The Game Race

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is one of my favorite games of all time. So I was excited to play through it again a few days ago, seeing as how I haven't played it in over three years. The last time I had played it was with two friends, in the same room with games, systems and tvs for each of us, racing through it in just one day. Unfortunately, only one of us finished (or got very close), and we had to call it a day. A few days ago I got a chance for redemption, as I wasn't just playing the game alone. It was another race through the game, this time with five players instead of three. Four others did not show up, but whatever, the five of us still had a good time. Only one person finished in 8.5 hours, two of us got close after 12 hours, and the other two had to drop out due to glitches with the game and/or system. A good post about the day can be found here. As angry as we were getting throughout the day, we all had a great time, and hope to repeat this challenge again next year or sooner. Next time I'll make sure to look up where I should go outside of the dungeons/temples, instead of having to ask the other players every hour or so.

But this post isn't just about that day. I want to discuss the possibilities for other games to race through. It's so much fun to sit down with a group of friends, start a game at the exact same moment, and encourage friendly banter as the group progresses through the game. As time passes, people pass each other in the game, take different routes, do things out of order, and can be just as interesting watching each other play as playing the game myself. Ocarina of Time was an awesome choice not only for the fact that it's definitely possible to run through it in under 12 hours, but also because it's a straightforward game with things required to do on the side. One must obtain certain items and complete certain requirements to continue through the game, but not necessarily in a linear order. So one person may be ahead of another, but the person just behind completed a "requirement" that the other person had not yet (which actually happened during our day). I suppose it also helped that it's a classic game that everyone had played through at least once, and is just an all around loved game by many.

So here we go, opening up discussion for games to be played through in a day. I encourage people to respond on here their thoughts on my choices and any additions they can think of, and also on facebook for those that know me. I have a few rules or requirements that these games must have, but most of them are obvious. Any games that break the rules will be discussed, such as how the rules can be bent or changed. The rules are as follows: the game must be able to be completed within one playthrough. Exceptions for multi-day playthroughs are extremely difficult to accommodate, with players having conflicting schedules. The games must have been played through already by players, or the players must be okay with playing a game they haven't played through before. I bring this up because I'll soon discuss one such game for myself. We, as in the players playing the game, must be able to acquire enough copies of the game and have enough systems to play the games on, all at once. Those are basically all the rules for choosing games to play. The rules for the game day itself are more complicated and do not need to be discussed on here.

The first possibility for a playthrough is obvious, being a Super Mario All-Stars...all-stars. I vow that we play through Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and possibly also Super Mario World. I have barely played Super Mario World, and have never played Super Mario Bros. 2, but would still be willing to play through those games for the sake of a game run day. I would also need to be playing with more than two certain people, as they can blow through all four games much faster than I can probably get through just one. But realistically, these four games could definitely all be played through in just one day, though I'm not sure how long SMW takes to complete. Warps would have to be considered, since using warps would considerably shorten the day. This would take away some of the fun however. It would also take away some of the interesting parts, like being able to choose ones path through SMB3 and SMW. People would be completing different levels at their difficulty level to progress through the games differently. I'm not sure if versions change the games the much, between originals and SM All-Stars version. Another consideration would be playing through just one of these games, but every level must be completed. The only problem would be keeping track of who had beaten what levels, and who might be cheating.

Along the same lines, Super Mario 64 would be another good choice for a run-through. Obtaining all 120 stars would be out of the question, but just finishing the game with the minimum 70 could be a lot of fun. Each played would be running through different level collecting different stars. Some people have an easier time with some stars, but find others harder, and other people are the opposite. It could be a fun day with quite a bit of frustration. Spend too much time obtaining one star and fall behind. Glitches obviously would not be allowed, and those are easy to spot when one person is using them.

Sticking with Nintendo, but switching to a different franchise, some of us have discussed Super Metroid as a possible option. This is a great choice for the fact that it's a real speed challenge. It's mostly a straightforward affair (unless one wants extra missiles, bombs or health) to see who can complete the game the fastest. I can personally finish the game in under three hours, and would be a no break challenge. Go to the bathroom and you'll lose precious time. Glitches would have to be heavily considered and discussed, because the game can be broken with them. I'd say that all bosses must be defeated, but would multiple bomb jumps be allowed? I know some parts can be skipped with this trick, not including a whole boss, and some people would use this heavily.

My personal favorite choice for a game run is my favorite game of all time: Metroid Prime. I have played through the game numerous times, and can probably beat it in around 6-8 hours. I believe I would emerge victorious in this challenge, but would love to try it for the fact that it's a challenge. The game seems long, but when not collecting every scan and item, people don't realize that it's actually pretty short. And I'll be honest, to this day I still get lost while playing and forget where to go next. To me that's a good game, to continually stay fresh and fun. I also think enough people have played through it to make it a possibility. MP Echoes and Corruption would probably not be possible, as they both take longer than a day to complete. Echoes may be possible to do in a day, but it's just not that fun, and many of us get very confused as to where to go next, making the game much longer than it should be for a challenge.

Oh boy, I suppose I should finally turn back to look at the big series. No, not Mario. Those games seem to be random and ever changing. I'm speaking of Zelda, which retains the same basic gameplay, mechanics, plot and set-pieces across almost all games. They all have close to 8 dungeons, and many even have the same themes for dungeons. I believe that there is more than just one Zelda game that can be played through in one day, but the problem arises with enough copies, or playing on a handheld. For example, Link's Awakening would be a great choice, but who wants to sit in a room playing a game with everyone else, but can't see other people playing? Kinda boring, and we don't have enough Super GameBoys/GameBoy Players and games. A Link to the Past may be possible in one day, but personally I don't think I can do it in under 12 hours like some other friends. I vow for Majora's Mask, and would have a lot of fun with it, but one person has played it too often, and others don't think they could do it in one day. Fair enough, this has to be a possibility between at least two to three of us. I love Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, but obviously both are way too long do complete in one day. Four Swords Adventures is another great choice and can be completed in just a few hours, but not enough copies are available.

Moving on, I have a few other games to discuss. This may be a long post, but I'm serious, and want to have another game challenge within the next year if possible. On Saturday we discussed Eternal Darkness. It's a game I know I can beat within a day, and if I can, everyone else can. I don't know if we have enough copies (2 maybe?), but the fact that the game has three possible paths to go down, could make it a very fun game to race through. Choosing one path makes one thing easier to deal with, but something else harder. So each player with play on their strengths and weaknesses. Also, will any players go for the purple magic? It's the only optional item in the game, but it makes for a much easier ending.

And what about other types of games? Basically I've only discussed adventure types of games. I move to include First Person Shooter games as well. Yes, yes, I know our friends don't like very many FPS games, but that doesn't mean there aren't a few gems that we enjoy. The first is Goldeneye, an obvious classic. Very easy to complete in one day, it could be fun since I'm sure most of us haven't played it in years. And like most FPS, it's very linear so players won't get stuck for long. That was my problem with OoT.

Speaking of Goldeneye, how about Perfect Dark? It can also be completed in one day. And if people really wanted to, we could break up into teams and play the game co-op, and see which team can beat the game first. That would make for a really interesting competition.

My final game that I can think of today (which was all on the top of my head, didn't really do much thinking or any research) is Portal. I love Portal so much, and is an extremely short game. My record for beating it is about 47 minutes, and I hope to one day get it under 45 minutes. Too bad we only have like two copies of game, however.

So those are my thoughts one the game day challenge, for what other games are possibilities. I didn't even discuss multiplayer possibilities, such as teamwork, not including Perfect Dark. Maybe some games that some people have played and others have not could be played with teams, going back and forth. I'm not sure how the game would be split up, but it could make for a different and fun experience. But those are my thoughts just for now, and need to think about what game I feel like playing next. Not sure how many more RPGs I can play right now.