In your time amongst the speedrunning community, you may or may not have heard the term Holy Grail. It's not a sacred chalice or a mystical artifact, but rather a term that describes a discovery so profound that it etches itself into the annals of gaming history. A Holy Grail is the stuff of legends, a theory or proof of concept that, if realized, would send shockwaves through the speedrunning community. You may or may not have heard of a little thing called Barrier Skip in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - that is a holy grail skip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hUIp3eUyKI

In the last few weeks, Super Mario 64 has finally received its own Holy Grail - one with a rich history dating back 14 years or more. In the heart of the Super Mario 64 speedrunning universe lies the pursuit of **Carpetless**, the elusive final auto-scroller skip that has tantalized speedrunners for over a decade.

![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/C9UmsQgpLU5CPAtVw5aYrh.jpg)

First of all, let me thank both @simply and @KrobarKrolak for making videos that provided me with the majority of this information, I highly recommend you watch both of them as they will go into much more detail than I will here. (See **Sources** at the bottom of the article)

# The Big House in the Sky Autoscroller

"The Big House in the Sky" (TBHiS) star presents a common annoyance for speedrunners - an autoscroller section. There are multiple autoscrollers in SM64, but every single other one of them has been skippable for years at this point, which left TBHiS as the only remaining autoscroller in the 120 Star speedrun route. The autoscroller consisted of getting on a magic carpet that would carry you to the final star at the top of the big house, [taking an annoying 1m45s (roughly) to do so](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bkHWWbGDKg&t=5405s). For years, runners looked for a way to skip the carpet ride (thus the title, Carpetless), finding a few leads but nothing RTA viable. The speedrunning community never gave up though, continually pushing the boundaries of what was possible.

**Let’s go over some quick highlights of the last 14 years of Carpetless.**

## Blazesoul13's Early Experimentation

In April 2009, runner blazesoul13 finds a glitchy wallkick on the side of the Big House, which *almost* reaches the roof.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZU3RgNtfts

# Early TAS Discoveries

In December 2009, the first breakthrough came when a TAS (Tool-Assisted Speedrun) setup was developed by Mario64Masters, which utilized hyperspeed wallkicks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcDbXNkT0Tk?t=2

# Snark122's Bomb Setup

In January 2013, snark122 showcased the first carpetless setup that hinted at the possibility of skipping the autoscroller in real-time speedruns. Though technically possible, it remained ridiculously unrealistic to do in runs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV9MV13w2U8

# BLJs and Parallel Universes

It wasn't until 2017 that Maria Nicolae, Plush, & Luigihaxd introduced a new (still TAS only) setup that used Backward Long Jumps (BLJ’s) to send Mario into actual Parallel Universes to do Carpetless. To learn more about Parallel Universes, I highly recommend watching this video from Bismuth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjge1bVobN0?t=720

# Toadfan5's Save State Breakthrough

In July 2015, toadfan5 made a significant stride by successfully executing Carpetless using save states.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcRN195iS1w

# Xiah Does Carpetless Single Segment

In May 2019, Xiah achieved what seemed nearly impossible – successfully using the bomb setup to skip the autoscroller without relying on save states. This breakthrough was a testament to the dedication and perseverance of SM64 speedrunners, and was a turning point for the community - people started taking RTA Carpetless a lot more seriously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjcD0qzkgcw

# Circumark994 Spends 3 Weeks On Carpetless Research

On April 22nd, 2023 Circumark994 released this 30-minute video breaking down all of the current leads for Carpetless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7g6PQtNIkA

# Parsee Hits Bomb Setup in a 120* Run

On September 17th, 2023, [runner Parsee hit snark122’s Bomb Setup (also known simply as OG Carpetless) in a full 120 star speedrun.](https://twitter.com/parsee02/status/1703449072370319705)

# Krithalith's Innovative Discovery

Also on September 17th, 2023 mere *hours* after Parsee hit the bomb setup - TASer Krithalith premiered a groundbreaking setup discovery for carpetless. This new setup was based on Blazesoul13’s original glitchy wallkick discovery back in 2009 - and while still incredibly inconsistent, runners like @simply, @Suigi, and more were still able to hit Carpetless multiple times in a single (multi-hour) session. However, the balance of intense difficulty and viability for runs [actually seemed to demotivate runners like Suigi](https://twitter.com/GreenSuigi/status/1703765302461260045) - since it was technically possible to get a new world record with, but ridiculously inconsistent.

## Orthogonal Jones Setup

Just two days after the initial discovery, Krithalith released the ["Orthogonal Jones" setup](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbPAJ_OrT28) on September 19th.  This setup removed a lot of the complexities and achieved Krithalith’s goal of a setup that required fewer inputs. There are lots of other setups, mainly including ["Orthogonal James"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM6GxiTuFt8) also from Krithalith, and [Dezanig’s setup](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlP5Pkg8yL4) - but most run attempts for both full 120 star and single star are currently using Orthogonal Jones.

![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/s7A9OK-Ee4Kl_q1c5OdYOq_XL9VrOKuHqyzW5AjGPhLdiHNR1-9n1nyuwPUyl90UiFuvLFVih3pk24kgusKVPkv2F_OzpGnRzRviHnPEKzKJynqPlB55KABbwLDUgXJkzr1toNWZL3mxH1TOa1a1UcE)

This setup, based on cardinal directions (neutral, straight up, straight right, etc.), **significantly** increased consistency and made the Carpetless challenge more accessible to speedrunners - so much so that Suigi released a video doing Carpetless *11 times in a* **ROW.**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StUh5pRNiBs

# Conclusion

In the ever-evolving world of SM64 speedrunning, the pursuit of RTA viable Carpetless has brought forth not only innovation - but proof of the unwavering commitment from the community. At the time of writing this article, no new world record has been achieved - but it’s merely a matter of time before the next (and perhaps the final) minute barrier is broken for the Super Mario 64 120 Star category.

Krithalith’s groundbreaking discovery, backed by early experimentations by people like blazesoul13, snark, Maria Nicolae, toadfan5, Xiah, parsee, and many more has allowed SM64 speedrunners to save almost a minute (around 45 seconds on average) in the 120 Star category.

To put it into perspective, top runners have been known to grind for hours to practice timesaves that are less than a second - and *that's* why Carpetless is a Holy Grail skip.

If you’re interested, you can find [the current Single Star World Record for The Big House in the Sky here](https://www.singlestar.sm64rta.info/individual?stage=RR&star=2).

I would also like to give a heartfelt thank you to Krithalith, seven, Zinsch, ded_lej, and the rest of [the SM64 Speedrunning Discord server](https://discord.com/invite/0Si1OtnB7Ylmwkwr) for helping me fact-check my information - you guys are the best!

# Sources:

[The Biggest SM64 Speedrun Discovery Just Happened by @Simply](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2hzYmL2AkQ)

[The History of Carpetless: Super Mario 64’s HARDEST Speedrunning Trick by @KrobarKrolak](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARz3Fc-3blo)

[RR Carpetless Research by Circumark994](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7g6PQtNIkA)

![](https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000482010774-fks9pk-t500x500.jpg)

A consistent setup for the Holy Grail Skip of SM64 was just discovered - lets dig in.

The Holy Grail of SM64 - Carpetless

This Web game by indie creator David Tschacher is very simple from the outside but incredibly sophisticated when investigated. Territorial.io is a strategy/expansion game mostly known for it's multiplayer play. Released in August of 2021, the game has seen legends rise, the domination of clans such as [CORGI], [OG], and [ELITE], and, of course, it's entrance onto Speedrun.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKmsWPyPAY4

Even though the game is known for it's multiplayer, it's singleplayer speedrunning community still thrives. Players can choose one of sixteen maps; 6 of which are base on real world geography. There they can choose where to spawn. A good spawn should have distance from bots, a good distance from other players, and a large continent (For example, on a world map you wouldn't want to spawn in New Zealand.) Players then begin to take over empty, free territory. Any Territorial player must take 3 things into account: their interest in the top right, their troops on the top and their attack bar on the bottom. A players interest tells the player how many troops will be produced. (7% is max and 0% is the minimum, while the average player will spend most of the game at ~1.5% to around ~0.5%, depending on how aggressive they are.) Players must be mindful that there is a "Max Cap" at which players can no longer produce troops. The only way for your "Max Cap" to increase is to take over more territory. The troops in the top represents your strength: your power, ability to attack, and ability to defend your borders. The attack bar on the bottom tells you how many troops you are attacking with. This number will change frequently, however during mid-late game will hover around 8-12%. This bar is the only thing of the 3 mentioned that the player can control.

**Troop Count and Troop Cap**

![](/static/blob/1n5dppe3.jpg)

**Attack Bar**

One of the most important aspects of Territorial.io is your opening. The opening comes after your spawn, when expanding into free territory. DO NOT send out all your troops. The most common opening, renowned by the community, speedrunners, and new runners alike is the Greenbiscuit Opening. One of the most influential and important names in Territorial, and it's speedrunning community for that matter, [@Greenbiscuit](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Greenbiscuit?view=fullgame)'s opening was the first to become seriously intertwined with the player base. It goes like this:

1. cycle: 28.2%

2. cycle: 43.0%

3. cycle: 44.4%

4. cycle: 44.4%

5. cycle: 41.8%

For clarification, a cycle is when the bars on the outside of the troop counter hit the top. You want to time your attacks so that they finish when the bar on the outside hits the top of the box.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD06REakQpA

Speedrunners play with 512 bots. There is a separate category for each map and difficulty. %RUNS require a 99% of the map and the victory screen. %TROOPS require runners to reach 200k, 500k, 1M, or 5M troops. 100%ONLY require runners to only full send, or lock the attack bar at 100%. Lastly is 2min%Run runs, trying to conquer as much land in 2 minutes.

Don't worry, the game is available for free at [https://territorial.io](https://territorial.io/). Join the Territorial.io speedrunning discord server at [https://discord.gg/uyV4hUHn](https://discord.gg/uyV4hUHn).

Happy Running!

We dissect a medium sized speedrunning community from the bottom up, increasing excitement and injecting a new passion for a game otherwise unexplored.

Wolfhowl's Game of The Week: Territorial.io

Released on August 18th, Team Reptile’s [Bomb Rush Cyberfunk](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1353230/Bomb_Rush_Cyberfunk/) (BRC) took the internet by storm with its flashy visual style, 3D platformer flare, and amazing soundtrack. The game, heavily inspired by the likes of Jet Set Radio and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, tasks the player with going through the city of New Amsterdam to go “All City”.

![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9HKDfO51Ja4/maxresdefault.jpg)

With 5 story chapters, each one facing an opposing street crew, the early Any% runs saw players spraying graffiti with very little more. However, runners soon found the most important tech in the run, with a trick known as the zip even catching the eyes of casual players.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMCxRI7k_v0

Zips were immediately tested, and many unique use cases were found. Be it basic movement or huge skips, they proved to be important aspects of the run. One of the biggest skips was found just 3 days into the game’s life.

Chapter 5 of BRC finds you facing the crew Futurism. However, it was discovered by @ZumoDePapaya that the story trigger to start the final boss sequence is always active far away into Mataan, the final level. Using zips, it was found to be possible to get to this trigger from the very start of the chapter. This was a *20 minute timesave*, skipping a ton of story content. A setup was soon found after by @Xyphles, Zumo, and I.

[https://twitter.com/shovelclaws/status/1693788196927058038](https://twitter.com/shovelclaws/status/1693788196927058038)

This skip showed the true potential for zips, and began the search for more skips. Soon, the community found ways to enter the mall early in chapter 3, skip the last half of the prologue, and beyond.

The game had taken off, but the record stood at 1:16:53 by @JackieNewguy and then 1:16:48 by @kitcarson. How did the run get so much shorter? Well, some help from the developers over at Team Reptile helped out. They updated the game, and in the patch came a change that saved 7 minutes: cutscenes that could be skipped would be skipped 3 seconds faster.

On top of this cutscene skip change, a new skip was made real by a change in a respawn trigger. At the start of Chapter 4, the game wants you to find the Flesh Prince to provide some medical attention to the main character. Afterwards, you’d be off to Pyramid Island to fight against Devil Theory, the fourth crew.

Patch 1.0.19864 changed a respawn trigger on Pyramid Island, which allowed us to entirely skip the Flesh Prince sequence by voiding out as we loaded into the Pyramid Island docks. If done correctly, you’d respawn on the island, and the story would play out as normal. These two tricks instantly dropped the record to a 1:07:08.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9bRNNAOs9Q?t=2961

The community rallied, with the sub hour in sight. Following a ton of graffiti reroutes, new skips such as [Nightmare 1](https://youtu.be/yRXQkNx99KQ), [Nightmare 2](https://youtu.be/5w0Fhp0VgbI?t=2668), and [Baseball](https://youtu.be/Oj5JiGa70uo), and movement optimization, the community quickly closed in, with records dropping minutes by the day.

![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/9edfdggIPWsVIX6y9MZT1W5gYm1O427af21m1bpyX7a27j5pMt16MhnejIcmiCjGWovo6fekY56i6954J0D4PYeyo8gtaO-087_AIM0S_Fc1c53R8_85Kl5jLbQPHBSn8padUTt39VocchwENSPYXfM)

Finally, the bullet that allowed sub-hour hit BRC when user @Ninja_cookie discovered a skip that allowed us to skip a multiple-minute section of the early game. In order to skip the prologue, runners used an out-of-bounds to hit a level transition trigger. It was found that if you hit the trigger and paused at *the same time* (frame-precise), you’d load into the next level.

https://clips.twitch.tv/CuteGoldenJackalOneHand--iVazaN17iYVnFKm

This instantly gave runners the boost they needed, and @kitcarson, @Storied, and @ItzBytez would race to get the sub hour first.

Then, on September 6th, Storied would tap against the glass with a time of 1:00:32. kitcarson would post his own cursed run, clocking in with a time of 1:00:10. Bytez would get the closest, with a run with a final time of *1 hour exactly*. Tensions were high and the community was eager to see who would close out the race.

And then, Bytez claimed the crown, grabbing himself a 58:37 just under 24 hours after his cursed run. Not only did Bytez get sub hour, but he skipped past the 59 minute barrier. However, he wouldn’t be alone for long: not even 15 minutes later, Storied would nab the world record back with a 57:20. But even kitcarson wouldn’t be out of the sub hour club for long, posting a 59:06 within 2 hours of Bytez and Storied.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJmdnr5AhLA

What had been a race to sub hour ended with the three of them coming out winners, all having the sub hour back-to-back. The community, waking up hours later, buzzed with excitement as our eyes set themself on the 50 minute barrier.

Since the sub hour, the community has left no stone unturned searching for new ways to break the game. A recent discovery, @Ninja_Cookie found a new way to zip called Zip Storage that allowed them to be done faster, easier, and more frequently: the 3 things that matter most to us! This new discovery turned some of the absolute hardest skips into easy skips with simple setups at the top level. It also allowed zips to be more ingrained into the basic movement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2vFkkdxfGo

After so many people dedicated so much hard work and time to breaking this game, the [world record currently sits at 51:34 by Bytez](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEaSxlAAFXc), with [Storied just 2 seconds behind](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eW2aS6RrW0). Sum of bests have recently gone under 50 minutes, and as of September 26th, the *entire top 10* is composed of runners with times under 1 hour.

![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Bli9neFklOSJ2g1Z5N2mPsD5glrzmuI8-IdtE0_Dz24L0KbL3Q4LNoIGPJnWdk9ajyrHdKvsgk187Z4vRhw38_-LkI8AjkZ-9jjOOX9fABrwzfM3xRMpvrZkLt_02IWbVMQ5BnjKmpkX-C0LEhjdZms)

What started as a highly anticipated release, and a day 2 record of 2:34:46, has turned into one of the greatest speedruns of the year. In the wise words of community moderator @Helix, “BRC feels like it progresses a month in a week.”

With Awesome Games Done Quick 2024 around the corner, which Bytez and Storied have both submitted to, the future is looking bright for this newly released title.

If this short history lesson has you interested in the game, you can join the Discord here: [https://discord.com/invite/EWCfbJDrh4](https://discord.com/invite/EWCfbJDrh4).

A short history of the futuristic street-culture platformer released in August

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk Community Races Towards 50 Minute Barrier

# Is Atari Making a Comeback

# Short Answer: Yes! 

Atari has been a cornerstone of SRC for many years. The Atari speedrunning scene has been growing exponentially over the recent months after user @VyPr announced the community-based speedrunning tournament Project Retro Season #1 in the Farmington Discord server. Project Retro Season #1 was announced to be 4 weeks long consisting of multiple games being speedrun on the Atari 2600. Dozens of speedrunners flocked to Speedrun.com to solidify their places on the Project Retro Leaderboards. Runners like @Captninja6, @DoritoBreath, and @Zir0nic crushed the competition.

# Community

Atari speedrunning history on SRC begins in 2015 with the game, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.

# [E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial](https://www.speedrun.com/et)

![](/static/blob/7n6652nq.jpg)

After Atari made its SRC debut many other Atari games began to appear all over Speedrun.com, some games like [Dragster](https://www.speedrun.com/dragster) and [Adventure](https://www.speedrun.com/advt) blew up with hundreds of runs in those 2 games alone. Some Atari runs can be dated back to 2006 even predating Speedrun.com itself.

Example: Adventure Difficulty 1 in 33.60 by @SadisticMystic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE6MSXqouSk

More games continued to appear on SRC over the course of the following years and the community came to life.

In 2017 the SRC Atari community was left abandoned and deemed obsolete compared to the newer games like [Super Mario Odyssey](https://www.speedrun.com/smo) at the time.

# Project Retro 

Project Retro was announced in August of 2023 by user @VyPr. Project Retro consisted of 4 weeks of gameplay, containing the following titles.

## Project Retro Game List & Highlights

### Week 1

- [Dragster](https://www.speedrun.com/dragster)
- [Tron: Deadly Discs](https://www.speedrun.com/trondeadlydiscs)
- [Enduro](https://www.speedrun.com/enduro)
- [Halo 2600](https://www.speedrun.com/halo_2600)
- [Tennis (Atari 2600)](https://www.speedrun.com/tennis_atari2600)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t9M9OXaxew

### Week 2

- [Grand Prix](https://www.speedrun.com/grand_prix)
- [Juno First](https://www.speedrun.com/juno_first)
- [Sky Jinks](https://www.speedrun.com/sky_jinks)
- [Q*bert](https://www.speedrun.com/qbert_atari_2600)
- [Commando](https://www.speedrun.com/commando_)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_upNRtIvH8?t=3

### Week 3

- [Defender II](https://www.speedrun.com/Defender_II_Atari_2600)
- [Centipede](https://www.speedrun.com/ctp)
- [Donkey Kong](https://www.speedrun.com/donkey_kong_atari)
- [RealSports Boxing](https://www.speedrun.com/RealSports_Boxing)
- [Midnight Magic](https://www.speedrun.com/midnight_magic)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG_rQL2W9Qs?t=1

### Week 4 (Final Week)

- [Mario Bros. Arcade](https://www.speedrun.com/mario_bros_arcade)
- [Joust (Atari)](https://www.speedrun.com/Joust_Atari_2600)
- [Pressure Cooker](https://www.speedrun.com/Pressure_Cooker)
- [Pole Position](https://www.speedrun.com/pole_position)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULnVLC7ywd8

# What's next?

After the end of Project Retro Season #1, the SRC Atari community has continued to regrow - a new chapter of Atari speedrunning has begun and the Atari community is asking for you to help us grow and thrive. Help us rewrite the history of Atari speedrunning and become a part of something bigger than we had ever thought possible.

Special Thanks To @VyPr,  @Captninja6, @DoritoBreath, @Act_, @Akuretaki and so many more for reviving this AWESOME community!

Congratulations to @Zir0nic the champion of Project Retro Season #1

[Atari Speedrunners Discord](https://discord.gg/3NJAx2yyjK)

[Official Project Retro Leaderboard](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AMp8UcrIEn84kSPVJsenT31HBaZUyZB05sgZovGZ-Dg/edit#gid=0)

After years of dormancy, the Atari community Is back and all is looking good!

Atari Community Celebrates Successful Event - Project Retro Season 1

In the world of speedrunning, it's common for dedicated runners to remain loyal to a single game or series, with the occasional dabble into fresh games as they are announced at game conferences. Some are dedicated to a genre, such as racing or first-person shooters, but rarely do we see runners that have the broad skill set to conquer a variety of genres, game engines, and platforms. There is a small subset of speedrunners whose goal is to obtain world records from the widest variety of games (world record grinders), and [Akuretaki](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Akuretaki) is one of them.

This community focuses on high profile games within different game groups and attempts to battle out full game and individual level records. These games range from old Atari hits, such as [Sky Jinks](https://www.speedrun.com/sky_jinks), to IL intensive web games, such as [Seterra](https://www.speedrun.com/seterra).

![](/static/blob/1n87dxeq.png)

*Seterra Individual Levels are largely dominated by World Record Grinders and Run Farmers*

# Notable World Records:

To commemorate the achievement, let's take a look at some of the most notable world records out of the 10K achieved:

### 1. [Nox - Wizard Any% in 34:32](https://www.speedrun.com/nox_pc/runs/mrl0vp8m)

Akuretaki's main speedgame, he continues to dominate the leaderboard with his large skill gap over the competition. He is currently working on a route for the hardcore difficulty.

![](/static/blob/wzxvqrer.png)

*Wizard% is his most optimized category*

### 2. [Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear - Pandora Trigger (Recruit) in 0:14.567](https://www.speedrun.com/tom_clancys_rainbow_six_rogue_spear/runs/z0nd6nom)

Many fans of the Tom Clancy series will quickly recognize rogue spear for its gameplay being very similar to other first-person shooters released in 1998. Akuretaki beat this world record by a single frame.

![](/static/blob/rz2mp8n0.png)

### 3. [Phasmophobia - 200% (Launch Maps) in 1:53:45](https://www.speedrun.com/phasmophobia/runs/z1rrx1rm)

Akuretaki was the first person to pull off a full 200% run in the game, and the only person to complete the category successfully. Why? An extreme level of luck required to complete a run, and Akuretaki spent hours in this category for a completed run.

![](/static/blob/pzmqgoek.png)

*Phasmophobia is a popular horror game released in 2020*

# Interview:

**1. What was your first speedrun, and what made you choose that game?**

> I used to record Mario Kart Double Dash attempts back in 2005; however, my first speedrun with the intent of submitting to a site was World of Tanks. I played this game since 2012 and had hundreds of hours in the game, so it seemed like an easy choice. I ran the Soviet Union Boot Camp category, where I was minutes behind first place. The heavy RNG component made me take a break from the game, and I never submit to the site for this category. My first submission to SRC was Phasmophobia.

**2. What made you decide to start your world record journey?**

> After running Phasmophobia for quite some time, I ran a game called [Carmageddon II](https://www.speedrun.com/carmageddon_two/levels). I didn't like the RNG part of the full game run, so I decided to run only Individual Levels (IL's) for the game, taking almost all of the world records. Once I completed this game, I started to search the **Newest Added** tab on the games page for the site, where I found a game with a lot of IL's. A moderator of one of the games, [Darrel69](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Darrel69), invited me to a Discord server with statistics about anything you could think about on the site. One of these stats was **Most World Records by a User**, and I wanted to be on the top of that list.

**3. What have you learned from your world record journey, and have you been exposed to other genres you otherwise would have not played?**

> The overall take-away from my journey is that there is no such thing as a best speedrunner in any sense. Each game has its top player that creates a gap between themselves and the rest of the play field. It's impossible for one runner to master every genre, platform, and game engine, so make the most of your skills and play the games that are most fun to you. 

> I would say having a variety of games really reduces burnout and I always feel motivated to grind a game. Changing games creates a fresh start, and there is no better way to reduce burnout than to start from the bottom of a leaderboard and work your way up the rankings. Also, after playing hundreds of games, it's much more relaxing to run glitchless than to constantly learn new out-of-bounds and weird mechanic glitches.

**4. What tips would you give to new runners wanting to go down your path?**

> The biggest barrier of entry for any game is the resources provided by the community. When you are searching for games to run, try and find a commentary run to follow along with, it makes the learning process much more seamless. **ALWAYS CHECK THE NEWEST ADDED GAMES!** There is no better way to find a hidden gem of the game than this page, so check it frequently to make sure you don't miss anything that may interest you.

> For following world records that you may want to take, follow games in a genre you like and make a list of what world records interest you. Follow users from genres you are interested in as well, as they usually spot high quality games quickly and go for early world records.

Thanks to Akuretaki for the interview, and congratulations on world record milestone! For those interested in keeping up-to-date with your own standings on many site leaderboards (World Records, Verifications, Total Runs, Etc.), make sure to join [Farmington](https://discord.gg/BYrpjwkteA) on Discord.

Akuretaki becomes the first runner to obtain 10k world records across 761 games, including 1,110 Full Game records and 9,279 IL records.

Akuretaki Becomes First Runner to Obtain 10,000 World Records

# What is it?

*Nintendo Blast: Metroid Blast* is a shooter based on Nintendo's popular *Metroid* series. In *Nintendo Land*, 12 Nintendo Games are showcased as "attractions"; mini-games based on their Nintendo series that range from 5 minutes of content to months of jam-packed action. Represented series include *Legend of Zelda, Pikmin, Metroid, Mario, Luigi's Haunted Mansion, Animal Crossing, Donkey Kong, Game & Watch, Balloon Fight, F-Zero, Yoshi, and The Mysterious Murasame Castle*. *Metroid Blast* is the representative of *Metroid*. This Sci-Fi adventure has 30 levels, progressively getting more difficult. Player 1 will always play as Samus' gunship on the gamepad, and up to 4 others will play as regular Samus using the remotes. The game is quite simple, with each player having 3 lives before the mission fails. 

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaK7q8xVLA4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaK7q8xVLA4)is

Metroid Blast has many different types of levels. The most common is "Defeat All Enemies" where the goal is to kill all Cyclons, Geemers, Zebesians, and Metroids (and their variants) in a given level. "Boss Fights" are battles fought against large bosses where the smaller enemies can be ignored. Bosses include Ridley, Ice Ridley, and Kraid. The final type of level are token levels. These levels require all players to get each of their tokens in a (usually 5 minute) time limit. These levels require less skill and more strategy and memorization to speedrun. From now on these levels will be known as "Kill", "Boss", and "Token". (The game also includes two other game modes - however they are Co-op only and are not runnable anyway.)

Speedrunners require different methods for each of the level variants. One thing that stays the same, however, is dashing. Pressing down the left joystick allows the runner to get a small boost. However, if used at the wrong time, it can cause the runner to hit a wall, considerably slowing down their time. For "Kill" runs, runners focus on hitting the "I-Frames" of every enemy as quickly and carefully as possible. Boss Runners must manage attacking, dodging, and dashing effectively to get a fast time *and* survive. Token runners must use memorization and dashing effectively to score a low time.

One of the most risk/reward traits of "Kill" runs is Cyclons. Cyclons take a long time to open there I-Frame. Before a Cyclon begins its attack phase, (where it's very easy to kill due to its spinning nature) the Cyclon does expose a small portion of their I-Frame. However, if the player's shot hits the side shells of the Cyclon, it will close again before attacking. Taking the shot can save or lose precious seconds.

![](https://www.speedrun.com/static/blob/kzwvk8nq.jpg)

"Token" runners are mainly focused on memorization, speed, and precision. Most "Token" runners memorize and plan their routes for each level. To have a good time on a token level, runners also need to use their boosts precisely at the correct places to ensure a top speed. "Token" Runners must communicate the most to share new routes and boost spots.

"Boss" Runners have the most difficult levels to run, balancing speed with survival. These runs are ones with many deaths and resets. The three bosses are Kraid, Ridley, and Ice Ridley. These beasts are usually quite easy to take down, but when working together can be quite difficult. Kraid requires the use of the bomb; a more powerful attack that can take out multiple enemies. To defeat Kraid, runners must destroy I-Frames all over his body before he opens his mouth. A small crevice in his mouth allows the player to shoot bombs inside, which explodes after entering his throat. Meanwhile Kraid shoots lava, bombs, and fire beams at you. Ridley and Ice Ridley are quite similar to each other. For both flying dragons, you must hit I-Frames on their Hands, Tails, Chest's, and Mouth's thrice. They will shoot lasers, try to grab you with their hands, and will drop bombs.![](/static/blob/7n617mzq.jpg)

Mastery runs are a different kind of run. Mastery runs often have weird differences with obscure solutions. Some levels require the player to only use bombs or to not dash. This will often drastically slow down runs and require players to invent new, out-of-the-box strategies.

Thank you so much for reading! If this does become a series I will continue to find new, medium-sized, forgotten communities to revive with new energy! I will link the main category, 10 Missions, best time below. 

Happy Running!

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp35YCLPpFg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp35YCLPpFg)

A new idea where we dissect a medium sized speedrunning community from the bottom up, increasing excitement and injecting a new passion for a game otherwise unexplored.

Wolfhowl's Game of the Week: Metroid Blast

Ghostrunner speedrunners came together to form the community now known as GRSR (simply just Ghostrunner Speedrunning). Since 2020 GRSR has submitted a whopping 4500+ runs between the demo and the full game. Even today, Ghostrunner has around 45 active runners - a respectable number for a game coming up on 4 years old.

![](/static/blob/5ngx24eq.jpg)

So when One More Level released a demo on September 14th for the upcoming sequel Ghostrunner 2 (GR2), dozens of hungry runners hopped in to start running and hunting for strats and new tech (including myself.)

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3uYctGx6rigQQzmn1NEgfXHssGTzWcKuUzIgYU2CsAJvjEuq6ptFvgaxmzKF-Q3yiTEjQs8idkj-LBsCZW3QMb095TDWPqFD51BKKuOid9g_XqGnFX9V8Kled7cjdmh_MQBS-sNPAyCEZMB7BSkni58)

GR1 had a decent range of movement tech to choose from, including Slidehops, Dash Slide Jumps (DSJ’s), Ledgeboosts, Super DSJ’s, Wavedashes, Updog (yes, it's actually called that), and more. Thankfully, GR2 managed to keep all of the mentioned techniques intact, if with some small changes in timing in particular with the DSJ. Since the movement felt quite similar, demo speedrun times were able to drop *fast*.

# Day 1

After the demo was released around 6pm EDT, most people did a casual playthrough and then immediately hopped into testing all known techniques from GR1, and searching for optimal routes and new strats. The first attempted speedrun was completed and posted by [Ekorn](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Ekorn), around 7 pm - coming in with a time of 8:05.370. This was already a decent bit shorter than the average 20-minute completion time for the demo, but with lots of room for optimization - especially with strats left to be discovered.

![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/nGBrJ9P8iGUuNLAR56fP5UoyKU3jO5adlQ0HvQgb6l9FHbmKEAVjHpooUj38rOL1mCvA_RR0vOVJ2tgjaS6ns-i9EIT9jpO2Yxkjy37pPNV9_hl1jAYBk9A3H2zVUW-SWP9vSK6bZYKS6zDDDvDtJZ8)

Around the same time as Ekorn posted his run, runner [EzBaek](https://www.speedrun.com/users/EzBaek) found new tech specific to GR2 which has since been dubbed Wall Launching/Wallboosting/WEC (pronounced “weak”, standing for Wall E. Coyote) At the end of a wallrun, the game will force you off. After the game forces you off, you have a little less than half a second to stack jump inputs which will send you away from the wall at an angle with increased speed based on the number of jump inputs you were able to get off. So far, wallboosting has no *concrete* uses in the route, but it does provide an opportunity for some alternate strategies in certain places.

Sometime within the next hour, three new skips would be discovered.It was discovered by multiple people that you could skip the introduction to the Slammer enemy type by simply [going around the arena](https://youtu.be/57FKD2W7Vew?si=k1aZG9HHQO2-Q3U7&t=28) with a couple simple DSJ’s. Conveniently, this same skip also skips a decent amount of platforming - overall saving about 10-15s.

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/UInadOv2qpFhaqKBox-FAHDtSzTN8onGozfQcCnKynlLJPhh345GEV0VpkcoHrJuuKXpru9-fRV-lFgIgK5xAfleHEci-fybp3Ommc5H3ZUwDDvDY0hAQFK16jJDIB2DLU4e4MUSakXz6BmJg_hKyx4)

Ekorn also found two new [puzzle skips](https://youtu.be/C-zQWSnbcUs?si=njUgQKiMHTYsufPV&t=155), which added up to an additional ~20s timesave

By 10 pm, top GR1 runner (and well-versed movement speedrunner) [Blaidan](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Blaidan) had lowered the record down to 5:50.110, and then even further down to [5:27.930](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2_Demo/runs/y9k767kz) by 10:30 pm. This would stand as the final WR at the end of Day 1.

![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/1JWrIY69nY1cPXkuFqQEbq86WcPLXebsvti8Ac8dzhrT69n-k0EbiMlwkPuuovAWxtw4b6V1H9Bc9TBk7jw4l9COEV_XFI6wrxb47smbeSXlZEouO68c6ACtTyD1IsIoKYdrX8iz7klZzI623Phtj1A)

# Day 2

While Day 1 had technically ended, there was absolutely no slowdown of activity in the GRSR Discord server. There was still constant iteration on optimal routes through every area, as well as working on faster and more efficient combat routes for the arenas.

Around 1 am EDT, runner [BladeLMAO](https://www.speedrun.com/users/BladeLMAO) managed to squeak in the first sub 5 minute run with a [4:58.970](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2_Demo/runs/y9k769ez). Runners [Taartin](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Taartin) and [Pasiflora](https://www.speedrun.com/users/pasiflora) would both follow up with their own sub 5 minute runs just a few hours later.

![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/oBdTMzifb1thF57m0y8cuwHeGlDVPTEUEyxwPn0VctGLihXEGg1Sp7d4UITMNXyn1QPkA57HrKc_Zjc2HzjxnIpaCyZc23TY-ZROOmx5jyZZ9kuXPcxxZ8I0wF-NCKdDLnr-e2iZrLuiyq8uvWRAps8)

Around lunchtime, runner [Leoninrus](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Leoninrus_Emligan) discovered [the first shortcut](https://clips.twitch.tv/BitterTentativeEagleSSSsss-wWbcf6xoElzOn1ng) in the motorbike section (IWBBT) of the demo. There are a few possible shortcuts in IWBBT, but even [the current WR](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2_Demo/runs/mr28402y) at the time of writing only uses one, presumably due to difficulty/inconsistency.

![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/W_JtwvmUQ2BQIVUse5NqCpVWuD_Vyso4jG8Ss3CY3QB0ZOqz7TyCsjBLLovIR6IHMHev95g6vEzBGSDyo9vcha87hFGRTD_NJjgTbSJPMQpLBPfIBxLNT3tZgE9Vsf9JiwANezsR8E9TVrj6oGX3ML8)

By the time dinnertime hit the East Coast, runner [JanisSG](https://www.speedrun.com/users/JanisSG) had discovered that spacing out boosts increases your average speed by around 20 kph, shaving off some additional seconds in IWBBT.At this point, the run was getting quite optimized for the known route - so much so that by the end of September 15th (Day 2) the WR still stood at [4:57.590](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2_Demo/runs/zqd6e28m) by [Taartin](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2_Demo/runs/zqd6e28m)

# Catching Up To Today

Between Days 3 - 6, just about **20 seconds** was taken off the world record. This is in part due to multiple factors, including [faster arena strats,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWMlFyHT1PA) the discovery that the motorbike goes faster at 60FPS compared to higher framerates, as well as general movement optimizations. At the moment, the world record sits at a shocking [4:37.440](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2_Demo/runs/mr28402y) by runner [E1uM4y](https://www.speedrun.com/users/E1uM4y).

Theoretically, a very low 4:3X should be possible within the next few days - or perhaps even a sub 4:30 with a new strat or two. Here are the current known fastest times for each level

**Licking The Wounds** [2:02.XXX](https://youtu.be/hnJhX2ELzcc?si=uULTpEsG6AV-iQSf) by [Blaidan](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Blaidan)

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lx48htdfXTLqnxY60UMgmRw4MTef5a9sjZYIlPnL1ctUilCVSOmHo-k0v367SU7yBkrAvQtsUEVKuLr7lZKppmycGL5qNnaQMX1HwKdnyWJwoWiGG_H9t5QYFGmy3-pM72z2mVLVMLmfs-8MLwc_LzA)

**I Won’t Be Back Today** [2:29.670](https://youtu.be/LGQt1lfGsoc?si=zgg24ohXWufBFvkJ) by [probablyToph](https://www.speedrun.com/users/probablyToph)

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TmNM6XTA9zZIwwovpfQ2Ioc7n5pOYCMZ78vl9ux0p4t6sxWQUe_S_UQWC2GX15Lw8GvcdZL0Ue_mSNasGFj6o89zd245vAvT9zQYXHRm4sCTWktDDWIQyEUW3I4sSDi4jNQ432OOeiVsS3A1zIuqGv4)

# Conclusion

GRSR is by far one of the most passionate speedrunning communities out there, and I certainly am not biased as a member of it ;) I would like to thank Ekorn, Blaidan, Taartin, EzBaek, probablyToph, and the rest of the GRSR community for helping me out with this article - you guys are the best!

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/JWjboeHllo8y_bdVaCJY0ejgDPQWsUPsuR0FRvd2UjtcO1exORjZvFdTG7USNKP2EMY8ToGL-Sf5Zzt4uzQhD6islSdUXLuqzUXDuWHkFDtt6Sdc15bTZC4YFDD_d71v2PR-LO9MS9FjoCz0vfHvlxo)

With the amount of activity, we’ve seen in just the first week of the GR2 demo, between just *two levels* - I can’t understate my excitement for the full release of Ghostrunner 2. The dopamine I get from the early routing days of a fresh speedgame is nearly unmatched.

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/4_yFcmdWpezxnKK_eILApAQbEOHphIDLRKZBpwa4G7zVnRqHCMzlJ6f7jNYZ1J0gVZ0yHK20WxK8flRPICfN-ices7NkQ0YPW-EHJaxAroXNQXmbuftZTX_c0EcPa0n-CypIAJyPN5jSHyNkv9tN6YE)

If you’re interested in trying out the speedrun for the Ghostrunner 2 demo, you can learn the majority of what you need from the world record video - but I also recommend you check out [Blaidan’s Ghostrunner Basic Movement Tutorial](https://youtu.be/1vfsX8hg4ig?si=7L-GUtK2rINkvp99). This tutorial was made for GR1, but all of the advice applies to GR2 as well :) Just keep in mind that some of the timings may be slightly different, and for that, you can reference the [GR2 demo world record run](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2_Demo?h=leaderboards-will-open-soon-restricted&x=z27eemgk-dlo9jvrl.le233z6l).

The first Ghostrunner game (GR1) was a big hit with the speedrunning community when it launched in 2020, especially with movement enthusiasts.

Ghostrunner Community Tackles New Demo

Thanks to a fellow runner @LeonSReckon we now have an autosplitter for PC version of Gears of War. This autosplitter will cut out load times and help keep an even playing field for all PC runners, regardless of hardware. We hope more players will get on the game and try it out!

![](/static/blob/rz2mwln0.png)

Everything you need to pick up the run is in resource and guides section on the leaderboard. We are always looking for more runners to join the community - it's quite small for the franchise.

Runner @LeonSReckon has made an autosplitter for the game. Helping players to cut out the cutscene loads and parts for a more accurate time.

Autosplitter for Gears of War

Today MoistCritikal announced his fourth $10,000 speedrunning challenge, this time featuring [Escape From Lavender Island (2023)](/efli). Fitting with the theme of featuring obscure games with a limited speedrunning history, the game previously had [only one run](/efli/runs/y9ko81kz) on Speedrun.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc04EBhH7D4

In the [announcement video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc04EBhH7D4), MoistCritikal also discusses the challenge of keeping up with the previously planned schedule of one game per month. In addition to the new game and challenge, he also announced a format change: the glitch bounty is gone and has been replaced by an end-of-challenge race!

There's also an important change to the prize structure, increasing the number of runs that will be eligible for prize money (and adjusting the amount of money that each place wins). If you're interested in participating, be sure to watch the linked tutorial video.

Additional resources:

- [Announcement video on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc04EBhH7D4)
- [Tutorial video on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbY2SGUvfqU)
- [Escape From Lavender Island game page on Speedrun.com](/efli)
- [Escape From Lavender Island game page on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2164310/Escape_From_Lavender_Island/)
- [MoistCritikal Speedrunning Challenge Discord](https://discord.gg/35SjawXXEZ)
- [Escape from Lavender Island Speedrunning Discord](https://discord.gg/tcFVUB8ZYg)

Good luck everyone!

The latest $10,000 speedrun challenge game is a 3rd person exploration game released this year. There are also changes to the format, replacing the glitch bounty with a race and expanding the number of prize-winning runs.

MoistCr1tikal announces new $10K challenge

Today we're excited to launch **Community News**, an update to the Speedrun.com news system that allows everyone to contribute important announcements and news stories, and to help speedrunners and spectators learn about new games, marathons, or other important community events.

Here's how it works:

- Anyone can now submit news stories to Speedrun.com (including you!)
- After you submit a story, the site moderation team will either approve or reject your story. We'll also do some light copy-editing to make sure it's clear, concise, and free of major spelling or grammar mistakes.
- If approved, your story will appear on the homepage, news page, and other areas of the site. You'll be credited by name, with a link to your Speedrun.com account.

Here are some examples of what makes for a good story:

- New world record was set in a popular game.
- Popular streamer is hosting a charity event.
- Speedrunning an obscure game takes off in popularity.
- Marathon event is announced or shares new details.
- Famous personality mentions or promotes speedrunning.
- Announcement of charity event or fundraiser.
- Leaderboards open for a major new release.
- Notable bug, glitch, or skip discovered in major game.

Of course, we'll consider any compelling news story, even if it doesn't fit neatly into the list above.

All news stories also have a comments section to provide a place for discussion. We're excited to read and share your stories!

You can [submit community news here](/news/new).

Now everyone can submit news stories to Speedrun.com!

Introducing community news!

Super Mario 64

Gears of War

Nintendo Land: Metroid Blast

territorial.io

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

Escape From Lavender Island

Slevanas

shovelclaws

xwpw4y0l

Camcorder

VyPr

Ultra64

SpeedrunCom

Wolfhowl20

A Difficult Game About Climbing

HELLDIVERS 2

### Side Order just got released! But the leaderboard is currently being planned out.

___
The Splatoon Speedrunning moderation team will need a few days to weeks in order to figure out the exact game rules, full game categories, individual levels, and other important stuff.
The exact embargo time might change depending on moderation progress, stay tuned!

Splatoon 3: Side Order

Leaderboard will be closed for moderators to prepare for full game release.

The Outlast Trials

UEFN: Paranoid

Hey Penny lovers! We're still in the process of creating boards and rulesets, hope to see you there when we open on March 3rd at 5pm UTC!