"Look! The rankings have been updated!"
"Don't push! Could someone in the front please help with the ranking data for the top few? Thanks!"
Many children shouted in the crowd.
There are many adults in the front rows, making it almost impossible for them to see the screen displaying the rankings, so they can only shout loudly.
Because Taiga Oono arrived relatively early, he was lucky to be standing near the front, and he could see the specific ranking of all participants from yesterday.
Naturally, he was only interested in the first place for each game.
For Super Mario Bros. 1, the current first place clear time is seventeen minutes and forty-eight seconds.
For Contra, the first place is thirty-one minutes and twelve seconds.
For Metroid, the first place is two hours, seventeen minutes, and sixteen seconds.
For Tetris, the highest limit is level thirteen with a duration of twenty-seven seconds.
Seeing this, Taiga Oono suddenly felt that he might have a chance.
The challenger in Tetris is quite strong and poses a significant threat to him as well. Currently, his best chance lies in Super Mario Bros. 1.
If he can only get first place in one game, that would be completely acceptable and enough to make him happy.
Yesterday, he had already started fantasizing about how his parents would react happily when they saw the prize he won.
With the rankings from the first day, more players now have a better understanding of their standings.
Taiga Oono also understands that there are probably many people with the same idea as him, waiting and observing for a few more days before making a final push.
So Taiga Oono didn't rush to sign up today.
Then he ran to the next challenge location with his lunch box, which is in Adachi Ward, a similarly low-income area in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Just like in Arakawa Ward, there are also quite a lot of people here, indicating that in areas with lower living standards, video games are more likely to be popular because there are few other entertainment options, and video games are one of the few things that can provide long-lasting joy at a low cost.
In the previous rankings, the first places for several games almost all came from Arakawa Ward and Adachi Ward, which also proves that there are indeed many players here, and many of them are skilled. He feels that he should pay more attention to these areas in the next few days.
His browsing speed today is obviously faster than yesterday. He visited four areas' stores today and then tiredly took the last subway back home.
Even though he's young and energetic, he still feels exhausted. Upon returning home, he immediately falls asleep.
He hadn't slept much the past two days, completely immersed in the challenge of clearing games. After all, even the strongest body needs rest.
At one or two in the morning, Taiga Oono's mother quietly opened the door to his room. At this moment, Taiga Oono was sleeping soundly on the floor, holding a game controller in his hand. The game on the TV screen was already game over, and there was a timer next to him, still running.
She felt sorry for her child, quietly covering him with a blanket and didn't do anything else, fearing that he might wake up because of it. Then she quietly closed the door and left.
The next day, Taiga Oono woke up after ten o'clock, feeling a bit anxious as he thought he might miss out on a lot. So, he hurriedly grabbed his lunch box and rushed out, continuing his observation for the day.
On the third day of the challenge, the rankings were updated once again.
Except for the first place in Tetris, which remained unchanged, the clear times for the first places in other games were shortened again.
Super Mario Bros.: Sixteen minutes and twenty-three seconds.
Contra: Twenty-seven minutes and four seconds.
Metroid: Two hours, seven minutes, and forty-seven seconds.
The top challengers are still concentrated in Arakawa Ward and Adachi Ward.
After seeing the updated rankings, his expression became serious. These challengers are indeed very threatening. His previous test times are clearly not enough; he needs to be faster.
However, he has roughly figured out effective clearing methods for several games.
For example, in Super Mario Bros., he can shorten the clear time by skipping levels. He has found some key points to shorten the total clear time of Mario by skipping levels.
He can further reduce the clear time of Super Mario Bros., perhaps below ten minutes.
The time cost for Metroid is too long, and Taiga Oono is starting to consider giving up. He feels that it's not worth spending too much time on just one game.
The other three games are worth a try.
For Tetris, he aims to break through level 14 and maintain a speed of level 15.
For Contra, he aims to clear it within twenty-five minutes.
With the continuous fermentation of the first two days, there is once again an increase in the number of people joining in for the fun.
Gamestar Electronic Entertainment is really making a fortune in this challenge, with the increase in the number of players alone being a huge wealth.
Daily sales are also rapidly increasing.
Of course, all of this has nothing to do with Taiga Oono. He just feels that there are more and more people at the challenge venues every day.
Even though today is Monday, there are significantly more people than on Saturday.
After roughly observing the challenge venue close to home, he immediately rushed back home.
Now, it's meaningless to just check the rankings; he needs to strive to clear the games in a shorter time before the challenge ends.
So, he embarked on a two-day, two-night grind, restarting the game immediately whenever he made a mistake, to save time as much as possible and complete the challenge faster.
Finally, he achieved his expected goals, reducing the clear times for Mario and Contra, and also maintained the speed of level 15 in Tetris, albeit just for a little over a second.
Then, once again, filled with confidence, he walked out of his room.
This time, he planned to complete his first challenge and test how he would perform at the venue.
He quickly arrived at the nearest store from home. Today, there are still many people as usual, but the number of people signing up for the challenge has clearly decreased a lot. Most of them are more self-aware, but still curious to see what's going on.
After taking a look at the current rankings, besides the fastest clear time for Metroid being shortened once again, there were no other changes.
After seeing the rankings, he basically relaxed. It's his turn to dominate now!
After completing the registration process, he patiently waited for his turn to challenge.
At this time, Takayuki also came to this store.
"There are indeed a lot of people."