Super Mario Bros: The Story Behind the Speedrun: People who are truly NESquick.

In late 2006, a teenager from Quincy, Massachusetts was doing something dangerous: Thinking. Thinking can bring down empires. It can give birth to nations. Or it can turn a kid gifted with exceptional hand-eye coordination into a legend almost overnight. Back in these early days of video game speedrunning, the art of playing games as quickly as possible, Scott Kessler and Trevor Seguin dominated the original Super Mario Bros. They were playing the game with the intended warps, but they weren't allowed to use glitches by Twin Galaxies' rules at the time. But there was the sixteen-year-old lurking in the backround who was about to turn the original Mario on its head. His name was Andrew Gardikis, and he would soon be known as Andrewg1990, one of the greatest speedrunners of all time, later joining the ranks of Cosmo (now Narcissa) Wright, and Siglemic. He will be remembered forever. But what was his significance?

Well, in 2006, speedruns were only timed by whole seconds and not milliseconds. Andrewg had managed to tie Trevor Seguin's 5:06 time, but Scott Kessler returned with a 5:05, which was generally considered to be a perfect run. Everything was executed perfectly with the known strategies, and it looked like a tall, skinny kid didn't stand a chance. But Andrew had plans. He was going to do the unprecedented: Save the frames and break the rules. He decided to secretly grind the game and ignore what the scoreboards said. There were two known glitches in the final level of the game, 8-4. One was a pixel-perfect and frame-perfect walljump in which Andrew could skip having to reveal a hidden coin block. The other was a wrong warp. In some levels of the game, there are multiple pipes that will take Mario to various destinations. The game, in all of its 1985 glitchy sidescrolling glory, can only load one warp zone at a time, which allows for exploits. In 8-4, the glitch was very easy to perform. Andrew just had to scroll the screen far enough to update the memory value and use a pipe to take him to the destination that a later pipe would take him to. With these strategies, getting the record would be a piece of Princess Peach's cake. But Andrew wanted more.

In the level 4-2, there is a warp to world 8. Getting to it quickly is simple enough. Run through the level, reveal the hidden coin block, climb the vine into the sky and-voila!-you are in the warp zone. Sounds simple, right? Well actually, the tool assisted, or computerized run at the time was able to use another wrong warp to skip the vine growing. Soon after the vine, there is a pipe that takes Mario to a bonus room. By tricking the game into thinking that Mario is farther back on the screen than he really is, a player is able to go down the pipe and it will still take Mario to the warp zone. Just don't scroll the screen far enough for the game's memory to update. Unfortunately, this involves some precise and awkward backwards jumps, but Andrew figured out the setup and surprised the world with a 5 minute flat run in 2007. But that wasn't enough. This kid, turned young adult, needed to be able to tell his friends that he could beat Mario in under 5 minutes. So on Christmas Eve of 2010, he did. Finally, some crazy nerd could actually tell the world that he beat Super Mario Bros in under 5 minutes and he wouldn't be lying.

Then he figured out that jumping at the top of the flagpole was faster than jumping at the bottom, and was able to get better framerules in some levels. The best analogy to explain how framrules work is if you picture the end of each level being a bus that needs to transport Mario to the next level, and in the Mushroom Kingdom this hypothetical bus (say, Magical Mystery Tour) takes departs at a very specific schedule of every 0.35 seconds, or 21 frames. So you don't need to play perfectly, you just need to catch the same big yellow taxi as someone who did play perfectly. This doesn't apply to the last level. The guy who came up with this analogy is a speedrunner named Darbian. Keep that name in mind for later.

Anyway, in 2013, Andrewg got determined. He wanted a 4:57. His way of going about it? Fast 4-2. Remember the wrong warp in 4-2? Well, in order to get it, Andrew had to push Mario at  least 20 pixels ahead. and each backwards bump can yield 7-10 pixels. So Andrew would get pushed 3 times. But eliminating the first bump would save a framerule. The odds at getting pushed far enough and getting the trick to work were less than 5%. He grinded and grinded, and one day, he had a chance. He got fast 4-2 in a run, and he remained a framerule ahead of his personal best. He got the walljump and the wrong warp in 8-4. But then there was Bowser. Bowser's patterns are random and sometimes you have to take advantage of wonky hit detection and jump through his hammers. Andrew did. But it didn't work. He got hit by a rouge hammer and it seemed like the journey was over. No one would have the strength to keep going. But Andrew was unbeatable, or so everyone thought.

We all know that Germany has brought the world the greatest Monk and the most evil dictator. It has brought the world fantastic empires and scientific discoveries, beer, and Beethoven . But as late as June 25, 2014, Germany brought us a 4:57. Speedrunner Blubbler, aka i_o_l aka LordSaradocc, was able to get a 4:57.693. He didn't use Andrew's strategy though. He found a consistent setup for the bullet bill glitch in 8-2 in which Mario stomps on an enemy and clips into the end-level flagpole, skipping some end-level animations and saving 2 framrules if gotten optimally. He shocked the world with an amazing time and never improved his PB.

While all this was going on there had been another player grinding along with Andrewg. His name was Kosmicd12, but he dropped out of the picture in late 2013. In 2013, Darbian started doing warpless races. He was just another of the hundreds of runners with big dreams of shattering SMB. He wouldn't even do normal runs, as he was uncomfortable streaming back then. Nobody would have guessed that in early 2015, he would get two 4:57s in the same week, using the bullet bill glitch. In October 2015, he broke the record by a few frames. But he  didn't stop there.

In late 2015, Andrew came back. He wanted the record back. So he set out to do the impossible once again: get fast 4-2 and bullet bill glitch in the same run. He was able to get it in a run and he was on the best pace that anyone had ever been on. But a slow water section in 8-4 caused serious Mario heartbreak. It was still a PB and just barely a 4:57. 4:57.993. Then Darbian had his own heartbreaker in which he hit the pipe at the end of the water section in 8-4, losing a few frames. But he was able to get records with fast 4-2 and bullet bill glitch. By August 2016, Darbian had a 4:57.244. That was it. It wasn't beatable. Or so we all thought.

Remember Kosmicd12? Who briefly had the warpless record? Yeah, that guy. Well he was back and he wanted the record. And Sockfolder was his only hope. Sockfolder is the glitch hunter who found the setup for cannonless in Super Mario 64. Yeah, that guy. Kosmic had never had the world record and using a new glitch, the flagpole glitch, which had long been considered impossible to pull off by a human, he tied darbian's record. The glitch is similar to the bullet bill glitch but it only saves one framerule. Armed with Sockfolder's new setup he dropped fast 4-2 and replaced it with the flagpole glitch in 1-1 and 4-1. And got an incredible time on October 5, 2016. 4:57.194. But in 8-2, the bullet bill shot late, and the run could have been a 4:56.84. The next day, Darbian turned around on Kosmic and got the first 4:56 achieved by a human, clocking in at 4:56.878. And that is where the current record stands. It took him 22,000 attempts to get here, but he has become the new Andrewg. He never could have done it without him. He is truly standing on the shoulders of giants.

Kosmic is trying to reclaim the record and get his own 4:56. Andrewg is trying to reclaim the warpless record from darbian. And darbian is going after a long standing Lost Levels warpless D-4 category that is held by Hotarubi, the legendary Super Metroid Speedrunner. They are all friendly towards one another despite the competition. Super Mario Bros is quite a community, and a lot more than one guy with a controller.

Here's the TLDR version: Andrewg never would have attempted the run with out Scott Kessler, Trevor Seguin, and lots of TASers. Darbian couldn't have gotten a 4:56 without Andrewg's, Sockfolder's, and Blubbler's discoveries, just to name a few. It is truly amazing how Super Mario Bros has evolved as a speedrun. Don't be afraid to shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. And don't be afraid of taking risks and trying new things. Don't ever give up. Give it 22,000 attempts if you have to, but keep a balanced life. I don't care what it is: Speedrunning, actual running, cup stacking, Rubik's cube, juggling, standing on your head-even if everyone around you thinks it is a pointless hobby don't be afraid to set a new impossible world record.

Please note: I got most of my info from this article: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/people-are-making-super-mario-go-faster-than-ever/
This video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdAkY7RfajY and various GDQ  events.I don't have an official right to be posting this but it was all in good fun. If Andrew, Kosmic, or Darbian is out there please leave me a comment! I would love to hear from you guys, although I am just a kid who can't even beat the game. :-).

I got 36:38 in new super Mario bros Wii! I'm pretty pleased need to improve tho. I died a lot.

Today is the day I do good in 6 star.

Super Mario Galaxy 2: These ARE the levels you're loooking for.

My Age Recommendation: 6+ This game is about as mild as video games get aside from early educational games. What little violence there is is very cartoonish, and there is no blood. The game can be quite difficult in places, but there are multiple methods of assistance offered within the game. 

My Rating: 4.8/5: Superb.

Platforms: Wii, Wii U

Price: $19.99, Nintendo Selects edition.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a fantastic romp through seven worlds, all with unique levels and gameplay mechanics. It offers a limited co-op mode, in which a second player and use a cursor to pick up items and stun enemies, assisting the main player. It was released for the original Wii back in 2010, and does not require Wii MotionPlus. It can be found relatively cheaply in most stores and will work in a Wii U.  

The game is surprisingly linear compared to the first Galaxy game and other older entries in the series. The player is greeted with a fairly straightforward 2D overworld map that is very intuitive and easy to use. He is also given a small hub world to test out his platforming techniques. It will grow and change as he progresses in the game. In addition to co-op mode, there is a guide that will take the player through certain levels if the player is stuck. This mode can only be accessed if she so chooses. 

Unfortunately, if you are one for story-driven games then Super Mario Galaxy 2 is severely lacking in that department. The plot involves rescuing Princess Peach, who is admittedly not the brightest bulb in the box. She is barely seen, and portrayed as no more than a damsel in distress. The game offers positive messages about friendship and cooperation but it isn't really educational, although the player may pick up a little bit about how gravity works. Unfortunately, the only main female character besides Peach, is Rosalina, who serves as no more than a guide. There is a boss, Glamdozer who is definitely a female, but who knows what species she is? While the characters are admittedly funny, like the jolly Lubba, a fat purple star creature, or Captain Toad, a nervous mushroom who isn't popular with his brigade, they are oversimplified and stereotyped. The antagonists are over the top and thoroughly bad, even though we see that Bowser can be a good guy when he wants to in Super Paper Mario. 

The less-than-engaging plotline and linearity may turn players off at first, but the level design certainly will not. The game is outstanding in this department and is brimming with content and a large variety of environments to explore, although one must do so in a relatively set order compared to more open-world games like Super Mario 64. From gimmick-themed levels based around the use of certain power-ups, to vast, open lava worlds out in space, from a playful snowy environment to a spooky dark maze, there is something in here for everyone. Yoshi, the friendly dinosaur from Super Mario World, makes a triumphant return along with three new power-ups. There are entire levels and even bosses based around the use of Yoshi's unique ability to eat almost anything. The dash pepper makes him run super fast, the blimp fruit turns him into a blimp, and last but certainly not least, there's the bulb berry which illuminates hidden ground. 

Mario comes with his own set of new abilities, too. He can turn into a rock, use a spin drill to drill through dirt, and create platforms out of thin air with the cloud flower. There are levels based around these items as well. There are also recurring power-ups from the first Galaxy game. You can soar through the skies with Fluzzard, swim with penguins, roll snowballs, dodge enemies, swing on vines, climb honeycombs, and even go bowling with the rock mushroom in this delightful 3D platformer. Prankster comets are back with a wider variety of what to do. The Cosmic Mario races from the first game have been replaced by cosmic clone levels in which you are being followed by miniature versions of yourself that will deal damage if you touch them.  

And once Peach is rescued there is still more to do! Getting 70 stars to defeat Bowser is pretty easy, but going for all 120 is an arduous task. And after that you STILL aren't done! There are 120 green stars scattered throughout the levels for completionists to discover. And at the end of all that you reach Grandmaster Galaxy, the hardest task of them all. And even if you complete the game you wills till want to come back for more, because the levels are that dang good. And to top it all off, there's a sweet ending about friends, family and cake.

New games I'm playing

Hey guys! I just wanted to say that I have been trying to broaden my gaming horizons a bit. I got animal crossing new leaf for 3ds and it is surprisingly fun and relaxing. I really like that I had the option to say I was a girl and be given a female avatar. I like pokemon for the same reason. I'll address this stuff more in a later post. So I've had a ton of people telling me I needed to play Zelda and I saw the breath of the wild trailer and loved it. I tried a little ocarina on n64 but couldn't get into it. I'm not generally fond of n64 graphics there was a lot of green in ocarina and it was kind of hard to know where to go. Mario 64 has such. Right colors that I can see what I'm doing. I love his wahoos!! Uh so I was saying i almost got the 3ds remaster of ocarina but decided to go with animal crossing. I was on a limited budget at GameStop and I'm glad i did. I went over to my friends' house and they have 3 boys who have a Wii U and a bunch of old Wii games. I have a Wii that my other friend gave me while she's in college and my friends hardly ever used the Wii. I asked if I could borrow some games and their dad was like take what you want. I couldn't get Wii sports or mario party to work but.i got a hold of skyward sword and a lotion plus adapter. I'm really enjoying the graphics style and storyline so far. I'm not very far yet so no spoilers, please. I also have twilight princess but I'm going to finish Mario galaxy 2 before I start that. Don't want to have 3 Wii games going at the same tone!! Goodnight, all!!

Practice pays off

I love Super Mario 64, ok? And yesterday I posted that I was discouraged in 16 star and that I couldn't pb. But today I was motivated. I had to do it. I trued once. Reset. Tried twice. Reset. Second try. Horrible run and reset. Third try. 27:30. Yes, you heard correctly I pbd by 3 whole minutes which isn't exacaly easy at this point. Sure I pbd by 20 minutes on my second run ever but they were terrible. I had nearly perfect execution of my strata for me. May look sloppy to Siglemic (former Mario 64 speedrunner) but I felt good. I played it safe where I could and I only had one death in hazy maze cave. I got the owl star first try. I got wallkicks will work first try. I got the penguin first try. Second try mips clip (mips is a rabbit I use to glitch through a door) beautiful bljs (backwards long jumps) and pretty dang good bowser throws for me. I am happy with this run. I will take a break from sm64. I'll get new strats and come back stronger than ever. I am a warrior with a controller.

When I feel discouraged...

I've been speedrunning super Mario 64. For those unfamiliar, speedrunning is the art of playing video games as quickly as possible and getting the best time. There are official leaderboards. Most games have multiple categories based on different things, for instance sometimes you can sequence break or beat the game with glitches and sometimes the goal is just good execution to complete the game 100% as fast as possible. The category of Mario I am playing is 16 star. There are five categories in the game 120 star, 70 star, 16 star, 1 star, and 0 star. It is required to use 70 stars to complete the game normally, but the game came out in 1996 and has a lot of glitches in it. I love playing this game with glitches that break the game. You can go through doors and walls that would normally impede your progress using mips the rabbit and backwards long jumps. So  not that great at it yet. The current world record is 15:24 held by Xiah, a Japanese runner. He used more advanced glitches to get a faster 16 star route. I am using a beginner route which has sub 19 potential if executed perfectly. I am using slightly safer strategies than most and my pb (personal best) has steadily dropped over the last few weeks. I started out with a 1:20:XX and.moved on to sun hour shortly after. I key grinding down my time and I got sun 50 then sun 45. Then sub 35. Then I got a 33. Then 32:36 the other day. Then 31:03. Then yesterday 30:34 and 30:25. I was convinced I could pb again and get sub 30 today. I slept in and had big plans for the day. I tried a run and had to reset multiple times. I failed stars I hadn't messed up in ages. I was s train wreck. So I texted some family members and said I was feeling down about it. My cousin said i needed to be confident in myself. My aunt was cheering for me. I was ready. I was doing to finish a run. I got a 32:18. I know most runners don't finished if they miss a pb but I decided to push on. And tonight I wanted to try again. After miserable failing a star ⭐️ I had to reset because I got a game over. I tried once again and got a 32;32. Ad for getting sub 30 today it just wasn't meant to be. I am okay with that. Even though I am really sad I know that I will get it sometime soon. My hands and arms are hurting from the inputs and I have a movie day with a friend as well as a youth group super bowl party tomorrow. I'll get a day off. I may or may not go back Monday after school, I'll just see how I feel. I am probably out of town next weekend and I can't take my n64. Breaks are healthy. I think I'll just take an break for a week. It's probably a good idea. I need to remember not to be upset about failing. It will happen. I'm used to easy pbs, but I'm getting better. As Super Mario Bros world record holder darbian says the better you get the more you fail because you are trying to beat your best time which gets harder and harder to do. Darbian has put in 22,000+ attempts into super Mario bros which is incredible optimized. He recorded the first ever 4:56 in October. This applies to super Mario 64 too, and probably any other game out there. He has probably failed thousands of times and just had to get used to it. If I want to keep going it will be rough but it will ultimately pay off. This is just the beginning. I need to remember that I am not a failure, I'm just learning from the game. 😊

Hi I'm LUMANESSENCE!!

Hi!! My name is Sarah but my gamer tag is LUMANESSENCE. I love playing Mario games! I am currently. Speedrunning super Mario 64 16 star on N64. I play new super Mario bros games and the origin super Mario bros. I love the galaxy series and super Mario bros 3. I also love yoshi and Pokémon games. I have Pokémon X and yoshi's new island on 3ds!! I have been playing Mario kart 7 and super Mario 3D land. I love watching speedruns on YouTube. Games done quick is amazing, thanks for donating to charity!! My favorite speedrunner is Darbian who had the wr on super Mario bros. I am in high school and I also do writing and art although I haven't been too active lately. I read a lot of books and I am a good academic student.  My gaming doesn't take away from my studies. I go to Irish class and tang soo do. I will be speedrunning s lot of different games in the future and posting updated here. I currently don't have anywhere to post or record my speedruns. I can link some screenshots though😏 . I am so lemming to play more competitively and do live streaming/YouTube when I grow up, but now I want to focus on my studies. I like positive feedback and comments. Also I AM a girl, ok? Deal.

LUMANESSENCEGAMING