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Let the Mega Man 9 Speed Runs Begin

Posted by Bob Mackey

It took much longer than I thought, but intrepid 2D platform fans have finally started uploading the fruits of their labor; so now, those with skills outside the Mega Man domain (i.e., me) can stare in awe and wonder as puddles of drool develop at their feet.  What I've chosen to share with you today is--at the moment of this writing, anyway--the fastest Mega Man 9 speed run currently available on YouTube; though research tells me that the world record is a minute and change less than cordic's time of 23:16.  Follow the fun here, or watch below through the techno-wizardry known as embedding:



I'm not one to call anyone's Mega Man skills into question, but cordic cheeses this run just a little bit; note the starting amount of 999 screws, and the fact that this run is segmented as opposed to being one straight shot. But there's a whole lot of raw talent here--and if this dude doesn't have a turbo controller, I am prepared to call him out as a robot foolishly trying to integrate himself into human society. We're onto you, robot.

Putting aside the upcoming man versus machine apocalypse, speed runs like this are more than just entertaining; they're also educational--in a good way. All the little tricks used to get through the levels ASAP aren't due to mere chance; they're entirely prescribed by a mix of the level layout and the usefulness of Mega Man 9's special weapons. After getting used to the lame special weapons in the later Mega Man games, I had to force myself to use said weapons in 9 during more than just boss fights--and my new plan of action actually worked.  If you don't believe me, just check out the above speed run; until then, you may never know the practical uses for shooting hornets out of your arm.

Related Links:

The Ten Greatest Classic Mega Man Levels, Part 1
For Love of the Game: Rockman 7 FC
Mega Man 2 Vs. Mega Man 3: The Eternal Battle for Everlasting Peace


+ DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT

Comments

Roto13 said:

"note the starting amount of 999 screws"

When you clear the game, you get to carry all of your remaining screws over to the next playthrough. :P

October 6, 2008 12:18 PM

Roto13 said:

*watches video*

Oh, you're probably referring to the fact that he actually uses them. xP Yeah, that's kinda cheap.

October 6, 2008 12:25 PM

Bob Mackey said:

Yep; I'm sure we'll see an even more insane speed run at some point in the future. Something like no damage/mega buster only.

October 6, 2008 11:06 PM

Henry Phillips said:

Geeze, I just beat the game tonight (Tuesday)  And then promptly did it again.  My time for the second run was 58 minutes.  I just can't imagine having the spare time to work my time down that low.

Of course, I did have the 8+ hours that I poured into the first completion.  Shouldn't have taken that long, but I wanted to do it w/o using any items or exploiting boss weaknesses the first time that I beat them (for acheivements).

October 8, 2008 1:52 AM

About Bob Mackey

For a brief period of time I was Bull from TV's Night Court, but some of you may know me from the humor column I wrote for Youngstown State University's The Jambar, Kent State University's The Stater, and Youngstown's alternative newspaper, The Walruss. I'm perhaps most well-known for my bi-weekly pieces on Something Awful. I've also blogged for Valley24.com and have written articles for EGM, 1UP, GameSpite and Cracked. For all of my writing over the years, I have made a total of twenty American dollars. It's also said that I draw cartoons, which people have described with words such as "legible." I kidnapped the Lindbergh Baby and am looking to do so again in the future.

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John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Hooksexup, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia's prized possession is a certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.


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