There are many ways for players to show off their prowess when it comes to gaming. Whether it's speedrunning the first level of a new game that's only been out for days, or besting a whole story without so much as receiving a scratch, there are some serious feats of gameplay out there that often leave people stunned.
Recently, a speedrunner who goes by the alias "GrandPOOBear" has completed what seems like an almost impossible challenge, by finishing 1,000 levels in Super Mario Maker 2 without a single game over screen. Anyone who's played some of the more difficult custom levels in a Super Mario Maker gamer will know that this is not a small brag by any standards. In fact, there may be some who have never even played 1,000 custom levels in total.
GrandPOOBear, who's real name is David Hunt, had already made a name for himself by livestreaming content whereby he completes the more difficult Mario challenges. It was just last Friday in which the streamer was able to complete his biggest victory to date without even skipping a single map. Mario games are perfect for speedrunning, but something of this magnitude is likely to leave a lasting impression on the streaming community considering how random the levels can be. Hunt said the community actually gave shout outs to him in some of the levels, saying that "the best part was when people would put little nods to me in level titles hoping to see them make the challenge."
Not only did Hunt finish 1,000 levels without a game over, he did so consecutively through a randomized selection of levels without skipping any. Considering there are more than 20 million custom Super Mario Maker 2 maps, this means there's less chance of him seeing one he's already done. Each one was a surprise and so he had no prior knowledge of each map as they came to him. Often this would require quick thinking and millisecond accurate button pressing in order to make it through in a single attempt. He began with 15 lives and while losing one life was permissible, he wasn't allowed to use up all of them.
This wasn't something that was completed in one go, either. Hunt spent years trying to best this challenge and at one point, made it to 621 levels before having to start over again. Unsurprisingly, his community grew in size as he marched along with each attempt. No doubt fans were keen to see this unimaginable feat be obtained. The Twitch community sometimes gets a bad rep, but with viewers supporting people like Hunt, gamers can continue to stream challenging content and show the world how skillful gaming can be.
Super Mario Maker 2 is available now on Nintendo Switch.
Source: Polygon