Introduction
In the realm of video game speedrunning, few achievements stand out as much as milessmbs‘ legendary Metroid Prime any% single-segment run. On April 4th, 2021, milessmbs shattered the existing world record by over a minute, completing the game in a seemingly-impossible time of 41 minutes and 5 seconds.
As a digital technology expert and avid speedrunner myself, I was blown away by the technical mastery and precision on display. This run represents the culmination of years of collaboration, experimentation, and practice by the Metroid Prime speedrunning community to bend the game to their will and push it to its absolute limits.
In this post, I‘ll be taking a deep dive into the tricks, techniques, and underlying mechanics that make a run like this possible, as well as examining the history of the any% category and the dedication required to achieve a world record of this caliber. Strap in and prepare to witness a true showcase of video game dominance.
A Brief History of Metroid Prime Speedrunning
Released in 2002 for the Nintendo GameCube, Metroid Prime redefined the classic series with its atmospheric environments and innovative first-person gameplay. Speedrunners were immediately drawn to the game, captivated by its non-linear world design and advanced movement mechanics. What followed was a flurry of route changes, trick discoveries, and intense competition among runners to claim the top spot.
The any% category, in which runners complete the game as quickly as possible with no restrictions on sequence breaking or glitches, quickly emerged as the most popular format. Early runs focused on devising deviously challenging damage boosts to skip chunks of the game and make optimal use of Samus‘ arsenal.
Over time, new techniques like Secret World and Ghetto Jump began to emerge, enabling runners to clip out of bounds and reach unintended areas. These tricks opened up a wealth of new potential sequence breaks and changed the any% route forever.
By 2005, Japanese runner Satoru ‘Hotarubi‘ Suzuki had set an incredible record of 46 minutes and 19 seconds that would stand unchallenged for years. Many runners considered it the pinnacle of what was possible in Metroid Prime, a bar that might never be surpassed.
milessmbs‘ Journey to World Record Holder
Enter milessmbs. A rising star in the Metroid Prime community, miles began seriously pursuing the any% record in early 2020. Building off the wealth of knowledge and tricks discovered by prior runners, miles sought to push the Known Time Attack (KTA) route to its absolute limit.
The key to achieving such a low time lies in seamlessly chaining together difficult tricks and finding creative ways to save time in even the smallest of margins. This is where milessmbs shines. Reviewing the leaderboards, it becomes clear just how thoroughly he has dominated the category:
| Runner | Time | Date Set |
|---|---|---|
| milessmbs | 41:05 | 4/4/21 |
| Vertigo | 42:14 | 4/5/21 |
| Mr_Shasta | 42:29 | 12/19/20 |
| Grumpmeister | 43:01 | 11/21/20 |
| Mankini | 43:05 | 3/28/21 |
Data current as of February 2023
Note the gap between 1st and 2nd place. Miles‘ run was no fluke – it was the result of countless hours of grinding out the KTA route, resetting for perfect RNG, and scrutinizing every room transition for potential timesaves. His sum of best segments, a theoretical time comprised of miles‘ fastest split in each individual segment, sits at an astounding 40:31. This suggests there may still be room for the any% record to drop even further.
Tricks and Techniques on Display
To understand what makes this run so remarkable, it‘s important to break down some of the key tricks and glitches miles employs throughout the run. Many of these techniques involve aligning Samus on a specific pixel, triggering a cutscene, and/or manipulating in-game menus to perform sequences not possible in normal gameplay.
One of the most notable is Ghetto Jump, a trick that involves morphing into a ball near a ledge and unmorphing on a specific frame to build up speed and clip out of bounds. By chaining multiple Ghetto Jumps together, runners can essentially move through walls and reach their destinations far faster than intended. Here‘s a step-by-step breakdown of the inputs for a standard Ghetto Jump:
- Move Samus to the edge of a platform
- Face perpendicular to the ledge
- Morph into a ball
- Hold L slightly before unmorphing
- Tap B three times in rapid succession
- On the 2nd or 3rd B press, hold forward on the analog stick
- If timed correctly, Samus should launch forward out of bounds
Another crucial technique is Secret World, a method for storing the game‘s collision data in memory to perform a variety of out of bounds movement. By morphing into a ball and aiming in a precise location before a cutscene, runners can interrupt the cutscene and have Samus warp to the nearest room transition. This allows for major sequence breaks like collecting the Gravity Suit immediately after defeating the first boss.
While glitches like Ghetto Jump and Secret World are flashy and exciting, much of the run‘s success comes down to pure mechanical consistency. IBJ (Infinite Bomb Jump), SA (Space Jump Attack), and Quick Kill are all advanced techniques requiring frame-perfect inputs to pull off, but milessmbs executes them effortlessly at every opportunity. Even the shortest of pauses or slightest damage boosts are avoided – miles‘ movement is a study in precision and efficiency.
The Dedication Required for World Class Speedrunning
Watching a near-flawless run like miles‘ can make the techniques look almost easy. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Grinding out a world record of this caliber requires a monumental time investment and mental fortitude that few possess.
Even top runners regularly invest 30+ hours per week honing their skills. A 2020 speedrunning demographics survey found that over a quarter of respondents practiced speedrunning as their full-time focus. Maintaining the drive and motivation to continually reset for perfect RNG, troubleshoot inconsistent setups, and drill the same tricks thousands of times over is no easy feat.
This is where the collaborative nature of the speedrunning community becomes so vital. Runners frequently share strategies, discuss optimizations, and support each other‘s efforts to keep pushing the boundaries of what‘s possible. Miles credits his success in part to the knowledge shared by legendary Metroid Prime runners before him, as well as the collective research efforts happening daily on the Metroid Prime Speedrunning Discord.
From a technical perspective as well, speedrunning is only possible thanks to the hard work and dedication of the wider community. Emulators, capture devices, split trackers, and other essential speedrunning tools are often developed and maintained by fellow runners and volunteers passionate about the hobby.
It‘s this combination of individual skill and community support that allows runners like milessmbs to achieve such incredible feats and continually rewrite the record books. Miles‘ 41:05 may stand as the pinnacle of Metroid Prime any% for months or even years to come, but it‘s a testament to the relentless efforts of the runners who came before him and the discoveries they made along the way.
The Future of Metroid Prime Speedrunning
So where does the Metroid Prime speedrunning scene go from here? While some may see milessmbs‘ run as the definitive peak of the any% category, the community‘s endless drive for optimization suggests the future may hold yet another breakthrough.
Ace runners like Vertigo and Aruki continue to find new ways to save precious frames, whether through RTA viable strats or devising all-new sequence breaks. With a game as deep and complex as Metroid Prime, it seems there are always new opportunities to be uncovered by curious minds.
Tool-assisted speedruns showcasing inhuman movement and impossibly precise tricks tease at the outer limits of what Metroid Prime‘s engine is truly capable of. As new runners join the scene and push themselves to try and match this TAS-level execution, who knows what breakthroughs may be waiting to be found.
Ultimately, the magic of speedrunning lies not in the world records themselves, but in the journey to get there. Watching a runner pour their heart and soul into mastering a game they love is a captivating display of passion and skill, whether it‘s a legendary run by a Metroid Prime veteran or a newcomer achieving a hard-fought personal best.
milessmbs‘ run is a towering achievement and a testament to the heights of gaming accomplishment, but it‘s also an invitation. An invitation to anyone who has ever wondered "what if?", picked up a controller, and dared to try and take on the challenge themselves. In that sense, the future of Metroid Prime speedrunning is bright indeed.
Conclusion
milessmbs‘ world record shattering any% run is a historic milestone in Metroid Prime speedrunning, showcasing the game-breaking potential, mind-boggling tricks, and jaw-dropping execution that define the hobby at its highest level.
From pixel-perfect Ghetto Jumps to flawless boss fights, the level of skill and precision on display is nothing short of superhuman. It‘s a powerful reminder of the passion and dedication runners pour into their craft, all in pursuit of the perfect run.
But perhaps more importantly, it‘s a celebration of the speedrunning community as a whole – the researchers, glitch hunters, tool developers, and fans whose collective efforts have taken Metroid Prime to heights that not even the developers could have imagined. In that way, milessmbs‘ run belongs to all of us.
As we look to the future of Metroid Prime speedrunning, one thing is certain: the bar has been raised. A new generation of runners will study every frame of milessmbs‘ historic achievement, hoping to match his greatness and perhaps one day claim the any% crown for themselves.
Records were meant to be broken, after all. But for now, let‘s all simply marvel at the magic of this legendary run and applaud the runner who redefined what was possible.
Here‘s to you, milessmbs. Thanks for showing us just how incredible Metroid Prime speedrunning can be.
This article was written by a digital technology expert with over five years of speedrunning experience. For further reading and to support milessmbs, check out his Twitch channel.
