and there was a lot of RNG, but it was otherwise just more of the same. A nice dessert, but not a main course in itself. Castlevania Chronicles (PS1 - Konami 1993, 2001) Original Mode TAS by strizer86 host Ashewyn, no couch 25m56s02ms (est 26m, human wr 28m11s) Overall ★☆★☆★ Skill ☆★☆★☆ Fun ★☆★☆★ Youtube ep7ur9TSO9s+32 Review: A very straightforward TAS - no absurd glitches or ACE, just playing perfectly. Not nearly so spectacular as some previous TAS exhibitions, but perhaps that's for the better. [[[/CASTLEVANIA BLOCK]]] Half-Life 2 (PC - Valve 2004) Any% No Voidclip by Maltemller [WRH] host SaberaMesia, couch Waezone [3RH], Alliegator 52m07s (est 1h05m, wr 51m20s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube 2sNsnjmoeBo+22 Review: It's a Source speedrun. Ridiculous bhops, clips and grenade-boosts everywhere, absolutely *nothing* resembling normal gameplay. If that sounds like a fun time, you're right. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (PC - Steel Crate 2015) The Centurion 100% by Procyon host SaberaMesia, couch Yabbaguy, Espik, KittyAshy, Grunkle 53m30s (est 1h12m, no wr) [WR?] Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube mAgqYvtJYrg+21 Review: I think the best reference for this game is a minigame collection. It's a hundred small challenges, that go by mostly too fast to explain. You get just enough to see the scale of the difficulty, but I doubt anyone but a top-level runner themselves would be able to keep up with the gameplay. NM: Announced as a WR, but the leaderboard on speedrun.com is empty? wtf? Lost Judgment (PS5 - Ryu Ga Gotoku 2021) Any% by Froob [2RH] host Bobby Blackwolf, no couch 2h37m00s (est 3h00m, wr 2h34m43s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube XG2jgs2rWSo+68 Review: This is basically a glitchless speedrun, and has little in the way of large-scale tech. As such, it could have been endless tedium. But Froob spent the run giving a running commentary not on the gameplay, but on the story, dragging us through every twist and turn of the murder mystery plot (and incidentally, spoiling Lost Judgement, the original game, and about half the Yakuza series). Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix HD (PC - Square Enix PD1 2005, 2007, 2014; Alvaro 2020) Randomizer coop race spikevegeta, JHobz vs RoseCurel, Violin host Nukkular_Reaction, couch Alios, ZackTheRobot 2h53m12s, 3h14m04s (est 3h15m, no wr) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube 1Fd2iLSuONI+117 Review: Past randomizer races have been highlights, so I had high expectations. I don't think they were met. I'm not sure whether it was this seed, or just how the randomizer works, but there didn't seem to be much point in the order of attack. And not being able to hear the runners coordinate really hurt - keeping SpikeVegeta on mute is *criminal*. It was a good showcase of KH skills, but not so much a good randomizer race. NM: Check couch usernames, weren't spelled out anywhere Resident Evil Village (PC - Capcom 2021) [BONUS] Village of Shadows Glitchless by 7rayD [WRH] host AnEternalEnigma, couch Distortion2, Spicee [2RH] 1h55m54s (est 2h10m, wr 1h42m26s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube tdLezZIdwB8+125 Review: A solid run of a hard category. Like a lot of horror games, the speedrun has a lot of downtime and a lot of just running around enemies, but it seems like this is one of the more fun Resident Evil games to speed through. crossbeats REV. Sunrise (Arcade - Capcom 2016) Showcase by jammitch! host AnEternalEnigma, couch KindaNerdyHousewife, Shinji16, dotphase ~1h20m (est 1h12m, no wr - showcase) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★★ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube U8R7UDgDt60+22 Review: Top-level play in most rhythm games is insane. Even the Beatmania players were in awe of the display here. If there was any shortcoming, it was just that there wasn't too much variety - a lot of things looked pretty similar, an hour in. The boss songs at the end ramped it up, but a lot of the variation was too minor for a newcomer to see. But it was still one of the best showcases of the whole event. -------------------------------FRIDAY-------------------------------- Ynglet (PC - Nifflas 2021) 100% (Challenging) by warm_ham [2RH] host AnEternalEnigma, no couch 18m53s (est 22m, wr 17m45s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube 0u06RWTA3SU+70 Review: A very chill run. It didn't seem particularly challenging, but it was well-executed. Commentary leaned more on the game itself than the strats, but that fit the vibes. It Takes Two (PC - Hazelight 2021) Any% coop ItzBytez, whoishyper [2RHs] host PurpleGhostKasper, couch papaYANN and AlienGod 1h45m26s (est 2h00m, wr 1h36m03s igt) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube W5FgX90Z490+55 Review: I was not expecting this to be this good. Brand-new game, no pre-existing speed community, and co-op? That does not sound like a recipe for a good speedrun, but it was. Lots of OoB, heavy reliance on checkpoint warps, some very tight movement tech. I also wasn't expecting this level of hype out of a 2AM run, but the couch was popping off. There were a few bits that dragged - not every autoscroller has a skip yet - but it's a better run than many much more established games. Marble It Up! (PC - Blueteak 2018) Full Game Classic by Hatchet302 [WRH] host SuperJamoose, couch Agedude 34m25s (est 38m, wr 31m36s) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube H6ff054Yf-Q+59 Review: The commentary is a bit dry, but wow, this gameplay! It's a physics platformer, along the lines of Marble Madness or Super Monkey Ball, but so much more fluid and precise. With no pause-buffering, this level of execution just looks amazing. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC - Bethesda 2006) No DFS by DizzySplits [3RH] host SuperJamoose, couch Elongated_Musketgun 30m05s (est 35m, wr 26m07s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube ISFYmP_KMB0+163 Review: Elder Scrolls runs tend to be incredibly broken. A frequent problem is even that they're so broken, you can beat them almost instantly with the right glitch. This category bans that glitch, leaving it as thirty minutes of OoB, item duplication, and general insanity. Stardew Valley (PC - ConcernedApe 2016) Glitched Community Center Restoration by Olenoname [2RH] host SporadicErratic, couch blackheartwings, Primatis, LaChance 17m13s (est 20m, wr 13m44s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube 7rsysLNOP6U+0 Review: When they say "glitched", they mean "glitched". By exploiting how dialogue gives items, they basically get almost every item they need instantly, and from there, it's just triggering (and overlapping) cutscenes and some blind navigation. More of a nifty route showcase than a display of speedrun skill, but that's still entertaining. I Am Bread (PC - Bossa 2015) Any% by PootLoops [WRH] host SporadicErratic, no couch 6m14s (est 10m, wr 5m07s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube RjJjUu0WjFg+10 Review: Another installment in the "innocuous object physics puzzle-explorer" subgenre, which is apparently a thing. PootLoops has enough charisma to make it work, but this game would have started to drag by the ten-minute mark. It has just enough variety to avoid getting stale before it ends, but don't go into this expecting a super technical speed game. Oatmeal (PC - Tim Kashani 2021) 50% by Konasumi [WRH] host SporadicErratic, no couch 4m26s (est 10m, wr 5m35s igt) [WR] Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube 1FYqAnwDbnk+16 Review: This game has serious Silly Block energy, but Konasumi plays an excellent straight man against it. The only joke is the game itself, but wow, what a joke it was. It even had a good bit of speed tech, and the fast pace made it a must-watch. Ultraman Ball (GB via SNES - Bec 1994) Any% by giygasblues [3RH] host SporadicErratic, no couch 8m30s (est 15m, wr 6m52s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube jAEYUovocoU+20 Review: It's an intruigingly strange game, but this didn't work well as a speedrun. Very little explanation of what was going on, besides referencing characters I'd never heard of, and it didn't look like a particularly challenging game. And more donation time in a sub-10m run than in most 30m runs. One for the ultra-fans, perhaps, but not for general consumption. Wave Break (PC - Funktronic 2021) Any% by Biglaw [WRH] host SporadicErratic, couch Kyle [CM] 14m07s (est 20m, wr 12m25s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube FOgYLVkQmHI+0 Review: I was expecting more of a Wave Race game, but this is much more along the lines of THPS... with a weird shooter section at the end. Perhaps worth watching just for the sheer incongruity of "boat-based skateboarding game with animals and Miami Vice shootouts", but doesn't have much else going for it. NM: Youtube vid credits couch as "PostCubie" but never referred to as such? SYNTHETIK: Legion Rising (PC - Flow Fire 2018) 220% Coop v26 coop PhoenyxBird, will4914 host SporadicErratic, no couch 9m50s (est 15m, wr 14m06s) [WR?] Overall ☆☆☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ☆☆☆☆☆ Youtube w8RVXV3qjdw+26 Review: I have rarely seen a run with less enthusiasm. Almost no commentary, and what little we got was useless. The remarks afterward sounded downright bored, even though this looked like a WR. But the leaderboards seem to be dead and the game does not seem particularly difficult to run, so it doesn't even work as a skill showcase. Rockman & Forte (SNES - Capcom 1998) Any% Rockman by Amad [2RH] host SporadicErratic, couch Werking34 [WRH], pjdicesare 36m07s (est 38m, wr 34m18s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube 4UnRzNgqWm8+13 Review: It's well in line with this era of Mega Man games. High-speed mashing, some zips and clips, a pretty straightforward route but not without thought, and precise execution. This one seems particularly hard, thanks to a critical-health bonus, but Amad makes it look easy. Journey (PC - Thatgamecompany 2012, 2019) Any% White Robe Glitched by nathanj [WRH] host SporadicErratic, couch stoicmom, Peksa [2RH] 18m07s (est 19m, wr 17m14s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube ZB2-79vKmjs+17 Review: I had trouble imagining a speedrun of a game so deliberately chill. This is probably what I should have expected - a lot of OoB, plus some other movement glitches, combining to basically glide from one level-end trigger to another. Good chemistry with the couch, and cleanly executed, but not exactly a jaw-dropping speedrun. Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories (PS2 - Konami 1999) Any% w/ 15 Card Drop Mod race Keizaron vs skybilz host Nukkular_Reaction, couch Spikevegeta 2h19m12s, DNF (est 3h10m, wr 1h12m39s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube Tvlc8KEIV50+15 Review: Do you want to see three charismatic idiots beat their heads against a wall of RNG and bullshit, for three hours? Of course you do. On one screen, you have an actual speedrun, and on the other, you have someone farming for card drops and getting everything except the right cards, and both sides are *hilarious*. This game is not really marathon-safe even with a mod to multiply all card drops by 15x, but somehow we *almost* got both to finish - the DNF was at the final boss, after getting an impossible pattern, that puts you back at the start of a six-fight gauntlet, no saves allowed. Portal Reloaded (PC - Valve 2011, PORTANIS 2021) No SLA by Msushi [2RH] host Brutal_Melo, no couch 18m48s (est 20m, wr 15m58s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube dHSDskspUIQ+27 Review: A fun-looking Portal 2 mod. There's no glitches that actually break the game, but plenty of puzzles solved in completely the wrong way. Not the most polished run, but pretty fun, especially for a self-commentated run. Dark Souls (PC - From 2011) All Bosses race Regole vs Danflesh host Brutal_Melo, couch Ducksual 1h17m15s, 1h20m02s (est 1h25m, wr 1h00m53s igt) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube fFt9h2fgTuU+34 Review: Dark Souls is a hard run to follow at the best of times. A run using many technical glitches, and runners using widely diverging routes, made it even harder. Probably a good one for the fans, but I was unimpressed. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS - Nintendo EAD Tokyo 2011) Any% Warpless [INCENTIVE] by zeldacubed1 [WRH] host Brutal_Melo, couch Siver [3RH], Loganus, DKSC4Life 1h03m14s (est 1h11m, wr 1h00m09s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube MjPqwklxk9U+24 Review: This was a shameless couch antics run. Like yes, there was some talk about tech and tricks, but it was mostly banter and gags. It was a riot at first, but some of the schtick wore thin by the end of it, and I think even the runner was getting annoyed by the end. Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire (3DS - Game Freak 2002, 2014) Any% race wartab [ΑS] vs truely [ΩR][3RH] host frozenflygone, couch eddaket, Shenanagans_ 3h05m17s [NV], 3h08m10s (est 3h15m, wr 3h03m07s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube uljK3CVcBZU+46 Review: A much, much drier run than the last Pokemon game we saw. Upside is that we got much more technical commentary, but the downside is that this just isn't interesting enough to hold interest for three hours off gameplay alone. Truely's run invalidated, used a backup save because of bad starter RNG. StepMania/NotITG (PC - NotI.TG 2018) [BONUS] Mods Boot Camp 3 Exhibition by SpootyBiscuit host Lanaruse, couch TaroNuke, Daikyi, halcyoniix ~1h30m (est 1h50m, no wr - showcase) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube sBP8MxQhEVM+113 Review: Past rhythm game exhibitions have sometimes featured one or two gimmick songs - like the Megalovania track in the Clone Hero showcase. This game appears to be nothing *but* ridiculous gimmicks - making it hard to see what the track even is, rather than being hard to perform. It's a very sadistic sort of difficulty - much more IWBTG than Kaizo. While the gimmicks kept changing, the fact that every single track was a gimmick track, made it wear out its welcome. StepMania/NotITG (PC - NotI.TG 2018) [INCENTIVE] Extra Extra Hard Charts by SpootyBiscuit host Lanaruse, couch TaroNuke, Daikyi, halcyoniix ~25m (est 15m, no wr - showcase) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube sBP8MxQhEVM+5678 Review: Things were hard before, this is where all hell breaks loose. Even the commentators talked about how they couldn't actually parse the notes on the screen. It is absolutely ridiculous, exactly as it intended to be. Hades (PC - Supergiant 2020) All Weapons race tounis [WRH] vs cgull host Lanaruse, couch Vorime, Latt Millard 1h38m43s, 1h41m42s (est 2h07m, wr 1h33m47s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube YwhQE5k1nLo+393 Review: This is pretty much pure execution. No real glitches, too much RNG for ultra-tight routing, just low-level gameplay polish and the ability to rapidly improvise. It's not the closest race, unfortunately, and two hours is perhaps a bit much for non-players to watch, but it's worth watching at least the back half, when some extra difficulty options are thrown into the mix. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS5 - Naughty Dog 2009) Any% by Mattmatt [2RH] host iggyzig, couch wildfire011 [3RH], heyfrench, Hutchtee 1h22m20s (est 1h30m, wr 1h08m45s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube ZQ9dqN2E_D4+0 Review: A run with some nice variety. A few bits are played as-intended, which on this difficulty is trivial, but much of it is glitched. While most of the glitches abuse the same core bug, they have a surprising spread of ways to do so, and so the run doesn't feel as monotonous as it could have. ------------------------------SATURDAY------------------------------- Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii via WiiU - Good-Feel 2008) Beat The Game by Kirbymastah [WRH] host iggyzig, couch TheMcRaezy [2RH] 1h23m43s (est 1h30m, wr 1h23m06s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube CdOTqo2qvU0+70 Review: It's one of those runs where "beating levels" is not quite as important as "getting enough coins while beating levels", there's a lot of careful routing to maximize coin count. This does make most of the autoscrollers a bit more interesting, but it does sap tension once the last coin gate is passed. Spider-Man 2 (XbC - Treyarch 2004) Any% by Slyfincleton [WRH] host THEKyleThomas, no couch 57m23s (est 1h01m, wr 54m44s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube Og8EpzpObo4+71 Review: It's late-night filler, but for that, it's decent late-night filler. The speedrun is mostly moving to objectives quickly, which makes the frequent autoscroller-y chases annoying, and it's not quite broken enough to be fun, but Slyfincleton did a decent job explaining his run, and it wasn't nearly as dull as it could have been. Donut County (PC - Ben Esposito 2018) Beat The Game by GreenSnowDog [WRH] host THEKyleThomas, couch Nathew 34m07s (est 35m, wr 32m31s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube ESSB_UKYV5E+161 Review: Hardly the most technical of speedruns, but a good chill sort of run. Easy enough to follow, although the attempts to explain the story did not work at all. Tetris Attack (SNES - Intelligent Systems 1995) VS Mode (Very Hard) by FFR Pro 21 [2RH] host THEKyleThomas, couch TaymanND, tetrisattakr, foxyman [3RH] 9m45s (est 12m, wr 6m57s) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube d0Scj02xwDg+17 Review: Surprisingly, not a Tetris game, but a match-3 sort of puzzle game. It still shares the ridiculously-fast play that Tetris is known for, and the large couch was good at keeping up with commentary. A good bite-sized run to watch. Blazing Chrome (PC - JoyMasher 2019) Arcade Mode (Normal) - Gun by Kirthar [2RH] host Nichole Goodnight, couch Jimmy_Diamonds, ThePoloKing 27m14s (est 30m, wr 21m13s igt) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube O8nC7DJS130+14 Review: A modern Contra-like makes a return appearance. Execution was pretty rough for the first half, but insta-kill enemies make for a tense run, and we got some excellent energy from the couch for such an early-morning run. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R (SNES - Angel 1993) Chibi% Normal by Norishige710 [WRH] host Nichole Goodnight, couch Octopilion 21m00s (est 38m, wr 19m22s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube dVdN3SDpsps+11 Review: Norishige had many good ideas for this run. His English is kind of stiff? Get a native speaker to run commentary. Cosplaying as Tuxedo Mask was fun, and he had lots of props and other little bits to try to make it exciting. Which makes it all the more disappointing that everything else didn't come together. Octopilion's commentary was lethargic, just completely devoid of interest. The gameplay is a pretty limited beat-em-up, and this category makes it worse because the AI mostly misses attacks against the smaller character. The couch talked extensively about the blindfolded run, which might have been more interesting, but that just made the slog we actually saw even less enjoyable. TMNT: Out of the Shadows (PC - Red Fly 2013) NG+ coop havrd, Timopy, epicdudeguy, Kainalo [WRHs] host Nichole Goodnight, no couch 54m06s (est 1h00m, wr 52m46s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★☆☆☆☆ Youtube UzYeaGe7luo++314 Review: This run failed to work on several levels. The gameplay seemed very mashy, neither demanding nor rewarding skill. The glitches were woefully inconsistent. The jokes about TMNT mostly just fell flat, which I don't think was entirely due to my unfamiliarity with the franchise. But if any one thing killed this, it was the audio mix. The four runners talking over each other were constantly drowned out by the game audio of four characters talking over each other. There were lengthy sections were I just had to give up on making out words, and just watch the screen, because it was completely incomprehensible. The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night (GBA via DS - Amaze 2007) Any% Dark by CDRomatron [WRH] host Nichole Goodnight, couch Breadghost 27m55s (est 28m, wr 42m53s) Overall ★☆☆☆☆ Skill ★☆☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube YoQCEaZpYGc+19 Review: A neat game, but the speedrun was highly forgettable. This category makes most combat trivial, so it's all down to platforming (and a few bosses), but it's also not a particularly precise or demanding platformer, so I'm not sure what was supposed to make this run fun to watch. The audio issues from the previous run persisted into this one, though at least with fewer people and a less shouty game, it was usually able to be understood. Casio Mario World (SNES - Nintendo EAD 1990, Wyatt 2020) Any% by kezcade [WRH] host Skybilz, couch ThirdWall, Amethyst_Rocks 35m59s (est 40m, wr 18m36s) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube WjGEelSWvXM+10 Review: A hard hack even by kaizo standards. Very little in the way of speed tech, but "don't die" is enough of a challenge that I don't think it matters much. And the audio mix continued to be a problem - sure, the music was good, but I would rather have heard the runner or commentary better. SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom (XbC - Heavy Iron 2003) Any% by SHiFT [WRH] host Skybilz, couch Jared, Shoyhi 47m31s (est 55m, wr 43m59s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube 02bwlFW6tv4+29 Review: I'm not a fan of this game, but this was a good showing regardless. Solid execution, well-explained, and with decent variety. If you like this game, this is worth a watch, but it probably won't convert you into a fan. Subnautica (PC - Unknown Worlds 2018) Survival Any% by salvner [2RH] host Skybilz, no couch 42m22s (est 55m, wr 31m14s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube JBrw0TtJSgA+0 Review: A solid run of a survival game. If you've ever wished Minecraft runs were less about exploiting level-generator knowledge, and more about quickly spotting resources and occasionally clipping out of bounds, this is probably a good run to watch. EarthBound (SNES - Ape 1994) Any% by octopuscal [WRH] host Bobby Blackwolf, couch AndyPerfect 48m54s (est 1h00m, wr 44m12s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube YnxqRACPmdo+25 Review: To beat a game like this in under an hour, you need a lot of glitches and a lot of RNG manipulation, which is exactly what you get. Not the most riveting run, unless you're into coding-type stuff, but I think it would be a decent intro into that sort of thing. Fallout: New Vegas (PC - Obsidian 2010) All Unique Weapons by BananaPegasus [WRH] host Bobby Blackwolf, couch Radioactiv03, NoobSalmon 56m07s (est 55m, wr 53m24s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube MvZysCgZGCs+36 Review: They keep coming up with new categories for this game, don't they? It's an interesting one, decently long, but the fastest movement in this game is unfortunately reliant on quicksave abuse, which is kind of hard to watch. Halo: Combat Evolved (PC - Bungie 2001, Gearbox 2003) Legendary by Chronos_R host cartridgeblowers, couch Goatrope 1h17m38s (est 1h17m, wr 1h05m41s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube 2S-Yb_iVWzg+83 Review: An excellent variety within this speedrun. Some levels are just a few glitches and some OoB platforming, others are meticulously-crafted battle ballets, and a few are even done mostly casually. Not the most engaging runner or couch, but the speedrun mostly speaks for itself. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES - Nintendo EAD 1991) All Bosses (No Exploration Glitch) by hotarubi_ta [WRH] host cartridgeblowers, couch vZakat 54m02s (est 58m, wr 48m13s) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★☆☆☆ Youtube Pn6GCfkwPvE+145 Review: A super technical run. The commentary had to do a lot of heavy lifting, explaining everything going on - it was incredibly informative, but unfortunately that made it kind of dry. Not necessarily a problem, but don't head into this expecting a lot of laughs. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES - Nintendo EAD 1991) Any% [INCENTIVE] by hotarubi_ta host cartridgeblowers, couch vZakat 2m58s (est 5m, wr 1m31s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube Pn6GCfkwPvE+3548 Review: A quick extension of the previous, allowing the glitch that breaks the run into basically a credits warp. Nifty, but reliant on the previous run to do the heavy lifting on explanation, and not that interesting a run in itself. Tetris: The Grand Master (Arcade - Arika 1998) Grandmaster race JBroms vs PARTY MAN X vs PiePusher11 vs spc host Mr. Game and Shout, couch Colour_Thief, Kitaru 9m55s, DNF, DNF, DNF (est 15m, no wr) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★★☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube sklI0NlQVpU+262 Review: An extremely difficult run, as shown by the fact that one runner failed out and two failed to meet the Grandmaster requirements. But that unfortunately makes for a weak showcase, as it instead just looks like the runners are bad. And why was there a bonus incentive for something none of the runners have done before? This should have been a master class in Tetris, but it really did not connect well. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (PC - From 2019) Blindfolded Any% by Mitchriz [2RH] host Mr. Game and Shout, couch LilAggy [3RH], SpikeVegeta 2h00m35s (est 2h45m, wr 1h42m47s, sighted wr 29m31s) Overall ★★★★★ Skill ★★★★★ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube FQeeRBtQgzE+13 Review: Well that was a roller coaster. This is a tough game to start with, but gamers have been mastering Soulsbornes for a while. Blindfolded adds an entirely new sort of challenge, and shows just how easy it is for this game to get away from you. Portal 2 (PC - Valve 2011) Inbounds by Msushi host Mr. Game and Shout, no couch 1h01m20s (est 1h05m, wr 57m55s) Overall ★★★★☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★★☆ Youtube vh8l3TB_BWc+163 Review: Msushi makes a surprise second appearance. We've seen Portal before, but Inbounds is IMO the best category - glitchy as hell, so fun, but not just a parade of skipping straight to the next level trigger. And Msushi keeps up the high-energy self-commentary. Deltarune (PC - Toby Fox 2018, 2021) [BONUS] Chapter 2 Main Route by Shayy host ateatree, no couch 30m37s (est 35m, wr 27m07s) Overall ★★☆☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube ak2w8nZs42E+158 Review: I get the vibes that this run was a lot more fun if you actually have played Deltarune, because I think most of the chatter was jokes about the story that flew completely over my head. It wasn't unbearable as an outsider, but the target demo was clearly not "guy who has a half-finished Undertale save from six years ago". It's still a decent speedrun, and Shayy's enthusiasm was infectious, but the appeal was not meant to be universal. Deltarune (PC - Toby Fox 2018, 2021) [DOUBLE BONUS] Chapter 2 Snowgrave Route by Shayy [2RH] host ateatree, no couch 32m26s (est 35m, wr 29m31s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★☆☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube ak2w8nZs42E+4110 Review: A route that, I gather, most players were also unaware of, so it was a slight improvement on the last. Metal Gear Solid (PS1 via PSTV - Konami 1998) All Bosses, Extreme by dlimes13 [WRH] host ateatree, couch ApacheSmash, Plywood_ 1h21m20s (est 1h29m, wr 1h27m53s) Overall ★★★☆☆ Skill ★★★☆☆ Fun ★★★☆☆ Youtube eo4d0OGfnU0+98 Review: A somewhat strange choice to end the marathon with. A perfectly solid run - especially with some of the new glitches on display - but it's not exactly a speed game on the level of Super Metroid.