Hello there. I’ll be your instructor as you learn how to watch speedruns of Pilotwings. You remember Pilotwings, that game from long ago where you crashed the plane, made a you-shaped hole in the ground, exploded the jetpack, fell on your face, and eventually decided to play seriously and discovered the secret helicopter mission at the end. Yeah, that one. There was also a Nintendo 64 version, so to ensure your training is as complete as possible, we’ll be scoring you on your viewing of both. Now then, let’s start with the basics.
In the SNES version of Pilotwings, all you need to do is clear skydiving and the diving bonus game. Reset immediately after receiving the code, hit Continue, and the game should fill in the code for you automatically. This works for all certifications. In the second area, do the same, then clear the rocketbelt. In the hanglider challenge, you can get to 500 feet from the first air current, but head for the target platform floating on the water rather than the one on land, then complete the bonus game before landing on the small platform in rocketbelt. In area four, do the bonus game in the hanglider challenge. The speedrun ends after beating the second copter mission.
In Pilotwings 64, go splat after twelve minutes and 30 seconds (if you’re at the exact same spot as the guy in the video, otherwise don’t.) Do the same thing at 17:07 (okay, that really had to hurt), and when going through the cave with the rocketbelt, let your momentum do some of the work as you approach corners, and rely on your altitude gauge when descending the waterfall. No helicopters in this game. The third game, Pilotwings Resort, has no video, but here are the splits.
Congratulations. You are now certified! Feel free to smack your face into whatever obstacles you please. And if you’re looking for more adventure, there’s a Cave Story speedrun you might be interested in.