The Most HYPE Moments From Summer Games Done Quick 2021
Summer Games Done Quick just set another record with a $2.8 million haul for Doctors Without Borders. Another epic week of game speedrunning has come to a close, and consequently, there’s a solid 168 hours of videos to catch up on. Since you probably don’t have THAT much time, let us guide you to the choicest moments, as we do every year. These runs should not be missed…
This is nuts. “Stop N Swop Paper Mario” is a speedrun achieved by starting Ocarina of Time, manipulating that game to store some data in the N64 Expansion Pak, quickly swapping the cartridge with that of Paper Mario, and entering some more inputs, causing the game to jump directly to the final screen.
And this 100% collection run of Majora’s Mask is only possible to make in under two hours by performing another data manip maneuver to bring up the hidden Debugger’s Menu, which gives you 90% of the items in the game instantly. The rest of the run is about hunting down the remainder.
Beating Ninja Gaiden in fifteen minutes is hard enough, but what if you never swung your sword? Edo_87 pulls off the impossible by completing a “Pacifist Run” where enemies are only struck when the game won’t let you advance otherwise (bosses only).
How do you speedrun Nintendogs? Not easily, especially when the DARN DOG WON’T COME OUT OF THE TUBE! If you’re pressed for time, this is a short one at just over ten minutes.
There were Super Mario World hacks this time as well, but they’re a bit harder to find. I almost didn’t catch them because their names are “Storks And Apes And Crocodiles” and “Let’s Give Up,” two titles that sound more like indie PC games than Mario hacks. Let’s Give Up requires runner MrMightyMouse to navigate the entire game using Mario’s cape. We felt fortunate to not be his thumbs in this.
I bet many of you didn’t know Google Maps could be a game, let alone speedrun. But that’s what Geoguessr is and that’s what runner havrd somehow does. The game plops you into a random area on Google Street View and commands you to make as close a guess to where you are as possible. havrd was aiming for a perfect score, and it’s quite a nail-biter as he’s dealt a bad hand. On his third map, he’s put in the middle of a California desert.
From the makers of Awful Games Done Quick comes…Silly Games Done Quick! These games aren’t necessarily BAD, just strange. I Am Fish was an interesting one, casting the player in the role of several fish that must navigate from one land-bound place to another without the ability to walk or breathe out of water for very long.
But then there was Jazzpunk, which was full of bizarre moments from the first to last second. Runner Katlink makes the experience even better with her sly remarks and comments on the experience.
There was a blindfolded Mario 64 run at a previous GDQ, but it was a short one. This one, however, goes for 70 Stars. You won’t believe some of the tricks runner Bubzia pulls off without the aid of sight. It’s over two hours of amazing!
Games Done Quick will be back next year in their “Awesome” variant from January 9 through January 16, 2022. If you can’t wait that long, check out their spinoff event Flame Fatales, with all female speedrunners, from August 15 to August 21.