Super Mario 64 speedrunner finds way to grab elusive 1-Up without dying

Super Mario 64 is full of secrets and challenges that continue to delight speedrunners to this day. One challenge in particular has just been overcome by speedunner PaLiX using a tool assisted method. It involves a hidden 1-Up mushroom that was otherwise thought impossible to obtain without dying immediately afterward.

The 1-Up mushroom in question is hidden near the slide shortcut in the Cool, Cool, Mountain stage. PaLiX’s new method requires Mario to wall jump between the two walls just outside the shortcut’s exit for… a long time. After over an hour of jumping back and forth (it’s a lot of “yah”-ing and “wahoo”ing), Mario can be made to float upward into position, where he can safely stomp onto the mushroom below and exit through the shortcut once again. You can watch a sped up version of this feat above.

Of course, there’s no practical application for this in-game, and it requires computer assistance to achieve the pixel perfect accuracy necessary. Still, it’s another strange, and marvelous accomplishment from the seemingly endless world of Super Mario 64 speedruns.