Streamer maxes out counter in Yokai Watch 2: Psychic Specters’ Infinite Tunnel at 999,999 meters
Publication date of the original Japanese article: 2021-06-20 08:51 (JST)
Translated by. Nick Mosier
One streamer’s challenge to run through the seemingly endless Infinite Tunnel in Yokai Watch 2: Psychic Specters has finally come to end. The challenger, a Japanese YouTuber that goes by the username Babel, spent hours a day over the course of 23 live streams stoically running through the tunnel with the goal of reaching the end.
Babel’s playtime for the months of May and June spent going through the tunnel was roughly 83 hours before finally reaching their goal of completing a fully extended tunnel of 999,999 meters. The stream reached upwards of 290,000 concurrent viewers with the community flooding the chat with messages of their excitement.
Yokai Watch 2: Psychic Specters is a mainline entry in the Yokai Watch series from developer Level 5 for the Nintendo 3DS. It released in December 2014 in Japan and September 2017 in the United States and Europe. The game is an expanded version of the original Yokai Watch 2 that released earlier the same year in Japan with added movie tie-in content, new dungeons, and other features.
The Infinite Tunnel is a location that makes its first appearance in Yokai Watch 2 where the player can only enter once a day and is forced to only move forward. Players can’t save their progress in the tunnel or go to other areas, so you have to reach the exit before shutting off your 3DS.
The biggest feature of the tunnel, and what this whole challenge is predicated on, is that the length of the tunnel changes. Within the tunnel there are events that can occur multiple times, even after clearing a run, and the tunnel’s total length extends by 1,000 meters with each run.
The characters and events you come across in the tunnel can also change the total length. As the main character, Nate Adams, progresses, the total distance is displayed in the upper left-hand corner. The further he ventures into the tunnel, the rarer the items and yokai become to sweeten the deal for challengers.
This seemingly endless tunnel does eventually come to an end though. This video from 2016 on Niconico shows the distance counter stopped at 999,999 meters. YouTuber Babel set out to max out the counter of the Infinite Tunnel and thoroughly broadcast what happens on the journey.
It was a long road for Babel as this isn’t even the first time they’ve taken on the challenge to max out the Infinite Tunnel counter. Babel has attempted the challenge over 20 times over the course of years, with a run even reaching 520,000 meters, but their ambitions were crushed by the previously mentioned events that occur in the tunnel.
The Infinite Tunnel is filled with all sorts of these events. Sometimes you receive items, sometimes you enter battles, and sometimes you see something that’s just plain eerie. They can either help you along the way or stop you dead in your tracks. Two events that were vital for the run were The Switch and the Tunnel Guy which can extend or shorten the length of the tunnel.
These events not only changed the length of the tunnel, but also added drama to Babel’s otherwise silent and monotonous stream. The Switch event changes the position of the tunnel’s exit at random with the four possibilities being a little bit longer, much longer, a little bit shorter, and much shorter, with the much shorter option most likely leading to failing the challenge. According to Babel’s estimations, the probability that the tunnel is made longer is more likely so they made it a policy to use switches when they came across them.
Babel seemed to enjoy the switches and would move the character to play into the camera when approaching them which fired up the audience. Viewers would go wild when they appeared and the chat would be filled with “Push it!” and “No! Stop!” messages. This reached a boiling point when a switch appeared after the 990,000 meter mark. Babel decisively hit the switch and luckily received an extension. You could say The Switch was a key character in the broadcast by getting the audience worked into a frenzy.
Another key character in the stream was the Tunnel Guy. The Tunnel Guy is an NPC that asks the player if the tunnel should be longer or shorter. But even though the Tunnel Guy was loved by the viewers, he was also the culprit of an earlier failed attempt from Babel to complete the Infinite Tunnel.
The Tunnel Guy’s a reliable fellow. He’ll ask you to confirm your decision to shorten or extand the tunnel, but if you select the shorten option, the tunnel will come to an end real quick. And in Babel’s previous 520,000 meter attempt, Tunnel Guy brought it to an abrupt end. This time Babel was extra careful to make good use of the Tunnel Guy’s tunnel manipulating powers.
The Switch and the Tunnel Guy aren’t the only mechanics/NPCs to appear in the tunnel though. There’s also a train conductor that runs the Infinite Railroad which takes the player a considerable distance closer or further from the exit with the distance counter changing accordingly.
Babel had a suspicion that no matter which way the train goes, the tunnel gets shorter and mostly avoided using it. That is until the end was approaching. Babel then started riding the train, sometimes pressing closer to the end and sometimes being taken further away while the chat was flooded with the joy and worry that Babel was probably feeling as well.
After all the twists and turns along the way, the end was finally in sight on June 20 around midnight. At that time, the viewer count was around 290,000, which is a significant number for YouTube Live in Japan. The hashtag “えんえんトンネルカンスト” (InfiniteTunnelMax) was also trending in Japan with fans showing their support and posting fan art. Babel’s challenge suddenly captured the hearts of tons of Yokai Watch fans.
As the exit drew closer and closer, Babel slowed from a sprint to a walk, stopping as the distance counter maxed out as if to take in the moment. A few more steps later and the light from the exit came into view. Babel hesitated for a second, then stepped into the light. The screen glowed and the message, “Infinite Tunnel Escaped!” appeared.
The challenge that started on May 7 and lasted 44 days over 23 live streams had finally been completed in 83 hours and 38 minutes of playtime. The reward that waited at the end of the journey was 3 Peach Coins for the Yokai gacha machine. Putting rarity aside, it’s a badge of honor to prove the end of a long and arduous journey.
And as if to celebrate the accomplishment was an area with blooming sakura trees and the Infinite Girl NPC. The Infinite Girl said, “Hey, you came back. Did you have fun?” There’s no option to respond, but the journey definitely meant something to Babel and the audience.
But the excitement didn’t end after the challenge was complete. Tons of tweets with the previous hashtag were continuing to be sent out and Babel tweeted out a thank you message to the stream’s viewers with the replies being filled with messages of praise and admiration.
Thanks again for watching over me as I played! Here’s the final moment.
Completing this challenge is proof of Babel’s love for the Yokai Watch series which they said was completed in honor of the 8th anniversary of the series on July 11. It’s not certain if this was due to the reaction of Babel reaching their goal, but after Babel’s mission was complete, the official Yokai Watch Twitter account made a tweet about the Infinite Tunnel.
Enter at your own peril. The Infinite Tunnel’s length changes each time you enter. Just what exactly is waiting at the end? The Yokai Watch 8th anniversary is just around the corner.
Babel’s challenge captured the hearts of Yokai Watch fans. In the end, it shined a spotlight on the 7 year old Yokai Watch 2: Psychic Specters and was a great way to celebrate the series’ 8th anniversary.
