Yearly Speedrun Review | 2023

2023 is now pretty much over, it's that time of year where I look back on everything I've accomplished this year. This year was up and down for me, what I did achieve I am happy with, but the volume is not what it normally is. Since I've been working full time as of May, it has eaten a lot of the time I otherwise would have had. Nevertheless, here we go:

All PBs are listed in chronological order (if I improved multiple times, it'll be placed in related to the most recent PB).

--Pokémon PBs--

Pokemon Diamond
Any% Glitchless in 3:44:09 (First runs in 2023) | 02/03/2023
- I had this in mind as a goal for 2022, but never finished out a run. I'm happy I finally have a run on the boards, even if I'm not particularly pleased with the result. I've been on pace to improve this more times than I can possibly count, and the VR throw on the 3:39 paced run still haunts me months on, but I will return to this one, I put too much time into it to walk away empty handed.

Pokémon White 2
Any% in 3:09:46 (From 3:10:24) | 31/05/2023
- Wouldn't be a year of my runs without White 2 featuring in some capacity! This was the final WR using the old route, and I couldn't be happier with this run and what it represents. Years of dedication and play lead to this run, and even though this could definitely be beaten even on the old route, it would be super hard to do so. I'm so happy I achieved the first ever 3:09, it was a goal that felt like a pipe dream years ago. Now that the new route is around, there's some work to be done here again I reckon.

Pokémon Black
Any% in 3:09:54 (From 3:11:34) | 15/08/2023
- Plasma Skip is finally here! Words I didn't think I'd be writing for a couple years yet, but here we are. I still have mixed feelings about this run, particularly the ending and midgame, but I'm happy I got the first record with plasma skip, got the worlds first 3:09 *and* skipped 3:10 all in one go. A landmark to be sure, but it won't be the final one.

--SM64 PBs--

120 Star in 1:53:18 (From 1:57:38) | 31/03/2023
- Real nice improvement in 1 PB! Still so much to iron out and fix here, but that will come with time as well. I spent a little bit practicing upstairs and JRB in 120 a while back, so I could definitely improve this more if I put more time into it. This is definitely a project for a later time however.

70 Star in 51:16 (From 52:10) | 30/04/2023
- I honestly didn't realise I had improved this run by almost a minute over the course of the year. My motivation for Mario has been pretty inconsistent this year. This run on its own says a lot about my abilities, so good in some areas, but just cannot keep it together, with an insane 50s timeloss in Sky. Since this I've sped up more but the inconsistency is still present. If I could string it all together it would definitely culminate in a 49, but that's still some way away.

--Octopath Traveler II PBs--

Partitio in 51:07 (First runs in 2023) | 12/04/2023
- Not the first character I ran, but the oldest PB! This run has a lot wrong with it, not to mention the route being outdated (even at the time I played, which I was not aware of! Definitely on my radar to come back to, this could be beaten by anyone in a day or two if anyone grinded.

Temenos in 45:33 (First runs in 2023) | 01/10/2023
- The first character I ran! I got a really good run on the inventorless route which was WR, then Xazu created/improved inventorless, which is just multiple minutes quicker. This was all I got to show for it, unfortunately not quite the product I ever wanted with this route. I'd love to grab a 43 one day, just to show off what this route is truly capable of.

Ochette in 45:47 (First runs in 2023) | 21/20/2023
- Probably my favourite run I've done so far! Everything about this one is just really fun, and Ochette is just a really enjoyable character in general, one of the nicer stories in the game. Only really 2 bad areas, encounters before Throné and then 2nd try Buttermeeps, but getting better would be a rough challenge. Another one for later down the line once I've done the others!

Hikari in 59:12 (First runs in 2023) | 28/10/2023
- Probably the most mediocre of the bunch for Octopath, nice run, nothing extraordinary about it. An extra encounter that was really silly to get, I can definitely see myself returning for a 58.

Osvald in 48:59 (First runs in 2023) | 29/10/2023
- Definitely my least favourite route, so thank goodness I got a god run within 1 day. This run is exceptional and probably my best OT2 PB by some distance, no extra deaths, good black market, don't think any extra encounters either. Nothing more you can really ask for there!

--Stray PBs--

Glitchless in 1:17:56 (From 1:18:37) | 06/01/2023
- Couple minor improvements to movement tech, but this was mostly a product of just a vague derust and a couple attempts to claim my 1:17 I lost so long ago. This run could have been so much more (1:17:19 BPT into Jail!), but once again Jail had something to say. Maybe one day a 1:16?

Any% in 51:05 (From 1:16:25) | 25/06/2023
- Finally got around to using the new route. So much has changed since I had last run this, hence the massive time decrease. This is another run that could have been so much more but had an absolutely tragic jail. I may yet return to this and try to secure a 49, given how close I was to it with this run!