Speedrunning is a gloriously varied pursuit. Some take a matter of seconds—but one challenge has just been beaten that took thousands of hours.
Runner Piotr Delgado “TheMexicanRunner” Kusielczuk has beaten a challenge that has eluded him for years, finally beating every single NES game ever released.
That meant he had to play through all 714 games ever released for the NES, including some with no obvious progression or way to win. Everything from Kid Klown in Night Mayor World, to Genghis Khan, to Dynowarz: Destruction of Spondylus.
The feat took him over 3435 hours—that’s over 900 total days of play. He wrapped up the run with Super Mario Bros 3, calling it’s closing soundtrack “the best ending music in a video game ever.”
Though it fits the definition of speedrunning in that the challenge is to complete the game, speed was not really on TheMexicanRunner’s mind. He just needed to get through these games—which weren’t always the most entertaining. No one wants to play seven 25-year-old baseball simulators.
Whether anyone will ever repeat the feat remains to be seen. If they do and beat his time, we will see if TheMexicanRunner is crazy enough to try and regain his record.