Games

The Best Games for Speedrunning and Setting World Records

February 15, 2024

The Best Games for Speedrunning and Setting World Records

Introduction

Speedrunning is the practice of completing video games as quickly as possible and competing for record times. It has grown rapidly in popularity over the past decade, with players racing through classic games like Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda. For those looking to get into speedrunning, here is an overview of some of the best games to target for setting world records.

Super Mario Bros

Super Mario Bros on the NES is arguably the most iconic and popular game for speedrunning. This 2D sidescrolling platformer from 1985 is relatively short and straightforward, yet mastering the precise jumps and runs needed to shave off seconds makes it a stimulating challenge.

Some key advantages of Super Mario Bros for speedrunning:

Short completion time – Even casual players can finish it in under 15 minutes. Top speedrunners complete the game in around 4:45. This makes it fast to reset and retry for new records.
Frame perfect tricks – Successfully executing tricks like the ‘flagpole glitch’ requires frame perfect inputs, testing a runner’s technical skill.
Massive community – As one of the first popular speedgames, Mario has decades of history and competition. There are numerous resources and rivals to learn from.

Mario offers a range of categories for different record challenges, including any% glitched, any% no warp zones, and 100% completion.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Ocarina of Time remains one of the premier speedrunning challenges more than 20 years after initial release on N64. Players race through this 3D Zelda adventure utilizing sequence breaks, item duping, and complex strategies.

Reasons Ocarina of Time is built for speedrunning:

Routing complexity – With many possible routes, top runners use intricate pathing and tricks. There is lots of room for optimization.
Glitches and exploits – Things like wrong warping and item duplication skip sections for fast times. Executing them at top level takes precision.
Variable categories – From any% glitched to 100% max collection, there are category options for different tastes.

Getting competitive at this classic requires deep knowledge of intended and unintended mechanics along with loads of practice.

Super Metroid

This 1994 SNES game defined the open ended 2D Metroidvania formula. For speedrunners, it remains one of the greatest sandboxes thanks to its sequence breaking potential.

Key perks of Super Metroid for speedrunning include:

Non-linear progression – Items can be acquired in different orders, enabling creative routing strategies.
Technical techniques – Tricks like wall jumping, mockballing, and bomb jumping are needed to move quickly.
Different paths – Which bosses and areas to tackle when provides options. There’s no set way to complete it fastest.

Super Metroid offers nearly unlimited room for innovation for those who master Samus’ moveset and the intricacies of planet Zebes. It remains a top viewed speedgame on streaming sites like Twitch.

Doom (1993)

The original Doom revolutionized first person shooter games. For speedrunners, its labyrinthine demon infested levels presented a thrilling new challenge. Doom offers:

Momentum based movement – Unlike modern FPS games, Doomguy moves fast, letting skilled players rocket through levels.
Non linear design – Knowing when to locate keys and which paths lead to the exit fastest is key. There are multiple routes.
Trick jumping – Strafe jumping and bunny hopping to maintain speed requires precise inputs, challenging players’ dexterity.

Doom’s straightforward all guns blazing gameplay combines well with the navigational complexity needed to set records. It remains popular with individual level runs too.

Conclusion

For those looking to test their gaming skills and join a passionate community, speedrunning is an exciting challenge. Games like Super Mario Bros, Ocarina of Time, Super Metroid and Doom offer engaging, technically demanding platforms for optimizing game completion times. With practice and research, nearly anyone can compete and contribute to pushing these classic games to their limits.