Twice a year, the folks over at Games Done Quick come together to put on an epic marathon of speedrunning gameplay. For seven days straight, speedrunners from around the globe will complete games as fast as they can, all in an effort to raise money for charity. Over the past few years, the two main events, Awesome Games Done Quick and Summer Games Done Quick, have gained popularity on the streaming platform Twitch. As over 100,000 viewers tune in, donation numbers rise into the million. From January 6th to January 13th, these talented gamers will be raising money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. It’s a wonderful event that is both entertaining to watch and heartwarming to witness. Watching these speedrunners blast through our favorite games is incredibly cool to watch, and the entertainment value is more than reason enough to tune in!
With seven days of material to watch, the list of speedruns can be slightly overwhelming. To help you out, we’ve picked out our recommendations for the best Nintendo speedruns to watch. If you’re interested in the full list, you can check out the official AGDQ 2019 schedule. Below, we’ve compiled a great list of speedruns that will be streamed live, offering a mix of Nintendo content both new and old. Whether you’re a fan of original Mario games or new school Switch titles, AGDQ 2019 will have a speedrun for you. Last year’s AGDQ 2018 donation total reached well over $2 million, so the sky is the limit for this year!
All time below are listed in Eastern Standard Time. This list is not final, and can be subject to change. If you’re reading this article and AGDQ 2019 has already started, you might want to double check the official schedule to make sure times haven’t changed. With that said, here are our picks for the best Nintendo speedruns to watch at AGDQ 2019!
Quick Speedrun Terminology
In case you are unfamiliar with the speedrun scene, speedruns are generally showcases of video games completed as quickly as possible. Games are played in a variety of categories, which are denoted in parantheses after the title of the game. I have also denoted the system the game will be played on. Certain categories allow players to use glitches, while others change up certain rules. For the most part, runners will point out the various restrictions and limitations of a category they are running, but here’s a handy reference guide:
any% – This is the most common category, and it allows the runner to use all available glitches and tricks (besides outright cheating or altering code) to beat the game
100% – The runner must reach an in-game 100% completion stat or achieve a certain amount of progress before finishing the game
Glitchless – The runner is not allowed to use any glitches to progress, and must rely on pure skill and mechanical knowledge of the game
Race – Instead of one speedrunner playing the game, this is a race between one or more speedrunners to beat the game the fastest. Races often have a wide variety of categories as well.
Sunday, January 6th
1:50 PM: Kirby & the Amazing Mirror (any%) in 32 minutes / Gameboy Advance
2:42 PM: Donkey Kong Country (any% All Stages) in 37 minutes / Super Nintendo
3:29 PM: Mario Kart DS (32 Tracks) in 1 hour and 6 minutes / Nintendo DS
6:52 PM: The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (any%) in 1 hour and 25 minutes / Wii
Monday, January 7th
1:07 AM: Bomberman 64 (any%) in 30 minutes / Nintendo 64
9:30 AM: Earthworm Jim 2 (any% Normal) in 32 minutes / Super Nintendo
10:47 AM: Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts (any% Normal) in 40 minutes / Super Nintendo
2:56 PM: Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (any%) in 40 minutes / Nintendo Entertainment System
10:02 PM: Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion (any%) in 1 hour and 25 minutes / Nintendo Switch
Tuesday, January 8th
9:41 AM: Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers 2 (1 player 2 controllers race) in 15 minutes / Nintendo Entertainment System
6:08 PM: Sonic Rush (All Stages) in 50 minutes / Nintendo DS
7:08 PM: Mario Kart 64 (150CC All Cups w/ Skips) in 35 minutes / Nintendo 64
8:03 PM: Super Mario Bros. 3Mix (any% race) in 1 hour and 15 minutes / Nintendo Entertainment System
9:28 PM: Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars (any%) in 3 hours and 25 minutes / Super Nintendo
Wednesday, January 9th
1:03 AM: Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 (Normal) in 2 hours and 10 minutes / Nintendo DS
6:08 AM: The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse (Hard Mode) in 18 minutes / Super Nintendo
2:53 PM: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (All Dungeons) in 4 hours and 7 minutes / Gamecube
8:35 PM: Mega Man X – X3 Team Relay Race in approximately 2 hours / Super Nintendo
Thursday, January 10th
7:10 AM: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York in 15 minutes / Super Nintendo
9:05 AM: Metal Gear (any%) in 28 minutes / Nintendo Entertainment System
10:32 PM: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (100%) in 6 hours / Wii U
Friday, January 11th
7:30 AM: Metroid Fusion (any% Memory Corruption) in 55 minutes / Gameboy Advance
12:57 PM: Pokemon Gold (any% Glitchless race) in 3 hours and 25 minutes / Gameboy Advance
8:44 PM: Super Mario Sunshine (1v1 Lockout Bingo) in 1 hour and 30 minutes / Gamecube
Saturday, January 12
8:59 AM: Luigi’s Mansion (No Out of Bounds) in 1 hour and 15 minutes / Gamecube
12:04 PM: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Low% 1 Hit-KO) in 1 hour and 55 minutes / Super Nintendo
5:20 PM: Quickie World (100%) in 18 minutes / Super Nintendo Rom Hack
5:48 PM: Super Gracie World (100%) in 30 minutes / Super Nintendo Rom Hack
6:43 PM: Super Mario Odyssey (Darker Side) in 3 hours and 22 minutes / Switch
10:27 PM: Super Metroid (Reverse Boss Order) in 1 hour and 20 minutes / Super Nintendo
Those are all of our recommendations for the best Nintendo speedruns to watch during AGDQ 2019! However, there are way more than just Nintendo runs to check out throughout the week. If you love games in general, there are more than enough fun runs to keep your eyes glued to the screen. Once again, check out the full official schedule for information on other games that will appear.
Be sure to check back once the event is over for our thoughts on the best moments and runs from AGDQ 2019!