In a decade of tuning into Superior Video games Completed Fast, I’ve seen runners pace via gaming historical past whereas blindfolded, with arms tied behind their backs, and even two runners sharing a single controller, however I’ve by no means seen what occurred at this time at AGDQ 2024: a canine and his proprietor teamed as much as speedrun an NES basic reside, and so they smashed it.
The canine is an lovable Shiba Inu named Peanut Butter, and his proprietor is speedrunner JSR. Collectively, the pair ran Gyromite (in Sport B mode), a 1985 Nintendo platformer that launched with the NES, utilizing a custom-made dog-friendly controller with giant coloured buttons. Amazingly, Peanut Butter acquired it finished in 26 minutes and 24 seconds, with solely a single sport over and minimal breaks for stomach scratches.
Whereas JSR guided Peanut Butter with hand indicators, credit score actually does belong to his superb boy for urgent the precise buttons precisely when wanted. PB’s controller sports activities huge crimson and blue buttons that correspond to the pipes they open in Gyromite to information the sleepwalking scientist via ranges. Open the flawed pipe or launch a button too early and the scientist will get squished. Fortunately, Peanut Butter is an skilled skilled and solely gave up a couple of deaths over nearly half an hour. JSR says Peanut Butter’s abilities are the results of “a yr of coaching, each single day” to press and maintain buttons with accuracy.
If you see it in motion, it is clear why JSR selected Gyromite for the run: the simplistic platformer was initially designed to be managed by the NES add-on R.O.B. The Robotic, a motorized robo companion who might slowly press A or B on his personal. Because the scientist in Gyromite strikes proper robotically, all ROB (or Peanut Butter) has to do is ensure the right pipes are open as he approaches. Not that it may well’t get difficult. A couple of ranges required that Peanut Butter press a yellow button on his controller to open each pipes directly. No drawback for a great boy, besides the yellow button was a smaller goal and JSR indicated that the sport was having bother studying PB’s enter.
The yellow button mishap accounted for a lot of the transient hiccups within the run—that, in addition to a couple of instances when PB took a break to scratch his stomach or perform a little twirl in place. He was excited! All of us had been.
It was a powerful displaying. There’s nothing significantly troublesome about Gyromite, however Peanut Butter’s unshakeable focus and dexterity in holding down buttons for upwards of 10 seconds was one thing to behold. Each time Peanut Butter beat a stage he’d get a tacky or meaty deal with. When he beat a tough stage, he acquired additional kibble. On the finish of the run, JSR showered Peanut Butter in celebratory scratches as he addressed the AGDQ viewers.
“He’s the bestest canine that I’ve ever had the pleasure of calling my canine, and I am so happy with him,” he stated. “He was my pandemic canine, and now he is my greatest good friend.”
Peanut Butter made an enormous splash in his AGDQ debut. The donations poured in nonstop through the run and GDQ is even promoting an official “Good Boy” shirt to commemorate it. Although, this was hardly PB’s first look within the speedrunning scene. JSR has streamed a couple of different NES video games with PB on the controls—only a few months in the past, PB knocked out Punchout’s Glass Joe in a single swing. Peanut Butter: robotic understudy, proficient newbie boxer.