I can't believe it. After 8 months of on and off grinding, possibly dozens of 1x chokes in the boss, and even straight up abandoning the game because of the mental barrier, I've done it. 6:19 is real.

I started playing this game back in September as an alternative to the RNG-heavy World 1, and after a couple weeks of learning the strats I quickly got myself a sub 7. I quickly realized how attainable 3rd place was, with it being a solid 40 seconds behind 2nd place at the time, so I started using the diffcult and close to random 5 clip to save 10 seconds and get me closer.

With this strategy, 6:2x was doable, and after returning to the game in December, it only took a few days to get there. After getting it that fast, I quickly set my goals on 1x, knowing that at this point, individual seconds mattered more than ever.

Progress was quick initially, getting PBs of 6:27, 6:24, and eventually, a devastatingly close 6:20.07 that was just 3 frames away from my goal. Through this, levels such as golf, 3, 5, and boss were major roadblocks, as many runs would reset to the inconsistent strategies they used. After a few weeks, I had to take a break because of the holidays, and this essentially killed motivation. I left the game for months, thinking 1x was just out of reach.

Just a few days ago, I returned to this game for a break from the similarly demanding Red Ball 4 Vol. 1 Glitchless category. I saw my consistency return with a force, getting a 2x in just a couple days, and after one of my best earlygames ever and using something that clicked for me in boss, this run came to be.

It is not perfect- seconds can be saved from more optimal movement and missing the platform in 4.5. However, this run is very close to optimal with the strats used, and the only other way to improve is an insanely difficult strategy in level 4 that saves 10-15 seconds over this playthrough. With this, 6:0x is attainable, and sub 6 could happen with an absurd amount of grinding.