Uploaded August 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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DETAILED NOTES BELOW:

This is not the best I've done but I figured it was good enough to post (10th Worldwide on PC!) in case other people have any interest in score attacking this mode or getting the minigame achievements. Here's the detailed breakdown, featuring time/score, input method used, and if this individual run-through would get the minigame achievement.

Chapter List:
0:00 Read the Description!
0:10 Hurdle Race
0:43 Monkey Snowboard
2:45 Hammer Throw
3:55 Monkey Target
6:12 Slingshot
7:35 Space Monkey Attack
9:11 Hovercraft Race
10:43 Seesaw Ball
11:59 Dangerous Route
15:10 Whack-a-Mole

Hurdle Race - Keyboard
12"56, 13720pts
✔️ Gets the Achievement (20 seconds)
This minigame is really easy. Jump over the first hurdle if it's a short one/if you care to, and otherwise just mash the hell out of your A and D keys until you get a 12s time.

Monkey Snowboard - Controller
1'39"16, 10584pts
✔️ Gets the Achievement (1 minute, 40 seconds)
Bananas are useful. The controls on this are worse than they look, so be wary. Really really try to avoid bonking at all costs.

Hammer Throw - Keyboard
94.42m, 11221pts
❌ Doesn't get the Achievement (100m)
This game is not deterministic. I have no idea what gives out the high 111/low 112s that are ideal for a fantastic decathlon score, but it certainly isn't technique. I mash AD while holding space and pray the game gives it to me. Luckily 94.42 is only like, 900 or so points off of the ideal one.

Monkey Target - Controller
2560pts, 11120pts
✔️ Gets the Achievement (2500pts)
I do not believe this game is possible to beat on keyboard, because the angle it wants for proper movement is a very slight downwards one near the edge of the control stick deadzone (think ESS position if you know OoT speedrunning). I also very much prioritize score landings because they're a very consistent source of points, but watch out, you might accidentally ditch points if you bump one of your other balls off the target. I haven't fully confirmed this is how this works, but be careful of it.

Slingshot - Controller
2920pts, 9840pts
✔️ Gets the Achievement (2500pts)
This game also requires very slight control stick angles, but I think you can get around that by not holding the a button for very long. The score in this game is heavily reliant on if you can hit the UFOs since they're worth 1000 each. Any shots aimed towards the cans are just me killing time.

Space Monkey Attack - Keyboard
​4810pts, 10810pts
❌ Doesn't get the Achievement (5000pts)
The other keyboard games in the decathlon are because I don't want to wear out my controller on meaningless inputs. This one is because I literally cannot mash fast enough on controller. You cannot get good scores in this game without mashing, even though holding down the button autofires. It just fires far too slowly. Shoot bullets when you can, Barrel Roll when you can't, pick a religion and pray that you make it out alive. This score is one of the main reasons I even wanted to upload this run in the first place.

Hovercraft Race - Controller
1'10"42, 11958pts
✔️ Gets the Achievement (1 minute, 30 seconds)
Try to get multiple flags in one passthrough, not really more to it than that.

Seesaw Ball - Controller
7821pts, 9911pts
❌ Doesn't get the Achievement (8000pts)
I messed up the opening pretty bad, but this is another game where gentle inputs go a long way. You can also get up to 2500 points based on where you land, and that goal target is really sticky. Try to get some bananas on the way down and you should be fine.

Dangerous Route - Controller
2'30"81, 13041pts
✔️ Gets the Achievement (2 minutes remaining)
This one seems like it'd be really hard on keyboard. This attempt is also much better than it looked, as my best time is only about 5 or so seconds better. The bananas really matter, as 1 banana is worth about a second and a bunch is worth about 5. Really watch the segment right before the first checkpoint (easy to fall) and don't push your luck too hard on the moving path segment at the end.

Whack-a-Mole - Controller
4390pts, 12780pts
✔️ Gets the Achievement (3000pts)
Aim assist is nice. No idea what causes the different point values, except the blue horned moles give up to 200 points per hit and spawn in droves at the end. Hope you get some good luck on 100/200s and go in. I've gotten scores over 5k points before.

Thanks for reading ^^/