'Perfect' Zelda NES Speed Record Beaten

An anonymous reader writes "The last verified human Legend of Zelda (NES) speed record was 34 minutes. A few months ago, a re-recording emulator was used to make a 'perfect' video which was 31 and a half minutes. A team worked to optimize the path, and using an emulator created a new video which is 26:56, four and a half minutes faster. The video is 14% faster, and is the first Zelda run to be under a half hour. Furthermore, it achieved a sub-27 minute time, which was presumed impossible. Definitely worth checking out - you can grab the BitTorrent version of the AVI replay at Bisqwit's NES time-attack movie page." There's a thread on the NESvideos forum discussing the attempt, but can anyone succinctly explain the exact tricks the team used to speed up their time?

Comments

Mmm.

[bruthasj]

Geek Olympics. Let the games begin!

Re:Mmm.

[skermit]

That was marriageable material... I weep for your loss. > )

Re:Mmm.

[thegrassyknowl]

And such a loss it was; she was a geek to die for :'(

I was getting toward the big-M at the time. I was just finishing uni and waiting until I'd done with that... apparantly that wasn't soon enough for her... but given her speed on Zelda I can see why.

The scene is a singles bar

[Picass0]

Attractive female: Hi, my name is Renee. Wanna dance?

Nerdy guy: (snort!) Who, me? (snort!) I'm not much of a dancer, I really don't do this kind of thing much!

Attractive female: Oh, well, that's ok. We can just talk! I'm a supermodel and just got back from Europe. What do you do?

Nerdy guy: I play Zelda. I've been playing it almost every day since it came out in the stores, which was about ten years ago. I don't have a job, per se, but it's OK because my parent have stopped bugging me about moving out and I live in their basement. As long as I don't make too much noise they leave me alone.

Attractive female: So, um. Yeah. What is Zelda?

Nerdy guy: Oh, it this really great video game that I've solved a few hundred times. I'm just trying to solve it faster now, to set records about those loosers who can't break that half hour mark. You should see me play sometime!

Nerdy guy: Hello? Where'd she go? Aw man, I didn't even get to see her tits!

Re:The scene is a singles bar

[gasaraki]

If you were a girl you'd be adorable. Just so you know.

Re:The scene is a singles bar

[grumpygrodyguy]

you know, whenever something like this comes up, someone always makes a funny comment relating it to sex. and it is funnny, and it does get you modded up. but you know - and bear with me here, i'm in a thoughtful kinda mood - not everything in life has to be about sex

Well said.

I am in fact a 29 year old unemployed geek/loser living in my parents basement who does nothing but surf porn on the web and play video games. I also have a girlfriend who is gracious enough to occasionally have sex with me. And, that's pretty much my entire life right now.

Most people who write those +5 funny jokes seem to assume that if a dork playing video games could get layed, it would somehow magically change his lifestyle. *shrug* Hasn't happened.

The scene is a singles bar

[Iainuki]

Attractive female: Hi, my name is Renee. Wanna dance?

Jock: (snort!) Who, me? (snort!) I'm not much of a dancer, I really don't do this kind of thing much!

Attractive female: Oh, well, that's ok. We can just talk! I'm a supermodel and just got back from Europe. What do you do?

Jock: I play football. I've been playing it almost every day since I was able to walk, which was about twenty years ago. I don't have a job, per se, but it's OK because the college pays me money to play this game. As long as I don't get in the newspapers outside the sports section, I have a free ride.

Attractive female: So, um. Yeah. What's football?

Jock: Oh, it this really great sport that I've played a few thousand times. I'm just trying to play it better now, to maybe get a major-league contract. You should see me play sometime!

Jock: Hello? Where'd she go? Aw man, I didn't even get to see her tits!

Re:For real speed runs...

[Radix37]

Why do the Metroid videos on your site use savepoints? So that the player can go back and try a section of the game over again if they mess up, of course. That's "cheating" too, at least by Twin Galaxies rules.

Yawn, more confusion from a coward. First of all, who made TwinGalaxies god? Just because they publish a book doesn't make them more legit than me, I'm not in competition with them. Anyway about saves in games and TG... allow me to provide some links. Here is TG's press release from May 2003 about a new Metroid prime record in 1:46. Guess what, it was recorded WITH SAVES! Here is proof of that. And how about a run of the original Metroid. No saves in that game, so it's in a single seg.