The Best Speedruns of AGDQ 2020 Day Four

AGDQ 2020 had a great fourth day of speedruns, all while raising money towards the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Day four was filled with fun speedruns, ranging from some 16-bit classics to a 64-bit masterpiece. After a lengthy Final Fantasy VIII run, day four of AGDQ 2020 kicked off with various Sega Genesis titles, eventually leading into other various modern and classic games. The action and adventure genres were on high display, providing dozens of hours of fast-paced excitement. Although we weren’t able to watch as many speedruns as we would’ve liked, we’ve compiled a list of our picks for the best speedruns of AGDQ 2020 day four. If you’re looking for a great speedrun to watch, or just trying to find a good place to jump into AGDQ 2020, hopefully this list can help you out.

If you want to watch any of the speedruns mentioned below, you can check out the replays on Games Done Quick’s Twitch channel or their Youtube channel. Please keep in mind that the list below is simply a subjective list of our favorite runs, so you should check out all of the other speedruns that were shown at AGDQ 2020 day four. With the marathon hitting the halfway mark, these are our picks for the best speedruns from AGDQ 2020 day four.

The Best Speedruns of AGDQ 2020 Day Four

Shadow Dancer (any% Shu, Easy) by Cypherin

The Sega Genesis had plenty of great ninja titles, and Shadow Dancer was certainly one of them. Originally released in Japan as an arcade title, this second title in the Shinobi series is an exceptionally hard action title that’s designed to kill the player. Runner Cypherin had an excellent run, blazing through the game’s handful of levels with blistering speed. Between the dancing dog and the impressive ninja skills, this Shadow Dancer run was tons of fun.

Final time: 13:50

Ghouls ‘n Ghosts (Any% Race) by Aquas and dosboxfalco

Before Dark Souls was a thing, Ghouls ‘n Ghosts was one of the go-to games when comparing difficulty in games. Often considered one of the most punishing games ever made, this arcade classic had an awesome showing at AGDQ 2020 day four. Both Aquas and dosboxfalco battled through the various goblins and demons that plague the lands of Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, delivering an exciting race with plenty of tense moments. Don’t be deceived by these runners’ skill, Ghouls ‘n Ghosts is incredibly difficult, and watching both of these runners finish it in around 20 minutes was impressive to see. If you’ve ever played Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, I’m sure it’ll impress you too.

Final time: 19:29

Blazing Chrome (Arcade Mode, Ninja) by ThePoloKing

Blazing Chrome was one of our favorite games of 2019, combining nostalgic visuals with intense gameplay and inventive bosses. The game doubles as both a Contra-like and a Ninja Gaiden-like, as some playable characters have guns and others have swords. In this run, ThePoloKing blazed through the game’s Normal difficulty using a ninja character, which means getting up close and personal with all of the game’s intimidating bosses. At the very least, this is 26 minutes of vibrant pixel-art and chaotic action, which is a perfect warm-up for more speedrun bingeing.

Final time: 26:19

Super Monkey Ball (All Difficulties No Extras Warpless) by Helix

The objective in Super Monkey Ball is deceptively simple; guide the ball (with a monkey island) across the stage and through the goal. Everything is pretty easy, until the stages start becoming unbelievably hard to navigate and designed to send your ball down into a bottomless abyss. This Gamecube cult-classic has been a Games Done Quick favorite for a while now, and it’s easy to see why. In this speedrun, Helix pulls off incredibly risky strategies, often blasting through the goal rather than carefully gliding through. Abundant donations unlocked a bonus run of the Extra and Master stages as well, adding even more stages of Monkey Ball madness to watch.

Final time: 23:41

Mushihime-sama Futari 1.01 (Ultra) by gusto

The insanely hectic shoot ’em up genre is rarely seen at Games Done Quick marathons, so this high score run through Mushihime-sama Futari was an exciting treat at AGDQ 2020 day four. Although every game on this list requires skill and precision to play, Mushihime-sama Futari is a special kind of challenge when played on Ultra difficulty. It’s the kind of experience that only masochists would enjoy. It’s remarkable to watch gusto survive the onslaught of purple and pink bullets, weaving his tiny hit-box through an endless barrage of color. This is one of those speedruns that doesn’t let up either, providng 44 minutes of non-stop action.

Final time: 44:11

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (100% No Source Requirement) by ZFG

Ocarina of Time is a massive game in the speedrunning world and has appeared at GDQ events with regularity over the past 10 years. Every year the game appears, more and more glitches are found, breaking the game in incredible ways. Many of these glitches are remarkably precise and require endless hours of practice to discover and implement, making it tough to learn them all. Luckily, speedrunner ZFG is an absolute madman at Ocarina of Time, and this 100% speedrun has all the proof you need. This specific category of speedrun allowed to use every glitch in his arsenal, resulting in a 3-hour display of the weirdest, craziest, most unbelievable Ocarina of Time glitches I’ve ever seen. If you’re a fan of glitchy games, drop what you’re doing and watch this speedrun. Be sure to stick around for the bonus glitch exhibition at the end, which breaks Zelda in some funnier ways that you won’t expect.

Final time: 2:50:12

By the end of day four, AGDQ 2020 managed to raised over $700,000 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. We’re only halfway through the marathon, and the donation total ticks ever closer to that solid 1 million mark. I fully expect to see that total reach astonishing heights in the final days of the marathon. Once again, I have to commend Games Done Quick and the speedrunning community for their amazing efforts.

Those were our picks for the best speedruns of AGDQ 2020 day four! If you liked what you saw here, be sure to check out our other daily recaps. We also highly encourage you to check out other speedruns from AGDQ 2020 day four that weren’t mentioned here. There are so many hours of speedruns to watch, it’s impossible to catch it all live, so we’re sure we missed a few gems. If you’re watching the marathon live, join us on social media (@official90skid) for run reactions and other great gaming content. We’re looking forward to day five of AGDQ 2020, and we hope you are too!