Pokemon Emerald Beaten In Three Hours By Speedrunner
By Cody Gravelle 11 January 2017
The latest iteration of Awesome Games Done Quick features the debut of Pokemon Emerald, and speedrunner thetyrant14 makes it a memorable first time with a three hour run.
The Games Done Quick speedrunning marathons have quickly grown into a gaming community tradition that moonlights as an effective charity fundraising event at the same time. The Games Done Quick events have raised millions toward cancer research while simultaneously enthralling video game fans everywhere with incredible feats of technical prowess and glitch exploitation, and speedrunning has become much more widely known as a result. Thanks to Games Done Quick, achievements like a 20 second Titanfall 2 gauntlet run make headlines now, and the practice of speedrunning has breathed new life into decades-old titles.
The Awesome Games Done Quick 2017 event has arguably been the best one yet, as some of the world’s best speedrunners have taken center stage to showcase their skills while raising money for the fight against cancer. The event has also marked the debut of some heavily requested titles, however, and one in particular stands out as having made a huge impact on the audience – thetyrant14’s speedrun of Pokemon Emerald.
First of all, thetyrant14’s 2 hour and 56 minute run was an impressive feat, despite the fact that it was a full 20 minutes slower than the world record. Speed wasn’t what captivated a huge online audience for nearly three hours, though – it was the fact that thetyrant14 completed the run by essentially using just 2 Pokemon, one of which include fan favorite Mudkip. That the Mudkip was named Waluigi was simply icing on the cake for diehard video game fans, who watched thetyrant14 flawlessly plot Pokemon gym battles and survive some truly brutal RNG.
Luckily for those who weren’t familiar with Pokemon Emerald speedruns, the event featured in-depth commentary from other notable runners as well, who helped provide context as to why thetyrant14’s run was so great. Despite being double the average length of a feature film, thetyrant14’s speedrun never gets boring, and it’s a testament to both the runner’s ability to execute difficult strategies and Pokemon Emerald‘s staying power, 14 years after its initial release.
Now that another Pokemon game has debuted for a Games Done Quick marathon, it shouldn’t be too long before fans begin to see even more titles in Nintendo’s collectible monster series break through on the main stage. Given the impressive sales figures for Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon, could it be the next game Pokemon fans will see beaten in an absurdly short amount of time?
