[besson3c]

Are any of you guys into this?

This is a whole world I didn't know even existed, but I've been enjoying watching world record attempts on Twitch.tv while I program and do stuff in the background. I don't think I'll ever be doing my own speed runs, but the whole concept is interesting to me in planning routes (in games where this is applicable), making use of game glitches, coming up with splits, learning new strategies and tricks, having backup strategies to prevent ruining a run, learning about the run categories, criteria, rules, use of emulators, races, bingo games, etc.

It is also interesting what sorts of games are good for speed running. Most of the speed runners on Twitch (http://www.twitch.tv/team/srl) are into classic Nintendo games such as the Zelda and Mario games. Apparently speed runners prefer older games in general, but Ocarina of Time in particular is quite popular because the game is so broken there are so many glitches. You can literally finish the dungeons in any order and finish the game within 20 minutes or so if you make use of all of the possible glitches. Super Mario 64 is another popular one. Games that generally have better replay value, are non-linear, and have fairly complicated and rewarding execution of skills are the best candidates for speed running.

This got me thinking a little... Has gaming changed such that the older classic games are not just better for speed running, but are better for general replay in general? Are they a little more challenging? Less linear? More rewarding?

[sek929]

I got big into trying my own legit speed run for Super Metroid. Nothing but a single run-through with the console, no emulators and no save-states. In the end I beat the game in a little over an hour, the record being about 48 minutes.

I think older games lend themselves better to speed runs because modern games are far, far more complicated, and in the end, play a lot slower. I started to watch a speed run of Half Life 2 and got bored about 20 minutes in, whereas watching the Mario 64 speed run I was laughing in awe the whole time.

If you are into watching some speed runs I suggest checking out Super Metroid. It involves some glitches, but in the end just makes heavy use of the game's built-in abilities to cheat the system. Older games were cool like that, they had all sorts of secret tactics and abilities that they'd never really let you know about. In a modern game if you aren't given a cutscene explaining everything in extreme detail consider yourself lucky.

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by sek929 

I got big into trying my own legit speed run for Super Metroid. Nothing but a single run-through with the console, no emulators and no save-states. In the end I beat the game in a little over an hour, the record being about 48 minutes.

I think older games lend themselves better to speed runs because modern games are far, far more complicated, and in the end, play a lot slower. I started to watch a speed run of Half Life 2 and got bored about 20 minutes in, whereas watching the Mario 64 speed run I was laughing in awe the whole time.

If you are into watching some speed runs I suggest checking out Super Metroid. It involves some glitches, but in the end just makes heavy use of the game's built-in abilities to cheat the system. Older games were cool like that, they had all sorts of secret tactics and abilities that they'd never really let you know about. In a modern game if you aren't given a cutscene explaining everything in extreme detail consider yourself lucky.

I'll check out Super Metroid. Super Mario 64 is definitely a very flashy game to speed run. I don't know how people can get that good at that game, it requires such precision!

[P]

Super Metroid encouraged speed runs in a way most games don't and also had a couple of interesting glitches that let you sequence break if you knew what you were doing, which made it an interesting game to run through.

[besson3c]

A lot of super metroid fans here, I see!

[sek929]

Damn straight. Considered by many, myself included, to be among the finest games ever made.

[besson3c]

I will play this game ASAP then! I think I only played the NES version(s) of Metroid, way back in the day. Are there other Metroid games that you like?

It's kind of cool that you can play any Nintendo game in existence except for the 3DS games on your Mac.

[sek929]

First off, if you are going to play Super Metroid please, please play it on the original hardware. The controls are perfectly mapped for the SNES controller. I would also accept a USB SNES controller adapter if you simply must emulate on your Mac.

Secondly, the original Metroid is one of the hardest games to beat. Frustration incarnate.

Thirdly, the Metroid: Prime series for Gamecube is amazing. The first Metroid: Prime is one of my favorite FPSes of all time, and the graphics make modern Wii games look like crap.

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by sek929 

First off, if you are going to play Super Metroid please, please play it on the original hardware. The controls are perfectly mapped for the SNES controller. I would also accept a USB SNES controller adapter if you simply must emulate on your Mac.

Secondly, the original Metroid is one of the hardest games to beat. Frustration incarnate.

Thirdly, the Metroid: Prime series for Gamecube is amazing. The first Metroid: Prime is one of my favorite FPSes of all time, and the graphics make modern Wii games look like crap.

I guess I should pick up a SNES controller and USB adapter then. I'm not really interested in buying a SNES and cartridge or Wii plus virtual console game (which is emulation anyway).

I don't recall ever beating the original Metroid for NES, although I definitely liked the game.

Are you an old school Nintendo fan in general?

[sek929]

Oh yeah, especially SNES. My old SNES is cracked, has a chunk missing in the back and is generally a wreck....still works fine.

[P]

I think all the Metroids, except for maybe the original Gameboy version for which the graphics are really too tiny to bother with, are worth replaying. Super Metroid is a very very good game, but it starts the devolution of the series from freeform exploration into more of a paint-by-the-numbers story. Metroid Fusion is an excellent example of this - the story is really quite decent, and explains the backstory of the Metroids without going overboard with the exposition, but the "computer AI" guides you to exactly where you should go all the time.

Also, when we're on the topic of replays and speed runs: Mega Man. For some reason they always crater completely by the end of each series, but the first ones in each series are worth going back to - if only because they are of a type that almost isn't made anymore.

[besson3c]

There is a 21 player Super Metroid race just about to start:

http://speedrunslive.com/race/?id=dg9hs

[Malcolm Owen]

I remember the days of Quake done Quick (QdQ), where an intrepid team would run through the game on Nightmare in under an hour. I usually watched in awe at their "mad skills" until I moved on to Half-Life...

[besson3c]

This kid just broke the Super Mario 64 100%/120 star world record... Very flashy game, entertaining to watch:

http://www.twitch.tv/siglemic/b/330730609

Start about half way through the video, the successful run is at the back end of this.

[nexlar]

After playing through the game's prologue battle and flight from a self-destructing space station, you'll find yourself landing in the rain on the surface of Zebes. And you're alone. There are no enemies. It's just you, your ship, and a vacant set of rooms and shafts.

[Mrkilla]

Originally Posted by nexlar 

After playing through the game's prologue battle and flight from a self-destructing space station, you'll find yourself landing in the rain on the surface of Zebes. And you're alone. There are no enemies. It's just you, your ship, and a vacant set of rooms and shafts.

The same trouble