->"VideoGame/{{Iji}} [[RocketJump throws herself]] into the following in-game cutscene with great haste. No, [[MissionControl his]] life was not worth the 15 seconds to prevent that from happening. This is a speedrun bro!"
-->--Daniel Remar's ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' [[http://speeddemosarchive.com/Iji.html speedrun]].

A playthrough of a game with the intent of completing it as fast as possible for the purposes of entertainment and competition.

There are two types of speedruns: "regular" and "tool-assisted".
* '''Regular''' aka '''Realtime''' - Consists of a player sitting down with an actual copy of the game and playing it normally, using only whatever features are available on the original hardware. The clock starts ticking at the beginning of the game and doesn't stop until the ending is achieved[[hottip:*:The exact timing varies between games and even between speedrunning communities; some begin at the moment the game boots and others the moment the player pushes start, for example]].
** Some regular runs are '''Segmented'''. Each segment consists of a level or group of levels. Instead of playing the entire game in one sitting, the player is allowed to get the best time possible for each segment, retrying each segment as much as desired.
** Sometimes, [[{{emulation}} emulators]] are used, but only for the purpose of actually playing a game as opposed to using any of the available tools, aside from possibly any recording functions they may have. For segmented runs, some players may only use save states between segments as a method of saving time.
* '''Tool-assisted''' - Use {{emulation}} to play the game frame-by-frame to create the optimal time possible, often exploiting glitches and manipulating random events along the way.

In both versions, SequenceBreaking, route planning, and tight play are the key. Exploitation of GoodBadBugs may come into play, particularly in tool-assisted runs, which can make a game's protagonist look like a RealityWarper. The notion of completing a game as fast as possible is frequently an example of EmergentGameplay (excluding those games where speed is the whole point, such as racing games).

There are also three subcategories: [[HundredPercentCompletion "100% run"]] (where the player tries to collect everything in the game as quickly as possible), "{{minimalist run}}s" or "low%" (where the player must skip all non essential items while still completing the game as quickly as possible), and the "pure speed run", also known as "any%" or "fastest time" (where the player skips as much of the game as is needed to achieve the best time).

Speedruns are usually created as an attempt to show off one's skills, while still providing an entertaining video. (Most speedrun compilation sites have a requirement that the run must be reasonably entertaining, and under a certain length [usually 7-8 hours, with many being just a few minutes], to be accepted.) They are ''not'' for people who want to enjoy the plot or explore the world. Due to the many methods used in speedruns, and overall design of different games, It is not a good judge of how long a game is for the average player at all; for instance, there could be [[GoodBadBugs exploitable bugs]] that are only possible to pull off in a Tool Assisted run, and others that can be done in realtime with only a great deal of dedication, skill, and luck. A specific example of this: some Tool Assisted runs use glitches that require hitting left and right at the same time, or up and down at the same time; those ones are basically impossible on any standard unmodified controller. The optimal path can be radically changed at every step based on whether or not these bugs are used.

Some series that are popular for speedrunning are ''{{Quake}}'' (the series which arguably started competitive speedrunning), ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'', ''{{Metroid}}'', ''SuperMarioBros'', ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'', and ''VideoGame/MegaMan''.

One of the most popular "regular" speedrun archive sites is [[http://www.speeddemosarchive.com Speed Demos Archive]]. For tool-assisted, technically perfect runs, try [[http://tasvideos.org/ TAS Videos]]. For speedruns and speedrun races performed live for your viewing pleasure, head over to [[http://www.speedrunslive.com SpeedRunsLive]].

(Note that comparing the times of unassisted and tool-assisted speedruns has a small caveat. The timing of unassisted run generally starts from when the player first gains control of the playable character; any time spent in the game startup screens and menus before the gameplay starts is not counted into the length of the run. However, tool-assisted speedruns are counted from console power-on. This may add several seconds to the run's length that wouldn't be added in an unassisted run. This can cause some unassisted runs to seem closer to the time of the tool-assisted equivalent than they really are. The world records of Super Mario Bros are good examples of this.)

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!!Tropes associated with speed runs:
* AntiClimaxBoss: Most bosses turn into this.
* DungeonBypass
* GoodBadBugs
* LuckManipulationMechanic: Speedrunners find everything they can, intentional or not [[hottip:*:though keep in mind that unintentional examples should not be added to that trope's article]], as long as it ultimately saves time. [=TAS=]ers can make their own luck.
* MentalTimeTravel (for TAS players)
* NotTheIntendedUse: Most tricks used in a TAS run are physically impossible to pull off without the use of an emulator [[hottip:note:this can mean frame-perfect timing that real players could never pull off, or actually impossible actions for a standard controller such as pressing up and down at the same time]], which of course the game designers never predicted.
* PauseScumming: for TAS players; some games are still active when paused allowing for random number manipulation, or a meta example of rapidly pausing the emulator. Depending on the game, some realtime runs can also make use of this, such as frame-buffering techniques in OcarinaOfTime or the infamous pause damage glitch in {{VideoGame/MegaMan}}.
* SequenceBreaking
* TookALevelInBadass: Characters going through a speedrun often gain a reputation of breaking the laws of physics, and sometimes, even the universe.
* WeDoTheImpossible (for TAS players)

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!!Examples (all links external):

* {{Doom}} has a large speedrunning community and a large range of different categories, from the standard affairs such as UV-Speed, NM-Speed, UV-Max and NM-100S, and then absolutely crazy challenges such as UV-Tyson, where you have to do a UV-Max run, but with the restriction that you can only attack with the fist, berserk fist, chainsaw and pistol (and telefrags) - seems reasonably challenging at first, until you realise it also includes levels such as [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I7HhZfiVEg Tower of Babel]]...
* [[http://tasvideos.org/668M.html This run]] of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' is one of the most famous tool-assisted speedruns of all time. When it first started making the rounds it was not initially advertised as being tool-assisted, which led many gamers to decry it as "fake". It has since been [[http://tasvideos.org/1590M.html obsoleted]] by more than 35 seconds, but is still a good example of its type.
** Speaking of SMB 3, it's not only possible, but very easy for a moderately skilled player to finish the game in approximately twenty minutes if they know what they're doing. It requires the player to beat the first three levels of the game, the first mini-castle, and six more levels (in World 8). Not dying helps, but twenty minutes is if you ''take your time.''
** Then there's the [[http://tasvideos.org/1778M.html quad-run TAS]] of all four Franchise/SuperMarioBros NES games ([[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros original]], [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels Lost Levels]], [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2 2]] and [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3 3]]) with a single controller input (similar to the Mega Man example below), and it's still faster than the above-mentioned [=SMB3=] run by Morimoto.
* [[http://speeddemosarchive.com/quake/demos/NR/all_1950.dz The nightmare difficulty]] for ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'', beaten in just under 20 minutes (a world record). ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' is one of the most-run games of all time, so the route and performance is extremely optimized.
** Even better, a run a few years back smashing that to pieces with a Nightmare run in [[http://www.fileplanet.com/dl/dl.asp?qdq/qdqdivx.avi 12:23]]. The run is a segmented run, however, and while still talented, is far better than could be expected of a straight playthrough.
** That version too has been updated to 11:30, but it hasn't been published yet (except in raw demo form). [[http://speeddemosarchive.com/quake/projects/qdqwavp2/ http://speeddemosarchive.com/quake/projects/qdqwavp2/]]
* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' HundredPercentCompletion in [[http://web.archive.org/web/20031202174746/http://planetquake.com/sda/mp/ 1 hour, 37 minutes.]] Has since been obsoleted, but this run (which was [[http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/11/10/0655226&tid=213&tid=10 Slashdotted]]) brought speedrunning into the mainstream.
** The above is just one product of the very active ''{{Metroid}}'' speedrunning community. Among other things, every 2D game has now been beaten in less than an hour (''Metroid II: Return of Samus'' was the last to fall). Here are a couple of the all-time classic runs:
** Red Scarlet's 100% ''Super Metroid'' run in fifty-five minutes, a work of art that stood proudly on Speed Demos Archive for seven years, has been replaced by [[http://speeddemosarchive.com/SuperMetroid.html#100PAL Christopher Hill's time of forty-eight minutes]].
** Biospark's 1% ''Metroid Fusion'' run in [[http://speeddemosarchive.com/fusion.html#SS1 49 minutes]] with no saves. In 1% conditions, one hit is fatal for most of the game; doing this in a ''single-segment'' run is mind-bogglingly hard.
* [[http://www.archive.org/details/Halo2SingleSegment A no-death world record run]] of ''{{Halo 2}}''. Published in the Guiness Book of World Records.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}} Infinity'', it is quite possible to skip 4 levels in the level Electric Sheep. A speed run video is in the making.
* [[http://www.archive.org/details/Mario64_SS_10132 70 stars and a defeated Bowser in just over one hour]] in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqFFAdO4VRA Here's a run with 16 stars!]]
*** The description of the [[http://tasvideos.org/2016M.html tool-assisted run]] which collects exactly zero stars covers the history quite succinctly:
-->"At first there were 70 stars because Bowser demanded it. Then there were 16 stars because MIPS the rabbit demanded it. Then there was 1 star because Bowser's Sub demanded it. Now there are none because the viewers are impatient and demanded the game be quicker."
*** Someone has managed to pull off [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8I7mYVpCvY 0 stars unassisted]].
** But [[http://tasvideos.org/2208M.html collecting 120 stars]] using tool assistance has produced some very interesting results and glitches. All that in just over 80 minutes.
* A rare example of an RPG speedrun that actually deserves the word "speed": ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 1}}'' in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX45fwvF0Lg nine minutes and nineteen seconds.]]
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' got [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88zViKk7l3I thrashed in seven minutes]] thanks to ingenious (ab)use of the game's fast-travel powers.
** There's also [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_fFApDyki4 this speedrun,]] utterly demolishing the previous video's time in 4 minutes and 19 seconds.
* ''MirrorsEdge'' has this as a game mode. It even has achievements for it, and features the nigh-impossible task of completing the second level, Jacknife, in under 11 minutes. This mission takes 20 minutes on the first try. [[ThatOneAchievement Have fun!]]
* This has understandably become almost a sport in the ''SonicTheHedgehog'' series, with the record time for the entirety of ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' being 18 minutes and 12 seconds, and ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles'' being almost completely broken by tool-assisted speedruns.
** Especially interesting for the first ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' game (and it's UpdatedRerelease), since the combination of three dimensions and lots of GoodBadBugs has lead to some rather creative shortcuts.
** Sonic 1 on the Genesis/Mega Drive can be beaten in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qCxlls4uqY less than 21 minutes]], real time. Green Hill Zone Act 3 in particular is pretty funny. The huge time bonus for clearing an act in less than 30 seconds is a factor; for a couple acts it's faster to avoid it.
** Starting with [[{{Sonic 4}} Sonic 4 Episode 1]], if a game has achievements, [[OnceAnEpisode one of those achievements]] will require completing a 1-minute speed run of the game's first Act.
* In ''VideoGame/CaveStory'', the final [[BonusLevelOfHell Sacred Grounds]] level includes an on-screen timer (if you find a special item), which has the sole purpose of encouraging people to do speed runs. Various bonus pictures are shown if the player completes this within a certain amount of time. Despite the [[NintendoHard excessive amount of enemies and hazards]] and several gates that take five full seconds to open, people have been able to complete the level in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tarGSo9INI mere minutes]].
** ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' also includes a timer for speedruns, and when new features are added, the author usually makes sure they won't affect speedruns. For example, skipping the fight with Krotera (possible from version 1.3 onwards) forces Iji to give Vateleika (offscreen) a ten-minute head-start, so speedrunners will fight instead.
* It's possible (if you know the solution to the final two puzzles) to skip just about everything in ''{{Myst}}''. You can [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIRtutbSwak start a new game and be watching the ending]] in under a minute. Naturally this kills most of the replay value to the game, which is why the game is the only one in the Myst series to get an UpdatedRerelease which adds some new stuff (but it doesn't change the way to get to the ending, unfortunately). Later games in the series actually required you to do the whole game.
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'' was dominated in a single sitting of [[http://speeddemosarchive.com/GrandTheftAutoVC.html just under two hours]], skipping almost half of what would normally be considered obligatory story missions and sidequests.
** The same guy has also done ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' in [[http://speeddemosarchive.com/GrandTheftAutoSA.html six hours nine minutes]]. Though that wasn't in a single sitting.
* Speedrunning is prominent in ''Zelda'' games as well. [[http://zeldaspeedruns.com/leaderboards/oot/100 Fastest 100% speedrun]] of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''? [[http://www.twitch.tv/zfg1/b/352323768 5 hours, 14 minutes, 59 seconds]]. [[http://zeldaspeedruns.com/leaderboards/oot/any Fastest speedrun]], period? '''''[[http://www.twitch.tv/pydoyks/c/1760244 21 minutes, 18 seconds.]]'''''
** 3 (out of 4) runners completed the game [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC1pu9OKXR0 LIVE in around 75 minutes]]. The 4th failed on the last form of the final boss.
** The fastest MST time is [[http://www.twitch.tv/pydoyks/c/1740807 2:11:05 by Pydoyks]], MST stands for "Medallions, Stones, Trials", which means beating all dungeons.
** The tool-assisted run is even crazier. [[http://tasvideos.org/3826S.html 18 minutes 46 seconds]].
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', meanwhile, has been completed in just over 3 hours by [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egqhy_AHcpY Paraxade]].
* Using a save file from ''Saga Frontier II'', it's possible to get an extra weapon in ''LegendOfMana'' and break the rest of the battles wide open. This weapon can allow you to beat the [[http://speeddemosarchive.com/LegendOfMana.html#SSDragon final boss in 8 seconds.]]
* A popular activity among Rubik's Cube fans is "speedcubing," or solving the cube as fast as possible. The world record for a [=3x3x3=] cube stands at 5.66 seconds.
** And there's yet [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=DE&hl=de&v=7vrk0yp9LOk another way]] to approach this puzzle.
** There is also a [[http://tasvideos.org/1505M.html tool-assisted run]] of Rubik's World for the Nintendo [=DS=] that beats the world records for 2x2x2, 3x3x3, and 4x4x4 cubes.
* Sport stacking is a similar activity, in which you stack cups into a specified stack as fast as possible.
* ''KingdomOfLoathing'''s NewGamePlus style of play allows it to be one of the few [=MMORPGs=] that allows for speed runs - from level 1 to defeating the Naughty Sorceress, in as few adventures as possible. Players compete, share notes, and obsess fiercely over shaving adventures off of the top time. A truly speedy speedrun usually involves skills gained from 30+ ascensions, ultra-rare or archaic items, plans mapped out well in advance, and [[BribingYourWayToVictory $20 or more donated to the game.]]
** Hardcore speedruns remove the advantages of items and donations, but still require permed skills from many Hardcore ascensions, as well as tighter planning. Luck doesn't hurt, either.
*** They only remove the advantage from donation equipment, you still need the familiars and skills just as much if not even more so.
** [[HarderThanHard Bad Moon]] speedruns do put everybody on a pretty equal footing, by temporarily stripping you of those familiars and skills. There's a guide out there for reliably doing one in 12-14 days. (To compare, a 1-day speedrun has been done in regular play, though luck was a significant factor, and there are people who consistently do 4-5 day runs in Hardcore.)
* ''{{Half-Life}}'' in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTUOn2EUFhk Half an Hour]] uses the "exploiting glitches" method, and also uses such tricks as trapping a scientist in a door to stop it from closing all the way and using grenades to power jumps.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzPSa5jbQHw This Half-Life 2 speedrun]] is notable in that... well, just read the comments. It exploits glitches just like Half an Hour, including bonking people with objects to make them teleport, and jumping off items you drop and grab below you to fly. Probably the best part is flying over the entire Ravenholm minus the mine area in 30 seconds, never seeing Father Grigori. A similarly wacko bit is the "Water Hazard" chapter; Gordon ditches the speedboat halfway through and glitches his way through a few miles of radioactive goo just so he won't have to wait for [=NPCs=] to attach a gun to the boat, and when the climactic battle against the chopper begins, [[AntiClimax he leaps over a dam and runs away to the next area.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania}}'' games have generally been very good for speedruns that go ridiculously faster than an average playthrough, but even the series' general high level of breakage in runs was dashed to pieces with [[http://tasvideos.org/1899M.html this]] TAS run beating [[CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance Harmony of Dissonance's]] Maxim mode in under 23 seconds.
** [[http://nicoviewer.net/sm15443275 This]] run shows that it is possible for a very good player to complete Maxim mode in less than a minute with a different route and knowledge of the game's quirks.
** [[http://tasvideos.org/1759M.html This]] ''[[CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow Aria of Sorrow]]'' run demonstrates the power of luck manipulation in tool-assisted speedrunning; by creating a speedrun frame-by-frame, it's possible to ensure that the RandomNumberGod always gives you the correct number. As a result, this run completes the game while collecting ''all 120 of the souls'' -- normally very rarely occuring random drops -- in 24:56!
* [[http://speeddemosarchive.com/GhostsnGoblins.html Here's]] both loops of the notorious NintendoHard game ''Ghosts N' Goblins'' being completed in just under 23 minutes. And [[http://speeddemosarchive.com/SuperGhoulsNGhosts.html here's]] its Super Nintendo sequel--again, both loops--in just over 42 minutes ''on its hardest difficulty''.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' actually rewarded the player for doing a speedrun. Getting to a certain area in the final dungeon in less than 12 hours will net you an InfinityPlusOneSword.
* The ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' series is also notable for speedrunning. [[http://tasvideos.org/1686M.html As seen here]], assisting with tools can make ''1'' unrecognizable from its former self.
** There seems to be a small trend where people try to see how fast they can beat more than one game at the same time using the same controller. [[http://tasvideos.org/380M.html Here's a TAS]] that features a guy beating ''VideoGame/MegaManX 1'' and ''X2'' in about 40 minutes and [[http://tasvideos.org/871M.html another]] where two guys beat ''''VideoGame/MegaMan3 through 6'' in about the same amount of time.
*** The Mega Man X/X2 run has been obsoleted by [[http://tasvideos.org/1894M.html this]], a HundredPercentCompletion of Mega Man X, X2, AND X3 using one controller's input.
** Time attacks on ''9'' are pretty impressive too [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JMneYgaUGg as seen here]]. Due to weapon balancing, every weapon comes in handy even outside the boss fights, some of which are used more often and others less.
** ''Mega Man 10'' features time attack leaderboards and the ability to view the replays of any of the top ten times from any stage (or the whole game) from inside the game itself.
*** [[http://tasvideos.org/1812M.html Now has its own TAS.]] The first TAS for a current-generation console on TAS Videos, and it's for [[{{Retraux}} a game designed to be a throwback to the NES.]]
* There's a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0Szb6X5WqI&fmt=18 TAS]] for NES ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}''[='=]s A-Type mode. No, your eyes aren't broken. I said "A-Type."
** Not as unusual as you might think. The goal in "Endless Mode" speedruns is usually to get the score to max out or "roll over".
** Many modes of the ''TetrisTheGrandMaster'' series, on the otherhand, ''encourage'' speedrunning. Top-notch runs include [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQRTFAwx0gI this sub-9'00" run of TGM 1]][[hottip:* :to compare, the time requirement for GM rank is 13'30", and that's just one of the requirements]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjwaHrYRCUs a completion of TGM2+ 's Death mode in 5'08"]].
** Some unofficial ''Tetris'' clones are optimized to allow you to play at breakneck speeds, as opposed to most official ''Tetris'' games that lack a "hard drop" feature or have limitations that slow down gameplay. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBsitGx-K60 The record for 40 Lines mode is a mere 20.28 seconds.]]
** [[http://tasvideos.org/1398M.html How about 200 lines in 1:37, including the menus.]] On the official Tetris DS, tool assisted, of course.
* TheSpeedGamers are a group of people who perform live, consecutive speedruns of all or most of the games in a given series. Their speedrun marathons occur about once a month and are usually used to raise money for charity. You can check when their next marathon will be on their website.
* Instances in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' sometimes have quests requiring you to finish them or reach a certain point within a time limit, meaning that Speedruns are an actual programmed part of gameplay.
** Not just the quests: in some of the earlier instances, most notably the Scarlet Monastery, respawns are a problem for groups that take their time, especially in the Cathedral wing, where patrols can pop up at inconvenient times. And the deity of your choice help you if you all die on the final boss, chances are all the mooks you killed on the way [[UnexplainedRecovery got better]].
** The first raid instance of vanilla World of Warcraft saw a bit of a speedrun war break out. A Norwegian guild posted a speedrun of Molten Core being clared in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXNeUxN1oT8 1 hour and 35 minutes]]. Another guild saw that and decided to do it one faster, clearing it in 1 hour and 22 minutes. Cue the Norwegians to up the ante, reducing it to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rUim7uPdPM 1 hour and 10 minutes]]. And this when 1 hour was considered reasonable for clearing the first two bosses (1 hour being respawn time of the trash leading up to it).
** More recently, several achievements exist for completing all or a certain part of a dungeon within a time limit, such as getting from the first boss of Heroic Oculus to the end within 20 minutes.
** Challenge Mode is entirely based around this. Completing the dungeons within the time limit will unlock special rewards, such as mounts and armor that can be transmogrified.
* On the topic of [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRoleplayingGame MMO]]s, ''WarhammerOnline'' often has fast respawn timers on PlayerVersusEnvironment enemies, good if there's competition for said monsters, but you'd better hurry up and grab/kill what you need before they're back if you're 1) alone and 2) squishy. A respawned monster can easily take out a [[SquishyWizard Bright Wizard or Sorcerer]] who's already in a fight.
* ''{{Eversion}}'' switches to a time attack mode after you clear all the worlds. Additionally, the game starts doing a self-parody of [[spoiler:the creepy messages that sometimes replace the "READY!" screen in worlds X-7 and X-8, with messages like "GO!", "HURRY UP", "GAME ON", and "READY! TO RACE"]].
* ''AceCombat'' has various {{Scrappy Level}}s where you have to take your plane through an enclosed area. So, naturally, people took the fastest plane available and went in with maximum power. Like taking "Greased Lightning" from ''2'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3NPNSsj52w in the X-29]] or "Aces" from ''5'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssmDlA8AM0s in the MiG-31]].
** One runner took it upon himself to run the PS2 games in one sitting (on Very Easy, but still!), beating 04 in 2:29:30, Zero in 1:20:38, and 5 in 3:56:54.
* ''PunchOut'' attracts many speedrunners, as the mechanics of the game (specifically, the patterns and weaknesses of the enemy boxers) allow for much probing of the system. ''Super Punch-Out'' in particular, due to the minor differences in system compared to the previous games, has had speedrunners get times on nearly every opponent down to ten seconds or ''less''. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_p9uqOmh5c Nick Bruiser, the final boss, in 9.98 seconds]]. (There's a faster one on Website/YouTube, but its legitimacy is questionable.)
* The ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' franchise also attracts a variety of speedrunners. Some examples include:
** [[http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=D2FA49DFD3C6175D&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL A no-save Big Boss emblem run]] of ''Metal Gear Solid'' in 1:49:01
** [[http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AF82972D76CA38F7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL A no-save Big Boss run]] of ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' in 1:37:39
** [[http://speeddemosarchive.com/MetalGearSolid3.html#EEFH a Foxhound-rank run]] of ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' on European Extreme in 1:25:54
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PCmcohwi40&feature=PlayList&p=0EC492BF689AAF0B&index=0&playnext=1 A new-game Big Boss emblem run]] of ''Metal Gear Solid 4'' in 1:39:03 and [[http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1F351D24D2370357&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL a clear-game Big Boss emblem run in 1:34:13]]
** And there's even a [[http://tasvideos.org/2003M.html BIGBOSS tool-assisted speedrun of MGS1]] in 1:31:49.
* ''GrandChase'' features this as part of its series of PlayerVersusEnvironment quests. It's not that hard, as you're given 15 minutes to finish a dungeon.
* ''VideoGame/{{Braid}}'' features this built into the game itself - in addition to having several timed segments of the game with par time and leaderboards, getting the [[LastLousyPoint final achivement]], "Speed Run", involves completing the entire game in under 45 minutes. (Including the ending.)
* ''[[SpyroTheDragon Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage/Gateway to Glimmer]]'' has an interesting double jump glitch. With that glitch, speed runners can complete the game with 0 orbs or 40 orbs and only pay Moneybags thrice.
* Unlocking one of the challenge rooms in ''{{Spelunky}}'' requires beating the game in 10 minutes or less. The game can be [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD7uokR9d2w beaten much faster than that]], though that takes at least as much luck as skill.
* Reaching Scenario 28 in ''SuperRobotWarsCompact'' under 250 turns unlocks Shin Getter Robo. Also, if you clear a scenario in less than 11 turns, you can give a skill to one of your pilots.
* Speaking of short tool-assisted speedruns, there's the entire ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Pokémon Yellow]]'' speedrun with 152 Pokémon caught within less than 90 seconds and with mere seconds of in-game time and by throwing away entire floors. [[http://tasvideos.org/1860M.html Honored for their exploits indeed.]]
** For a longer (but still pretty incoherent) run, [[http://tasvideos.org/1700M.html Pokémon Red has been TASed in 41 minutes.]] Game? What game?
** Or how about catching all 151 Pokémon in Blue (properly this time) in [[http://tasvideos.org/1840M.html 3 hours 20 minutes?]]
* [[http://tasvideos.org/1285M.html This]] tool-assisted ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' speedrun uses such a heavy ScriptBreaking, that the story of the game makes no sense, verging straight into full-on MindScrew.
** [[http://tasvideos.org/2047M.html This]] tool-assisted run skips even that, reaching the ending in ''three and a half minutes'' by abusing sub-frame resets to turn save corruption into a science.
* NASA's [[http://store.steampowered.com/app/39000/ free game]] ''MoonbaseAlpha'' is pretty-much a whole little multiplayer game built around the concept. The team of players has 25 minutes to repair the damaged life support systems of the lunar colony.
* The ultimate in luck manipulation, ''KingsBounty'' in [[http://tasvideos.org/1145M.html under 10 seconds,]] with just 0.3 seconds of actual gameplay.
* ''JaggedAlliance 2'', a single player campaign that usually takes days to play through, in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osQkMLquCoM less than seven and a half minutes]].
* Even visual novels can get a speedrun. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuN4395r_Oo Here]] is a speedrun of trying to play though ''{{Narcissu}}'' as quickly as possible. Your tpm (tears per minute) counter will be very high.
* Thought that a game based off FamilyFeud would be without a TAS? [[http://tasvideos.org/1248M.html Here's a (NSFW) one that proves how]] [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilarious those can be.]]
** As it turns out the text parser in that game is pretty lax. As long as ''almost'' all the letters are there and they're ''kinda'' in the right order, you're golden.
* Board games are not immune: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHJkTz6Ej3U&NR=1&feature=fvwp Fastest possible game of Monopoly]]. Thirty seconds. Seriously.
** The fastest speed run of all time (On SDA) is actually [[http://speeddemosarchive.com/Clue.html Clue]], coming in at a time of three seconds. By the time you finish reading this, you could have already watched the run in its entirety.
** The speedrun of the PC version is now the fastest, clocking in at ''[[http://dl.speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Clue_PC_001 a mere second!]]''
* Some TAS runs get a bit ridiculous thanks to the ability to manipulate the game's memory ''directly'' to take the player right to the ending [[hottip:note:but [=TASsers=] can not just decide to alter the memory from the emulator; instead, they must find a glitch in the game that alters memory, then find a way to get that glitch to specifically change what needs to be changed to trigger the ending]]. Demonstrated to great effect in the current standing runs of Pokémon Yellow version ([[http://tasvideos.org/1123M.html 1:09.63]]), ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2'' ([[http://tasvideos.org/1886M.html 2:08.98]]), ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' ([[http://tasvideos.org/1945M.html 2:36.40]]) and ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'s Adventure'' ([[http://tasvideos.org/1947M.html 5:44.57]]).
** Then there's the ''other'' Pokémon Yellow run, [[http://tasvideos.org/2341M.html which takes it a step further...]]
* A 43-minute world record [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RkVkewooBU run]] of the original ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' (on Realistic difficulty) exploits a number of bugs and shortcuts (grenade jumping, skipping the entire first mission, glitching JC's weapons into a prison cell so he can retrieve them immediately afterwards, physics exploits, etc.) and the open-world nature of the game to get past situations that would stall most other players. The end result is that JC Denton skips most of the boss encounters, never deactivates his killswitch, has conversations with people he's never met before and blows himself up into LudicrousGibs right before hightailing it out of Area 51.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBuwNfsUTUQ This speedrun]] of {{Arcanum}} uses a lot of SequenceBreaking. It involves killing Stringy Pete, who is widely considered to be the most difficult fight in the game, within 4 minutes of starting the game.
* [[http://tasvideos.org/802M.html Here]] is a TAS run of the SNES game based on the BikerMiceFromMars show. Possibly the fastest we'll ever see Vincent go.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYCsp5CTkHs This]] ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' run must be seen to be believed. In just over nine minutes, the player skips straight to the end [[spoiler:[[GainaxEnding by getting attacked by a crow]]]]. They don't call them "Skip Sandwiches" for nothing...
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