The Most HYPE Moments From Awesome Games Done Quick 2016
Games Done Quick returned once again last week, raising over $1.2 million for cancer research through the method of beating popular games as quickly as possible. Most of the marathon is now archived on the GDQ YouTube channel (as I write this the final day has yet to show up), and if you missed it, here are the best parts of the week in their entirety….
The highest point of joy in the entire marathon was the Super Mario Maker challenge, embedded above. Eight of the SMM community’s most notorious designers created previously unseen custom levels for two teams of four players to race through as fast as possible. If you have anything important to do right now, forget it and watch this instead — you won’t be sorry. Show starts at minute 26.
The Metroid Prime speedrun was quite a sight to behold; the player found a shortcut in nearly every room. You wouldn’t believe the game could be broken like this if you hadn’t seen it.
A new segment of the marathon called Awful Games Done Quick brought the added challenge of fighting bad controls and level design while playing speedily. The highlight of this block was the playthrough of the truly terrible Animorphs game for Game Boy Color.
Attempts to beat some of the hardest Mario hacks ever made are always fun. Check out this runthrough of the extremely tough Kaizo Mario Bros. 3.
What makes this run of Kingdom Hearts special? All the singing. Find these moments at 58:10, 1:01:50, 1:11:05, 1:27:05, and 1:30:00.
If you’re going to be watching GDQ marathons, one term you’re going to have to understand is “Save/Kill The Animals.” The ending sequence of Super Metroid, which involves escaping a large area on a timer, has a hidden spot where you can rescue three trapped alien animals before leaving. If you do, the end cutscene will include their ship flying away. It’s become a tradition at GDQ to vote with your contribution on whether the animals should be saved at the end (since it takes a little extra time). Last marathon the animals were saved; this time the vote was to let ’em fry.
This Super Metroid playthrough was also handled differently than last year’s: the bosses were fought in reverse order, a feat that requires racing through blazing hot areas without the suit that helps Samus handle them, meaning your health is constantly depleting. I won’t spoil whether the player is able to pull this off or not.
I remember a summer family gathering where a cousin told me this game existed. I didn’t believe him.
The next GDQ will take place from July 3 to July 9. For the most HYPE moments of the previous GDQ (which are still as HYPE as ever), flash back to this page.