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This picture is good, but it still doesn't have Shantae in a bikini.

I shouldn't have tried to get the bikini picture for "Shantae: Risky's Revenge." I had two articles that I had to finish for a college course, but I was really angry about this challenge.

It's nearly impossible to finish this DSi game under two hours. This is the only way to get the picture of Shantae in a bikini. I wanted that picture.

After failing the challenge for an entire month, I found out how to speed through the game. I had to skip all the long cutscenes with copious amounts of dialogue.

Would this magic trick really cut down on my elapsed time? I really had to test out this idea. At 10 p.m., I decided to do it. My articles were really easy to write. All I needed was a little time.

I memorized almost all of the fastest routes. I had to skip past all the magic jam jars and the extra heart container. I knew how to do the Castlevania slide, so that Shantae could zip through the stages at the speed of sound.

I even knew all the tricks to take out the bosses in record time. I'm a Castlevania fanatic, so I'm a natural when it comes to dodging boss attacks.

The last fight was a doozy. I had to dodge all of the evil genie's bubble spread shots, monkey acrobatics and elephant stomps. My character almost died in that battle.

[embed:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9xwzmo6kFQ&feature=related ]

The final battle of "Shantae: Risky's Revenge." Spoiler alert!

Finally, I managed to take out that genie. After using the cutscene skip technique to speed through the final ending, I was about to reach the moment of truth.

I rejoiced once the ending picture came on the screen. I finally found the awesome bikini photo. Okay, I'll admit that this picture wasn't worth all the blood, sweat and tears I had to endure in the final battle. However, the bikini challenge is more about the journey than the ending.

Sometimes it takes a girl in a bikini to bring back old, warm memories of video games in the past. Memories of rushing through Metroid games just to find the hidden ending image of Samus in a bikini.

Maybe I need to get a life.

Shantae in a bikini