Ape Escape any% no IJ writeup

Cut the 1 in Ape Escape...without using the infinite jump glitch.

This run...was something.  For one, something like 3 years ago I jokingly said "I was to get under an hour in Ape Escape".  Jokingly.  Because the infinite jump wasn't discovered yet, so I didn't think it was possible.  There was no community for the game, it was just me doing a run every once in a while.  Then about...a year and a half ago (?) the infinite jump was discovered, and a community sprung up.  I met some really cool people (<3 saboom), but at the back of my mind, sub 1 was always nagging.  Even when I smashed the 1 hour mark with a 57:18 over a year ago, it still occurred to me that I hadn't truly subbed 1 just yet.  We did a few no IJ races, I tried to get there a few times a few months ago, but stopped at a high 1:03.  Well, after the 50:19 any% I pulled...this had to be next.  I had to complete this goal that I already knew was possible from my earlier attempts, even less a slim PS2.  I had to.  and that's what I tried to do yesterday...but fell short with a 1:00:20.  It was far from a bad run, but it just wasn't good enough.  I kept trying for another 4 hours that day, but never managed to top it.  This morning, I tried again.  And failed.  And failed some more.  I failed Specter's Factory jumps/route, I failed Snowy Mammoth movement (kills the run if you fall down), I failed Hot Springs ice bridges (likewise), I failed at everything you could come up with.

VVVVVV- Time Trial Mode

VVVVVV is a game I've found myself sinking hours and hours into, in no small part due to how simple it is-you control Captain Viridian, who can only move and flip gravity.  And he can only flip gravity while standing on solid ground.  The level editor included is also a big part of what's kept me coming back, and now there's another facet of the game that has me grinding out runs until I get what I want.

Well, 2 facets.

The first is simple-the game has a timer.  I want to beat it as quickly as possible, simply because it's fun.  Getting 100% in under an hour isn't that great, but I still had a blast doing it (and got some really nice first try rooms-like Not As I Do within Intermission 1).

The second plays off the first, but completely differently.  The Time Trial mode pits you against one of the games' 6 areas-Space Station 1, The Laboratory, The Tower, Space Station 2, Warp Zone and The Final Level.  You are ranked on your performance when you finish, starting at a B rank and earning one additional rank for not dying, for finishing within a par time and for collecting all the shiny trinkets (the games' collectibles, almost always out of the way past a more difficult challenge).  Completing one of those goals nets you an A rank, 2 nets you an S rank and all 3 awards the coveted V rank.