For most people picking up an exercise video game such as Ring Fit Adventure, they may spend anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes working up a sweat. For a small percentage of players, however, that simply isn’t enough. In what can only be described as a bizarre and utterly exhausting challenge, people are taking it upon themselves to speedrun the entirety of Ring Fit Adventure’s surprisingly long story mode.
Japanese speedrunner Sakinyan recently completed the challenge in a staggering 18 hours and 55 seconds. Although the intensity was set to the lowest (one out of 30), it’s still an incredible feat to complete in a single run. According to Vice, Sakinyan only took one toilet break throughout the entire run. She also occasionally stopped for snacks and water. And when she finally completed Ring Fit Adventure’s grueling speedrun, she forwent the typical hyped-up celebrations. Instead, she performed a few stretches, sat down, and scrolled on her phone.
Endurance Run
Sakinyan is not the first to attempt a speedrun of the entire game, however. US challenger Adam “Ventifer” England got through the story mode in 19 hours, 30 minutes and 11 seconds in a run at the end of last year. England had around five to six bathroom breaks and an issue with a pair of Joy-Cons throughout his run. Speaking to Vice, he also expressed how sore the run left him, despite prepping with breakfast, water, and protein bars. “I remember making breakfast that morning, wondering how my day will be,” said England.
It’s also interesting to note that in recent days, the price of Ring Fit Adventure has skyrocketed across the pond. UK retailer GAME currently lists the title as £109.99 new online (roughly $143). Whether this is down to the speedrunning community or the January mentality of “new year, new me” is unknown. It would be unsurprising if both were contributing factors to the sudden demand for the exercise game hybrid. The game’s original pricing had already put off consumers during its release, so it’s interesting to see the sudden price hike. Thankfully, the game still appears to be widely available in the US at a reasonable price.
Critics and players alike have responded incredibly well to the game, citing the unique blend of exercise and RPG elements. The game proved so popular in Japan that Nintendo had to actually apologize for the lack of copies.
Studying Games Journalism & PR in the UK. When she isn’t studying hard (AKA crying in the library), Mollie is probably splatting squids in Splatoon 2 or playing God in The Sims 4.
