Speedruns are wild, wacky, and wonderful ways for us all to experience some of our favourite video games in a new light. Or, they can lead to people experiencing a totally new game under a set of… different circumstances.
Some speedruns are just strange though. Whether that be because of the game, the environment created by the runners or just some unbelievable factors about the run itself. So today on Culture of Gaming I want to take a look at some of the weirdest live speedruns ever achieved!
Singing In Kingdom Hearts?
Let’s start off with something that I feel really sets the tone for this list. As all of us know, speedruns are about completing a game as fast as possible. However, you can run into problems when the game your running has on rails shooting segments a la Star Fox. These can’t exactly be sped up or slowed down, and Kingdom Hearts is a series full of them thanks to the Gummi Ship.
Bl00dyBizkitz get around this problem? He entertains, of course!
Take a quick look through the above speedrun and you’ll find that there’s never a dull moment. Bl00dyBizkitz and crew perform renditions of famous Disney songs related to each world they visit. I refuse to comment on the general quality of said singing.
The best moment comes in at 1:24:33 though. Man on the couch SpikeVegeta is joined by a classically trained singer and speedrunner Xem to perform ‘Gaston’ from Beaty and the Beast.
Despite Spike not knowing the words, and Xem taking the reins on an incredibly difficult Gaston performance, this is phenomenal. It embodies the idea that live speedruns can entertain as much as inform, and I honestly just can’t believe either of them had the courage to do this. Nevertheless pull it off!
Shrek’s Gon’ Give It To Ya
Everybody loves Shrek right? Well Silo_Simon is certainly a big fan because he decided to complete Shrek Extra Large in just 25 minutes. Whilst this one looks like one of those regular speedruns on the surface, the couch commentary from authorblues and SpikeVegeta is superb.
It has platform skips, jumping, optimised routes, and… wind breaking.
This run stands out as weird mainly because everyone involved is fully aware that Shrek Extra Large is a strange game, that isn’t exactly the most polished. You only need 25 minutes spare to experience this weirdness and I assure you, if you don’t know how you feel about speedruns, this is the one for you.
Plus this is the only place you’ll ever hear someone say “Shrek went ham on his cardio”.
Banjo-Kazooie Musical Number
Banjo-Kazooie is a series famous in part for its music, thanks to Grant Kirkhope. What you might be surprised to hear then is that a speedrun is famous for a pretty similar reason.
Hagginater and Duck did a ‘race’ to see who can 100% the game quicker at SGDQ2019, and the results are… interesting. Not only does this race’s two hour runtime genuinely remain tense throughout, but Duck also shows off his singing skills. There seems to be a trend here…
Skipping to the 2:00:29 mark greets you with a catchy musical number, one about Mr. Vile the Crocodile. Is the singing as good as the Kingdom Hearts run? No. The thing is though, Duck plays whilst he sings, so I can only applaud him for the effort. I recommend watching the whole thing too. Both runners are incredibly welcoming and seem to have a great community, so it’s worth it.
Anonymous with “No Comment”
Do you have just over five hours to spare? If so this is the run for you. MajinPhil 100% speedruns Majora’s Mask, which I understand doesn’t sound, on its own, like it belongs on this list. It is a great run though as it has one thing that stands out, a very stupid running joke.
Commentator Patty noticed something rather strange. Someone called ‘Anonymous’ keeps donating money, and writing ‘no comment’. It’s one of those jokes that isn’t funny, on any level. Yet because it’s made so many times it comes around to being funny on multiple occasions.
On top of that Majora’s Mask is a notoriously strange game, so it also doesn’t hurt that this run goes to some strange places. From the notorious ‘blue dog incentive’ to the ‘dreaded postman’ this is a run that’ll keep you guessing. If you take a quick look at the Youtube comments you’ll see that the Postman’s hate is, let’s say… well deserved.
It’s a constantly shifting and entertaining run, with lots of weird and unfortunate turns throughout. It’s a perfect amalgamation of drama, entertainment, and straight up craziness.
I’ll always believe in you Blue Dog
Don’t forget to come back to Culture of Gaming on April 27th, because we’ll be uploading to celebrate Majora’s Masks 20th anniversary!
The ‘Oblivion Killer’
If you’ve never heard of the game Two Worlds, nobody would be surprised. Even the perpetrator of this run, Shaddex, knows this isn’t a very good game. But this didn’t stop him from completing it in under five minutes.
Yes, you read that right, in under five minutes. Now you’re probably wondering just how Shaddex managed to pull this off. Well strap in and I’ll tell you. Two Worlds isn’t the most polished game, so much so that if you can manage some pretty simple skips within your fist few minutes of play you’ll be met with the games final boss. If you aggro him to an area filled with NPCs they’ll then attack him.
Remember how I just said that Two Worlds isn’t polished? Well this ‘Oblivion Killer’ then allows the boss to die fighting the NPCs in question. Once he’s dead the game just… ends. The final cutscene plays out and that’s pretty much it. You’ve won, well done! I guess?
You Don’t Even Need Eyes for Speedruns
Blindfolded speedruns aren’t anything new, but that doesn’t mean one can’t stand tall above the rest does it? Sinister1 is definitely responsible for what many see as the best blind speedrun.
Typically speedruns are dead loud. There’s cheering, audience interaction, and a great vibe. However what makes this one so strange is how silent it is. Sinister1 is working off sound cues, understandably, because he can’t see anything. So he needs the room to be silent. Which creates one of the most bizarre live speed run environments.
Honestly I think it adds to the tension, as everyones waiting with bated breath to see if he can pull it off.
Pepsiman is real?!?!
Oh yeah, now we get into the truly weird speedruns.
To the uninitiated, Pepsiman is a PS1 game based off of… Pepsi. The player controls the superhero mascot Pepsiman as he runs through environments to save the day.
Thats it… that’s the game.
Another run on the shorter side, theboyks successfully completes Pepsiman in just under 25 minutes. But that’s not what’s weird about it. If you’ve even glanced at the above video you’ll have figured it out by now. Pepsiman himself makes an actual appearance. Traveling all the way from Japan he can be seen sipping his trusty can of Pepsi.
Have I said Pepsi enough yet?
Anyway, the dedication of whoever that is to actually dress up as Pepsiman for this run makes it one of the most downright ludicrous video game speedruns I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
Respect the commitment to the bit though.
Just Get Over it Mate!
This is the first run on the list that wasn’t completed in front of a live audience, but it was done on Twitch. So it still counts. Distortion2‘s speedrun of this game has amassed a whopping 12 Million views on Youtube. Why? Well that’s because he beat Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy in an astounding 1 minute 56 seconds. I know right?!?
With Getting Over It being a notoriously frustrating game I can’t even fathom the amount of time and effort that went into perfecting this. Youtubers across the world must’ve seen this video and all simultaneously ended their careers. You can’t top this, this speedrun cannot be beat.
The Best of the Best
Actually, it can be.
Completing the original Jak and Daxter 100% in just over 2 hours doesn’t seem special on its own. However when Bonesaw577 did just that in the middle of the night at SGDQ2016, you get something truly special.
The long and short of it? Bonesaw just kind of goes insane. At the half an hour mark he just says “I’m a terrible speedrunner”, which should tell you the type of run you’re in for. Honestly it’s probably his lack of self belief that creates the greatest moments of this run.
It’s totally awkward, but that’s what makes it funny. Almost every comment on the Youtube video solidifies how and why it’s the greatest, and strangest, live speedrun of all time. I beg you to watch it, I can’t really even explain it.
Speedrunning has always been a strange way to enjoy some of our favourite video games. So I hope you enjoyed this look into some of the weirdest speedruns I could find. I hope you check some of these out too! I promise you they’re all worth it.
So that was our list of the weirdest live speedruns ever! Hope you enjoyed it. You can chat to us about your favourites in the comments or on twitter @thecognetwork. Alternatively you can check out my most recent article on the craziest Final Fantasy VII Remake theories here.
