Cuphead - DLC + Base Game Any% Speedrun in 37:20 [Current World Record] Markin 2025-05-25 | Happy to finally get a bigger improvement and a much cleaner run overall.This run had some pretty strong fights like Wally, Grim, Briney, Devil... but it also had its fair share of rough spots. I missed Saltimate Jutsu (Chef Saltbaker’s final phase skip), and the Dr. Kahl fight was a disaster, every phase went wrong. On top of that, a lot of other splits were just okay and clearly improvable.Still, I will take a 26s WR. I’ve been really enjoying running this category alongside DLC Any%, so I'll keep trying to push for a lower time
Cuphead - DLC Any% Speedrun in 10:19 [Current World Record] Markin 2025-08-11 | First 10:1x. Finally managed to piece together a decent enough run into Moonshine, got the RNG needed, and closed it out with a good Chef. Execution was solid overall, and while it was a bit anticlimactic since it happened during a DLC+Base Game run, running the category this way definitely made the grind less painful.Breakdown of the run:33.74 Follies - Standard48.94 Mausoleum - Pretty ok46.81 Glumstone - Final phase could’ve been slightly faster, but good RNG and execution overall40.80 Mortimer - Clean fight, good RNG.46.18 Howling Aces - Slight mess up due to parrying at the same frame of a lobber hitting in phase 2, resulting in the damage getting eaten, good RNG.1:01.43 Esther (1 Nuke) - Tricky RNG. I didn't go for a nukeless fight (which is a bit faster) since I only had 2 HP, but it was not too bad36.21 Moonshine - Great RNG, nice time. Did lose 0.8s on the scorecard due to not dying along with the boss, which happens occasionally.53.11 Chef - Solid pattern. I aimed for a 6 shaker fight and got it, executed properly. Only 1 Star Skip and 1 Half Star Skips - Not ideal, more of those would’ve helped.This definitely isn’t the end of the road for DLC Any%. There’s still room for improvement and more records to be set. I do plan to keep running DLC+Base Game Any% for a run I'm happy with, and I’ll stick with the DLC-first route, since it gives me a chance to push DLC a bit more. I’ve kind of already accepted that I may never get THE run I know is possible, but who knows, maybe there’s still one more improvement left before I burnout and pass the baton to the next challenger.Shoutout and thank you to all the DLC runners for pushing the times down and being a huge source of motivation.Full session + files verification, for transparencyyoutu.be/aclNaEOzVWQ?si=y8IkC-f97QII6HN7&t=7875
Cuphead - DLC Any% Speedrun in 10:22.48 [Former World Record] Markin 2025-08-07 | Baby WR. Not really happy with my execution on this run, I made noticeable mistakes on Glumstone, Esther, and Chef. Still, it's a slight improvement, and I'm glad I no longer have to compare against a 51 Chef. These splits feel more balanced. Will definitely try to push this further.
Cuphead - Funhouse Frazzle in 34.55 - P Rank (Chalice) Markin 2025-07-15 | I've been practicing some Run & Guns with Chalice for future "DLC+Base Game - All Flags" runs. This level has been the most fun so far.
Cuphead DLC - Esther Winchester in 59.72 IGT/60.99 RTA (Nukeless) (Chalice, No bombs) Markin 2025-06-27 | pretty decent
Cuphead - DLC + Base Game Any% Speedrun in 37:46 [Former World Record] Markin 2025-05-13 | First improvement after over a year of not running this category. This run wasn't particularly good, but I hit the major tricks and had a few solid fights along the way.The DLC has seen substantial improvements since last year, so that alone has pushed the boundaries of this category much lower. The base game also has plenty of room for improvement, so I’ll definitely be working on lowering this time as much as possible in the coming months.I’m also using a different overworld route now. Instead of doing the OoB in Isle 1 to reach Hilda, I go straight to the DLC isle. This loses around 11 seconds, but it has some key benefits. It allows me to play the DLC much more aggressively and tightly, which can save a lot of time on average and lets me reset early in the run if needed.Plus, it gives me the opportunity to go for a DLC Any% PB while still running DLC + Base Game Any%, which is pretty huge. I can try to improve my 10:22 while still continuing runs that don’t quite get there. Even this run had a chance at it, but Moonshine and Chef's RNG weren't kind enough.
King Dice in 1:49 (Chalice, Lobber/Spread) Markin 2025-05-12 | This was a surprisingly tough time to get parryless. I had about 20 1:50s before finally getting this run. This fight is pretty tricky to optimize, especially Chips and Domino, but it's definitely one of my favorites to play with this loadout. I still think a lower time is possible with cleaner execution, but for now I'm happy with this
Djimmi The Great in 1:14.80 (1.3, Charmless) Markin 2025-05-04 | Fun fight! Going for the secret phase turns out to be a bit faster since you can do a lot more 4-tick bullet EXes. It's important not to get excessive overdamage in phase 1, though, because that doesn't carry over after phase 2 when you go for the secret phase, which has a set HP value. That's why for other phase 1 patterns, I think it's better to do as few EXes as possible, just the bare minimum to get a fast phase 2 without too much wasted damageSong: Across The Moorlands - Day / Sea of Stars OST
Cuphead - DLC Any% Speedrun in 10:22.84 [Former World Record] Markin 2025-04-29 | Glad to finally get a new PB. While I’m not entirely satisfied with my execution in this run, it's still a substantial WR improvement, so I’m happy with the result overall.Breakdown of the run:34.08 Follies - Not amazing48.44 Mausoleum - Great48.43 Glumstone - The worst fight in the run. It was 45 pace going into the final phase, but I completely botched the execution. It was a tough RNG, but still pretty disappointing given all the practice I've been putting into it42.09 Mortimer - Not terrible, but I made some micro mistakes that cost me about a second46.29 Howling Aces - Solid fight, apart from a mishap in phase 21:02.97 Esther (1 Nuke) - Slow fight, I got the worst phase 1 RNG and didn't play very well38.37 Moonshine - Bad phase 1 RNG, but I played the fight correctly. I went for and got "Lunar Eclipse" with the double KO, which saved me an additional 0.8s on the scorecard. This is the first WR to incorporate the strat, which has roughly a 1 in 3 chance of working (assuming good execution)51.79 Chef - Pretty much the best I could've asked for. I got the best pattern and executed it correctly. I was definitely nervous seeing the pattern, since I’ve had runs die due to barely not generating the last card needed for the skip, but thankfully I had good dps and everything worked out here1 Star Skip, 1 Half Star Skips - Not idealI plan to keep running this category for a while longer while I prepare for future DLC+BG Any% runs, as I’m still enjoying the grind. I've been trying to approach this DLC Any% grind without having a specific goal time in mind, which I think has helped me a lot with avoiding burnout and staying motivated. Even if I don’t manage another improvement, or don't manage to hit "X" time, I’ll be able to keep enjoying the game without feeling bad/mad with myself if I'm not able to achieve it, which is something I’ve definitely struggled with in the past.For full transparency, I’ve linked the full session of this run, with integrity of game files validationyoutu.be/XoYXU6URv-E
A Short Hike - Any% (No OoB) Speedrun in 2:32.869 [Current World Record] Markin 2025-04-22 | I’m pretty surprised by how fast I got this run. I only started to derust the category just a few days ago, and my PB for it was 2:44. This run was pretty ok overall, but there were definitely a few sloppy moments, and of course, I could always get better RNG. I definitely want to try to improve this, but it was pretty cool to beat this record. Noled's run is what inspired me to run this game in the first place years ago.
Dr. Kahls Robot in 43.83 (1 Nuke) (Chalice) Markin 2025-03-27 | Could be at least 1 second lower.I've been practicing this fight both with and without Chalice for future DLC+Base game runs. Given that unequipping Chalice just for this fight loses a few seconds, the difference between the two routes seems to be extremely close in real time. It's probably going to come down to which route I find more consistent after more practice with both strats.
Cuphead - DLC Any% Speedrun in 10:26 [Former World Record] Markin 2025-03-14 | 33.70 Follies - Solid49.23 Mausoleum - Slightly above average46.71 Glumstone - Good42.10 Mortimer - Not terrible, but should've been better given the RNG I got47.57 Howling Aces - Not too bad given the RNG, but I still made a few mistakes1:00.74 Esther (1 Nuke) - Pretty good42.27 Moonshine - No idea what I was doing here. I got a super easy RNG, but somehow managed to mess up every single phase52.56 Chef - Fast pattern. I didn’t have great damage going into the last cycle of phase 1, so I opted for a 6 shaker fight, which loses about 0.5s compared to a 5 shaker fight with my phase 2 strats1 Star Skip, 2 Half Star Skips - Could be betterWill try to lower...
Sally Stageplay in 34.14 (Chalice, Lobber/Spread) Markin 2025-03-11 | I could've played better and gotten a 33. Maybe next time.
Cuphead - DLC Any% Speedrun in 10:27 [Former World Record] Markin 2025-02-20 | Standard Follies, bad Mausoleum, okay Glumstone, solid Mortimer, decent Howling with a few small mistakes. Messed up Esther’s final phase, had a small slip-up on Moonshine. Not the fastest Chef I could’ve gotten, but it worked. Pretty slow scorecards, only 1 half-star skip and no star skips.Will try to improve the time further.
Cuphead DLC - Moonshine Mob in 37.91 (Anteater Skip) (Chalice, Lobber/Spread) Markin 2025-02-01 | Solid fight without the use of the way more inconsistent "Lunar Eclipse" strategy to deal with final phase.35 with Lunar Eclipse: youtu.be/Pwuu1oLkPZMSong: Somewhere in the Woods - A Short Hike Piano Collections
Cuphead - DLC Any% Speedrun in 10:29 (Former PB) Markin 2025-01-20 | The beginning of this run wasn't too bad. I made a few small mistakes that cost me quite a bit of time, particularly between Mortimer, Howling Aces, and especially Esther, where I also got some of the worst RNG. I also played Moonshine phase 2 a bit too safe since I wasn’t sure about the amount of damage I had. Chef was well played this time around, but I unfortunately got one of the longest phase 1 patterns.
Cuphead - DLC Any% Speedrun in 10:30 (Former PB) Markin 2025-01-14 | Ok run with a few good fights but a lot of room for improvements.It started pretty badly with an already slow Mausoleum exit into a terrible Glumstone with bad RNG and execution. Normally, I wouldn’t go for Jump Roll, but since my cards tend to line up in a way that makes me waste a card in a parryless fight anyway, I’m not sure if it’s worth skipping it.Mortimer was solid, Howling Aces had a lot of mistakes, Esther was decent, bad RNG on Moonshine.Chef was very sloppy, with shaky phase 1 and 2. I also messed up the saw manipulation in phase 3, which could’ve ended the run if I’d gotten a bad 50/50. Fortunately, I got lucky and managed to improvise the EXs timing on the spot.
Cuphead DLC - Chef Saltbaker in 51.15 (Chalice, Lobber/Spread) Markin 2025-01-08 | Too bad phase 2 wasn't 0.15s faster, but I'm happy with this one for now
Cuphead DLC - Mortimer Freeze in 40.20 (Chalice, Lobber/Spread) Markin 2024-12-28 | I really wanted to get a 39 without going for double damage lobber EXs, but I guess I'm gonna save it for another timeSong: City of Tears - Hollow Knight Piano Collection
Cuphead DLC - Esther Winchester in 58.98 IGT/63.18 RTA (3 Nukes) (Chalice, No bombs) Markin 2024-12-12 | Best IGT, although using more nukes is technically slower for real time. In this fight I hit an additional 26 damage on my second nuke due to a sprite swap between second and third phase.Song: Clockwork - Castlevania III
Cuphead DLC - Esther Winchester in 59.91 IGT/62.28 RTA (1 Nuke) (Chalice, No bombs) Markin 2024-12-12 | Sub minute with just 1 nuke. Using EXs instead of nukes makes the fight harder, but it can be slightly faster if you manage to make all of their ticks hit.My PB for the fastest RTA is technically 62.15. I didn't upload it because the IGT was 1:00, due to a difference in the number of parries.Song: Krook's March - Donkey Kong Country 2
Cuphead DLC - The Howling Aces in 43.63 (Chalice, Lobber/Spread) Markin 2024-12-09 | This is a very intricate fight to optimize, and very RNG dependent. I didn't get an extra parry in phase one, and my DPS could've been a bit tighter in a few spots, so I’m confident there’s still room for an even lower time. But after grinding through multiple 44.0x, I'm happy with this time for now.Song: Quiet and Falling - Celeste
Cuphead DLC - Moonshine Mob in 35.44 (Lunar Eclipse) (Chalice, Lobber/Spread) Markin 2024-12-03 | 34 is tight, but for sure possible. If I ever get that bored, I'll try to grind for it.Song: Steel Drum Rhumba - Donkey Kong Country 2
Cuphead DLC - Glumstone The Giant in 45.61 (Chalice, Lobber/Spread) Markin 2024-11-26 | Pretty solid fight. Not going for the Jump Roll during final phase makes it tough to optimize your damage, since you have to deal with different platforms and projectiles RNG, but it can end up being a bit faster.Songs: Basalt Assault & Impact Zone - The Messenger Picnic Panic
Moon Crystal (NES) Any% Speedrun in 8:59 Markin 2024-10-30 | Fun run. Happy with the time but still many mistakes.Gonna try to lower this by another couple of seconds.
ALTF42 - Any% (NSI) Speedrun in 13:03 [Former World Record] Markin 2024-08-06 | Not the best golden boots RNG throughout the run, and a few sections were poorly executed. Still glad to have finally closed out a run, even with my hands trying to summon an earthquake during the final level
A Short Hike - Golden Rod% Speedrun in 8:05.537 [Current World Record] Markin 2024-05-10 | Decided to turn a dead Any% run to Golden Rod% as a joke, but I actually ended up getting perfect fish RNG, winning all the odds without a single retry. I still could've gotten a few of them faster, but overall this was a very solid and lucky run
A Short Hike - Any% (OoB) Speedrun in 1:25.660 [Current World Record] Markin 2024-05-04 | Little improvement
Cuphead - Any% No Major Glitches Speedrun in 28:45 [Former World Record] Markin 2024-04-22 | Happy to finally achieve my 28:4x goal with this run. I think it turned out to be a pretty well played run all things considered, and a decent showcase of different strategies and optimizations. I was on my best pace ever for the majority of the run, even with very few star skips and not an absurdly crazy RNG.I'm only really disappointed with my execution on Dr. Kahl, Werner, and especially King Dice. None of those mistakes resulted in extremely huge time losses, though (about 2s each), and I think they actually helped me reduce my nerves a bit. (I did consider resetting here lol 9:22)I've really enjoyed this category since my first speedrun 3.5 years ago. I'd never thought I'd put so much time and effort into it, but I guess the feeling that I could always do better and the inspiration from other runners kept me going.I'm still not 100% satisfied, in Cuphead there's always gonna be room for improvement after all. But for now, I'm content to move on from NMG, at least for a little while.Thanks for watching!
Dr. Kahls Robot in 45.56 (NMG, 1 Nuke, No TAS EX) Markin 2024-04-21 | Solid fight that's technically a bit faster than my best time using 2 nukes and TAS EX in real time. Skipping the second nuke in the final phase seems to be the fastest real-time strat. The first nuke is still very effective, allowing for 4 quick parries. However, the second nuke I used to use, while safer, deals slightly less DPS than 4 minibomb EXs, so the added lag isn't worth it unless you manage to get even more parries with it.
Grim Matchstick in 47.89 (1.2, Charmless) Markin 2024-04-19 | Not bad, but it could still have better execution and RNG
The Devil in 53.62 (1.2, Charmless) Markin 2024-04-14 | Pretty solid for this RNG, just a few mistakes here and there.
Djimmi The Great in 1:22 (NMG, Nukeless) Markin 2024-04-12 | Finally got a 1:22 without nuke. I've been experimenting with slowing down the first phase by staying further back to get an extra parry, and it's been quite effective so far. Even if you don't get the parry, slowing down the phase doesn't result in any time loss, since you can overdamage the boss indefinitely.Also, I'm not sure why the input display wasn't working, sorry.
Cuphead - Any% No Major Glitches Speedrun in 28:54 [Former World Record] Markin 2024-04-01 | Inkwell isle 3 and Inkwell Hell were not the best, especially Cala and Devil. But overall, I'm quite happy with how the rest of the run played out. Not too many terrible mistakes.Played on patch 1.2
Phantom Express in 59.44 (1.2, Charmless) Markin 2024-03-28 | Improved my best time by about 0.4s, final phase could still be a bit cleaner.Song: Fear of the Unknown - Celeste - Lena Raine
A Short Hike - All Unique Collectibles Speedrun in 19:58 [Current World Record] Markin 2024-03-20 | Decent run with pretty good RNG. The fishing luck was odd. I only got 2 unnecessary fish types, but not a single rare catch, which led to some time lost collecting extra chests. This category is very interesting, and the route is really fun. It would probably be one of my favorite runs ever if it wasn't for the massive time variance introduced by fishing.Some of the time loss and possible time save on the splits may not be entirely accurate, as the route can vary depending on several factors.
A Short Hike - All Golden Feathers Speedrun in 7:49.403 [Current World Record] Markin 2024-03-09 | Very fun category!Early game could have better RNG and execution, but the second half of the run was pretty solid.
A Short Hike - All Golden Feathers Speedrun in 7:56.784 Markin 2024-02-28 | Pretty good run until I choked on the third-to-last and second-to-last splits, losing over 4 seconds combined. At least I managed to close it with a solid ending.
A Short Hike - Any% (OoB) Speedrun in 1:25.763 [Former World Record] Markin 2024-02-16 | Edit: I improved this run with a 1:25.660 youtu.be/KupWjXJV7WQ?si=54O0VRgi_qEpC4gcHappy with this one.Finally got a really clean OoB launch, with the right amount of speed and height for a fast landing (I triggered the cutscene sequence while still in midair). The start could've been less sloppy, but the descent was pretty solid.
A Short Hike - Any% Speedrun in 1:27.733 [Former World Record] Markin 2024-02-11 | The landing on the top could've been a bit smoother. Finally got a pretty clean descent, practicing better visual cues paid off.
A Short Hike - Any% Speedrun in 1:30.733 [Former World Record] Markin 2024-02-06 | Solid run. Really good launch speed and height. It was my best pace to summit by over 2 seconds. Although I missed the sub 1:30 due to a mistake during the final descent, I'm glad I was still able to close out the run.
A Short Hike - Any% Speedrun in 1:34.377 [Former World Record] Markin 2024-01-26 | Edit: I improved this run with a 1:25 youtu.be/UPkhNuR8GEY?si=msMEa2l_Hddkq2ANFast OoB launch with the right level of speed. Too bad I lost time on the very last door interaction, it could've been a really solid run.I made an adjustment to the launch setup, which seems to be a bit faster but even more inconsistent: Instead of landing in the water and then jumping out, it's barely possible to let go of the controls and get pushed into the buoy directly, without touching the water. It appears to be only doable if you have enough speed and height to begin with, since you need to bounce against the upper part of the buoy (and while it's leaning to the right).
Plants vs Zombies - Any% Speedrun in 3:19:10 (PB) Markin 2024-01-19 | Quite happy with my execution on this run. Day and Night didn't go very well (bad 1-7, 1-8, 2-8 and 2-10), I was almost tempted to reset after a 1:08 Night exit. I then ended up getting a pretty good Pool (featuring 3-9 Global Gold), a decent Fog and a solid Roof (despite playing really badly on all of the 3 flag levels). I did get a 3 cycle busless Zomboss, but the rest of the conveyor levels were a bit below average.
Beppi The Clown in 00:42 (Chalice, Lobber/Spread) Markin 2023-12-18 | Saved one more seconds on this fight. I made some little adjustments to my phase 1 strats and visual cues, to (hopefully) increase my consistency with this glitch on harder patterns slightly, which might be helpful in preserving my sanity during DLC + Base Game runs.
The Howling Aces in 00:45 (Chalice, Lobber/Spread) Markin 2023-12-14 | Got about 12 different 46s which looked much more cleaner than this but I'll take it.Song: A Walk Down Strawberry Lane, from Celeste Strawberry Jam
![Cuphead - DLC + Base Game Any% Speedrun in 37:20 [Current World Record]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_YzvsD-jtHg/maxresdefault.jpg)