306

306 World Record Paste
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So I managed to get the 306 WR the other day. New time of 4:38:27 beats Riz's old record of 4:39:51 by almost a minute and a half. Before I get too much into the run itself, I just want to reflect a bit on how crazy this has all been. As recently as a year ago, I never imagined that I'd be able to be good enough at all 3 hundo categories to get this sort of time. My first 306% run was in December of 2014, and was probably about 6 hours long.

I started off by running DKC2. I chose 102% because I've always been something of a completionist, and because it hadn't yet been in a GDQ event and I hoped maybe to run it there some day. Then the Donkey Festival came along, and being only able to really do DKC2 motivated me to learn the other two games. I managed to do that just in time to participate in that 306% race in Dec 2014.

So here I am, over two years later, with the 306% World Record. I was on the couch for the AGDQ 2016 DKC2 102% run. I helped organize the trilogy relay for AGDQ 2017. And I've improved enough at all 3 games to have the record. And we're right on the verge of another Donkey Festival, the event that inspired me to learn all three games to begin with. Feels like everything has come full-circle for me with these runs.

I say all this as a thanks to all of you - thank you for the support over the years. What a crazy journey it's been. I'm streaming on twitch for you guys - it's not about me. I'd be happy to play video games just by myself, but I wanted to join this community because I loved the vision of using games for good. I loved the idea of connecting with other people who have similar interests. And I want to use my stream to bring hope to people. To inject a little positivity into people's days. Hopefully I'm able to do that.

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Now, as for the run itself....

DKC :   53:54
DKC2: 1:34:46
DKC3: 2:09:45

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0VlELKZjAw

It's a little bittersweet. Yes, I have the record. But it is definitely not as good as it could be. DKC was decent, but had a really sloppy W5. DKC2 was generally sloppy as well, with a couple really bad deaths that shouldn't have happened and the backup zip. DKC3 I still just cannot seem to play as well as I should. It made for a pretty dramatic finish, since I was basically hovering right around my PB for the entire run. I even ended up with a DKC3 PB by 3 seconds! Yet I somehow am still not happy with that, since I should be about 3-4 minutes faster, given my current skill level. But my goals to get the record were 55 DKC, 1:35 DKC2, and 2:10 DKC3 - and I did just what I needed to do.

(The best moment was when I hit Bird TuT for the first time ever in a run!!!..... and then *immediately* jumped out of it)

I also want to just take this moment to call attention to how *good* Riz's run was. Even though this time is faster, whatever run he had was still waaaaayyyy better. For him to get the time he did in 2012, using the strats from that era, is absolutely amazing. The records for all 3 games have dropped by almost 4-5 minutes in that time. Pause for a moment to appreciate that.

But as much as I want to minimize this, I shouldn't. A record is a record, and I'm still capable of more. That nobody else has improved it in since then (even though plenty of others are capable of this) shows just how daunting this challenge is. This isn't a normal run where you can just do a bunch of RTA attempts and grind it down to something really good. Basically, what it asks of you is to do 3 no-reset runs of the DKC games and stack them back-to-back. Each game, of course, being incredibly reset prone, with plenty of spots over the course of each that can cost you minutes. In the end, this is a hard run. It's a major test of endurance, and you have to be more forgiving of your mistakes than in normal runs. And I still managed it. (with a bloody stump of a thumb, no less)


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So what's next?

Well, I would like to improve this. I think now that the pressure of getting a WR is off, I should be able to do so without too much trouble. I wanted the record just to say I held one in DKC at some point, and this was the only one within my ability to get - sort of my crowning achievement in Donkey before I move on to something else. I know I didn't *need* this to validate my time spent playing these games, but it's still a nice feather in my cap all the same. I expect someone else will take it soon (v0oid, Skyler, Stew, or eazinn come to mind), and that will be fine. "Former WR holder" is still a good title. ;)

DKC1 is what I've been enjoying the most, so I'm going to work on that. I think I can get sub-50 with updated strats, and I really, really, enjoy playing the game. So I will.

Donkey Festival is next weekend, and I'll be doing DKC2 any% and 102%, DKC1 all-stages and 101%, and DKC3 any%.

I expect I'll try to cut those few minutes off of 103%, just because it bothers me that I haven't yet. sub-2:06 seems like a good goal that shouldn't take a lot of grinding.

I'm running DKC2 102% in SNES Super Stars in March, so I might put a bit of work in to still try and get a deathless run and 1:31 in that game.

But regardless of all of that, I'm thinking after March I'll be done with DKC. I'll still do the occasional race, but it's time for me to move on to something else. I really want to learn Banjo-Kazooie 100%, and will probably start to do so within the next few weeks. I want to get better at all the Mega Man games (goal of eventually doing an all-6 NES run). I want to learn SMRPG. And I want to improve my Snoopy's Grand Adventure records.

Lots to be excited about.

Thank you all again for everything.