Summer Games Done Quick 2015: Day 4 Highlights and Day 5 Runs to Watch

If you missed them, be sure to check out highlights from Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 of Summer Games Done Quick 2015.

Summer Games Done Quick 2015 is moving into its fourth day, as Thursday features more speed runs across some of the best (and most interesting) video games. The people at Games Done Quick continue to raise money for Doctors Without Borders today and for the rest of the week, nearly shattering the $500,000 mark. Shacknews is looking back at the best highlights across the week and here are the best runs from Wednesday.

Day 4 Highlights

The Legend of Zelda - swordless (NES)

Speed runs don't get much better than this, as jkoper attempts to run through the NES classic Legend of Zelda with a major twist. Link must complete his adventure without the use of his sword. As one might imagine, the toughest part of this run comes at the beginning, in which Link must simply find a means of defense. Once he does, watch as jkoper tries to make it as far into the game as possible.

Earthbound (Super NES)

The Earthbound speed run was a fascinating one to watch, as it's hard to fathom how to sprint through an RPG. Speed runner Aurilliux did so by demonstrating some truly proficient mastery of the game's glitches. As Chattycast co-host Bryan "Doctor Games" Carr eloquently put it during yesterday's show, it was like Neo from The Matrix seeing the code before his eyes. Watch in amazement as Aurilliux is able to time his use of Skip Sandwiches, measure his HP counter, and analyze his surroundings to take giant shortcuts across the entire game before reaching Giygas.

But more than that, watch this run as a tribute to the late Satoru Iwata, one of Earthbound's lead designers. And when you see this screen...

...try to contain the tears.

Day 5 Runs to Watch

Castlevania block (Multiple Platforms) - 11:34AM PT

It's time for another block of Castlevania, this time veering more towards the old-school classics. The block will begin with Castlevania: Simon's Quest and continue afterwards with Simon Belmont's Super NES debut, Super Castlevania IV. The runs will conclude with Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, played on the Wii Virtual Console. None of the runs are estimated to go over 40 minutes, so carve out a couple of hours and check out some retro vampire-slaying action.

Mega Man block (Multiple Platforms) - 2:44PM PT

The futuristic X had his block a couple of days ago, but now it's time for the original Blue Bomber to get his own time to shine. Mega Man will jump into action starting with the imported Rockman 3: Burst Chaser, followed by original classics Mega Man: The Wily Wars and Mega Man 4. That's followed up by more modern takes on the formula, Mega Man 10 (expected to be a Hard mode run) and Mega Man & Bass. Platformers don't get much more difficult than Mega Man, so this should be a treat to watch.

Doom 64 (Nintendo 64) - 9:34PM PT

Platformers are fine, but what about the granddaddy of all shooters? There's plenty of love for Doom and for this year's Summer Games Done Quick, it'll come in the form of one of the series' few console releases, Doom 64. Speed runner Grav will attempt to get through the game in less than 40 minutes, which should be a treat for old-school PC gamers to check out.

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?