Speedruns + Why The SNES Is Awesome

When I first heard of the concept of speed-running games I thought it was stupid.  What's the point of running through a game as fast as possible? I like to slow down and enjoy the game.  After I saw a few videos, however, I adopted the concept.  This became especially true after reading the article regarding Mario world 4-2 and its importance in the speed running community.  

A few months ago, prior to getting my 3DS and being in my "lull in-between games" I randomly had the desire to play Super Mario World from the Super NES system.  I can remember playing the game once in its entirety, and I've played the first couple of stages on numerous occasions.  After getting the 3DS I had access to the game again easily and began playing it a few weeks ago. It's a fantastic game that is both challenging (thank goodness for restore points) and fun.  I'm glad I've been able to play through the game again.

This game brings up two points that I'd like to make.  The lesser point is that games like Super Mario World really make me appreciate speed runs.  This game is full of challenges involving timed jumps, so much so that on numerous stages I've almost ran out of time waiting for the best moment to advance.  I've died numerous times (again, thanks for restore points) mis-timing my jumps.  There have been a few instances where I wasn't sure how to advance, so I pulled up some videos on YouTube to watch.  A lot of the videos available are from speed runners, and they are amazing to watch.  After struggling through a stage, watching these players effortlessly time their jumps to advance is amazing.  Their speeds require so much skill, the disparity between them and me is mind blowing.  

The second and larger point is that in retrospect, I think the SNES was under appreciated. I know I under appreciated the console at the time.  Despite 30 years of time passing, games like Super Mario World, A Link To The Past, and numerous others play shockingly well in modern time.  The NES was a bit too early - graphics not quite advanced enough, sounds a bit too cheesy, and controls lacking.  Games in the Playstation/N64 era are plagued with early-on 3D graphics and awkward camera angles. Games from the PS2 era and beyond mostly fit into the modern era of games.  The SNES, however, seems to have this perfect niche of being noticeably better than games from the 80s and not suffering from the setbacks of games from the late 90s.  Some modern games even seem to model after SNES-era graphics (such as Stardew Valley).

At the time I had both an SNES and a Genesis.  I remember playing a few games on the SNES and thinking they were alright.  When I was younger I always thought the Genesis was better - It had better versions of Madden and NHL, along with many other great games.  It seemed like games that came out on both systems were frequently a bit better on the Genesis.  But in hindsight, the SNES seems to be the system that continues to play well.