“... I think we can outrun it,”

February 12, 2019 1:13 PM

“Shooting down the slopes as Donkey Kong and recovering from a slight setback, Skilloz_ prepared to claim a new world record for the Star Cup circuit at 200cc speed. As he got closer to the finish line, he started to realize that this could be a world record run. At the same time, he noticed [something incoming]...” [via: Kotaku]

“Instead of attaining a new world record, the blue shell [wiki] smashed into DK right before the finish line, derailing the speedrun and preventing the world record.”

posted by Fizz (19 comments total)

Blue shells are an angry god's revenge on mankind.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:26 PM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

*chef kiss*
posted by figurant at 1:28 PM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

“....I think we can outrun it,”

The hubris.
posted by Fizz at 1:29 PM on February 12, 2019 [14 favorites]

I don't even play this game, but that looks brutal (and funny).
posted by praemunire at 1:30 PM on February 12, 2019

...and, yeah, "I think we can outrun it" is one of those things you say and then immediately realize that you have doomed whatever it is you're trying to do.
posted by praemunire at 1:32 PM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]

>> “....I think we can outrun it,”
>
>The hubris.

I was thinking it was more of tribute to the human spirit in the face of insurmountable odds.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:32 PM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]

Thats a real Vinko Bogataj moment, perfect for a future Twitch TV Wide World of E-Sports Montage.
posted by Chrischris at 1:36 PM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

> I was thinking it was more of tribute to the human spirit in the face of insurmountable odds.

The thing about the human spirit is that it loses focus on the objective the moment it starts thinking about the odds instead. Thinking "I've almost got it!" is a sign that your brain has shut down, and that loss of focus is what dooms you.
posted by I-Write-Essays at 1:45 PM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]

There is simultaneously nothing ok whit this and everything about this is as it should be. Schrodinger's Mario Kart.
posted by RolandOfEld at 1:58 PM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]

Best representation of me on a good day ever.
posted by Nanukthedog at 2:26 PM on February 12, 2019

The AI cheats.
posted by SansPoint at 2:36 PM on February 12, 2019

Isn't there a trick to hop at the right moment or do some other move to dodge the shell? Or was that only in specific older versions.
posted by GoblinHoney at 2:59 PM on February 12, 2019

There are ways to dodge, yes - but usually require either timing or certain items. Here's a good overview of how the blue shell works, and how it can be beaten.
posted by NoxAeternum at 3:03 PM on February 12, 2019

AFAIK, the trick is to have a mushroom and use it with precision when the shell begins to strike downward.
posted by pwnguin at 3:04 PM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]

Metafilter: the trick is to have a mushroom and use it with precision.
posted by I-Write-Essays at 3:09 PM on February 12, 2019 [20 favorites]

Finally, an epitaph for the ages.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:05 PM on February 12, 2019

Thinking "I've almost got it!" is a sign that your brain has shut down, and that loss of focus is what dooms you.

Well, that and the fact that you have no possible defense. In fact I'm going to have to give the lack of feasible defense an edge in the doom department.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:29 PM on February 12, 2019

In the 200cc mode that the streamer was playing on, it's actually possible to outrun the blue shell indefinitely because the karts are so fast. If he had gotten the mini turbo that he was lamenting, he would indeed have been fine.
posted by zixyer at 1:10 PM on February 13, 2019

LUIGI, leaning out of his passing kart while glowering in slow motion: "Looks like somebody's in..."
LUIGI: *begins playing trumpet*
LUIGI: "...Blues Hell"
posted by cortex at 3:34 PM on February 13, 2019