Uploaded April 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Wanted to show off the cutscenes run here because the moving wall cycle is so tight and the wheel cycle is all weird but cool to do fast.
The second half of the first planet looks slow but is oddly the fastest route for that ending - the final wheel only starts moving when you reach a certain point on the previous wheel (I never found out exactly where) but in the time it takes for the arm to come up so you can backflip or long jump off it, it is faster to just get to the middle and backflip and wallkick up (by ~0.75s).
And damn this choppy framerate garbage dolphin dump garbage pc
At the very start, I had tried to get an instant triple bounce off the Jack O'Goomba, but it didn't work out at all despite various angles.
An instant triple bounce was possible off the one on the second planet thanks to the low ceiling bouncing Luigi back down onto the pumpkin. This was fast and necessary to be able to beat the cycle to the far right side.
#SuperMarioGalaxy2 #ToolAssistedSpeedrun
Wanted to show off the cutscenes run here because the moving wall cycle is so tight and the wheel cycle is all weird but cool to do fast.
The second half of the first planet looks slow but is oddly the fastest route for that ending - the final wheel only starts moving when you reach a certain point on the previous wheel (I never found out exactly where) but in the time it takes for the arm to come up so you can backflip or long jump off it, it is faster to just get to the middle and backflip and wallkick up (by ~0.75s).
And damn this choppy framerate garbage dolphin dump garbage pc
At the very start, I had tried to get an instant triple bounce off the Jack O'Goomba, but it didn't work out at all despite various angles.
An instant triple bounce was possible off the one on the second planet thanks to the low ceiling bouncing Luigi back down onto the pumpkin. This was fast and necessary to be able to beat the cycle to the far right side.
#SuperMarioGalaxy2 #ToolAssistedSpeedrun
![[TAS] SMG2: Boss Blitz Green Star 1 in 1:03.93
Luigi and P2 smash up a couple of bosses to collect a Green Star in 1 minutes 3.93 seconds [IGT, 3836 frames].
I had done everything up to Major Burrows a few months ago when testing for Burrows RNG between cutscenes and no cutscenes. This is why both cutscenes play (letting the second one play is also faster for IGT).
Compared to Boss Blitz GS2 (https://youtu.be/4XGkl4_N0Gk) this improved Dino and Kaliente fights:
- For Dinos 2nd and final hits, manipulating Dinos movements and changing angle hitting the tail so the tail whipped and hit Dino 1f earlier.
- For Kalientes 2nd phase, hitting the return shot right in front of Kaliente so it hit a few frames earlier and also skips the 5 frames of hitlag from spinning the coconut.
- For Kalientes 3rd phase, general optimisation of the long jump and spin to both defeat Kaliente and reach the launch star earlier, saving 7 frames.
I also tried hitting Dinos first hit in the same way as the 2nd and 3rd but could only match the 1P hit used.
For the star grab, jump cancel and camera cancel are both the same as the cutscene resets Luigis position.
An earlier long jump would be too floaty to be faster, as would pretty much any jump.
I landed on a slope on the tree and held neutral just before landing and then backwards when landing to get insane speed which happens because reasons.
#SuperMarioGalaxy2 #ToolAssistedSpeedrun [TAS] SMG2: Boss Blitz Green Star 1 in 1:03.93](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ndlfzuZORRs/mqdefault.jpg)


![[TAS] Flash Black mansion Yoshiless as Mario (megasideflip route)
Second possible Yoshiless route for Mario.
Luigi has been known for a while to be able to do this without Yoshi, as seen in Pottowws 2015 IL: https://youtu.be/ONF0Yhv8Nmk
For Mario, it was thought for a long time that he couldnt make the first platform, but goryuya managed to get it with a triple jump spin just a few days ago. The difference was in facing away from the wall. Somehow Mario decides to grab facing away but not facing towards: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/762731483189870623/902529710356066304/2021-10-26_20-26-24_Trim.mp4
jda7 wondered if neutral walljump strain would squeeze out enough height to make the triple jump walljump strat work for TAS. I couldnt make it work, but tried a couple of other ideas, first being angled wallkicks to get further up the outside wall (wallkick angled to the left off one side, strain back to wallkick off the wall Mario would be facing).
Then I wondered if a megasideflip was possible as the start has a fixed camera (XZ_PARA) angled perfectly diagonal to the level like in Flip-Swap.
That worked, and I managed to get to the first platform, and then up to the second storey. Then the route follows most of Luigis route.
#SuperMarioGalaxy2 [TAS] Flash Black mansion Yoshiless as Mario (megasideflip route)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p5QpRP7TJeo/mqdefault.jpg)
![[TAS] SMG: Beach Bowl Comet in 0.5xA presses [Mario]
This saves 0.5x over the previous count, using edge lifting (name pending) to be close enough to spin and grab the star with a weak spin.
This is a star grab that was known to be possible as Luigi but not Mario.
There may be an 0x strat using Tox Box flinging or displacement, but it hasnt been successful yet.
I decided to mess around with the geometry in this level, knowing it is very janky because of the curved edges and how the gravity works with them. Wasnt expecting the fast slide at 0:34 though.
The weakspin was necessary for the star grab with its extended hitbox, colliding with the slightly larger corner of the stars hitbox.
#SuperMarioGalaxy #AButtonChallenge [TAS] SMG: Beach Bowl Comet in 0.5xA presses [Mario]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pm6RCpKbAMQ/mqdefault.jpg)

![[TAS] SMG2: Space Storm Green Stars
Green Stars TAS WIP
Star order matters due to bubble cycles for GS3, where cutscene cycles are better by 9 frames, but also pull star cycles means GS2 would save 3 frames. So overall doing GS3 first is faster by 6 frames. Quick maths.
Green Star 1 - 5.88 IGT - 1:33:04.05 real-time split (1:03.57 segment)
The cycle of the ring of pull stars means grabbing a pull star immediately isnt necessarily faster.
After much testing, it was found to be marginally faster to do a land cancel before grabbing the pull star planet, as this leads to a slightly higher and faster first pull where the speed adds up later on, while also catching the cycle at a perfect time.
The rotation of Luigi in the bubble matters for star grab, and can make up to 4 frames of difference. In this case, it saved 3 frames to twist him around using the IR cursor.
Green Star 3 - 16.86 IGT - 1:34:16.10 real-time split (1:12.05 segment)
This is an improvement of 1.6s over my 2020 TAS: https://youtu.be/-KnxWlYubGA
The bubble cycle is either global or the shooter is simply close enough to stay active (you can see the bubbles firing from the first planet). This means hyper-optimisation of the whole level isnt necessary provided you get the fastest cycle.
Despite this, I did optimise the first section as best I could, including an early release from the bubble to save a couple of frames on the launch star.
The main improvement to get an earlier cycle was going around the wall and setting up a boosted triple jump.
Jumping over a void (or moving floor) from a moving floor will make you accelerate in the air even when falling forward. This - plus landing in neutral to conserve more speed - led to the double jump being as fast as a long jump, and the triple jump then almost reaching the speed cap of 32, all despite going the opposite way of the moving floor.
Green Star 2 - 14.80 IGT - 1:35:13.83 real-time split (57.73s segment)
This is an improvement of 19 frames over my 2020 TAS, despite no-cutscenes losing 3 frames on the pull stars: https://youtu.be/tT7OmwDp0vg
Interestingly for the second planet, I managed to get a 6f faster route by reloading the wrong savestate during playback. A setup for a different route idea ended up making the main route idea faster, thanks to landing on the edge of the wall in such a way to be able to long jump without a stuttering run, or just immediately falling off.
Backflip saved 1 frame.
#supermariogalaxy2 #toolassistedspeedrun [TAS] SMG2: Space Storm Green Stars](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qOEQi59gTmY/mqdefault.jpg)
![[TAS] SMG2: Fiery Flotilla GS2 in 17.11 (RTA route)
This route is 0.7s faster in real time than the Thwomp jump route, as the Thwomp takes too long to rise when skipping cutscenes fast.
The spin I do at the end is done by shaking for 2 frames and pressing Z on the second frame. Normally this would result in a normal ground pound with spin attack properties still on it (used in Major Burrows fights, for instance), but when doing it too close to the ground to be able to ground pound, it instead results in a very short spin.
This was done to get a little bit further along with some of the remaining long jump speed without losing too much of it with a regular spin, which meant I was far enough along for the second lava boost to go directly up into the star, rather than slowly arching towards it. This saved 8 frames.
Thwomp jump is faster with full cutscene cycles, so it is still in the run, and doing GS1 first is 0.5s faster than doing GS2 first, because the Thwomp jump can go much further left - much closer to GS1 - than this ? block triple jump wallkick.
This doesnt seem like it makes sense but Im tired.
#SuperMarioGalaxy2 #ToolAssistedSpeedrun [TAS] SMG2: Fiery Flotilla GS2 in 17.11 (RTA route)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qmK9BPKPkCs/mqdefault.jpg)
![[TAS] Super Mario Galaxy: Buoy Base Secret in 40.53s
Mario finds the secret of Buoy Base in 40.53 seconds [2432 frames].
There are two main parts to this: the torpedo and the Bullet Bill.
The torpedo spawns as soon as youre vertically in line with it. A good visual cue is reaching the ring with starbits on.
Optimising this was interesting, as going straight down would mean the torpedo would come out too early and home in when youre on the wrong side, going away from the pipe.
So I made sure to get some distance before activating the torpedo.
There may be a frame to save if you can turn the camera to where it ends up when watching the pipe whirlpool spawn. Cameras have micro-optimisations like that in other places.
I had to swim into the bottom of the cage so the torpedo would be on the perfect path to hit as soon as possible. Not doing this wouldve lost a frame.
Bullet Bills still turn when frozen by P2, so the key was optimising the right path to make it turn quicker and letting go when its angle is at least somewhat facing backwards.
The backflip was late enough that it didnt change the Bullet Bills path, at least, not enough to lose time.
#SuperMarioGalaxy #ToolAssistedSpeedrun [TAS] Super Mario Galaxy: Buoy Base Secret in 40.53s](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qnbGV_tTlUs/mqdefault.jpg)
![[TAS] Super Mario Galaxy 2: Tall Trunk Green Star 1 in 8.83s
Luigi climbs a tree without a run-up this time in 8.83 seconds [IGT, 530 frames].
-1.52s (91f) improvement over previous record. Tall Trunk GS1 joins the sub 10 club.
Diamentos found that the technique of holding neutral (or pressing C) before the double jump will add more height and momentum to the triple jump, making this route much faster and it doesnt need a run-up from behind the spawn stump: https://clips.twitch.tv/BrainyGentleTildeDxCat
This is a technique that was found over the development of the Battlerock 1 OoB trick.
This wasnt hyper-optimised with a couple of slightly later landings than necessary, and I think there is some more potential in the extended triple jump that would remove the need for a walljump, and possibly even without a spin (the spin in the run was used to land earlier and further right than the walljump would have).
#SuperMarioGalaxy2 #ToolAssistedSpeedrun [TAS] Super Mario Galaxy 2: Tall Trunk Green Star 1 in 8.83s](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qshjDR8ch4M/mqdefault.jpg)
![[TAS] Super Mario Galaxy 2: Supermassive Green Star 3 in 19.58s
Luigi and P2 use checkpoints and Koopa Troopas to collect a Green Star in 19.58 seconds [IGT, 1175 frames].
I delayed the first long jump as it got the following single jump a bit closer to the ledge, saving a few frames.
For the wallkick on the ? block, I used neutral wallkick strain to be closer to the block when spinning, landing earlier.
Having P2 grab the checkpoint and then dying is faster than the pipe strat done in RTA runs by ~1.5 seconds (in real time; IGT is more like 3.5 seconds).
But there is a different strat using angled wallkicks that is ~0.3 seconds faster in real time than the death abuse strat (seen here: https://youtu.be/KwHCkBmDdJU), so death abuse only has use for in-game time - the timer stops when the life counter appears and starts again when its gone, so in-game time is 2 seconds shorter than real time.
Freezing the Koopa Troopa at the end to bounce off it saved 0.6s over a triple jump.
#SuperMarioGalaxy2 #ToolAssistedSpeedrun [TAS] Super Mario Galaxy 2: Supermassive Green Star 3 in 19.58s](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rSjkTOOWvjc/mqdefault.jpg)