Awesome Games Done Quick 2024 highlights

It’s time once again to share some highlights from my favorite cancer fundraiser of the year, Awesome Games Done Quick. This time around, the streaming telethon raised $2.51 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

Alas, my current madman barreling through Persona 5 Royal meant I didn’t watch as much ADGQ runs as I usually do, but I think you’ll find it didn’t impact being able to curate a hearty pile of interesting speedruns for you.

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Gyromite by Peanut Butter & JSR_ in 26:24

Okay, we’re getting the headliner in right off the bat. GDQ has always had special runs with alternate controller setups, but I would have to say Shiba% really tops them all. Even a well-known cat-lover like me can see something special and downright adorable in Peanut Butter’s performance.

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Super Mario Maker 2 by CarlSagan42

While I would be happy with another kaizo relay race, this years Mario Maker portion is instead a glitch showcase that’s a lot of mind-blowing fun with a few pranks played on Carl along the way.

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Gargoyles Remastered — Any% Easy by Cypherin in 16:37

I tossed this one in for the benefit of Angela, so she can see how the remaster of a game that has vexed her since childhood turned out without having to buy it.

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Super Mario 64 — Drum% by CZR in 23:06

If it weren’t for PeanutButter, this would have been the top run for new and exciting control schemes. But it’s quick and no-less worth a watch for the drums not being played by a dog.

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Sneak King — 50% by Konception in 23:50

An all-time classic tragically stuck on the Xbox 360, unable to take advantage of Microsofts vaunted backwards compatibility efforts on newer consoles. This may be the only way you get to experience the majesty of Sneak King, at least until Geoff streams it. Right, Geoff?

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Pseudoregalia — All Abilities by Jaxler in 17:24

And here is the game included just to introduce you to an interesting-looking game. Not that the speerun movement doesn’t look fun as well, of course. But GDQ has always been a good way to catch some creative games that weren’t on your radar ( Pseudoregalia was NOT such a case for me, though, as one of my best friends streamed it last year, but now you’ve seen it).

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Pokémon Diamond — Any% by Etchy

I included this just for the couch going over at length the shear bullshit of Pokemon Math.

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Tape to Tape — Easy Campaign by cavecavecave in 19:45

An arcade hockey rougelike with a lot of wild power ups and a fun sense of humor is worth a look. It’s also a good run for people who don’t like clips, glitches our out of bounds, as this is just straight execution. Bonus points for the runner wearing a Super Mario jersey.

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Arkanoid — Any% by chessjerk in 31:11

This run offers mesmerizing, high-level play of a game very few of us were ever able to do more than 10% of on our best day.

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Star Fox 64 — 2k% by adamX0315 in 32:33

Sure, you could just play Star Fox 64 fast, but that’s just not enough in today’s economy. At only $64 a kill, Fox needs to make sure his billable hours are high enough to cover the team’s living expenses. While it goes 10 minutes slower than a world record any% run, playing some longer levels allows Fox the chance to rack up more than 2,000 hits for his bill to General Pepper. Plus it hits most of the meme states and lines.