Zelda's Second Quest Gets Super Speed Run
The gigantic Speed Demos Archive continues to add a number of quality speed runs, all done on official hardware and with fairly stringent rules, and the latest is a second quest run on The Legend Of Zelda for the NES.
As the Wikipedia page for Zelda explains: "The player could play the "second quest" either by completing the first quest of the game, or by entering "ZELDA" as the character's name... The basic overworld map is slightly changed, but the locations and layout of the dungeons are completely different, and most of the items and secrets are in different places than before."
Well, Robert 'Trebor' Nobles has completed this version in 44 minutes and 33 seconds, and without using the 'Up & A' in-game warping which returns the player to the start, as the news page explains. Robert's notes on the game also explain : "I was so relieved when I saw the time was sub-45 [minutes]; that was my original goal. Of course, like any good runner, I'm not completely satisfied, so look for me to improve this run sometime. I still work on it on a daily basis, but I wanted this to get put up so I wouldn't feel like I've accomplished nothing." Nice - this is some hardcore playing.
Comments
Bisqwit's NESVideos is a far better place for older-game speed runs.
Posted by: 573 | February 27, 2006 5:09 AM
NESVideos are made with emulators, which SDA doesn't allow. Since most emulators allow you to do things not normally possible (i.e. slow the framerate down to 1 frame per second or press both left and right or up and down simultaniously or use savestates to replay a segment of video until you get it right) there really isn't too much to be that impressed by, although I will make an exception for the guy who beat Mega Man X and Mega Man X 2 at the same time with the same controller, that was awesome.
But just look at the rules and the explainations thereof; SDA has genuine speed runs done on original hardware, NESVideos are emulations. You'd be surprised at what holding Left+Right or Up+Down does to some games. Look at the obscenely fast runs of Zelda II and Zelda III. Link actually moves faster than the game does!
Posted by: OmegaWarrior | February 27, 2006 12:21 PM
You've obviously never did a speed run on either an emulator or console. It's a bitch either or way. But the speed runs on SDA are sloppy as hell. There are better speed runs that are on the original hardware out there -- though, the majority are Japanese.
Posted by: 573 | February 27, 2006 5:27 PM
Wow, I must be really tired -- my above comment is barely readable.
Posted by: 573 | February 27, 2006 5:30 PM
where is the 4th level in the second quest of zelda 1
Posted by: Kathy | December 4, 2007 9:54 AM