Drop any category ideas here (or in the Discord) with at least one video of a completed run, and we'll consider adding them to the boards :)

Some RTA (Real Time Attack; time with loads) categories are additionally timed with LRT (Load-Removed Timing; time without loads) on the leaderboards. This is because there is a large amount of variance in load times between consoles; for these leaderboards to be competitive at a high level, the playing field needs to be equalised.

In general, digital versions of the game (Wii U eShop AKA VC, and [banned] USB Loader GX) load more quickly than physical versions (Wii or Wii U disc, and all emulator runs); this is because digital versions very consistently have no extra delay when you select a level (that is, the time between selecting a level and being able to select "Play") or defeat a boss (that is, the subsequent animation on the map). This is particularly important in categories where you use a completed file (200%, Mirror Mode, File Completion and all Full Worlds). Digital versions also save time on the results screens after levels (there's some inconsistency with how quickly you can exit out of them) and on the loading screens when exiting levels, though interestingly, physical versions tend to save time when entering levels.

Even then, though, there is a lot of variance between different players' digital copies and physical copies. As of writing this post (March 2025), the difference between the fastest and slowest digital (not including USB) loads in an Any% run is 1:49, which is an enormous difference; physical versions can also have a lot of variance. This is why LRT is necessary.

LRT spreadsheet + Current usage on the boards

Unfortunately, many types of loads in this game are not detectable by an autosplitter, and even though some are, using an autosplitter of any kind also creates problems with varying video quality (there are plenty of players who don't have a capture card). Therefore, the only way that LRT can be calculated is manually, which I've set up a spreadsheet for.

As of writing (March 2025), only Any% is currently retimed without loads, however I would like to also get this set up for All Stages, Full Worlds and possibly All Puzzles in the next year. Because it takes a considerable amount of time to retime a full run, only runs below a certain time barrier are retimed (similarly to the NSMBW boards); this barrier for Any% is sub-1:35 RTA. When submitting a run that needs to be retimed, please be aware that it will take a bit longer to verify than other runs (especially if the video is from a website other than YouTube), however it should take no longer than a week to get the LRT time.

Hey,

I noticed this game has finally been getting some more attention recently, and was wondering if anyone else would be interested in having a Discord server for it. Personally, this is a game I'm hoping to get back to at some point this year - I found it kinda weird that there wasn't already a server of some sort when I played back in 2022, but given the increased activity, I think it would be a good time to make one.

The 3DS and Switch versions of DKCR (DKCR3D and DKCRHD) have their own leaderboards, due to having different physics, load times and available content. They can be found here:

DKCR3D: https://www.speedrun.com/dkcr3d

DKCRHD: https://www.speedrun.com/dkcrhd

This is a concern I've had for a while, but it doesn't really have a simple solution. I'm supportive of emulators being used for ILs, with the exception of those that use death abuse; after respawning, the timer always starts later on emulator than on console (ranging between a few frames to several tenths of a second), essentially meaning that """faster""" times are achievable on emulator (and, furthermore, that you could theoretically make it impossible for a console player to even compete in, say, 2-3). The problem I see is that creating a rule specifically against death abuse on emulator is a little complicated, because death abuse gets added to new levels every so often (8-4 just last week and 8-7 in the future, for example), and it also restricts competition on the side of the emulator player, in that they can't do the optimal routes for a decent portion of the levels.

TLDR I'm not saying emulator needs to be banned at all (at least I hope I'm not), I'm just bringing up a concern I've had for a long time that could cause problems if nothing is done.

A lot of people in the community these days already know, but I don't exactly have the best load times. I started out running this game on my Wii U (~2014) with my really old disc (~2010); in October I then bought a Wii (age unknown) and most recently in January I bought a new disc (unused). None of these three setups gave me good load times (evidenced by playing 7-7; the loads are slow enough that the level has always started on the wrong cycle for me).

While it has been suggested to me that the problem may also come from my Wii's disc drive being in bad condition, I'm looking into alternative solutions. As much as I'd hate buying the game yet again, would the Wii U VC version get past the problem and give me sufficient load times (so as to not only be able to run 7-7 ILs but also save a minute or two in any%)?

Should I be submitting my times as WiiUVC even if I play Wii U with disc? I've submitted all of my times as Wii so far but there are plenty of differences between Wii and Wii U.