zallard1 | Super Punch-Out!! - Blindfolded Speedrun performed at AGDQ 2014 [24:09] @zallard1 | Uploaded February 2021 | Updated October 2024, 10 minutes ago.
This run was done on Friday, January 10th. This Friday still holds up as one of the greatest days in Games Done Quick history, with the back to back blindfolded MTPO and SPO runs, the quintessential Super Metroid race, the Metroid Zero Mission low% hard WR, and so much more.

This was so nerve wracking for me because I just saw sinister1 get to Mike Tyson in his blindfolded MTPO run, which got a standing ovation; there was an unbelievable amount of pressure on me. It was an amount of pressure that was so significant, that there were several seasoned GDQ speedrunners had approached me after the two punchout runs to tell me that it was "an unfair amount of pressure for someone who is literally just debuting at GDQ"

Regardless, as I was sitting down and trying to get to a point mentally to attempt to follow up the incredible run that sinister just pulled off, my heart was pounding at the strong possibility of messing up so much that my run would be etched in GDQ history as a debacle that had to be mercy killed. Once I put the blindfold on, it was that much more real that I was about to attempt beating this blindfolded in front of a crowd; something I had only been able to manage exactly one time before attempting it here.

It took until being able to make the entire crowd laugh at calling the exact time on Gabby Jay for me to calm down, which I ended up doing a couple more times with Piston Hurricane and Bald Bull. This ended up helping me settle in a lot more than I anticipated, which was everything I needed in that moment.

Beyond that, the truly scary part about this run was that I needed to beat the first 12 boxers in a row without a single loss anywhere in order to unlock the final circuit. Because of the estimate, I would have been forced to unblindfold to finish the run, as full game blindfolded completions at GDQ were not expected for runners to pull off at live events at that point.

I had some really close calls after getting lost a few times, and got some really favorable luck to help me get past the first 12 fights. Once I got to Narcis, I knew that finishing the game at AGDQ was on the table. I ended up losing to Narcis due to playing way too defensively, since during the one time I beat the game, I had learned that his counter jab can drain almost your entire health bar in certain circumstances. I hadn't practiced Special Circuit very much, because I didn't think I would get far enough for it to matter, so that loss was a direct consequence of that.

Once I got past Narcis though, I knew Hoy was going to be difficult if I got off track, but I barely pulled it together in a pretty memorable match in this run. Rick was a pretty simple fight, even when blindfolded, so I knew that one was a freebie for me lol. Nick was a big wild card, because I knew I was vastly underprepared if anything went wrong on him, so I *needed* that counter to get the quick knockdown at the start of the first phase. It was to the point where if I didn't finish this fight before the 25 second mark, I was almost guaranteed to lose.

What happened instead, was possibly the most memorable moment of the entire run, which was accidentally hitting the earliest frame of the random height counter, which had a significantly faster recoil animation that I had to take into account when following up with my next several punches. Thankfully, I knew exactly what to do, and was able to capitalize on it. With that, I was able to complete the run, which marked the first time a full length game was completely finished blindfolded at a Games Done Quick marathon.

This run, while sloppy at times, is a very important and special run to me, because it was a run where I felt I overcame unbelievable odds for myself, and gave me the motivation to try more runs like this at GDQs for years to come.

I hope you enjoyed this run, and thank you for watching!