Speedrunning

100%

One hundred percent, written 100 percent, is a speedrun category that requires completing all of a game defined content as fast as possible, not only reaching the ending. The community for each game defines exactly what counts toward full completion.

What counts is the hard part. In a game with an on screen percentage counter, the rule is simple: the counter must read 100 percent. Most games have no such counter, so runners must agree on a list, typically all collectibles, all bosses, all upgrades, and all side objectives, while excluding trivial pickups such as individual coins or ammunition. That definition is written into the category rules and decides routes as much as player skill does.

A 100 percent route is a planning exercise before it is an execution exercise. The runner must visit everywhere, so the skill is ordering the visits to minimise backtracking, combining trips, and carrying the right items into each area the first time. Any percent tricks that skip content are useless here, while movement skill and menu speed matter on every segment.

These runs are usually several times longer than Any percent runs of the same game and attract a different audience and a different kind of runner. Where Any percent shows how a game can be broken, 100 percent shows how completely it can be mastered, and many runners specialise in one and rarely attempt the other.

In play

"A true 100 percent run here takes six hours, because every collectible and side quest counts."