Summer Games Done Quick 2015: Day 1 Highlights and Day 2 Runs to Watch

It's that time of year, once again. Twice a year, the folks at Games Done Quick get together to speed run some of the best (and some of the most curious) video games across gaming history, all in the name of charity. Summer Games Done Quick is raising money for Doctors Without Borders, via direct donations or donations that go towards raffle tickets. All week, Shacknews will take a look back at the best highlights from the previous day, as well as point to some of the most notable runs that will take place later in the day. Without further delay, let's take a look at some runs worth checking out.

Day 1 Highlights

Yoshi's Island: Super Mario World 2 (Super Nintendo)

The original Yoshi's Island still stands out as one of the most unique and memorable Super Nintendo games ever made. The graphic style remains as astounding as it ever has and no Yoshi game since has been able to replicate it, largely because of licensing issues with the old SuperFX chip. It's also quietly one of the more difficult games in the Super NES library, with Yoshi's first solo outing featuring some amazingly tricky platforming.

Speed runner Trihex was at the helm yesterday and he not only demonstrated some proficient platforming, he also showed a knack for getting himself out of danger, escaping from certain doom several times with masterful applications of Yoshi's flutter jump. He also showed off some novel glitches, such as the one used against the Naval Piranha boss. Newer generations of players that grew up with more recent Yoshi's Island outings may be largely unaware of Yoshi's surprisingly difficult first outing, so consider the stream below an education.

Donkey Kong Country (Super Nintendo) [All Stages Race]

The original Donkey Kong Country, released just months before Yoshi's Island hit the Nintendo stage, had some devious platforming of its own. But not only were streamers NewAgeRetroHippie, Eazinn, and gari able to make all of it look easy, they even brought some interesting tricks to the table.

The trio put on an amazing show by showing off their mastery of DKC's shortcuts, platforming with Diddy, knowledge of when to switch characters, and even some glitches that allowed them to launch themselves across portions of entire levels. Their mastery of the mine cart levels, in particular, where they'd utilize the "jump roll" technique, must be seen to be believed. It was a close race to the finish, but none of the runners were in any danger of overshooting the 40 minute timer and finished with plenty of time to spare. Check out the race below and see who took the crown.

Donkey Kong County 3: Dixie's Double Trouble (Super Nintendo) [Lost World Speed Run]

Donkey Kong Country 3 is a largely unappreciated gem, with Rare introducing a number of new elements and upping the ante on collectibles. However, collectibles are not the name of the game here. Instead, it's finishing the game as fast as possible by using a glitch to help jump into the game's final levels as soon as possible.

Speed runner RaikouRider described each and every one of the Lost World stages for DKC3 a "run killer," in that anything can go wrong at any time. At a couple of points during this particular run, he asked for complete silence, since his success largely depended on listening for certain audio cues. It's a game of intense focus, especially with a target time of only 20 minutes. Check out the video below, putting the spotlight of some of the most difficult levels in the entire DKC series.

Day 2 Runs to Watch

Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers (NES) - 6:55AM PT

Getting through Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers can be a tough task on its own and speed running it is certainly no piece of cake. Now imagine a co-op run, in which both speed runners must work as a tandem to finish as quickly as possible. Speed runners infinite mystery and philosoraptor42 will team up this morning to try and finish the game in under 20 minutes, but it'll take some true ballet-like precision.

Toejam and Earl (Sega Genesis) - 1:25PM PT

Speedrunner peaches will be looking to return to Funkotron in this Genesis classic. Toejam and Earl can be a particularly tough game to speed run, since the stages and item placement are completely randomized. Surviving some of the harrowing foes, like the chicken army and the Bogeymen, won't be easy. But peaches will attempt to find all of the pieces to get the alien duo home in under 30 minutes.

Tetris: The Grand Master series (Arcade) - 4:40PM PT

All of the Tetris: The Grand Master runs will be placed along the same block and for those that have not seen one of these runs, they are the absolute highest level of Tetris. The TGM crew will be ready to show just what they can do, looking to finish the various game modes in under no more than 15 minutes. It's precision unlike anything ever seen, as success not only hinges on correct block placement at all times, it involves actually knowing where the pieces are, since the game continues right through the credits. For anyone that has never witnessed a Tetris Grand Master run, check out an example from earlier this year in the video below.

Summer Games Done Quick will air all week on Twitch. To donate, be sure to visit the Games Done Quick website.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?