2018 retrospective

Kirby's Dream Land

Beat the Game - Normal Mode: 11:57 - 2018/02/02
I only started running this game because the elbow problems I was having in January and February prevented me from using a controller without pain, so I ran this on keyboard for a while and ended up eventually getting sub 12. I did grind the game some more for like a week in June but nothing more came of it. I'm never touching this again lol
How much time did I waste? Three weeks total?
Was it worth it? Meh. Should've stopped entirely after the sub 12.

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Kirby: Star Allies

Guest Stars (Original): 53:46.65 - 2018/06/18
I literally ran this for one night and got this time. I tried later to learn the actual route but got tired of the eternal loading screens really fast
How much time did I waste? Like a couple nights
Was it worth it? Sure. Not going back to it though

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Fast Rolling

Any%: 7:31 - 2018/07/30
Good meme
How much time did I waste? Two nights. Three nights too many
Was it worth it? No lol

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Kirby Super Star Ultra

Beat RotK: 56:39 - 2018/06/26
We got a new, really fast computer in early June so I seized the chance to do SSU. I did a lot of IL practice and then got this time that's probably easily improvable if I put more time into it, but unfortunately for the past six months said computer has also been in my parents' bedroom. So trying to stream on it was a huge pain, and I basically stopped doing KSSU after the summer ended. It's finally getting moved though so likely more in the new year. It won't be this category though, Revenge of the King is aids lol
How much time did I waste? Three weeks to a month
Was it worth it? Yes, KSSU is still the GOAT game

100%: 2:19:55 - 2018/10/06
I did this run on a road trip down to Calgary after learning the 100% parts for like a week and a half. Probably one of the only times I'm guaranteed to be undisturbed for that long lol. It was on English DS cart which means I would've bopped kirbymastah had I been playing on Japanese but oh well. The amount of RNG in the run is insane so once I get 2:15 I'm probably quitting forever
How much time did I waste? Two weeks
Was it worth it? Yeah probably, not much longer though

Meta Knightmare Ultra: 27:17 - 2018/10/11
My PB on srcom is 29:22 but my real PB is over two minutes faster lol. I just never got the opportunity to play on emu and record for an extended period of time, since I binge-ran this for only like a week and a half and actually ended up really hurting my wrists. The verdict? MKU is alright but nothing I'd spend a crazy amount of time on. Sub 27 is a reasonable goal I think.
How much time did I waste? Week and a half
Was it worth it? Yes

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Kirby: Squeak Squad

Any%: 45:42 - 2018/12/08
Started Squeak by racing any% with Snipr and beating him only because he forgot like three Star Seals lol. He likes this category a lot more than I do, it's like 90% Wheel which to me gets old kinda fast... not a huge fan. But I know I can get 43 with a bit of work, which I'll get to sometime.
How much time did I waste? Like a week?
Was it worth it? meh... mostly doing it for flagship and GBA/DS (which I'll talk about later)

100%: 1:07:51 - 2018/12/02
I'd been interested in Squeak hundo for a while since it was untouched by the Wii U criminal devices, which meant I could probably snipe a WR before someone actually good started playing on Wii U. Unfortunately I didn't end up getting much glory (lol) since when I started cabbage was already in the process of switching. I held the WR only twice, once for four hours and the second time for two days lol. SK owned me hard the first time and then cabbage finally started doing runs which is why I lost the record the second time. I stopped running because of my finals, and cabbage has done Wii U justice with a 1:05 at the time of this writing so I don't feel obligated to return too soon. Sometime in the summer though, I still want my own 1:05...
How much time did I waste? Something like a month
Was it worth it? Absolutely. Pretty long and involved category but one of the most fun I've ever run

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Kirby & the Amazing Mirror

Any%: 30:03 - 2018/12/11
Started learning this in February I think. It’s a pretty great run… until you get down to the 31 range where RNG starts playing a massive factor. Now I kinda run this on and off since I go through a cycle where I get interested again -> do some runs and maybe PB a few times -> get frustrated by RNG -> repeat. I do want sub 29:30 because I invested in a GBP basically just for this, so I’d better put it to good use lol
How much time did I waste? Combined, maybe five weeks?
Was it worth it? Yeah, I’d say so. As soon as I start getting frustrated by RNG I usually stop so it’s not like I wasted my time

100%: 1:24:57 - 2018/12/21
I learned this basically only for GBA/DS 400%, and I only actually completed one run because I got 99% like twice I think. It’s so easy to miss things. This PB is also garbage because it was done during the 400% run, so I couldn’t reset for anything, and I did a full map check before entering mirror. Sometime next year I’ll spend some time actually getting good at this category though - I want a 1:13.
How much time did I waste? Two or three weeks
Was it worth it? Yes. Long, slightly repetitive category but pretty fun

All Sprays: 18:43 - 2018/12/06
This category is pretty great, it contains all of KatAM’s amazing movement while removing the vast majority of the RNG. I had a ton of fun running it. I’ll never beat SK though :,)
How much time did I waste? Three or four days
Was it worth it? Yep

All Goal Games: 37:58 - 2018/12/10
After running All Sprays it occurred to me that this category had some potential, and after routing it for a few days I did a couple runs. This run is alright, though I probably won’t do any more unless someone else runs it.
How much time did I waste? Also three or four days including routing
Was it worth it? Totally. Even better category than All Sprays imo, but no competition makes it kinda boring. Routing was really fun though.

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Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land

Any%: 42:55 -> 39:30 (2018/09/08)
Ah, where do I even start with this? KNiDL was my first really serious speedgame and will forever be my favorite. I came back to any% in February and grinded it straight until the end of the tourney (which was amazing by the way) in early May. I got way better but fell just short of sub 40 before I burned out… then in early August I raced Jay and chooch in the RunsToReunite marathon, and derusted this category for it. In the days leading up to the race I couldn’t get any better than a mid 41, and then in the race I got a mid 40. At first I didn’t intend to grind it anymore but it was after the race that I was like “Hmm, maybe I’ll just give it a shot.” That same day I got 39:54 and just like that I was back to it fulltime lol. After I finished with my summer job I grinded the category 3-4 hours a day for something like two weeks straight, and right before schoolwork started ramping up I finally bopped Kobral with 39:30. I’m giving it a really long break now but I will be back to get 38 in June, Shasta better watch himself ;)
How much time did I waste? Like six months? LOL
Was it worth it? Of course. It’s not my favorite speedgame for nothing.

100%: 47:57 -> 43:38 (2018/10/15)
This category is probably my favorite out of all of the ones I’ve run. Good length, lots of hard tricks, and NiDL’s physics = Kreygasm. The 47:57 I had at the beginning of the year was basically just a one-off thing I did in early December after I was done with any%, but I started taking the category more seriously in May after I burnt out of any%. I wanted to start a bop project where I would work my way up to 2nd place, but I ended up falling just short (again) at 44:02, since already burning out of any% made me also burn out of 100% pretty quick. I put the category aside for a while, but came back to it in October, and with my improved skill completed the entirety of the bop project in a single run. That run is probably my proudest run ever. My current PB is a small 2 second improvement that I got a few days later, but nothing compares to that legendary 43:40.
How much time did I waste? Around six or seven weeks
Was it worth it? ONE HUNDRED PERCENT WORTH IT BAYBEE

Meta Knightmare: 33:28 IGT - 2018/05/29
A lot of people don’t like this category because the physics are wack, MK’s hitbox is humongous, and you only have three health, but once you understand it it’s actually a ton of fun. MK has a really diverse kit in this game and the fact that you don’t have to manage points sets it above MKU in my opinion. It’s really pure in that way. I actually started seriously running this category on GBA4iOS while I was in China, and so when I got home I immediately PBd by something like two minutes because I didn’t have to worry about misinputs anymore. I eventually got 33:28 but I wasn’t local recording and my internet died, so in trying to beat it again I actually ended up getting the exact same time again which I find pretty hilarious. I’m not sure I’ll ever go back to this though, some of the more advanced strats are really hard and Scrub basically killed the category.
How much time did I waste? Three weeks
Was it worth it? I’d say so

Powerless: 59:41 -> 55:19 (2018/06/04)
Meme category that’s heavily RNG dependent. I’m never touching it again, only reason I PB’d by so much is because my 59:41 is from when I sucked at the game lol. I also lost multiple runs to accidental swallows so that’s fun. Shoutouts to UFO room.
How much time did I waste? Like two days
Was it worth it? ehhhhh

Boss Endurance: 4:27 -> 3:43 IGT [WR] (2018/09/30)
So Rox claims to have like four times faster than this and while I do believe him, no vid no did :^]]]]
How much time did I waste? Too much
Was it worth it? RNG MEGALEE

MK 100%: 39:31 IGT - 2018/09/17
Literally a one off thing that I didn’t even save the video for lol
How much time did I waste? 39:31
Was it worth it? probably not

Floatless any% and 100%: 44:58, 51:34
yeah I dunno, the concept is a good one, but literally having to redo entire levels if you get hit once and lose your ability is not fun. I probably won’t ever return to these.
How much time did I waste? Probably like two weeks cause I routed everything myself
Was it worth it? In hindsight, not really.

World Map RTA: 41.40
I’m only putting this here cause snipr said to
How much time did I waste? two minutes
Was it worth it? no

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Multiple game runs

“Kirby Nightmare in Flagship” Trilogy: 1:57:48 - 2018/12/13
I knew that Dewott had done this once for a while but for some reason the thought never crossed my mind to do a run myself, even after I started learning Squeak, but then Snipr wanted to race it so we did. I got a 2:05 to start and then did another run like a month later once I was actually decent at Squeak, where I got a 2:02. Then in December, right before I had to start studying for exams, I was fully derusted in KatAM so I decided to give it one last shot. The run I got ended up surpassing all my expectations and I’m pretty sure I’ve killed the category for a long time. I got a pretty good KNiDL (40:46), a really good KatAM by my standards (30:26), and a good squeak (46:28). The entire run was less than three minutes off my sum of PBs which is crazy. I’m done with this category, it’s time to add KSSU and move on to GBA/DS.
How much time did I waste? Three days
Was it worth it? Definitely, multiple game runs are a lot of fun. Sub 2:45 for GBA/DS next (beat MWW being the definition for KSSU)

GBA/DS 400%: 5:55:27 - 2018/12/21
I did this run after I finished my last exam for the semester. It ended up being kind of a trainwreck but I’d say it was still worth it lol. Nightmare in Dream Land wasn’t great, I made two routing mistakes that cost me a minute each in Amazing Mirror, and Super Star Ultra was just awful. I tried to use the same mirroring software that I’d used for phone streams in the past for SSU, but for some reason the stream was delayed by minutes, I lost five minutes trying to fix it (I couldn’t), and the viewing experience was a meme. The only thing decent in this run was the 1:09 Squeak and the fact that I still somehow got sub 6 LOL, but despite all the things that went wrong I’ll still definitely do this again. Next Christmas when I’m not awful at KatAM and KSSU, and I'll use emu so KSSU is watchable ;)
How much time did I waste? Half a day spent in my basement
Was it worth it? eh yeah it’s just an annual thing LOL