Uploaded September 2007 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
This is my video walkthrough for my HATPC cave, "Not What U Expect 2". This is a very hard cave, but at least now you know how to get past the first trap, right?
This is my video walkthrough for my HATPC cave, "Not What U Expect 2". This is a very hard cave, but at least now you know how to get past the first trap, right?
![Mirror Clip [Mostly Deprecated]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/C5v7cms4hnI/mqdefault.jpg "Mirror Clip [Mostly Deprecated]
You have to go and get the Blue Key before doing this trick or else you will be stuck with no way to get back through the mirror. It used to save like 25s in any%, but it got obsoleted before anybody could try it in a run. Presumably it saves less time in other categories, as those categories will be able to defeat the Duplighosts faster. A way to get back to the other side of the mirror would save another 43s or there abouts, and it currently exists but its TAS-only. A way to do so from inside the palace could be a very significant timesaver in All Collectibles, as that would probably allow you to skip having to beat Chapter 7 again after Peach Warping to the Palace, but that seems unlikely to be possible.
It seems wrong to me that the only place in the entire game with a use for Lakilester pushing is outside this palace and only on this side of the mirror. In fact, there are actually TWO such clips on this side of the mirror (the other gets you OoB but is slower for crossing the mirror), but still none anywhere else. So I would suggest if you have free time to look for other places to use Lakilester pushing (and trapping too). A way to skip needing the Ultra Hammer to get the Ultra Boots, or to skip needing the Ultra Boots for either getting out of the lava room or getting the water puzzle key could be a significant time-saver for All Cards (maybe). And of course theres always looking for a way to get back through the mirror. The most important factor seems to be Marios position, as both of the known clips only have a few pixels of wiggle room to work, and I really dont believe weve combed the game enough looking for uses of this trick.
As far as executing this particular trick is concerned, first start by pushing Lakilester from down below the stairs all the way to the upper-left corner of the area. Negotiating the stairs while pushing Lakilester will take practice. I think, once you get to the mirror, that the fastest way to push him is with pulled-back jumps like I do in the video, but maybe you should verify that. The position where you start pushing Lakilester from can basically be anywhere in that back-right corner. I suggest lining up with the stairs as that ensures that Lakilester will be lined up with the mirror when you get there. If hes not lined up with the mirror, pushing him will take a lot longer. Sometimes when you finish pushing Lakilester he will stay up on the edge of the cave instead of coming back down onto the rock; its fine if he does that.
Now align the left side of Mario with the seam of the cave. A pixel or two into the seam might fare a bit better, but be careful not to get too far away from Lakilester or else he will move before youre ready. Once youre in position, hold down and then hit C-Down on the right frame. The frame you want is the first frame where you can see Lakilester coming back across the area. I cant really verify this on console, but it might sometimes be a two-frame window. If thats the case, then I think I hit the 2nd frame in this video. The 1st frame seems to work for a wider variety of positions... But all that about frame windows might be crap because Im not using emulator to see for sure that there are actually sometimes multiple frames.")
