Some weeks back, our very own Bob Mackey reported on the first speedruns of Mega Man 9. But the best clip out at that point was multi-segmented and started out with 999 screws, which is kind of cheating in my book. Now, watch as champion speedrunner Nicholas "SirVG" Hoppe (who holds world speed records on such classics as Actraiser, Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood) delivers the goods with a single-segment, new-game run. (And provides entertaining captions to boot.)
Some Youtube/gaming forum posters have complained about the way that MM9 times gameplay — freezing the timer when the game is paused. This does mean that an MM9 speedrun like this one, which actually lasts forty-nine minutes, gets an official time of 27:37, which is a little odd. But the cool thing is that by not penalizing for use of the select screen, this rule encourages inventive speedrunners to use all of Mega Man’s special weapons in clever, time-saving ways. (Mega Man 9’s weapons, incidentally, are far more versatile and useful than the throwaways of most Mega Mans past.) This makes the run way more entertaining to watch, which, after all, is the point, and it’s enough to make me wish that the older games were set up this way. In fact... Capcom, old friend? Any thoughts? Enhanced downloadable versions with MM9-style challenges and timer features? You know, we love you very much...
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Mega Man 9: IT'S OUT NOW
Let the Mega Man 9 Speed Runs Begin