Speedruns have always been about finishing a game as fast as possible. On the flip side, some categories, especially 100% categories, can last hours — even days. As such, many people don’t speedrun 100% categories. They are often extremely difficult, and an extreme investment of time.
However, four friends got together to finish Gran Turismo 4 in its entirety on April 24th, 2020. Over the next 9 and a half days, they played non-stop until they 100%ed the game. After a monumental 230 hour speedrun, us at Speed Gaming News decided to interview them — and here are the results.
Galaxy brain time, boys. -Jonah
Answers are from the Grand Turismo 4 100% speedrunners. Speedrunners involved in this run are thebook92, another_car_guy_, Sheenie, and feathers51564.
First question: What is the planning for the run like?
Answer: “To be honest, the planning was more loose than what you’d expect. You’re having Tyler take the wheel first. The length, in terms of who was behind the wheel, varied a lot during the run.”
Second question: What drove you to attempt the run? (pun intended)
“Gran Turismo 4 has always been my favorite game in the series since it released back in 2005. 100% for that game has always been a holy grail of a category, especially with no B-specs. Since the lockdown, I’ve had a lot more time on my hands, so I decided to get my friends together for it.”
Question three: What were the most memorable moments in the run?
“Mission 34 was really notable. It was the final mission in the run, and it involved driving a lap on one of the hardest tracks in the game. Not only that, but it was a race where you were given a 2 minute handicap, which meant you had to play it near perfectly to beat it. It was definitely a challenge when you consider the pressure from being at the end of the run as well as the lack of sleep. Another thing is just how Shawn, Jonah, and Paul adapted to it, since they hadn’t really played any racing games before, so it was fun to see them get used to the physics of the game.”
Question four: How did you feel when the run was over?
“Mostly tired and happy. Shawn had to leave for work just before the end of the [speedrun] so it was mostly just me at the wheel. Finishing that run was a really great moment though, especially since I’d been working on-and-off on the route for 2 years at that point.”
A quote from the livestream during the 226 hour mark of the speedrun:
“Jonah and Paul had literally never even played Gran Turismo 4 before.”… “Until like a week before we started this run.”… “It was a crash course in getting them used to the physics”… “While trying to get all the stream and, you know, X Split, and all that stuff set up.”… “This was my personal Gran Turismo… my personal speedrunning holy grail, really.”
Question five: Do you have any advice for other people who want to attempt a speedrun as long as yours?
“Make sure you have people to switch out with and also that they 1) will stick with the run to its end, and 2) are fun to be around since you’re going to be spending a lot of time with them. I’d also recommend making sure your software and hardware are all up for the challenge since you don’t want the run to die out due to a crash on your side. Lastly, I’d recommend [speedrunning] a category you truly love, since playing a game for 9.5 days straight will make you sick of it if you don’t enjoy it a lot.”
… And… TIME! – Tyler as they hit the final split
Thank you to thebook92, another_car_guy_, Sheenie, and feathers51564 for the incredible speedrun and the interview!
Video edited and questions voiced by The_Humbugg. Other voices by Zeld (@Zeld101).
The_Humbugg is a Video Producer for SpeedGamingNews, with a major background in mobile and web speedruns, though he appreciates every type of run. His hobbies include History and Gaming.