Welcome to another weekly roundup of the biggest and most exciting moments from the speedrunning community! From groundbreaking world records to fascinating discussions, here’s what made waves this week.
A Historic First: Sub-2 Minute Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! Fight
The legendary Summoning Salt has done it again! This week, the first-ever sub-2-minute Mike Tyson fight in Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! was achieved with a stunning time of 1:59.97. This milestone, breaking the two-minute barrier, cements Summoning Salt’s place in speedrunning history. If you haven’t seen the run yet, it’s a must-watch!
Cheating in Speedrunning: A Master’s Thesis?
A fascinating discussion emerged when a criminal justice student stumbled upon a thesis from Christopher Brewer—written in 2017—about cheating in speedrunning. The discovery sparked conversation about how speedrunning intersects with topics like trust and rule enforcement, making it a unique academic subject. If you’re curious, Brewer’s work is available through Google Scholar for further reading.
TAS Madness: Balatro’s “Maximum Score” Run in Under 6 Minutes
Tool-Assisted Speedruns (TAS) continue to push the limits of what’s possible. This week, Balatro saw a mind-blowing TAS run achieving a “maximum score” in just 5 minutes and 48.23 seconds. If you love the precision and strategy of a well-executed TAS, this run is a technical marvel.
$500 Bounty for The Ascent Any% WR
If you’ve ever wanted to get into speedrunning The Ascent, now is the perfect time! A $500 bounty has been put up for the world record holder of The Ascent Any% by March 31st. The game’s current speedrunning scene is still developing, so this bounty serves as an excellent incentive for new players to get involved and push the meta forward.
Blindfolded Speedrunning Spotlight: Bubzia Documentary
Blindfolded speedrunning continues to amaze audiences, and this week a new documentary by The Great Big Story highlights Bubzia, a blindfolded speedrunner who has pulled off some of the most impressive no-vision feats in gaming. His dedication and skill make for an inspiring story worth checking out.
More Records: Final Fantasy VII, Super Mario World, and More!
World records continue to be broken at an astonishing pace. Some standout runs from this week include:
- Final Fantasy VII – Snowboarding Cool% WR at 1:07.018
- Super Mario World 95 Exit No Cape WR at 1:24:58.833
- Pole Vault WR at 1:49, set by a developer who decided to speedrun their own game!
Anime Speedrun Festival 2025 Announced
Attention anime game fans! The Anime Speedrun Festival 2025 is officially open for submissions until March 23rd. The event, happening in May, showcases speedruns of games based on anime properties like Bleach, One Piece, and Demon Slayer. If you’ve got a favorite anime game, now’s your chance to submit a run and be part of this unique event.
Why Does NTSC and PAL Run Differently?
A discussion post this week revisited an age-old question: Why do NTSC and PAL versions of games run at different speeds? The short answer is that PAL consoles operate at 50Hz, making games run at 5/6th the speed of their NTSC counterparts, which run at 60Hz. This difference has led to fascinating speedrun category splits and debates over which versions of games are optimal for speedrunning.
That’s all for this week’s speedrunning highlights! From record-breaking feats to deep discussions, the community never stops pushing the boundaries of gaming. See you next week for more updates from the speedrunning world!
Source: reddit.com