It’s the most wonderful time of the year, which as we all know is not Christmas, but that which immediately follows it: Awesome Games Done Quick week. The annual speedrunning charity marathon is always a joy, featuring a mixture of mindboggling techniques and hypnotic gimmick runs like somebody jamming out on piano while playing New Super Mario Bros Wii with their feet. Speaking of Mario, there sure have been a lot of player characters named Luigi this year. Wonder what that's about.
It’s the darndest thing. Viewers keep using AGDQ’s donation incentives – which allow viewers to influence decisions made by runners and, in many cases, choose characters’ names – to christen everybody Luigi.
Here it is happening at the start of a Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker run:
And here it is at the start of a Skyrim run:
And in a Fallout: New Vegas romance run:
And a Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee run:
And a Gauntlet IV run:
And a Final Fantasy Legend 2 run:
According to the AGDQ 2025 bid index, some people have donated thousands of dollars in Luigi’s name. One person, for example, furiously flung $4,379.70 at the Prevent Cancer Foundation in support of the best cause of all: naming Link, gaming’s most famous green guy, after Luigi, gaming’s second most famous green guy.
Impossible to say why people are doing this. We’ll probably never find out.
Thanks to Aftermath Discord regular MattieBoomBattie for the tip! You can send us tips here, and you can join the Discord by subscribing to our member tier here.
