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5 Video Game Speedruns That Will Leave You Speechless

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Speedruns

I don't know about you, but I usually feel a serious sense of attainment when I finish a video game. Even more so if I complete it within the allotted time I set for myself beforehand. What I also feel, unfortunately, is the burning shame after realising that my tallied hours don't usually put so much as a dent in some of the other, more acclaimed speedruns on the web. And that's fine. Or at least I tell myself it is, as I reboot the game up just to try and narrow in on that world record for the eighteenth time.

Speedrunning isn't something that comes naturally, that's for sure. It takes perseverance, as well as a keen eye to clock every fragment of every corner of the world you're researching. It takes weeks, months, and sometimes even years just to so much as crack the top ten in the speedrunning community. And as far as securing a world record goes, well — it's a lot easier said than done. But with that said, many have gone on to smash said records without even breaking a sweat, leaving the rest of us to hang our heads in shame, speechless. Just take a gander at these five incredible runs, for example.

 

5. Dark Souls (All Bosses — 1:03:35)

My Final Dark Souls WORLD RECORD Speedrun?

Dark Souls has long been one of the heavy hitters in the speedrunning community, with skilled players all over the globe stepping up to thrash it out for the crown. And while any newcomer would usually take upwards of 43 hours (according to HLTB) to complete the game, a certain collective can usually power through the bulk of the journey in under ninety minutes. And that's not even breaking into the top ten record-holders, believe it or not.

While many speedrunners have managed to shovel through the unforgiving world with the use of game breaks and sneaky glitches, some, amazingly enough, have been able to tackle every strewn nook and cranny without assistance. Just take this run, for example. ‘Catalystz‘, already being a titleholder for the Any% mode with a tallied time of 21:17, was able to tackle every Dark Souls boss and still come out laughing, effectively smashing the world record out of the park and cementing a spot as an absolute Souls guru. And to think, it took me upwards of thirty minutes just to light a couple of bonfires. Sigh.

 

4. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (27:29)

If you thought Dark Souls' 43 hours being crunched down to a single hour (or 21 minutes, taking into account the Any% speedrun) was impressive — then wait 'til you get a load of this one. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, being a fifty to sixty hours story, has actually been conquered in under thirty minutes. Yes — thirty minutes. And the thing that makes this feat even more impressive is the fact that ‘sketodara01414‘ managed to do the whole thing with Link wearing nothing but his briefs.

Of course, anyone who's played Breath of the Wild will know that going toe-to-toe with the infamous Ganon can, in fact, be fast-tracked, depending on your play style. And while most new players would want to bask in the ambience of Hyrule and all its treasures before submerging in the deep end, speedrunners, on the other hand, prefer to cut out the middle portion and sink straight to the ocean floor. But hey — whatever floats their boat. Or sinks it, so to speak.

 

3. Super Meat Boy (17:27)

Super Meat Boy any% in 17:28

We touched base on Super Meat Boy the other day in our insanely hard video games list, mainly over its harsh difficulty and the fact it consumes the majority of your sanity in a heartbeat. Bear with it, of course, and you'll sludge through the game in roughly ten or more hours. Anything less and you're looking at closing in on the top shelf of the speedrunning community. Anything longer than ten hours, however, and you're basically on par with me. Sorry.

Anybody who has played through Super Meat Boy will know that, in order to plough through the levels, you basically have to enter a trial and error phase, in which you'll spend more time dying than actually progressing. And that's pretty much it — from the moment you sink into the little meaty shoes to the second you soar to the aid of your kidnapped girlfriend Bandage Girl. Only, for speedrunning professionals such as ‘MatteSMB‘, the trial and error thing just sort of takes a backseat. The 17-minute record speaks volumes for that.

 

2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (20:27)

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - Blindfolded in 20:27

Have you ever wondered what it'd be like to knock out Mike Tyson while wearing a sleep mask? Yeah, me neither. Though for some, and by some I'm referring to ‘mPap‘, pursuing such a dream seems to be the only thing that makes any form of sense. But each to their own and that. It may not be something that stacks high on our bucket list, but it's definitely interesting to see others tackle such an unusual fantasy. Touching gloves with Mike Tyson with a blindfold on. Who'd have thought?

With all of that said, there is a reason behind this entry — and it's not down to the novelty of having a sleep mask, either. It's more the fact that Mike Tyson, as the big bad wolf of the boxing game, is actually classed as one of the toughest bosses in video game history. And so, it's because of that, that seeing him punched out by a blindfolded player just adds a little extra something to the situation. It's a little unorthodox, sure — but it's also rather impressive when you think about it.

 

1. Super Mario 64 (1:38:54)

UNBELIEVABLE Super Mario 64 120 star Speedrun former world record set at LIVE event by Cheese

I'd be lying if I said it took me less than a fortnight to beat Super Mario 64. To obtain all 120 stars, however, now that's a goal I still haven't achieved, nor will I ever dare attempt to pursue. But the same probably goes for you too. The fact is, acquiring all 120 stars that are scattered all over the kingdom don't come easily. Luckily for us, however, we only have to bag 70 in order to confront the final Bowser boss battle. Choosing to pocket the other 50, on the other hand, will effectively ramp up your game time by another six or seven hours. And you can guarantee there'll be a whole heap of stress between each and every one.

Overall, you're looking at just shy of twenty hours in order to beat the Nintendo classic. Of course, knowing that, it only makes ‘Cheese‘ and his iconic run look even more impressive. With a clocked time of under two hours, the streamer pretty much smashed it out of the park and put the rest of us to everlasting shame. Well played.

Looking for more? You could always take a look at one of these lists:

5 Insanely Hard Video Games That Want You to Fail

5 Fan-Made Video Game Remakes That Will Blow You Away

Jord is acting Team Leader at gaming.net. If he isn't blabbering on in his daily listicles, then he's probably out writing fantasy novels or scraping Game Pass of all its slept on indies.