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Metroid Prime Done Quick

Posted by simoniker on from the power-beam-jump dept.

Xs writes "A story over at Gamerfeed.com states that a gamer from Berkeley, California, Henru Wang, has completed Metroid Prime in 1 hour and 46 minutes! Here's the interview with Mr. Wang from Twin Galaxies." Speed records are a slightly bizarre but rather cool corner of gaming nowadays, it seems.

42 comments

  1. Holy shit, dude... by Dr.+Photo · · Score: 1

    I know that guy.

    (1:46 Metroid Prime? Eh.
    Getting his own /. story... kudos!)

  2. and by toddhunter · · Score: 3, Funny

    that included the time it took to eat the pizza

  3. you know, he could just not save at every corner.. by cybergeak · · Score: 5, Insightful

    he could have played a section once, reloaded his saved game from before that section and play it much quicker the second, or third or how every many times over. having played the game myself and having a displayed finish time of just over 4 hours i could see how to easily cut that time down...

  4. So any easter eggs like the original? by Rares+Marian · · Score: 1

    Fuck it. I only found out about the easter egg in the original, years after it came out.

    I guess I'll wait.

    --
    The message on the other side of this sig is false.
    1. Re:So any easter eggs like the original? by Samus · · Score: 1

      Beat it with 100% items and power ups and you will get a special ending.

      --
      In Republican America phones tap you.
  5. Quake done Quick? by Hadlock · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What was the ultimate record for Quake done Quick (qDq)? Somthing on the order of 8 minutes, 30 seconds, where you had to get 100% of the items and secret areas on one life.... the original speed gamer's challenge. Also a collosal waste of time, IMO.

    --
    moox. for a new generation.
    1. Re:Quake done Quick? by JohnFluxx · · Score: 2, Informative

      I saw the .avi of a Quake Done Quick which was 12 mins 27 secs. I was told verbally that this hadn't been beaten.
      Are you mistaken, or has it been done faster?

    2. Re:Quake done Quick? by Hadlock · · Score: 1

      You're probably right, the last time i heard anything about qDq was before the planetquake redesign a two or three years back. Still, 12 and a half minutes is pretty damn quick.

      --
      moox. for a new generation.
    3. Re:Quake done Quick? by Icculus · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Also a collosal waste of time, IMO.
      8:30 is a colossal waste of time? Hell, I spend longer than that in the bathroom...

    4. Re:Quake done Quick? by Hadlock · · Score: 1

      ha, the joys of getting older. i suppose i should enjoy my youth while i'm not spending 10 minutes a day on the john then. as the qDq group gets older, I can see how they might contribute to laptop-sitting-on-the-john sales, making this apple's "year of the notebook.... what, with the qDq group edging into their early 30's and all. they could start putting time into halflife done quick on the laptop on the john next, who knows :)

      --
      moox. for a new generation.
    5. Re:Quake done Quick? by imperator_mundi · · Score: 2, Informative

      Just give a look here

    6. Re:Quake done Quick? by Inf0phreak · · Score: 1
      They ran through all of Q1 in 59:31 getting all kills and secrets on nightmare diff. Quite impressive to lean back and watch actually. Total mayhem for almost an hour :)

      Their run of Q2 (Q2DQ2) was also impressive. I loved the quad rocket jump from water and how they skipped almost the entire power unit by some fancy grenade jumping. Makes me want to install the game again to see it actually :)

      --
      ________
      Entranced by anime since late summer 2001 and loving it ^_^
  6. speed games are way cool by hswerdfe · · Score: 1

    The coolest things about speed wins are that in most situations the player is breaking the rules. (kinda)

    They are usually doning something that the designers never thought of.

    I still remember the first time I saw Quake done quick...

    I was amazed Who would use an explosion as propelant....the game disgners never thought it would be fesible ....turns out it was..=)

    thats the cool thing they stretch the rules and find new ways to aply things ....thats the cool part....

    --
    --meh--
    1. Re:speed games are way cool by kryten_nz · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Something similar happened with Deus Ex as well - the designers never thought that anyone would be inventive enough to come up with the idea of attaching limpet mines to vertical walls in order to climb them.

    2. Re:speed games are way cool by capmilk · · Score: 1

      IIRC, grenade hopping was first seen in Bungie's Marathon. The were some powerups and other goodies that could only be reached with grenade jumps or even (mostly suicidal) rocket jumps.

    3. Re:speed games are way cool by PurpleFloyd · · Score: 1
      That's one of the cool things about Metroid Prime: a few powerups can only be reached by doing things like double bomb-jumps (normally in ball-mode, you can use your bombs to jump a little. If you get the timing absolutely perfect, you can lay a bomb in midair and jump really high). The amazing thing here is that the designers not only realized that something like this was possible, but even gave players little rewards for mastering the technique.

      MP is really what made me a believer in console FPSs; the attention to detail in the game is simply astounding and the controls are as intuitive as a mouse and keyboard after a few minutes of practice (the standard dual-stick method has always felt a little awkward; viewpoint should not be a rate control! Halo was excellent as a game, but I never liked the controls).

      --

      That's it. I'm no longer part of Team Sanity.
    4. Re:speed games are way cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They didn't intend for the player to be able to do a triple bomb jump, though. MP gives you 3 bombs at a time that reset on a timer, to stop you from scaling walls with unlimited bomb jumps like you could do in the first Metroid.

      Turns out you can "waste" a bomb in MP to get the timer running, then time it so you use the other 2 and get 3 more right afterwards. You use all 5 bombs with the right timing and pop yourself up in height three times instead of two. You can get the ice beam way before you're supposed to this way.

  7. Video? by dimator · · Score: 1

    The twingalaxies article mentions a video of the attempt, but I can't find a link for it. Anyone see it?

    --
    python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
    1. Re:Video? by collar · · Score: 1

      I dont think they make the videos available for download. By the sounds of it they are actually on physical videos, not in any digital form. I'm sure they could also do without the bandwidth bills from people downloading 2 hours worth of someone playing Metroid, not to mention 33 hours of someone playing Asteroids on the 2600!

  8. Wonder how many people will spot this... by Xenex · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...as a Red Dwarf quote?

    1. Re:Wonder how many people will spot this... by Senjutsu · · Score: 1

      Well, everybody, now.

  9. Re:you know, he could just not save at every corne by PurpleFloyd · · Score: 3, Insightful
    From what I got from the article and interview, the 1:46 is the time spent in front of the Gamecube, not the time as recorded by the little time-record thingy on the "load a saved game" screen. After all, you could just redo sections over and over until they were perfect; if you screw up or die, there's the reset button right there. Also, twiddling bits in the save cart probably wouldn't be that hard; give the player a 1:00 time in the Impact Crater save point (the last one in the game for those who haven't played MP), then beat MP and get a new "world record."

    Another thing to consider is that game speedruns tend to increase in difficulty exponentially; to cut a 4 hour run down to 3 hours is much easier than cutting a 1:40 run down to 1:20, as you will have already used up your tricks just getting to the 1:40 mark. Either you have to come up with a new trick or just get the timing on your old ones simply impeccable.

    Finally, I'm curious as to how the heck you got a 4 hour finish time on your first run through. Mine was more like 12 hours (admittedly, I did chase down a lot more missile/energy expansions than were necessary, but a 4 hour first run seems damned quick).

    --

    That's it. I'm no longer part of Team Sanity.
  10. Super Metroid for SNES by sweede · · Score: 1

    anyone beat one hour and twenty six minutes with over 96% of items (i believe the most you can actually obtain is 97%)

    --
    I follow the SDK and GDN principles.. Spelling Dont Kount, Grammer Dont Neither
    1. Re:Super Metroid for SNES by schnits0r · · Score: 1

      no, 100% is the most. I got them all, and there are a lot of tricky locations too.

      --


      -------
      Support Indy Music. Buy
    2. Re:Super Metroid for SNES by scot4875 · · Score: 1

      Check out Metroid Speed Runs. Looks like their best time is 1:28 with 100%.

      My best time ever was 0:58, but that was with 36% of the items (Lemme tell ya -- I grab *just* enough to beat the 1st part of Mother Brain. She dies on 3rd to last super missile every time. :) ). I've since found a faster path through the game, but I've gotten too rusty to beat my old times with the slower route. :)

      --Jeremy

      --
      Jesus was a liberal
    3. Re:Super Metroid for SNES by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      What do you mean "most you can actually obtain?" In that time frame or ever?

      My personal best is around 1:52 with 100% of the items. I suppose I could cut that down quite a bit shorter if I didn't go for all the items (especially in Crateria), but I'd rather get my time down while still getting all the times?

  11. Expensive by EarwigTC · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's $0.47 a minute. He'd actually have saved money playing it in a wallet-gouging arcade. Adventure games are over too fast as it is...

    --
    Promote civility: mod down any post starting with 'ummm'.
    1. Re:Expensive by emilng · · Score: 1

      RTFA - He said that he has finished the game more than 10 times already. He lost count after the 10th time.

  12. Why? by Matrix272 · · Score: 1

    Maybe I've missed something in my 20 year stint as a casual gamer, but I always thought the enjoyment from a game came from playing it... so why rush that enjoyment to get it done and over with as soon as possible? If that's the point of gaming, then why do developers spend so much time perfecting graphics and sounds? Surely they're not necessary to get done with the game as fast as possible... and most likely, the graphics and sounds annoy the person trying to get through in under 2 hours.

    --
    "It's better to have a gun and not need it than need a gun and not have it." ~ Christian Slater, True Romance
    1. Re:Why? by cluke · · Score: 1

      Well, I doubt he managed to finish it this quick the first time around!!

    2. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the same reason people work on their cars to run 9 second 1/4 miles, because doing stuff fast is cool.

    3. Re:Why? by aleonard · · Score: 1

      The speedrun is one of the ultimate challenges. The first time through the game, people will play it normally, at their own pace. Then they might play again. Then, feeling that they have done everything, they might seek a new challenge. In the case of a game like Metroid Prime, that challenge is the speed run. In a game like Final Fantasy X, the challenge might be to beat the game at a low level.

      Once we've played out a game - one can only play Metroid Prime for the first time once - people want to find something to breathe new life into their most favorite games. Speedrunning and sequence breaking/low percentage games (People have managed 24% games in Metroid Prime by skipping such "necessary" items as the charge beam, gravity suit and grappling hook!) is one way to give new challenge to a beaten game.

      --
      "In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, 'Make us your slaves, but feed us.'" -Dostoevsky
    4. Re:Why? by Saige · · Score: 1

      sequence breaking/low percentage games (People have managed 24% games in Metroid Prime by skipping such "necessary" items as the charge beam, gravity suit and grappling hook!) is one way to give new challenge to a beaten game.

      I think the sequence breaking part is so much more interesting to look at than just simple speed runs. While it is interesting to see how efficient people can get in finding the best route through the game, it's the little 'gaps' in the design that are the most interesting to me. It's wild to see people find ways to get around needing items that were designed to be 'necessary' to win the game.

      And kudos to the designers to have a robust enough game design to be able to handle people skipping entire items without the game doing strange things, and also to be prepared for people to have items earlier then they're supposed to - for example, a boss being vunerable to a weapon that they shouldn't have yet.

      And I think I've seen that they've managed to get down to a 23% final score, and it appears that it's not likely that they could lower that any further.

      --
      "You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do."
  13. Err... by Pingular · · Score: 0

    "However, the general PC gaming community turned into a very abhorrent environment plagued by paranoia, cynicism, and even racism. It was at the point where you can't win a game without expecting explicit sexual insults or accusations of cheating." Is it only me that found that statement absolute rubbish? Sure there are some trolls/lamers that might be abusive but on all the servers I've played on they're always dealt with quickly and possibly have their ISP's informed.

    --

    When anger rises, think of the consequences.
    Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC)
  14. Games done quicker by horcy · · Score: 1

    I remember those Quake done Quaker days. That was
    super cool. First record was 19 minutes.
    And i believe they recently set that to an amazing
    12 somewhat secs!!!! With jumping instead of running.
    I still enjoy watching those speed demo's alot.
    It's worth installing your old Quake and watch 'm
    QDQ Project

    --
    Check my site: http://pixel.pagina.nl
  15. Heh. by ivern76 · · Score: 1

    I'd like to see a speed demo for this sweet baby http://www.adom.de/ =b Now that would require some skill.

  16. Yay! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yay!

  17. SDA is the best Quake site around by Radix37 · · Score: 1

    Although I might be a bit biased ;-)

    --
    Speed Demos Archive - Lots of speed runs!
  18. I thought I played through games fast. by illumina+us · · Score: 0

    Man, I thought beating, and getting everything, in FFVII in under 24 hours was fast. Damn... I just got owned.

    --
    -illumina+us "I put on my robe and wizard hat..."
  19. Speed runs, nothing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You want a challenge? Try doing a low-percentage run. My personal best is 27%.
    How 27%? I didn't pick up the thermal visor. Let me tell you- The game is HARD when you've only got one energy tank and can't see thermals.