The speedrunning extravaganza, Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ), ceremoniously ended yesterday, raising a final tally of over $1.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. (Mind blown…)
Notable speedrunners, sometimes even the best in the world, provide commentary for the game they're playing. Some may not understand the point of breaking a game to the point of playing the PC version of Final Fantasy VII just so you can use the platform-specific Yuffie skip in a run that completes the game in less than 3 hours. You think I'm kidding? Here.
That might seem vague and esoteric, but I would argue that speedrunning looks at a game in an entirely new and interesting light, and usually demands complete superiority and understanding of a game. I've embedded the 1-hour speedrun for Dark Souls II above. I was also wildly impressed by the Streets of Rage 2 speedrun using Max who's supposed to be slowest character in the game. And how about that Grandmaster Tetris diagonal-blank showcase or the Tetris Grandmaster anything? Standing ovation!
In fact, I recommend surveying all of the recent YouTube videos on AGDQ's official channel and watching speedruns of your favorite games.
