*Super Mario* is a major licence in video games and speedrunning. After the first post with Zelda games in *Speedrunlympics*, I was really curious to see what *Super Mario* games could offer in the a speedrunlympic format.
I've set up the same rules as the precedent post, and the standings were taken on Mario day, March 10th.

## Rues

- There is every game of the Super Mario main series according to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario#History_and_development). Remakes and remasters are counted with the original game.

- Each game have at least 2 categories, where there are the most entries.

- A category is picked if there is at least 50 runners and the goal is to finish the game.

- Original game and its remake count as one game (applying for rule 2).

- Category are picked from official learderboards game on SRC.

Rules are set, let's travel around the different standings !

# 2D Super Mario : 16 games

![](/static/blob/1n53g9qz.png)



## ![](/static/blob/1n7j1o7n.png)

# 3D Super Mario : 8 games

![](/static/blob/7n63p14n.png)



# ![](/static/blob/rnq2wq2n.png)

# All Super Mario : 24 games

![](/static/blob/7e9wkx3z.png)



![](/static/blob/ynlxp50n.png)

The **USA** is still on the top in the medal count, as we already seen on Zelda Games. But they are beaten on 2D games by **Japan** with their overall dominance on *Super Mario World* !

**Canada** is still on top 5 on all standings, but Sweden and France are a bit far this time. As we expected on Zelda, **Germany** is coming strong with a top 4 overall and a second place on 3D speedruns ! **Wales** is also surprisingly in the top 5 with **Jhay** performances around the *Super Mario Galaxy* games, placing him 2nd overall and 1st on 3Ds !

You may have also recognized some players in all games podium, **Nifstky** with his performances on *Super Mario Bros. & The Lost Levels* games, and, of course, **Suigi** who has all world records on *Super Mario 64* console categories.

## Statistics

- **Number of categories:** 117
- **Number of medal-winning players:** 187
- **Game with the most categories:** Super Mario 64 (17 categories)
- **Game represented by the most countries:** Super Mario 64 (10 countries)
- **Categories with the most runners:** Super Mario 64 (16 Star [EMU]) with 4,574 runners & Super Mario Odyssey (Any% [1P]) with 4,524 runners
- **Fun fact:** There is 9 categories with more than 1000 runners on 6 different games

I hope you like this second post around *Speedrunlympics*. If you want to see other licences, i'm open to suggestions. You can find the data, including the complete standings, categories, and other details, in this [spreadsheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ua8lvuTp0sTLfliN9dIjgzRs7qycqC5kx6htXiktfeQ/edit?usp=sharing).

# Games Included

- 2D Super Mario Games : 

Super Mario Bros. , Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario Land, Super Mario World, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, New Super Mario Bros., New Super Mario Bros. Wii, New Super Mario Bros. 2, New Super Mario Bros. U, Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Run, Super Mario Maker 2, Super Mario Bros. Wonder

- 3D Super Mario Games :

Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D Land, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Odyssey, Bowser's Fury

Following the first post with Zelda games, let's see what a "Speedrunlympics" event would be around the "Super Mario" games.

What If Super Mario Speedruns Were an Olympic Event?

This game has so many choices you can make, such as playing in career mode where you fight bots to win coins and up your league with higher class cars and competitions, or either playing some quick races or a championship which can help you practice against bots. There is also the time trial mode, which is key to speedrunning and sending runs. Here are some tips that will definitely help you achieve faster times.

# **🛠 CUSTOMIZATION 🛠**

-> The game provides you with a variety of classes, that have their own uniqueness and stats. Picking the right class on the right track will help you score much faster. To obtain the higher classes, you have to buy them for a certain amount of coins. You must play game modes that give you coins like Quick Races, Championship or Career Mode.

-> Some tracks do require you to pay a certain amount of coins, which could vary. It's best to either grind for coins so you can have a shot at it and possibly get the world record first, or you can play it safe and Speedrun accessible levels that are unlocked right from the get go!

# **❕SKIPS AND TECHNIQUES❕**

-> You will need to know when to accelerate and when to not. Usually in straight paths, it's best to keep accelerating and to stop once you reach a corner or a turn.

-> Sometimes, turns will be *really* sharp. This means you have to break and wait until you can make the turn because if you end up on the grass, you will lose a lot of speed and will probably kill your run.

# ❓**NEED HELP?❓**

-> We get it, it's usually difficult when you first start speedrunning the game. It's the common principle for every game in speedrunning. If you want to get more tips and tricks on how to improve, you can watch the runs from the top 1-3 people and look at some YouTube videos to better improve your gameplay and some day reach the world record!

I hope this helps you out with your performance and if you're new, you could even try it out! The game is accessible on all platforms like PS4, switch, Xbox, mobile, PC and more!

Ultra Racing 2D 2 is a top-down racing game that includes over 40 racing classes, more than 100 tracks, online multiplayer, career mode, time trial mode, multi-class racing, damage, and more.

Ultra Racing 2D 2: The Racing Game Of Many

# The Gold Split Newsletter - Week #32 - Twitch's Time Trials

The Gold Split offers a free, weekly digest of news from the world of speedrunning and beyond.

This **Story of the Week** is all about Twitch's recent announcement of limiting the storage of highlights and was featured in this week's issue. The full post includes **more news**, briefly, as well as this week's top times. Check it out **[HERE](https://goldsplit.substack.com/p/week-32)**.

## ![](https://www.speedrun.com/static/blob/wzxxw3qz.png)

# Story of the Week ✨

Yesterday, on February 19th 2025, **Twitch** decided to be an ass and announced that they would limit the storage capacity for *Highlights*. Let’s go over the details and effects of the new policy, what to do now and even discuss some potential alternatives. Even though it affects every streamer, the speedrunning community is disproportionately targeted by this announcement.

## Twitch’s New Policy

The main and crucial part of the announcement is the future storage limit for *Highlights* of 100 hours. This will come into effect retroactively and everybody above the limit right now will see their content deleted on April 19th 2025 until it reaches a total duration below the threshold.

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3123770b-207c-44e8-a467-135f6d5a6e38_1600x900.jpeg)

Additionally, it is already affecting people right now: if you are above the limit, you will not be able to save any more *Highlights*.

Because *Past Broadcasts* only get saved for a few weeks at most depending on your Twitch status level and *Clips* have a maximum duration of 60 seconds, *Highlights* used to be the main way to preserve past speedruns indefinitely and provide a living record. And for many people they still are. These days, YouTube has taken over a large part of this and most speedruns submitted to speedrun.com include a link to a YouTube video, but a large part of the history is still found in Twitch *Highlights*.

## What it causes

Now, at least a decade of speedrunning history is in peril. A speedrunner’s *Highlights* on Twitch are documenting their personal journey as well as how routes and techniques evolved. They’re a living record of a community’s progress and it’s an educational resource for newcomers. Additionally, leaderboards are set to lose countless runs that were submitted as Twitch *Highlights*.

Even if everything was miraculously saved and exported to other platforms, Twitch’s discovery features with the ability to look for content for a specific game only works great as a library for this type of content. Streaming on Twitch is now many people's livelihood, and it’s unreasonable to expect them to go through hundreds or even thousands of hours of videos to preserve their *Highlights*.

And the effects don’t stop at the individual streamers. Marathon organisations like Games Done Quick likely already have a different platform for their past events, but will be forced to stop offering them on Twitch. YouTube creators will have a much harder time to find clips and information for their long-form video essays that showcase a game’s unique speedrunning history. And for viewers, the ability to read chat messages sent during the livestream alongside the VoDs gives Twitch *Highlights* an edge over other platforms.

Ultimately, I expect that a lot of people, both streamers and viewers but especially speedrunners, are going to consider alternatives and that this new policy will do more harm than good in the long run.

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F241cfc90-f1bc-41fb-ae35-e748b3868316_898x521.jpeg)[Joshimuz](https://www.twitch.tv/joshimuz)’ overfilled *Highlight* storage

## Arguments

Twitch claims that *Highlights* don't drive discovery or engagement like *Clips* or the mobile feed and are therefore considered ineffective. But for speedrunners it’s not all about the numbers. It’s about keeping a historical record. Low view counts don’t equate to low importance.

Twitch tries to soften the blow by arguing that only 0.5% of active streamers would be affected. But this makes it even more baffling that a drastic step like this is necessary. Besides, the announcement overgeneralises and treats all content alike. I bet that the percentage is much higher among our community. A one-size-fits-all policy is incredibly blunt and not the solution. It erodes trust in the close relationship between Twitch and the speedrunning community yet again, and some people will leave.

We’re all aware that storage and maintenance isn’t free. But other platforms have also figured this out long ago, maintaining vast libraries of rarely viewed content. In addition, Twitch is owned by Amazon, which also runs AWS, one of the largest cloud service providers with access to highly scalable, cost-effective storage.

## Alternative Solutions

Let’s entertain their arguments for a bit and assume that some form of action is absolutely necessary. At the heart of it all it’s still a money issue and there are many better potential solutions that don’t cripple the speedrunning history of the entire community.

- For content that sees little traffic, Twitch could migrate these videos to a lower-cost archival storage solution while still being retrievable. It reduces costs significantly while still preserving these libraries.
- Similarly, another option might be to automatically downscale the resolution of videos stored long term with a low amount of views. This reduces their file size and the costs of storing them.

## The Path Forward

We need to move forward under the assumption that Twitch is not going to back-pedal on this policy. Many leaderboards are already considering rejecting times submitted with a Twitch *Highlight* as the video.

If you are a moderating one or more leaderboards: help preserve the legacy of the game(s) you oversee. Launch a community effort to check the speedruns on your leaderboards and verify whether the videos are hosted on Twitch or elsewhere. Inform the runners that use Twitch *Highlights* about the issue. Ideally, no action is necessary if their *Highlights* don’t add up to 100 hours. But if they exceed the limit, advise them to export the videos and provide a new link.

Many runners have already left the scene and won’t hear about this, but their times still remain relevant or even competitive. If you don’t receive a response shortly before the deadline on April 19th 2025, please take the initiative to download those videos yourself, re-upload them as private videos to a shared community channel on a different platform and update the links.

For all speedrunners, here are some options you might consider:

- Check whether or not you’ve reached the 100-hour limit through your Twitch Dashboard. You’ll find the *Video Producer* under *Content.*
- If you are, start working on exporting and/or backing up everything that might be valuable.
- Create a plan about which *Highlights* to manually delete before April 19th. Don’t leave it up to Twitch to select them automatically.
- Stream your progress! Take a trip down memory lane together with your community!
- Raise awareness! Share this article and re-post content regarding the issue on your favourite social media platform.

## Helpful Links

- **[TwitchDownloader](https://github.com/lay295/TwitchDownloader)** can help you to download videos in bulk and save chat messages in a separate file.
- Matse007’s **[SpeedrunRescueScript](https://github.com/Matse007/SpeedrunRescueScript)** checks your own runs on speedrun.com and lets you download the videos hosted on Twitch.
- **[Jonga’s Step-by-Step Process](https://bsky.app/profile/jongamebeer.bsky.social/post/3lim2ygbvuk26)** on Bluesky is about setting up a separate YouTube channel and exporting Twitch *Highlights* there.

![](https://www.speedrun.com/static/blob/rz251jdz.png)

Thank you for reading! If you're curious about more of this week's news or would even consider subscribing to the newsletter, you'll find the full post over **[HERE](https://goldsplit.substack.com/p/week-32)**.

Finding new stories to cover can be challenging. I encourage you to think about what happened recently in the communities you are a part of. If there are any stories, articles, glitches, events, or other topics I should be taking a look at, go ahead and **[submit them here](https://forms.gle/F1VJ4PG68FTZKqn49)** or on the **[Gold Split Discord](https://discord.gg/SpbFCgsYkU)**! 📨

The Gold Split is a free weekly newsletter focused on speedrunning. This week's main story is all about Twitch's recent announcement of limiting the storage of highlights.

Twitch's Time Trials - The Gold Split #32

Each shape has distinct strengths and weaknesses that you’ll need to master to navigate the game’s 20 levels. To succeed, you must switch between shapes strategically to overcome obstacles and complete each stage as quickly as possible.

Here are some things to know about speedruning this game:

### **Shape Switching**

Perfecting your shape-switching is the key to speedrunning TOTS. Each form - Square, Triangle, and Circle - has its own advantages, but knowing exactly *when* to switch is what separates casual players from the speedrunners. The faster you can execute these swaps, the smoother your run will be.

You can use the level selector after clicking the green flag to practice key sections and burn the best route into your muscle memory.

### **Worlds & Mechanics**

Each world introduces mechanics that add new twists to the gameplay and additional considerations for routing.

- **World 1** – A warm-up to get you familiar with the base mechanics
- **World 2** – Lava pits and saw blades mean instant death. The first boss, Professor Octagon, is also introduced
- **World 3** – Ice physics will test your control, mastering movement here is crucial
- **World 4** – A timer is introduced, forcing you to *move*. Hesitation isn’t an option. You’ll also face the games final boss, King Hexagon.

### **Professor Octagon**

Professor Octagon has three deadly attacks:

1. **Dash Attack** – A quick charge that punishes hesitation.
2. **STOP Attack** – The moment you see his STOP sign face, freeze. Any movement triggers an aggressive chase.
3. **Laser Attack** – A precise, dangerous beam. Dodge carefully.

🛠 **Speedrunner’s Strategy:** The key here is discipline. Spamming shots while dodging is crucial, but the STOP attack is what separates good runs from great ones. Stay perfectly still when he signals, then unleash your attacks at the right moment.

### **King Hexagon – A Deadly Puzzle to Solve Fast**

King Hexagon doesn't move, but his attacks still force you to react:

1. **Laser Attack** – A fairly predictable laser
2. **Hexagon Attack** – Mini hexagons swarm you. Keep moving, or they’ll box you in.
3. **Wall Attack** – A massive crushing wall appears after a red warning box. Be on the safe side before it drops.

🛠 **Speedrunner’s Strategy:** His attack cycle is your opportunity. Dodge, position yourself correctly, and fire away. If executed properly, you can melt his health bar before he even has a chance to reset the pattern.

I hope this get's you interested in Tale of the Three Shapes speedrunning!

The Tales of the Three Shapes is a puzzle-platformer Scratch game where you play as three unique characters - Square, Triangle, and Circle.

Scratch Speedrunning: The Tales of the Three Shapes

Here's what I discovered after analyzing the leaderboards on Speedrun.com!

For this experiment, I’ve set some arbitrary parameters so it aligns with the spirit of the Olympics and the Zelda speedruns/games.

## Rules

- I'm including every Zelda game in the main Zelda series according to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda#Development). Remakes and remasters are counted with the original game.
- Each included game has at a minimum 2 categories (except Four Swords Adventures, because there is only one official category).
- A category is included if there is at least 50 runners and the goal of the category is to finish the game.
- Categories are picked from official leaderboards on Speedrun.com.

With those rules, let’s travel a bit around 2D & 3D Zeldas, and see what happens overall !

## 2D Zeldas : 14 Games

![](/static/blob/3ekdr3mz.png)

![](/static/blob/rz2vygkn.png)

## 3D Zeldas : 7 Games

![](/static/blob/kzwoldye.png)

![](/static/blob/3nvm95pn.png)

## All Zeldas : 21 Games

![](/static/blob/7e9wy14z.png)

![](/static/blob/ynlxgmqn.png)

The USA stands out with an overwhelming lead in the medal count, showcasing its dominance in Zelda speedrunning. Interestingly, even if we combined the medals from all other countries, the USA would still come out on top in both the 3D and overall Zelda categories!

Following behind, Sweden, France, Japan, and Canada make up the top five, with each earning between 16 and 25 medals. While these countries are often strong contenders in speedrunning, I believe countries like Germany or England could break into the top rankings with other series - something we might see in the future!

I really enjoyed putting this concept together, and it’s exciting to imagine how something like this could one day look in the speedrunning world. For now, I’ll leave you with a few interesting stats about this experiment. I’d love to hear your thoughts - did you enjoy this idea? Is there a specific game series you’d like me to analyze next? I’ve already got a few ideas brewing!

- **Number of categories:** 72
- **Number of medal-winning players:** 128
- **Game with the most categories:** Ocarina of Time (11 categories)
- **Game represented by the most countries:** Ocarina of Time (8 countries)
- **Category with the most runners:** Defeat Ganon No SRM (Ocarina of Time) with 1,154 runners

If you want to dive deeper into the data, including the complete standings, categories, and other details, check out the full spreadsheet [[here]](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FfIp_QHgUcb-qeTtKenPlJBAnvC1d44UBkc8BdWo1w4/edit?usp=sharing).

# Games Included

2D Zelda Games:

Legend of Zelda games included: Legend of Zelda, Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past, Link’s Awakening, Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, Four Swords, The Minish Cap, Four Swords Adventures, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, A Link Between Worlds, Tri Force Heroes, Echoes of Wisdom

3D Zelda Games:

Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom

What if speedrunning became an Olympic sport? As a fan of both the Olympics and The Legend of Zelda speedruns, I decided to combine the two and see how different countries and players would stack up in a 'Speedrunlympics' simulation.

What If Zelda Speedruns Were an Olympic Event?

PlayStation’s State of Play for 2024 was today, and while general feelings seem lukewarm - there was some good news for a few speedrunning communities out there!

# Astro Bot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQpZM1fVSBg

Astro Bot speedrunners @noamsk and @CommanderFoxQ told me they are excited about the new Speedrun Levels. They look great and come with an in-game timer as well as a global leaderboard! The only downside? There are just 5 Speedrun Levels for now. But hey, free content is an absolute win for games these days.

# Alan Wake 2: The Lake House DLC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRFBVBoSdQo

I spoke with Alan Wake 2 moderator and speedrunner @TaintedTali about the reveal trailer for AW2’s latest DLC, “The Lake House” and while the trailer left much to the imagination, Tali shared her excitement for what appears to be more horror-focused content.

She’s also hoping the shorter DLC speedruns will appeal to new runners, especially compared to the main game, which averages around 3 hours even for speedrunners. With any luck, these shorter runs could spark interest in the full-length speedruns!

# Ghost of Yōtei

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z7kqwuf0a8

Ghost of Tsushima runners are curious to see how the newly added musket plays in Ghost of Yōtei. @Aeshmah pointed out that while it may seem like adding a gun to a game about sword fighting might be overpowered, muskets traditionally were powerful but *very* slow to reload - so the working theory is that the musket will be powerful to start an encounter, but not so helpful mid-combat

Perhaps the more exciting part of Ghost of Yōtei is all the new various weapons - for a brief moment we even see Atsu (the new protagonist) wielding a kusarigama. So weapon/combat routing should certainly be more interesting in Yōtei compared to Tsushima.

As far as wishlists go, Tsushima speedrunners are **really** hoping for skippable cutscenes on a fresh save file this time around!

# Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMN-x9goE7M

Horizon speedrunners might be the most optimistic of all. @Bdud5 is excited that save files used for speedrunning will automatically transfer to the remaster from the original meanwhile @huntks can’t wait for the faster load times and quality-of-life features from Forbidden West such as Quick Swap and no pickup animations. Quick swap is especially interesting (at least in Forbidden West) [since it allows you to cancel the animation on reloads!](https://youtu.be/v_kgT2b-u0Y?si=aYu0Sl4VxBjtzxD5&t=50)

User “Dan Pop” (not a speedrunner, as far as I know) asked Guerilla Games Studio Director [@janbartvanbeek](https://twitter.com/janbartvanbeek?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) on Twitter about the engine behind HZDR, to which Jan-Bart responded

“*We call it the Franken-engine. It’s built from parts of the old engine that ran the game code, and combined with a ton of elements from the upgraded DECIMA rendering engine.*”

Speedrunners are already debating what these engine changes could mean for the speedrun - but only time will tell!

[https://x.com/danutz_plusplus/status/1838835929181474876](https://x.com/danutz_plusplus/status/1838835929181474876)

So in the end, while we may not have Silksong or Bloodborne Remastered to look forward to - at least State of Play wasn’t a total bust!

Astro Bot DLC, Alan Wake 2 DLC, Ghost of Yōtei, and Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered!

State of Play Sept 2024 Speedrunning Recap

Before we start, a few notes about my thought process in creating this list:

- There are SO many amazing games on the games list that if I wanted to include every single one of them in this list it would be far too long - so we’re gonna keep it pretty limited and [I suggest you comb over the list yourself](https://gamesdonequick.com/games) to know what runs to look out for!

- This is of course all personal opinion, completely biased by my own experiences - so keep that in mind!

- Runs will be listed in alphabetical order because I don’t think prioritizing any of them is particularly fair prior to the event - and you should form your own opinions regardless, this list is just recommending some runs for you to keep an eye out for :)

Also, each game and runner will be hyperlinked :) Alright, let's dig in!

## **[Chibi-Robo](https://www.speedrun.com/cr) | 1v1 Lockout Bingo by [Jaxler](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Jaxler) & [Kobazco](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Kobazco)**

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/GWQ4l41e8P-qA_dp2vchMGVTeSzqyHyRKPY-EdIY8D4HOdkKc67M356cvD6q804jZplqjAn7PAwAO-Ja42a5H77Sz2HkmnAqGtMVVoibBbkiaRyp7GG7KqSLwInGY0Zksv0rmpM9S4Xy7QoNLFt1pGc)

So I know next to nothing about Chibi-Robo - but I do know Jaxler & Kobazco make a hell of a commentary duo. I also know that Jaxler was absolutely HYPING up this category to me at AGDQ earlier this year, and let me tell you that man is convincing. I guarantee this will be a good show, so make sure you tune in!

## **[Elden Ring](https://www.speedrun.com/eldenring) | Any% Glitchless by [blanxz](https://www.speedrun.com/users/blanxz)**

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/AFssv36C7dJrVKQo30pKtAzQl4MtBoLTlTMUpyQfHcBytu7Eo3F6n8wqfmhPCXgo0N0cUAHbAFL-AFNGnJDPXR-6KhRrZm-b_syXSEI8fYOASB_Fet8H5iBiicqjH2FL6JOGP0OeMu_w9mzazL_nx6k)

If you’re familiar with Elden Ring or Souls games in general you’ll know just how difficult they can be. Well, blanxz is a master - with world records in *6 different Souls* games (depending on your definition, but that's a whole can of worms lol.) Considering Glitchless does what looks to be most (maybe all?) of the mainline bosses in Elden Ring and yet the time estimate is under *90 minutes* - yeah I’m sure this will be a good time (no pun intended)

## **[Half-Life 2](https://www.speedrun.com/hl2) | New Engine Any% (No Voidclip) Race between [Eold](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Eold) & [Dirtch](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Dirtch)**

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/-AyOM4h_cySw6Dxj17N8DaPUoZxVMFtrW3e2H1fCRBb3QFdPNeN7R_B98EfzDPFp3AH9Nb60mdi--147GZe8ujXVXyKYCobhMhUUdSnQm8dBp4GraSmyd4eFELkBl2qH8cLAdrrchCg003s6m9sFDpM)

The last time Half-Life 2 (HL2) was shown at GDQ was just 2 years ago, and yet the World Record has dropped **MULTIPLE** minutes since then, and the community sum of best even further than that. HL2 has seriously gone through some major routing revelations in these last years and definitely deserves its spot on the games list. With 2 runners on stage/screen at the same time, that's just double the goodness being fed directly into my eyeballs and I’m here for it.

## **[Halo 3](https://haloruns.com/leaderboards/h3/coop/fullgame/Easy) | 4P Co-Op Legendary w/ [adef](https://www.speedrun.com/users/adefgames), [bryonato](https://www.speedrun.com/users/bryonato), [Chronos_R](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Chronos), & [NervyDestroyer](https://www.speedrun.com/users/NervyDestroyer)**

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/EMIfuJPg61HfuaCWZGGnQfTmwPeAALMG98aPiO6lENANFJ0WNeJJESBAMUxtk7RbJrTR7BNdc2TxNx7zrY2sW3N0g9jMTPNhx1T69Vh03tKalelAIUXxPi2rdfOrWtaEdA0LjjpB15grAGOatijvMXg)

Helllll yeah gamers. We’ve got four GDQ all-stars in this submission running an amazing game on the hardest difficulty - is there anything else I need to add here? Yes, there is - watch the run.

## **[Mirror’s Edge](https://www.speedrun.com/me) | Any% by [BlackbeltGingaNinja](https://www.speedrun.com/users/BlackbeltGingaNinja)**![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/OHX05Xa5ic6vvf4hWsQmgXBK0mwcBI9nPLV3KMJ0l7ciA9ViiXxGCiTluIj_bOiyx0ZrBkmV7waEEPdPWjaVluLe-jRloAjWwy0FGTy9hN57BekElRRPrWvHt-7PweVO2K3yjjHrDU5bZfM4Eki8EJI)

Mirror’s Edge is an ABSOLUTE classic. Top-notch high-skill movement that’s incredibly satisfying to watch, and some tricks/skips that will totally blow your mind. Even if you’ve seen this run before, it’s satisfying enough you should absolutely be tuning in again.

## **[NecroVisioN Lost Company](https://www.speedrun.com/nvnlc) | Any% by [Gulch2](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Gulch2)**

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/T4UtustiQqxdudHS-xDbZZOa_UgxL-trnFzpz0-N6A9fQZCACfwlCaoCvC75a_zUMhCOeq-fo-s9uoM0LZyeh9bCC4oXiTY_8K8xjhgsRJxAxV32jIQDchq8amqDlyYmMIGMAMEPWxxorr4nTWo82MM)

Okay so I’m 99% sure every single one of you reading this article has never even heard of this game - that’s okay! Let me break it down for you. You run into sloped objects, you go **NYOOM** up into the air. Gulch recently came in and absolutely tore BOTH of the NecroVisioN games apart, and I’m super excited to be seeing this hit the big stage.

## **[Outlast 2](https://www.speedrun.com/outlast2) | Any% No Checkpoint Killing (Cutscene Skip Mod) by [Sharkhat](https://www.speedrun.com/users/sharkhat)**

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/9CZwbL2B38zxxctt807oQwo-NSouqypzF9HCuNVHge9Xz-TSiQrzEF881dzmr4lPfd72qDIlvRiTdIbNSMdM4EPYcIC3TiNLm-SlsV6ph_FEJn6k9l7zrpw_oUI-gyEljgfvzbR6MKUyGc5zcpyFbbE)

This may be a controversial take, I don’t know - but this category is a true diamond in the rough for speedrunners who love glitches. The vanilla version of Outlast 2 will kill the player if any of the game's checkpoints are skipped, but for this category that’s no longer a concern - allowing for ALL KINDS of wacky glitches/skips to be used in the route. Not to mention this run will also be using the Cutscene Skip mod which removes the icky downtime in the run. I’m all for prioritizing entertainment over “purity” in speedrunning, and while using 2 mods might be non-traditional - it makes for a hell of a speedrun!

## **[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time](https://www.speedrun.com/oot) | Defeat Ganon (No SRM) by [dannyb](https://www.speedrun.com/users/dannyb)**

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/8Jc3ojG9dWL13jYEj6U0ZZF1XETdC_yRx8qlkQ_jbolhPkTTazuKmFmvlC60zuQAEAIvlrBxO87Kyzy1b9NdTpTWTli50rexj58kH8fAbTAEGcExLg1C9EHDYVo22q0Nl1XluXFafktth_qoTqw7ThI)

You may have seen Ocarina of Time (OOT) speedrunning before, but unless you’ve been following along for the last few months - you haven’t seen it like this. I’m not even sure I want to spoil the route changes this game has seen in this article - but trust me you have to watch this run. If you want to catch up prior to the run, I also recommend checking out [this video from DannyB himself breaking down the new discoveries!](https://youtu.be/0B095eHBrCg?si=-1nKApqu-dkjkzeK) 

## **[Powerwash Simulator](https://www.speedrun.com/powerwash_simulator) | 6P Spongebob DLC by [Acadiel](https://www.speedrun.com/users/AcadielDragon), [amyrlinn](https://www.speedrun.com/users/amyrlinn), [AngelicKnight](https://www.speedrun.com/users/AngelicKnight), [Biglaw](https://www.speedrun.com/users/biglaw), [enbee](https://www.speedrun.com/users/enbee) & [EnigmaRequiem](https://www.speedrun.com/users/EnigmaRequiem)**

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/uwDUSkywYExguyJWQJ7x3SJATJJ4I2CkQ9hS38Znu7S_U1607uyRLHDpXFDrvYdCV5nCL_c0f6ozApgM4VPvn-nSUoNDJBB1xaat60Qo42AfLrVp4wZK0KMHokv17x2sNDtKX0wBPHwB_ZZjeJ8Os7Y)

The most efficient cleaning crew I’ve ever witnessed is **BACK** at GDQ once again, tackling the Spongebob DLC! Prepare for some electric commentary, and some very squeaky clean sponges (I assume?)

## **[Tomb Raider (2013)](https://www.speedrun.com/tr2013) | Any% by [spicee](https://www.speedrun.com/users/spicee)**

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/m1M4sJYxrpYZL1zbmZiNY7XoPVOaJ_-Se6tPyFEqMXr35kEeoz1yShySnu2OGzCsawhkrGbvbR3GJ4Q40ddYxZd8UoVfUIZPVpirJPViZwhDvO2dllzrz87OS6k9vM0XbpsoNPA-RcKpvMEp_Flb-aQ)

Spicee went on an absolute **TEAR** earlier this year, snatching first place in all 3 modern Tomb Raider games within 10 days and I’m so happy he’s able to show off one of them on the GDQ stage! TR2013 is yet another one for you glitch-hungry watchers, filled to the brim with lots of clipping through walls and walking on air - you know typical Lara Croft stuff right?

## Conclusion

That’s it for now - once again I definitely recommend you go check out the games list for yourself, there’s lots of amazing stuff on there!

The games list for SGDQ 2024 is now live! Let’s dive in. https://gamesdonequick.com/games

SGDQ 2024 Games List is now out!

Between December 7th and December 9th, Epic Games unveiled three new titles from studios it has acquired in recent years. The lineup includes Lego Fortnite, a remarkably well-executed survival adventure game developed by Epic Games, Rocket Racing, an arcade-style racing game created by Psyonix (the minds behind Rocket League), and Fortnite Festival, a rhythm game crafted by Harmonix (the developers of Rock Band).

While Fortnite Festival hasn’t really attracted any kind of speedrunning audience (perhaps for obvious reasons, I mean the run would be mostly autoscroller) the community for speedrunning both Rocket Racing and Lego Fortnite is growing *fast*. I wanted to learn some more about these runs, so I spoke with some runners for each game to hear their thoughts.

# Rocket Racing

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/HrTnfr2Yw-mmZ_TyvKBQIT1dPJxOSIlr8HBUj4JCPCiJGaUUezoXjAKGngn_EvLfoTOa5sVMS5lhFAbwbbrsP_0T48nlXXj_7oRVfK2qcTCfVLko0cImVjfaGWbFSuaYiHdHndeNWP2wFrlc5vvXiqk)

There’s something so beautiful about the simplicity of speedrunning racing games, it’s really as pure as speedrunning gets - just *go fast.* With this simplicity of course comes little variation between games, at least in comparison to other genres. So what makes Rocket Racing stand out? Well according to @nathan_uwp, it mainly comes down to the Boost Management:

> “The drifting makes it so much fun for running too. Like how you can drift more and then use those to plan when to do ur boosts.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhK73hKWcDQ

For some context, the way you increase the charge in your boost meter in this game is by drifting. You’ll notice speedrunners like Nathan drifting almost non-stop, switching directions to still keep a relatively straight line while also ensuring the boost is charged as often as possible.

![](/static/blob/5ngvx6nq.png)

As far as my own opinion, the addition of certain Rocket League elements into a racing game is honestly kind of genius. You can air dodge in specific directions to stick to walls or ceilings (which makes for some pretty sweet level design might I add), and you can also fly a little bit into the air which lets you cut corners much tighter than you normally would be able to - and even “cut corners” on certain hills.

# **Lego Fortnite**

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/T0JVt9ZS4-5GWmZYxQxQAhOI62W4-fJdPWkC33b-YJbMAHqDxzOGa1hbC3uNJn6ke0cKHiziOWnpkHGIcn_Dwg5QETBv3PDfIQNrHtZnE44Aukellp5imDqKWsflcVCftUEz0csJW3-eUs14lZ23ZNg)

Speedrunning an open-world survival adventure game without (as far as I’m aware) a proper ending may not seem like an obvious choice to some of you, but in cases like these, it really comes down to the category structure. In this case, it’s quite similar to what you may have seen before on the Minecraft or Valheim leaderboards, with categories focused on completing specific Builds or killing specific bosses, with sub-categories for number of players, random or set seed, and starting biome.

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/TY6xgErzYvcgV3D3LyF27RNnwDeOtUXzKqRg8SKu04UCDtwMTighZRe5SRFkBLMQ8yRTBT1M1O5ZzOwWss0CT0IYbbUzr00c5rxGU2ltqaAXLXg7Errj8olHVcFLtWa--zhkGYWDm_tKkhG3rVB2hPE)

To learn some more about what makes Lego Fortnite speedrunning interesting, I spoke with @shovelclaws who has been grinding both Solo & Co-op for the default category, Common Village (Grasslands).

> “The default category is really simple, it’s collecting the necessary resources and building things. In my mind there are 2 big "skills." 1) Positioning: getting your village in a nice place to reduce travel time, and 2) Decision Making - deciding where to go and when. There’s also 3 big skill checks 1) building the shack, 2) getting lumber mill for planks, and 3) getting your "village level" up high enough which there are a variety of strats for”

The relationship between village level and biome is quite complex and interesting, but I don’t want to get bogged down in the details during this article - however if you’d like to learn some more about that you can follow this link into the conversation inside the [Fortnite Speedrunning Discord](https://discord.com/channels/1005846129470083142/1182732735312306247/1183158808567095338).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ald2WqnAc_w

As an example, the fastest strategy for Common Village in the Grasslands biome is to [spam the candle decoration](https://youtu.be/Ald2WqnAc_w?si=_RFaP-ivTCkjTJFJ&t=398) all over the ground because they require 1 vine which is a very common resource, making it the most efficient decoration for leveling your village in the short term. Shovelclaws mentioned that it believes in the longer categories (ie. Epic Village) it may be more efficient to invest in beds, which are 10 wood each - too expensive for a short category like Common Village but potentially worth the timesave in a 1 hour+ speedrun.

# ![](/static/blob/3ekv5kzx.jpg)Conclusion

After researching and playing some myself for this article, I can definitely see the speedrunning appeal for these two games - Rocket Racing for its clever integration of Rocket League movement mechanics for a new spin on the racing genre, and for Lego Fortnite (who would have thought) for its satisfying collect/build gameplay loop and Candle strats (of all things) - not to mention up to 8 Player co-op. I personally would LOVE to see a 4-8 person speedrun of Epic Village up on a marathon stage some day.

Epic Games released three new games INSIDE of Fortnite, two of which turned out to be pretty neat for speedrunning - let's take a look.

Rocket Racing & Lego Fortnite Speedrunning

Before beginning, I should mention I already covered some important discoveries from the demo period of the game which will be referenced in this article - if you want to read up on that first you can do so [here!](https://www.speedrun.com/news/wo83ee5m-ghostrunner-community-tackles-new-demo) Also, obvious spoiler warning for Ghostrunner 2.

The Ghostrunner 2 $10,000 Speedrun Challenge lasted two weeks, from October 26th to November 9th. In that time, the run time for the best runners has gone from around 1.5 hours to under an hour.

### The First Night (October 24th)

GR2 was first released around 11 am Eastern on October 24th, 2023, and over the next 11 hours a whopping 34 strats were shared amongst the community, with 200+ threads in the strats channel to date - let’s go over some of the larger discoveries and highlights from day one and beyond.

**Speedtech: Jump Start**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMHs6PSS3p4

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166395624841818224/1166395624841818224](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166395624841818224/1166395624841818224)

Bike movement was pretty fun before with rhythmic boost management, but the addition of new levels that allow you to dismount the bike led to the discovery of the Jump Start speedtech. To Jump Start, all you need to do is dismount the bike, and grapple back to it. There is a timing to it, and it works better when leaving certain geometry/ramps which brings a new interesting skill to master.

**Pillars of Creation: Pillars Skip**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc5tfs1z_bw

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166435088276406282/1166435088276406282](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166435088276406282/1166435088276406282)

Pillars is the largest skip to date, bringing a 20+ minute level down to just 50 seconds. Very simple, but satisfying.

**Elevator Maintenance: Initial OOB Route**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPXL3mwHi90

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166439007970934784/1166439007970934784](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166439007970934784/1166439007970934784)

First draft for an OOB route of Elevator Maintenance, routing in the Tempest Boost tech which becomes possible after collecting enough Memory Shards throughout the game and purchasing the Pressure Booster upgrade after Danse Macabre.

**Too Close To The Sun: Initial OOB Route**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK0n7nReBB8

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166449888066805760/1166449888066805760](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166449888066805760/1166449888066805760)

First draft for an OOB route of Too Close To The Sun, including a flux strat that clears out half an arena in one satisfying sweep.

**Winds of the Desolate: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Gate Skips**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSOQw2fcaZk

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166451792310194296/1166451792310194296](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166451792310194296/1166451792310194296)

With the room with the lever that opens Gate 2 visible from the outside, LongerWarrior figured out that if you can wallclimb (or tempest boost in NG+) up to the chainlink fence, you can use the Blink ultimate ability to “clip through” (more like teleport past) the fence using the enemy and simply open the gate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmWmyllp2YA

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166452821386854470/1166452821386854470](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166452821386854470/1166452821386854470)

The initial version of 3rd Gate Skip, also known as rooftop skip. In an even earlier version, we would get over the roof, lower the lift, drive the bike onto the lift, bring the lift up and keep going - but it was discovered that you could instead DSJ your way to the next checkpoint, reload, and spawn the bike right on you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQZKMCqTTXc

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166454987707138128/1166454987707138128](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166454987707138128/1166454987707138128)

This one is as simple as they come, simply wallclimb (or tempest boost in NG+) over the gate and hit the button on the other side to open it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP7HvEBpL6Q

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166455710603817073/1166455710603817073](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166455710603817073/1166455710603817073)

By riding the bike up high and driving right off the wall at an angle, you can land right by the 5th gate and then take a small trip OOB to the right of it to hit the button.

**You Shouldn’t Have Peaked: Rahu Phase Skip**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ_uzE1wy_E

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166458517054562345/1166458517054562345](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166458517054562345/1166458517054562345)

The pathing has changed since this initial discovery, but the basic idea is the same - DSJ out and down to the area below you, skipping from Rahu’s phase 1 down to phase 3.

**Behind The Curtain: Shadow Skill Skip**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svODlwKTPEQ

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166467035207831643/1166467035207831643](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166467035207831643/1166467035207831643)

GR2 would normally require you to take a detour into the room to the left, grab the Shadow Skill, and then do an arena fight. However, instead we can do some parkour to get up and out of the room right into the next one. Following this, there are some strats/skips to get around the rooms that would otherwise require the Shadow Skill.

**Setting The Stage: Pipes Skip**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu5p8NjCAD0

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166478394117074985/1166478394117074985](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166478394117074985/1166478394117074985)

This ended up being slightly slower than just moving through the inbounds space - but was the first step in something bigger.

**Can Anyone Hear Me?: Challenge Warp**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX9EM6YPLnU?t=6

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166479955165712464/1166479955165712464](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166479955165712464/1166479955165712464)

As it turns out, by starting the challenge terminal (a sort of minigame) the game gives you a checkpoint that warps you to the END of an otherwise very dense arena fight. This is by far one of my favorite strats because it's just so silly.

**Speedtech: Flow Surge Strats**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWCuFnAa05E

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166513818239766539/1166513818239766539](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166513818239766539/1166513818239766539)

In Danse Macabre, Taartin found that the Flow Surge ability allows you to immediately break through The Dismantler's green shield phases. As of the latest WR at the time of writing, Pasiflora executed the strategy flawlessly, completing the entire fight in an impressive 1m20s.

**A Price To Be Paid: Won't Pay The Price**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkUVk4AUaR8

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166493807882276904/1166555574931034132](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166493807882276904/1166555574931034132)In the level “A Price To Be Paid”, it’s possible to get out of bounds almost immediately and finish the level in under **20 seconds** - skipping the boss fight.

### **Day 2 (October 25th)**

**Speedtech: Speedforce / Permanent Flow Boost**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=708lay4OSQU

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166858536005931029/1166858536005931029](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166858536005931029/1166858536005931029)

By equipping the Flow Booster upgrade, slicing some enemies, and then *unequipping* Flow Booster you can **permanently** (for the current level) keep the speed boost. By getting a 10x combo, we can keep 10% bonus speed - if we were somehow able to get an extremely high combo very quickly, we could get much higher than 10% ;)

**Monolith of Inhumanity: Mitra Fast CV Phases**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKRl8g7E324

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166827929339179078/1166827929339179078](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166827929339179078/1166827929339179078)

The Mitra bossfight is broken up into 6 phases, 3 of which are traditional sword fight phases, and 3 Cybervoid phases which involve a bit more platforming. @Blaidan discovered if you managed to get a swing in on Mitra before he moved further into the Cybervoid, you could skip the rest of the phase - and then shared how to do that on all 3 CV phases.

**You Shouldn’t Have Peaked: Rahu Phase Skip 2**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD-gHVlRQ_g

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1167272679225692190/1167272679225692190](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1167272679225692190/1167272679225692190)

Probably one of the hardest skips in the game to get consistently for beginner and even intermediate speedrunners - this one requires you to do some wallclimbing up some VERY awkward geometry but skips yet another 2 phases of You Shouldn’t Have Peaked

**Setting The Stage: Drain Skip/Water Basin Skip**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpENtbtvQw4

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166883923876388894/1166883923876388894](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166883923876388894/1166883923876388894)

The next evolution of the original Pipes Skip - skipping the Water Basin room entirely!

### **Day 3 (October 26th)**

**Elevator Maintenance: Pest Control Skip**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOYY6yu3PU0

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1167585055527411762/1167585055527411762](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1167585055527411762/1167585055527411762)

In the intended route, you’re meant to clear out the elevator shaft of the Biter enemies, backtrack a bit, power up the elevator, and then go back to exit the level - however if you instead trigger the power from out of bounds and just avoid the biters you can skip all that.

**New World Record: [1:31:28](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/ywn3d72y) by @Blaidan**

After a couple days of the community finding, sharing, and learning strats, @Blaidan completes the first legitimate (no Trainer/practice tools) Any% speedrun, clocking in just over 90 minutes.

### **Day 4 (October 27th)**

**Something Lurks In The Sand: Start OOB Shortcut**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO8hkaidTgQ

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1167899182330286180/1167899182330286180](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1167899182330286180/1167899182330286180)

Definitely the hardest skip in the game, even for the most experienced of speedrunners - this one is a big-time run killer. Thankfully, it only saves about 15-20s - so unless you’re going for world record it's not really necessary.

**New World Record: [1:20:04](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/zpp9ljnz) by @Blaidan**

### **Day 5 (October 28th)**

**Speedtech: Railboosting (Input Stacking)**

https://clips.twitch.tv/TardyRockyElkAllenHuhu-5tP39zOyG6w--3p5

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1168083074744070165/1168083074744070165](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1168083074744070165/1168083074744070165)

In Ghostrunner (and many 3D platformers) there is a system called Coyote Time. Essentially, the game gives you a 0.3s grace period after leaving a platform to input a jump. In Ghostrunner 2 specifically, there is an oversight that allows you to stack as many inputs as you can fit into that 0.3s, increasing your jump speed and distance.

**Can Anyone Hear Me?: Bike OOB Shortcut (Edge Bounce)**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAJeOI5HJ-E

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1168205950847569961/1168205950847569961](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1168205950847569961/1168205950847569961)

The geometry on the side of this building is really interesting and gives you a nice bounce if you hit it right. There are a few other variants of this skip that don’t require the bounce - but where’s the fun in that?

**New World Record: [1:10:03](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/mkqk863m) by @BladeLMAO**

Blade gets his first GR2 record, smashing the previous one by ALMOST ten minutes - just one second shy!

### **Day 6 (October 29th)**

There was a fair bit of testing on Day 6 in particular with Can Anyone Hear Me? and You Shouldn’t Have Peaked - but nothing major was found and no records were broken.

### **Day 7 (October 30th)**

**Elevator Maintenance: OOB Route 2.0 (Zumo + Blade)**

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1964584090

EM gets a new OOB route, shaving off another minute or so!

**New World Record: [1:07:53](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/zxw7d1gm) by @Blaidan**

Blaidan strikes back, lowering the record by another 2 minutes.

### **Day 8 (October 31st)**

**Elevator Maintenance: Tube Skip (OOB Route 3.0)**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6zU8RFW-7g

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1169030921106767942/1169049163347017758](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1169030921106767942/1169049163347017758)

The final (so far) iteration of the EM OOB route, now with minimal movement in between the required loading triggers for the level to progress properly. Surely more things will be found over time, but from the first route sitting around 5 minutes - this one is doable in just over 2!

**New World Record: [1:05:32](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/zqd74l9m) by @Blaidan**

### **Day 9 (November 1st)**

**Winds of the Desolate: 3rd Gate Bike Jump Skip[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTh79qRF4N8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTh79qRF4N8)**

Obsoleting the Rooftop version of this skip, @JanisSG and @Blaidan discovered you can ride the bike out slightly OOB to the left of the play area, and launch jack right onto the highway where you can safely DSJ to the checkpoint, respawning the bike.

**Hackers Den: OOB Shortcut**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAlKtjKRRb4

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1169424646274297906/1169424646274297906](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1169424646274297906/1169424646274297906)

By dashing backwards after passing through a doorway with very precise timing, you can get back through before the door closes and the previous area (you’re now standing in) deloads. This lets you take a much shorter route through OOB space to the first cybervoid.

**New World Record: [1:03:14](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/y6q0r1qz) by @Blaidan**

Blaidan continues lowering the record, inching closer and closer to the sub-hour mark!**Day 10 (November 2nd)**

**Behind The Curtain: Panda Skip**

https://clips.twitch.tv/CourageousSilkyFungusPogChamp-s6aL54XdM-hVNkF1

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1169791428667392000/1169791428667392000](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1169791428667392000/1169791428667392000)

PandaInTheGame who does not consider themselves a speedrunner, managed to find a very fast strat in BTC! The community decided to name the trick Panda Skip, after its founder :)

### **Day 11 (November 3rd)**

Not many big new things were found on Day 11 - but @WiggleyWiggley posted a “backup strat” that ended up being slightly faster than the previously used strat!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlvQ-GT_f0U

### **Day 12 (November 4th)**

**Will Bushido Allow It?: Ahriman Cheese**

https://clips.twitch.tv/FragileEasyOcelotCoolCat-Jw8tJmZHNNbqkOpu

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1170323187414876192/1170323187414876192](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1170323187414876192/1170323187414876192)

@7RayD discovered that by maneuvering in a specific way around Ahriman, you can keep him constantly spinning and unable to attack for the entirety of his third phase.

**New World Record: [1:01:08](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/znep3n9z) by @Blaidan**

Almost there!

### **Day 13 (November 5th)**

**Setting The Stage: Droneless Basin Skip**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-H9hieFGE0

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1170939684319404082/1170939684319404082](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1170939684319404082/1170939684319404082)

The final iteration (so far) of Basin Skip, now taking a more direct line through the OOB space just *narrowly* dodging a kill plane, and skipping the drone ride entirely.

### **Day 14 (November 6th)**

**New World Record: [59:41](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/yll7v82y) by @Blaidan**

Blaidan achieves the world's first sub-hour run, with a ridiculous sum of best sitting at 55:45!

### **Day 15 (November 7th)**

**Mindgames: Permanent Flow Booster**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYOCYq67oas

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1144461454393753652/1171384092152053811](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1144461454393753652/1171384092152053811)

Finally, LonEliteNV finds a practical use for the Permanent Flow Booster glitch in runs!

**New World Record: [59:19](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/yoop337y) by @BladeLMAO**

**New World Record: [58:48](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/zg8pv50y) by @Pasiflora**

Blade and Pasi both get their own first sub-hour runs!

### **Day 16 (November 8th)**

The grind for top 3 (and top 10) went on all day on Day 16, but no new records were set.

### **Day 17 (November 9th)**

**New World Record: [57:12](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/zg8pvvvy) by @Blaidan**

**New World Record: [56:39](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/y2kpd1wy) by @Pasiflora**

On the final day - Pasiflora snags first place with the world's first 56!

I would like to congratulate everyone who participated and/or won a prize once again. I also want to say thank you to everyone who participated in runs, routing, glitch hunting, or just followed along. You made this challenge a truly memorable experience!

We recently hosted a $10,000 Speedrun Challenge for Ghostrunner 2 lasting two weeks, let's dive into how the run progressed!


Ghostrunner 2 $10k Challenge Highlights

# What is it?

*Nintendo Blast: Metroid Blast* is a shooter based on Nintendo's popular *Metroid* series. In *Nintendo Land*, 12 Nintendo Games are showcased as "attractions"; mini-games based on their Nintendo series that range from 5 minutes of content to months of jam-packed action. Represented series include *Legend of Zelda, Pikmin, Metroid, Mario, Luigi's Haunted Mansion, Animal Crossing, Donkey Kong, Game & Watch, Balloon Fight, F-Zero, Yoshi, and The Mysterious Murasame Castle*. *Metroid Blast* is the representative of *Metroid*. This Sci-Fi adventure has 30 levels, progressively getting more difficult. Player 1 will always play as Samus' gunship on the gamepad, and up to 4 others will play as regular Samus using the remotes. The game is quite simple, with each player having 3 lives before the mission fails. 

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaK7q8xVLA4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaK7q8xVLA4)is

Metroid Blast has many different types of levels. The most common is "Defeat All Enemies" where the goal is to kill all Cyclons, Geemers, Zebesians, and Metroids (and their variants) in a given level. "Boss Fights" are battles fought against large bosses where the smaller enemies can be ignored. Bosses include Ridley, Ice Ridley, and Kraid. The final type of level are token levels. These levels require all players to get each of their tokens in a (usually 5 minute) time limit. These levels require less skill and more strategy and memorization to speedrun. From now on these levels will be known as "Kill", "Boss", and "Token". (The game also includes two other game modes - however they are Co-op only and are not runnable anyway.)

Speedrunners require different methods for each of the level variants. One thing that stays the same, however, is dashing. Pressing down the left joystick allows the runner to get a small boost. However, if used at the wrong time, it can cause the runner to hit a wall, considerably slowing down their time. For "Kill" runs, runners focus on hitting the "I-Frames" of every enemy as quickly and carefully as possible. Boss Runners must manage attacking, dodging, and dashing effectively to get a fast time *and* survive. Token runners must use memorization and dashing effectively to score a low time.

One of the most risk/reward traits of "Kill" runs is Cyclons. Cyclons take a long time to open there I-Frame. Before a Cyclon begins its attack phase, (where it's very easy to kill due to its spinning nature) the Cyclon does expose a small portion of their I-Frame. However, if the player's shot hits the side shells of the Cyclon, it will close again before attacking. Taking the shot can save or lose precious seconds.

![](https://www.speedrun.com/static/blob/kzwvk8nq.jpg)

"Token" runners are mainly focused on memorization, speed, and precision. Most "Token" runners memorize and plan their routes for each level. To have a good time on a token level, runners also need to use their boosts precisely at the correct places to ensure a top speed. "Token" Runners must communicate the most to share new routes and boost spots.

"Boss" Runners have the most difficult levels to run, balancing speed with survival. These runs are ones with many deaths and resets. The three bosses are Kraid, Ridley, and Ice Ridley. These beasts are usually quite easy to take down, but when working together can be quite difficult. Kraid requires the use of the bomb; a more powerful attack that can take out multiple enemies. To defeat Kraid, runners must destroy I-Frames all over his body before he opens his mouth. A small crevice in his mouth allows the player to shoot bombs inside, which explodes after entering his throat. Meanwhile Kraid shoots lava, bombs, and fire beams at you. Ridley and Ice Ridley are quite similar to each other. For both flying dragons, you must hit I-Frames on their Hands, Tails, Chest's, and Mouth's thrice. They will shoot lasers, try to grab you with their hands, and will drop bombs.![](/static/blob/7n617mzq.jpg)

Mastery runs are a different kind of run. Mastery runs often have weird differences with obscure solutions. Some levels require the player to only use bombs or to not dash. This will often drastically slow down runs and require players to invent new, out-of-the-box strategies.

Thank you so much for reading! If this does become a series I will continue to find new, medium-sized, forgotten communities to revive with new energy! I will link the main category, 10 Missions, best time below. 

Happy Running!

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp35YCLPpFg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp35YCLPpFg)

A new idea where we dissect a medium sized speedrunning community from the bottom up, increasing excitement and injecting a new passion for a game otherwise unexplored.

Wolfhowl's Game of the Week: Metroid Blast

Nintendo Land: Metroid Blast

Ghostrunner 2

Setting up the leaderbord! For now you can check out the game using the external link on top.



The Tale of the Three Shapes

Ultimate Racing 2D 2

Fatzke

Contos

xo7qoy9l

Arkad200

LogictechobladeTIO

The moderation team has decided to halt submissions until leaderboards are properly set up. Thank you all for your patience! Please join the Discord server or use the forums to help discuss and share findings!

ENA: Dream BBQ

```
1 HOUR LEFT
```

---

# THE LEADERBOARD WILL BE LOCKED FOR 4 DAYS TO GIVE US TIME TO THINK ABOUT THE RULES, CATEGORIES ETC...

## *If we consider that the leaderboard doesn't need to stay this way anymore, we'll end the embargo early and you will finally be free to submit your runs!*

---

**For the time being, if you have any questions, wanna participate in the community or offer your help for the moderation, feel free to join the Speedrun Discord Server! :**

[https://discord.gg/9bH3G9jEGs](https://discord.gg/9bH3G9jEGs)

R.E.P.O.

HASTE: Broken Worlds

Lets discuss any relevant rules and any questions before we open the leaderboards

A Game About Digging A Hole

This leaderboard is a work in progress. Be sure to check the speedrunning discord server for updates! https://discord.gg/5DzQ3bVwbC