# 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

This Web game by indie creator David Tschacher is very simple from the outside but incredibly sophisticated when investigated. Territorial.io is a strategy/expansion game mostly known for it's multiplayer play. Released in August of 2021, the game has seen legends rise, the domination of clans such as [CORGI], [OG], and [ELITE], and, of course, it's entrance onto Speedrun.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKmsWPyPAY4

Even though the game is known for it's multiplayer, it's singleplayer speedrunning community still thrives. Players can choose one of sixteen maps; 6 of which are base on real world geography. There they can choose where to spawn. A good spawn should have distance from bots, a good distance from other players, and a large continent (For example, on a world map you wouldn't want to spawn in New Zealand.) Players then begin to take over empty, free territory. Any Territorial player must take 3 things into account: their interest in the top right, their troops on the top and their attack bar on the bottom. A players interest tells the player how many troops will be produced. (7% is max and 0% is the minimum, while the average player will spend most of the game at ~1.5% to around ~0.5%, depending on how aggressive they are.) Players must be mindful that there is a "Max Cap" at which players can no longer produce troops. The only way for your "Max Cap" to increase is to take over more territory. The troops in the top represents your strength: your power, ability to attack, and ability to defend your borders. The attack bar on the bottom tells you how many troops you are attacking with. This number will change frequently, however during mid-late game will hover around 8-12%. This bar is the only thing of the 3 mentioned that the player can control.

**Troop Count and Troop Cap**

![](/static/blob/1n5dppe3.jpg)

**Attack Bar**

One of the most important aspects of Territorial.io is your opening. The opening comes after your spawn, when expanding into free territory. DO NOT send out all your troops. The most common opening, renowned by the community, speedrunners, and new runners alike is the Greenbiscuit Opening. One of the most influential and important names in Territorial, and it's speedrunning community for that matter, [@Greenbiscuit](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Greenbiscuit?view=fullgame)'s opening was the first to become seriously intertwined with the player base. It goes like this:

1. cycle: 28.2%

2. cycle: 43.0%

3. cycle: 44.4%

4. cycle: 44.4%

5. cycle: 41.8%

For clarification, a cycle is when the bars on the outside of the troop counter hit the top. You want to time your attacks so that they finish when the bar on the outside hits the top of the box.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD06REakQpA

Speedrunners play with 512 bots. There is a separate category for each map and difficulty. %RUNS require a 99% of the map and the victory screen. %TROOPS require runners to reach 200k, 500k, 1M, or 5M troops. 100%ONLY require runners to only full send, or lock the attack bar at 100%. Lastly is 2min%Run runs, trying to conquer as much land in 2 minutes.

Don't worry, the game is available for free at [https://territorial.io](https://territorial.io/). Join the Territorial.io speedrunning discord server at [https://discord.gg/uyV4hUHn](https://discord.gg/uyV4hUHn).

Happy Running!

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: Territorial.io

Submissions for the **Indie Horror Speedruns Marathon 2023** are [now open!](https://oengus.io/marathon/ihsm23)

# ![](/static/blob/rz2kolz0.png)

# What is IHS?

IHS is a community of speedrunners who share a passion for pushing niche horror titles to their limits. From walking simulators like [Slide in the Woods](https://www.speedrun.com/slide_in_the_woods), FPS games like [Cultists & Compounds](https://www.speedrun.com/cultists_and_compounds), and more well-known titles like [Murder House](https://www.speedrun.com/murder_house) and [Choo-Choo Charles](https://www.speedrun.com/choo_choo_charles), there's a wide variety of games to explore and almost certainly a game for everyone. Many games run by the community are uploaded to itch.io, keeping speedrunning financially accessible to more people.

## Bounties

In addition to serving as a hub for new speedgame discoveries, the [IHS Discord server](https://discord.com/invite/NgmkbJr2MX) also is used to promote bounties placed on games hosted and sponsored by TurboBoard. Challenges range from new glitch discoveries, being the first to achieve a sub-X minute run, to solving questions or glitches a community member might have. There's currently [a $300 reward to discover the mystery of the collision on a door in Happy's Humble Burger Farm](https://turboboard.io/bounty/VdprVJ8ijavu78cSCzrKf).

# ![](/static/blob/pzm6lwnk.jpg)

# Previous Events

In addition to smaller showcases and bounties over the past year, the IHS community has been involved in two major events.

## IHSM 2022

As stated previously, this is the second major marathon the IHS community has hosted. It kicked off in December of last year and ran for a full 12 hours, showcasing 18 runs as well as a two-hour quad-campaign relay of Aliens vs Predator 2.

## ![](/static/blob/yzr6xmz4.png)

# SGDQ 2023 - Choo-Choo Charles

Choo-Choo Charles brought a massive amount of new runners to the community upon its release, including high-profile runners such as @Distortion2 and @maxylobes. The community even was [shouted out by the developer himself](https://twitter.com/TwoStarGames/status/1603131654620315648).

Given the hype surrounding its release, it shouldn't have been a surprise that it was accepted into SGDQ2022. Runner @Bird650 represented the community by achieving an 18:47 RTA.

## ![](/static/blob/rz2ko8z0.png)

# Puppet Combo Speedrun Showcase 2023

This past summer, the community held a nearly five-hour speedrun showcase featuring games from the TortureStar publishing label. Games from [Puppet Combo](https://twitter.com/PuppetCombo), [Comp-3 Interactive](https://twitter.com/comp3int), and [Black Eyed Priest Games](https://twitter.com/LeggoMyGiallo) were all run. Playlist to all the runs can be found [here](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9S_8eztoAYv7r3CsEl772Iy0TxVueU3u).

# IHSM 2023 Event Details

Submit your runs [here](https://oengus.io/marathon/ihsm23).

IHSM 2023 submissions are open now! It's not too late to start learning a run between now and the submission cutoff of October 31. The marathon itself is live on November 18th. [Here's a link to last year's runs](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9S_8eztoAYuVGxzUpDCbz-zhTuA_ptpc)!

Even though the word "indie" is on everything surrounding this community and event, it needs to be said that submissions do not need to be indie games. As stated below, "submissions are required to be horror-genre centered or contain horror elements," though final decisions will be up to the IHS staff team.

# Relevant Links and Rules

Event questions can be answered by joining the [IHS Discord server](https://discord.com/invite/NgmkbJr2MX).

The event is sponsored by [TurboBoard](https://turboboard.io/), [MusicMondays](https://www.allmusicmondays.com/), and [HAIRYWORLD](https://twitter.com/HAIRYWRLD)

Linktree for all things IHS can be found [here](https://linktr.ee/indiehorrorspeedruns).

Organizers are hoping that this event is as fun as the first. The community has grown tremendously over the years and this marathon is a great way to get involved with a friendly and accessible community.

Indie Horror Speedruns Marathon 2023 Submissions Open Now

Will be making next Game of The Week Sunday, October 21 because it fits my schedule better :)

Will be exciting to see who comes out on top!

So cool one of my random ideas on a Thursday night could become a series!!!

I might submit a request for a new mod soon.

Um its been 6 months. Can a mod possibly look?

Kinda dumb idea, but in ping pong you could do fastest time to skip the ball in the pool. Could be done in Match or return challenge.

I applaud you for this run, a true showing of determination!!!

Please leave questions or concerns underneath here!

Basicly kill Kraid in 10, 24, and 30, beat Ridley in 7, (It can be done!) 20, and 28, and 30. And of course kill Ice Ridley in 22, 26, 28, and 30. Some rules i thought of:
-  You can kill all three bosses in the same level
-  You could also add master the levels they appear in
- You only need to kill the bosses, not complete the level. You could quit after beating Ridley.

Can a mod check my runs? Been 3 weeks.  I know there’s a lot! Don’t mean to nag!