Uploaded December 2014 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
I collect the star Stand Tall on the Four Pillars in Shifting Sand Land using 0 A presses.
This video is an improvement from my previous video in which I collected this star in 1 A press. You can find that video here: youtu.be/541EDQ5b4Z0. At that time, I knew that if Mario could somehow get on top of the wire mesh, then this star could be done in 0x A presses. I also knew that, using the goomba, Mario could get very close to getting onto the mesh, but he couldn't quite make it. It wasn't until Tyler Kehne popularized the star dance clip that a breakthrough was made. Interestingly, after Tyler informed me of the star dance clip, Tyler and I both independently realized that this star could be done in 0x A presses!
So what is the star dance clip? The star dance clip is a technique where Mario collects a star, thereby allowing him to get onto ledges he wouldn't normally be able to get on. You see, when Mario collects a star, he enters a state where he is able to grab onto ledges. But when he grabs on in this state, instead of entering the grabbing on animation, he just appears at the top of the ledge and does his star dance. So the reason that this is useful is because after we use the goomba's knockback to gain height, we are high enough to grab onto the mesh, but not in a state where Mario is allowed to. It is only by collecting the 100 coin star that Mario becomes able to grab onto the ledge and gets up successfully.
The goomba bounce was actually very precise, done in such a way as to maximize Mario's height. You see, the peak height of a goomba bounce is directly related to the height of the goomba, and so before bouncing on him we raise him up higher. We do this by first scaring the goomba (making him jump up) and then knocking into the goomba (making him jump up again from midair). It is only after these two jumps that Mario bounces on the goomba, thereby allowing a very high bounce.
One last note is that in order to perform this strategy, we need to collect 100 coins for the 100 coin star. However, there aren't 100 coins accessible to Mario without pressing A. Therefore, I make use of the breaking/disappearing cork box glitch. You see, a cork box disappears after 30 seconds of inactivity (and respawns), and a cork box breaks if it comes into contact with anything (in this case a larger box). If these two things happen simultaneously, then the box will explode AND respawn, thereby creating 3 coins without destroying the box. I perform this trick over and over until I have enough coins to reach 100.
.m64 stats:
Length: 12 minutes and 18 seconds
Re-records: 9222
ABC Playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmvvhlevqC2d6vis077yFHuLJHYtTtqe_
ABC Routes: docs.google.com/document/d/1ypRVVRyf4x-v8GqCSmKYnicrfKSIjao3Y1ZVl52RIyM/edit
I collect the star Stand Tall on the Four Pillars in Shifting Sand Land using 0 A presses.
This video is an improvement from my previous video in which I collected this star in 1 A press. You can find that video here: youtu.be/541EDQ5b4Z0. At that time, I knew that if Mario could somehow get on top of the wire mesh, then this star could be done in 0x A presses. I also knew that, using the goomba, Mario could get very close to getting onto the mesh, but he couldn't quite make it. It wasn't until Tyler Kehne popularized the star dance clip that a breakthrough was made. Interestingly, after Tyler informed me of the star dance clip, Tyler and I both independently realized that this star could be done in 0x A presses!
So what is the star dance clip? The star dance clip is a technique where Mario collects a star, thereby allowing him to get onto ledges he wouldn't normally be able to get on. You see, when Mario collects a star, he enters a state where he is able to grab onto ledges. But when he grabs on in this state, instead of entering the grabbing on animation, he just appears at the top of the ledge and does his star dance. So the reason that this is useful is because after we use the goomba's knockback to gain height, we are high enough to grab onto the mesh, but not in a state where Mario is allowed to. It is only by collecting the 100 coin star that Mario becomes able to grab onto the ledge and gets up successfully.
The goomba bounce was actually very precise, done in such a way as to maximize Mario's height. You see, the peak height of a goomba bounce is directly related to the height of the goomba, and so before bouncing on him we raise him up higher. We do this by first scaring the goomba (making him jump up) and then knocking into the goomba (making him jump up again from midair). It is only after these two jumps that Mario bounces on the goomba, thereby allowing a very high bounce.
One last note is that in order to perform this strategy, we need to collect 100 coins for the 100 coin star. However, there aren't 100 coins accessible to Mario without pressing A. Therefore, I make use of the breaking/disappearing cork box glitch. You see, a cork box disappears after 30 seconds of inactivity (and respawns), and a cork box breaks if it comes into contact with anything (in this case a larger box). If these two things happen simultaneously, then the box will explode AND respawn, thereby creating 3 coins without destroying the box. I perform this trick over and over until I have enough coins to reach 100.
.m64 stats:
Length: 12 minutes and 18 seconds
Re-records: 9222
ABC Playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmvvhlevqC2d6vis077yFHuLJHYtTtqe_
ABC Routes: docs.google.com/document/d/1ypRVVRyf4x-v8GqCSmKYnicrfKSIjao3Y1ZVl52RIyM/edit
![SM64 - Bowser in the Sky (without Red Coins) - 3x A Presses [OUTDATED]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ixgacnmzrnE/mqdefault.jpg "SM64 - Bowser in the Sky (without Red Coins) - 3x A Presses [OUTDATED]
THIS VIDEO IS OUTDATED - SEE A BETTER VERSION OF THIS VIDEO HERE:
http://youtu.be/vHB1ZuHKqRk
I complete the level Bowser in the Sky using 3 A presses. The A presses are as follows:
A press #1: to cross the first two gaps in the beginning platforms
A press #2: to cross the third gap in the beginning platforms
A press #3: to jump off the pole near the goombas
This video is an improvement from my previous video in which I did this in 4 A presses. You can find that video here: http://youtu.be/Gx8JByvljlM. Since then, I figured out how to get onto chuckyas platform without having to press A, namely by using the elevator (which can be seen at 0:25). You see, the elevators hitbox is a bit misleading. Here is a picture I made to demonstrate what I mean: http://imgur.com/0pcDrZ5. As you can see, the axiss hitbox rotates around along with one of the platforms, much in contrast to what it outwardly looks like. And so, I take advantage of this by going on the specific platform that the axiss hitbox is attached to, waiting for it to reach the top of its rotation, and then using the axiss hitbox to gain additional height, enough to reach chuckyas platform. Here is a picture to illustrate this: http://imgur.com/9I1oNCl. Hopefully, that clarifies why I was able to land in midair!
Note: To avoid having to do redo the 63-goomba strategy, this video is a hybrid of two videos, and I switch between them while Im climbing the pole (at 1:04). Nevertheless, the strategy I employ is completely possible to do in a single run.
The song I used was a remixed version of Sword Lords remix of the William tell Overture, which can be found at: http://youtu.be/P7svUxY2Gns.
ABC Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmvvhlevqC2d6vis077yFHuLJHYtTtqe_
ABC Routes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ypRVVRyf4x-v8GqCSmKYnicrfKSIjao3Y1ZVl52RIyM/edit")
![SM64 - Watch for Rolling Rocks - 0.5x A Presses (Commentated) [OUTDATED]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kpk2tdsPh0A/mqdefault.jpg "SM64 - Watch for Rolling Rocks - 0.5x A Presses (Commentated) [OUTDATED]
THIS VIDEO IS OUTDATED - SEE A BETTER VERSION OF THIS VIDEO HERE:
https://youtu.be/aFx7woWkZbc
I collect the star Watch for Rolling Rocks in Hazy Maze Cave using 0.5 A presses. The A press is to perform AB kicks on the rising elevators. Without doing these kicks, Mario would go through the elevator, and so thered be no way to navigate out of the lake area with QPU speed. For the record, this is TAS.
This video is an improvement from my previous video in which I collected this star in 1 A press. You can find that video here: https://youtu.be/yGic8wwhm6g. Since then, we discovered PU movement and scuttlebug raising, which made this strat possible.
For convenience, here are the informative parts of the video:
0:35 for half A presses
3:44 for scuttlebug transportation
5:01 for scuttlebug raising
8:07 for hyper speed walking (HSWing)
10:40 for parallel universes (PUs)
Here is a play by play of what I do. First, I use scuttlebug transportation to move a scuttlebug to the corner of the Watch for Rolling Rocks platform. Then, I use scuttlebug raising to raise him to about the height of the platform. Next, I use hyper speed walking to generate massive speed. Finally, I use PU movement to navigate to the top of the course, launch to the scuttlebug to bounce on him, and ground pound in the misalignment of the platform to get onto it. And from there, I collect the star.
If you want to see my workspace/calculations and read about the process of TASing this, Ive chronicled it here: http://imgur.com/gallery/rK24p
.m64 stats:
Length: 13 hours and 49.5 minutes
Re-records: 6824
Frames: 2986271 (1493100 input)
This video is without a doubt the one that Ive put the most time into out of all my videos. I knew this going in, and so I decided to keep a log of how much time I spent on each aspect of it (note: if my computer was doing work like compiling/recording and I could let it be, I didnt count that time). Here are the stats:
Time to TAS: 12 hours
Time to record/manage raw avis: 9 hours
Time to create uncommentated version: 31 hours
Time to add visuals/commentary: 75 hours
Update: The PU route used in this video actually crashes on console, as it turns out PU crashes can still occur even when locking the camera in the main map. Nevertheless, an alternate route has been found that avoids these PU crashes and has been console verified: https://youtu.be/T-G4ymVwajw
Commentated video playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmvvhlevqC2ftzAeEpTaI7eS6b4nPN3ji
Uncommentated Version: https://youtu.be/X-zAWbM50JM
ABC Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmvvhlevqC2d6vis077yFHuLJHYtTtqe_
ABC Routes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ypRVVRyf4x-v8GqCSmKYnicrfKSIjao3Y1ZVl52RIyM/edit")
![SM64 - A-Maze-ing Emergency Exit - 1x A Presses [OUTDATED]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l802xZp4TBY/mqdefault.jpg "SM64 - A-Maze-ing Emergency Exit - 1x A Presses [OUTDATED]
THIS VIDEO IS OUTDATED - SEE A BETTER VERSION OF THIS VIDEO HERE:
https://youtu.be/QNn6hvOlH7o
I collect the star A-Maze-ing Emergency Exit in Hazy Maze Cave using 1 A press. The A press is to long jump over to the star platform.
This video is an improvement from my previous video in which I collected this star in 2 A presses. You can find that video here: http://youtu.be/s3XKXOERgBg. Since then, I discovered that you could use the swooper to reach the maze exit. See, a swooper will maintain a constant height unless it travels up a slope, in which case its height increases and it maintains that height. In the maze, there is only one slope that goes high enough to get the swooper within bouncing height of the exit, and so I first lure the swooper to that slope and then to the exit. Since the swooper is so high by that point, I also bounce on a monty mole to reach the swooper.
ABC Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmvvhlevqC2d6vis077yFHuLJHYtTtqe_
ABC Routes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ypRVVRyf4x-v8GqCSmKYnicrfKSIjao3Y1ZVl52RIyM/edit")
