Is it Possible to Beat Super Mario 64 if Every Object is a Coin?

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"cAn YoU FiNiSh MaRiO 64 wItHoUt A cOnTrOlLeR!?!??!?!??!?!?!"

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/internetpizza 📅︎︎ Jan 23 2019 đź—«︎ replies
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[Mario snoring] By now you’re probably familiar with challenge videos where players try to avoid collecting any coins at all while trying to finish a Mario game. Several creators and challenge-buffs have taken these on, and some have even branched out to reinvent the challenge in a different way. For example, trying to collect every coin while clearing the game… But, in this video, we’re doing something a bit different. What if every object in Super Mario 64 was turned into a coin? Could you still beat the game? Well as crazy as it sounds, that’s what we’ll be tackling today. Super Mario 64, but all objects are coins. Now first things first. We of course need to lay down some ground rules. Diving into a challenge this complex needs to have some logic in place to make sure the game isn’t just busted right off the bat. So let me define what an object is in regards to this challenge. This challenge will change every enemy, instanced platform, interactable object, NPC, pole, caps, etc into a single coin. So what you might see are levels that have sections missing and others that don’t. This is because that section of the level, like in Lethal Lava Land, is actually an object placed in the game - and not the map itself. Think of the map as the level and collision that everything takes place on. This is a 3D model, and then assets like enemies, floating platforms, etc are added to it to populate the map. Majority of everything that loads on the map will become a coin, although there are some exclusions. Trees and doors will not become coins. Assigning a coin value to a tree bricks the game, or at least with my 20 IQ it does. Doors remain untouched as well because if doors were transformed two things would happen: 1, you’d be able to enter any level without even having to collect stars… and 2, you’d be stuck on the first floor because the loading screen doors would be gone. Thus, the run would be over before it began. However, there are more immunities we need to talk about. Anything that is a star container, as in something that physically has a star inside of it, is immune, unless it requires an additional object to get into it. In that case, both objects would then become coins. So bosses are immune because they hold stars. So are blocks that hold stars. However NPC’s that spawn stars are not immune. So the penguin and mother are coins because one without the other is useless. We’ll go over more details as time goes on, but the last thing we need to cover is Bowser stages. Bowser stages have a level of immunity to them because they are the only linear stages in the game. Every other stage usually has sort of workaround to at least let you progress, but Bowser levels never do. Every Bowser stage breaks the run if you treat it this way, and I’ll explain the broken components once we get to them. Know that these rules will be analyzed again at the end of this video to make sure all logic is accounted for and fair. If you feel like something is off, hold onto that thought until the end when we reassess things. Now that the stage is set, of course we’re going to need someone really good to ensure the challenge goes as far as it can. If the goal is to see if beating Mario 64 is possible, we need to be playing at peak performance… and I’m probably only an average or slightly above average player. That’s why I’ve enlisted the help of fellow Minus World member SimpleFlips to take on the charge. Given his 7000 IQ when it comes to Super Mario 64, I feel he’s the man for the job… But is the game beatable? Let’s find out. So how this is going to work is we’re going to tackle this stage by stage, star by star. This makes it easier to check off which stars are possible and which are not. The beginning of the game is really only what influences what levels you’ll explore, and as you continue on, it is only gatekeeped by a total star threshold. Because of this, the first few levels may seem like smooth sailing - but things are going to get worse as time goes on. I highly recommend sticking around to seeing all the crazy things that will take place. But with that said, let’s jump right into Bob-omb Battlefield. Most players go for the Chain Chomp star right off the bat, and they’d either ground pound the stake into the ground or if they’re a speed runner, bomb-clip through the door. However, because the bomb, chain chomp, pole, and even the cage are coins, you can just grab the star. And that’s going to be a repeating theme for the easy stages. But as time goes on, things get harder. King Bomb-omb is pretty much the same, except all the hazards in the level leading up to him are coins. You quickly defeat him to nab another star. Because the cannon is a coin and so are the pink bob-ombs, for the “Shoot to the Island in the Sky Star”, you actually have to have a well placed long jump from the top of the mountain to get over there. Find the 8 Red Coins isn’t too difficult either, however, this is where we run into some problems. Trying to load Star 2 actually results in nothing because both Koopa the Quick and his flag pole are coins. This means this star cannot be completed. And to fast forward a bit, because all objects are coins, that means all cap power ups are coins as well… So Mario Wings to the Sky cannot be finished, even if for some reason you tried to do with a cannon - which is a coin too. With all these coins in the sky off limits, that means the 100 coin star isn’t obtainable because the amount of objects traded off to become coins still aren’t enough to pull us out of the coin deficit. So that gives us 4 stars that are obtainable, and 3 that are not. Let’s swing on over to Whomp’s Fortress now. From here on out, levels that have cliffs become more difficult because assets that would have normally been there are replaced with coins. So what stars are possible here? On Whomp’s Fortress, certain pieces of geometry are missing but because the overarching map file still has collision in those areas, you can walk on invisible surfaces. However, the rotating floating islands above the fortress are objects and thus are converted to coins. Chip Off Whomp’s Block is still pretty much the same, except you won’t be able to take the rotating platforms up to him. There’s plenty of other ways to get up there though, and defeating him is pretty simple. Collecting the 8 red coins in the level is still possible despite the rotating platforms being unloaded, and so is collecting 100 coins given no coins being really off-limits. Fall onto the caged island is normally a star you could either use the floating islands or Hoot the Owl to get, but because they’re coins, you have to do something different. In order to get over there without them, you actually have to load Star 1 again and use King Whomp as a platform to jump into the cage. Anyone who has watched a speed runner knows that the Blast Away the Wall star can be gotten without actually destroying the wall, so that one is a pretty quick grab. Same with Shoot into the Wild Blue. However, once again we’re left with a situation where another star in this stage can’t be collected. Because Star 2 normally loads a tower on top of whomp’s fortress which helps you reach the star, this is an off-limits star. Everything associated with this tower is an object and thus becomes a coin. There is no way to reach the star way above the stage because of this. This leaves us with 6 obtainable stars, and 1 that isn’t. So far we’ve had some pretty good odds, but we won’t have good luck forever. Before jumping into the next full level, let’s knock out Peach’s Secret Slide. Both the timed bonus star and the normal star at the end aren’t affected by the coin mod, so these can be collected as normal. Same goes for the 8 red coins on the Wing Cap Stage, but the Wing Cap switch is a coin, so Wing Cap is eliminated from the game. Okay, let’s jump into Cool Cool Mountain, which isn’t too terrible given the rule change. Right off the bat Li’l Penguin Lost is unobtainable. Because the baby penguin is a coin, that star cannot be completed. Because of that, the adult penguin is converted to a coin as well. Slip Slidin’ Away, the first star, can be obtained as usual by going down the slide. Wall Kicks will work is pretty standard too, just jump off the mountain to your death, pull back, and then wall kick for your reward. Collecting 100 coins is certainly possible and the changed elements don’t pose much of a challenge, as does collecting all the red coins in the stage. However, this is where the negatives start adding up. We’re already down one star due to the baby penguin, and because the penguin within the slide is a coin, that means we can’t complete the Big Penguin Race. Because Slip Slidin’ Away and Big Penguin Race can’t be finished, that means Snowman’s Lost His Head can’t be started. Even if you could, it’d be a coin anyways. This gives us 4 stars that are obtainable, and 3 that are not. Now is when our bad luck starts. The red coins in the secret aquarium are obtainable as normal, so that’s an easy star. But Jolly Roger’s Bay isn’t so merciful. So the problem with converting everything to coins is that includes the pirate ship and eel as well. So right away the first star in the level isn’t obtainable. Instead, we have to go into the cavern and collect the star from the treasure chests within. Because the treasure chests are a star container, and because all four spawn from one object, they are immune. We can get this star but things are looking grim. Because the ship is a coin, that means the 8 red coins is a no go. There is no way to get the red coins in the sky because the floating ship can never spawn. Even if it could, it’d be a coin. 100 coins is definitely possible and not too difficult seeing as every rock in the level has become a coin. They are all over the place. But another issue with this stage is that all poles are converted to coins. The pole’s geometry will be there, but Mario will pass through it. This is because poles are baked into the actual 3d model of the level, and a climbable pole object is loaded on top of that. That object is turned into a coin though. But Jolly Roger’s has a special set of poles unique to this area that actually can be abused to get the Blast to the Stone Pillar Star. Despite not being able to grab the pole and trigger the climbing animation, these stalagmite-like structures can be walked up by stuttering your walk in a manner that prevents Mario from sliding. Once at the top you can jump over and grab the star. But that’s it. Because the 1st star gatekeeps a bunch of the others, we can’t change the state of the level to load up the different scenarios. Through the Jet Stream is something that is supposed to require the metal cap to get, but it can actually be collected normally by a specific swimming pattern. But because the stage can’t unload the sunken ship, none of these things exist. Can the Eel come out a play isn’t obtainable because it can’t be loaded, and even if it could, it’d be a coin because the star isn’t actually inside of the eel. It’s outside of it. This gives us 3 stars that are obtainable, and 4 that are not. So that’s four levels down. With some secret stars thrown in the mix, we have a grand total of 21 stars from the first set of levels in the game. 11 of these first stars weren’t obtainable, which leaves us at 65.5% collection rate. If this pattern is mimicked throughout the rest of the game, it would seem the game is beatable since the estimate would be 78.75 stars. But things can certainly change. Enter Bowser in the Dark World. So like I said earlier, Bowser levels have a certain amount of immunity to them. They have to because they are linear stages without any other options. If there wasn’t a baseline immunity, this run would be over right now. The reason being is changing the objects in this stage to coins makes it so you can’t climb to the top. The rotating platform sequence at the start cannot be cleared even with a perfectly time triple dive jump, regardless of what frame you execute it on. Even if you somehow made it past here, the collapsing staircase at the top is turned into a single coin. There’s no geometry to work off of to get you up to the pipe, as the side geometry to the staircase is useless. So Bowser levels more so serve as checkpoints where only the bare minimum geometry needed to complete them is left in check. Because of this, the 8 red coins on this stage cannot be obtained primarily because of the first coin at the start. It normally spawns over a series of boxes triggered by a switch. The switch, and these boxes, are coins. Because of this you can’t actually get this coin without dying despite anything you do. You can’t interact with the boundaries of the level, so attempting to wall kick off them is futile. This star is lost, but we can still clear Bowser, get the key, and move on. Which now takes us to the basement… And probably the most interesting set of levels in this run simply by the amazing things that are about to be showcased. SimpleFlips thought of some really awesome strategies for clearing these areas, so mad props to him. So technically, if one chose to, they could have entered the Vanish Cap stage right at the start of the game even before draining the moat in the basement. Because the gate is an object, it’s converted into a coin, similar to how Chain Chomp’s gate is. It’s merely an object that keeps you from accessing the loading zone. Once inside though, the real challenge begins. First and foremost, Vanish Cap is banished because the switch and the block have become coins. So reaching the end of the stage does nothing, except for where the red coin star spawns… Which pretty much is impossible since all the the objects, as in the rotating platforms, were converted to coins. This leaves a massive gap stretching across the stage with red coins floating in the air. However… And I can’t believe I’m saying this… But it’s possible. When the bridges and rotating platforms unload, the level geometry that was built around them is still in tact. This is because this barebones wooden framework is part of the level file. It’s extremely finicky to work with because you can randomly clip through it, but with well places wall kicks, you can actually navigate this no man’s land, back track, and collect the red coins needed to spawn the star. When SimpleFlips accomplished this, it was a riot. So that gives us one star that we normally wouldn’t have had. But, now let’s go back to the basement and dive into Big Boo’s Haunt. Given the rule set in place, the Boo holding the cage was granted immunity otherwise this level would have been eliminated all together. However, we’re going to keep track of that and address it at the end of the video too - so keep that in mind. Diving into Big Boo’s Haunt, things are of course bizarre since a lot of objects we’d normally interact with are now coins. Elevators, the merry go round, staircase elements, platforms, etc. The Vanish Cap is also not possible since it was converted into coins like we saw before. This immediately eliminates Eye to Eye in the Secret Room, since we can’t actually get into the room. With objects as coins, trying to BLJ through walls to reach this area isn’t really feasible, unless someone wants to contribute there thoughts in the comments. Beyond that, the Merry-Go-Round is converted to a coin and all objects that load into the map because of it are affected of this change. That means this star is unobtainable as well. If we head into the mansion, reaching the balcony for the Secret of the Haunted Books isn’t too difficult. We secure the star and move on. But there’s another glaring issue with this stage as well, and it has to do with the 1st star. Go on a Ghost Hunt isn’t possible because all the boo’s have been converted to coins. Since there is no way for the game to count down your ghost kills, the star will never spawn. This also locks out the star selection screen similar to Jolly Roger’s Bay. Big Boo’s Balcony is still possible because as a boss Big Boo is immune, and getting up to him isn’t that much more difficult. As for coin collection, the Red Coins star is only slightly more difficult, but the 100 coin star takes some careful thinking. Because elevators are converted to coins, if you go below the mansion you cannot actually get back up. So you have to ensure you have all the coins collected above ground before going underground… And even so, it’s futile. Because boo’s are converted to coins, you actually are losing coins by this conversion process. They typically yield a blue coin, but they spawn as one gold coin. The same goes for things like the jumping box and other coin blocks. Because of this, you can’t actually grab enough coins for a coin star… Which leaves this level’s accomplishments a bit concerning. This gives us 3 obtainable stars, and 4 that are not. As we head into the actual basement, it’s time to address some castle stars. All Toad stars don’t exist because Toad is a coin. Mips is a coin too, so that’s eliminated as well. So across the game that gives us a five star deficit. Again, take note of this rule and how you feel about it because this will be sort of reassessed at the end. Hopping into Shifting Sand Land, the place looks pretty barren. Immediately In the Talons of the Big Bird isn’t possible because the bird has become a coin. Stand Tall on the Four Pillars is doable, and is actually changed up. Because the top of the pyramid normally explodes, it’s actually an object and is instantly changed to a coin. This means you don’t have to stand upon any of the pillars. So you can pop straight down into the pyramid… And drown in the sand. “Oh… [laughs] Okay…” Did I mention SimpleFlips is a speed runner? Kidding aside, you’ll need to move upon landing so you don’t die and you’ll need to enter Eyerock’s chamber from above. This is because the platform you normally take has become a coin and no longer stops Mario’s cutscene falling animation. Once you hit the ground movement is restored, and you just have to kill Eyerock for his star. Free Flying for 8 Red Coins is unfortunately impossible since two of the coins require flight with the Wing Cap. There isn’t any suitable areas to build up speed or height either to get these with BLJ mechanics, so this star is unobtainable. Collecting 100 coins is interesting as well as once again certain conversions actually initiate a coin deficit by eliminating blue coins in enemies like Pokey. But, due to there being two areas in this world, obtaining the full 100 coins is indeed possible by maximizing both uses of these areas. Pyramid Puzzle is still obtainable since you can reach the top of the pyramid without the use of objects, and that also means Inside the Ancient Pyramid is obtainable too. Shining Atop the Pyramid is an easy snatch as well. This gives us a total of 5 obtainable stars and 2 that we cannot get. Now for this next stage I want you to remember what I said about a level’s overarching map and objects that are loaded in to support it… Because Lethal Lava Land without objects is pretty brutal. Majority of the map is actually objects, thus leaving huge gaps in the lava. Sometimes the loaded objects actually are just the visible component to level collision, so you’ll have invisible platforms that are just pure collision without any visible form other than shadows casted on them. This presents us with a game of trading health for distance. “Oh… Oh… Okay. Ughhhh… This is going to require a bit more thought and planning than I have been using my brain for.” Lethal Lava Land is all about compromise, because often times backtracking involves getting burned. Coins are the only way to heal so you have to be careful with where you’ve already treaded. Now that I’ve said all that, let’s break down the stars. Boil the Big Bully isn’t too difficult as you can make it back to the Bully with minimum burns. Since both sets of Bully stars act as star containers, they are immune. With a few well-placed long jumps you can make it back to them and obtain both stars. But this is where things get brutal… Because for example, the 8-coin Puzzle with 15 pieces takes place over pure lava. Bowser’s puzzle is an object and thus becomes a coin, so in order to finish this, you actually have to time out your health usage knowing that you’ll lose three health per lava hit, but gain 2 per red coin collection. Repeating this carefully in a certain order will reward you the star, but you’ll need to remember this order because you’ll have to do this again to get the 100 coin star. Since getting the 100 coin star requires entering the volcano… Or at least where the volcano was? Yes, it’s become a coin but the loading zone is still there if you can find it. Anyways, because you need to go inside to finish the 100 coin star, you have to give up collecting the red coin star to do so. This makes the run annoying because fiery death awaits you if you mess up your path at all outside the volcano. After doing this twice, it’s time to swing back over to Red-Hot Log Rolling - the last star outside of the volcano. Without any objects, it’s a tad messy. Mario doesn’t have enough health to go around the area by burning himself, so he actually has to triple jump on the absolute edge of invisible level geometry (which is annoying) to then wall kick and then grab the edge of the fence. This allows you to grab this star since all the objects are coins. So this takes us into the actual volcano for the final two stars: Hot Foot It into the Volcano, and the Elevator Tour in the Volcano. Hot Foot is pretty standard as not a whole lot changes. With the poles being converted to coins, you can still hop across the small platforms to make it to the top and get the star. Despite the elevator becoming a coin, you only need to long jump from the first star location to the second to make it work. Collecting these stars leaves us with an impressive 100% completion rate for this level, although it is pretty darn difficult. All 7 stars are obtainable. But Hazy Maze Cave is going to be a little more brutal on our favorite plumber. So let’s speed through the easy stars that don’t pose much of a challenge. A-mazing Emergency Exit can be acquired with a well placed triple jump wall kick. Watch for Rolling Rocks is pretty standard as you wall kick you way up to it. Swimming Beast in the cavern can’t be collected the normal way because Dorrie spawns as a coin. You also can’t use the elevator to clip through the floor either, so you need to wall kick above the wall cut off at the top of the cave and fall down to the island with the star. Metal-Head Mario Can Move is a star that is supposed to typically utilize the metal cap, which we don’t have, but because of the coin spell, the gate blocking the path originally is a coin so we don’t need to do anything. It’s a pretty straightforward star… As is the 100 coin star in this level. But there are two stars that are absolutely brutal to attempt… Let’s start with one that is just flat out annoying. Navigating the Toxic Maze is pretty straightforward until you get to the elevator at the end. Now most speed runners would utilize elevators or other objects in the level to build up momentum though backward long jumps and just clip through a wall to get the star… But because these things are gone, these aren’t options. You have to wall kick from wall to wall all the way up the elevator shaft to reach the star, and while that may sound easy, it’s not. For one, in order to maintain your momentum and actually gain height, your have to wall kick on frame 1 every single time. This in itself is a chore, and if you don’t do it, you won’t really gain height because of how wide the room is. But it gets worse because the camera is absolutely awful in this area, and because you can’t even see where you’re going. It’s not like a normal room where you can physically see the walls… Everything is solid black so you can’t see where the walls are. Doing this over and over again will eventually give you enough height to make it to the top, that is, only if you execute everything perfectly… But you now have to direct Mario through the hole… So be sure not to mess up the angle and fall. Making it up top yields one of Hazy Maze cave’s hardest stars on this coin transformation run… But another hurdle awaits our hero. Another star that an average player would normally write off as unobtainable. Elevate for 8 Red Coins is extremely brutal without an elevator or any objects to help out. Six of the coins can be obtained through normal means, but we have to remember that the checkered platform that takes us up top is gone. So the coins near the ceiling almost seem impossible to reach. That is, unless you start getting scientific. There were a couple different attempts that were made to reach the top platforms and all of them acted on similar mechanics. The idea was that in order to get a far enough jump, Mario’s momentum would need to be increased. So SimpleFlips theorized that the angled pillars of the room, that stop the directional platform, could be used to put Mario into a sliding state. While Mario is sliding, he’s building up speed, so with a frame perfect jump on the edge of the slope, Mario could be launched into the wall from where he could then wall kick to the top platform. Now mind you, this took about a hundred attempts to get right, but this allowed Mario to collect one of the two red coins up there. From here, Mario needed to long jump across to an adjacent pillar, land on the opposite side of the slope to preserve momentum, then jump into a wall kick with enough height to propel Mario through the second red coin… “Let’s go dude! Let’s gooooo! [laughs] I was almost close to writing this star off.” Which again, is not easy at all. With this, this thought-to-be unobtainable star was obtained, bringing Hazy Maze Cave to a perfect score of 7 stars, with 0 unobtainable. Diving into the metal cap stage, we can snag another star by utilizing the metal ability that Mario starts with in the area, to rush to the end to collect the 4 underwater red coins. After this, the rest are easy and the star can be snagged. Now this takes us to another pinnacle point in this coin run. Mainly because the idea for the run is that all levels should be entered naturally. This is why this is the one point in the game that can make or break the game given the rule set… Because in order to open up Bowser in the Fire Sea, we need to get the star on Bowser’s Submarine in Dire Dire Docks. If we don’t, the entrance to Dire Dire Docks never moves backwards and the run is over. Now that might sound simple, but we have to remember: Bowser’s Submarine is a coin. Everything leading up to Bowser’s Sub is a coin. And all the pole’s around Bowser’s submarine are coins. So you seemingly have a star floating in the middle of the level, that you can’t long jump to no matter how hard you try from the platform you first get up to. So this is going to take some work. What needs to be done is that Mario needs to navigate the upper part of the room clockwise around the star. At no point can Mario actually reach the star until he is near the red caged areas on the side. But you can’t directly access these because we don’t have poles or a submarine to work with. So Mario needs to long jump around to adjacent platforms until he gets to the platform that is twice as thick as the others. At this point, you have to do an annoying frame 1 wall kick out of a long jump to grab the edge of the ledge above you. Timing this and getting the angle right is super annoying. Once you do this though, you can long jump over to the red caged areas and then sharply long jump out of box just missing the corner of the room to grab the star. And with that star, all our hard work is preserved. The all coin transformation run can continue on. So let’s knock out some more stars in this level… Or at least, the few that we can. Pole-jumping for red coins is impossible since there’s no way to get these coins without poles or extreme exploits. I’d imagine if it was possible, it’s be super absurd and take a long time to do. Chests in the Current is possible as it’s pretty much spot on to what we did in Jolly Roger’s Bay. It’s a quick star, and getting 100 coins in this level isn’t too bad either given the amount of object transformations. But with this we hit a wall… Collect the Caps cannot be done because we don’t have access to the metal and invisible caps. Normally this can be done without it by glitching the star into Mario’s hand, but because we lack a shell and any other objects, the star remains locked away thus making it unobtainable. The Manta Ray’s Reward isn’t possible because the Manta Ray becomes a coin and thus cannot lay out rings… And beyond that, through the yet stream faces a similar issue. The metal gate and rings are coin-a-fied and thus this star cannot actually be spawned. This leaves us with 3 obtainable stars, and 4 that we cannot collect. Now that Bowser and the Fire Sea is open, it’s time to attempt acquiring the next key. Without platforms in the level, Mario has to scorch himself a bit to get across the first initial area. With a few well placed jumps he can do so, but in order to make it up to the second floor, we’re actually going to need to do something interesting. Because poles are converted to coins, even if you make it up to where the pole is, you won’t be able to climb it or jump high enough to advance. So what you need to actually do is warp Mario up to the hangable ceiling. This can be done by jumping at the seam of the geometry where the pole is at, and because of the above hangable ceiling’s positioning, he can warp up there. Pancake2012, which I mispronounced horribly, explains this in greater detail in his $1000 Tick Tock Clock Upward bounty video, which I highly recommend watching. This lets Mario get up to the second floor so we can continue this run - but again, for the sake of immunity in Bowser level’s, technically the run would be over at this point if one change wasn’t made. And this is the collapsing platform. This is technically an object, but it was granted immunity due to the linear nature of the level. With this, Mario can still make his way across the platform-less area, collect all 8 red coins to nab a star, and then wreck Bowser’s world to grab the second key. Now that we’re upstairs, let’s do a star check. In total we’ve collected 49 stars across the board, but at the same time, have maxed out all the levels we’ve been at. This is important because in a standard play through, you might return to an earlier level to collect more stars to open the doors that lay ahead, but this isn’t an option since all possibilities for gaining stars have already been attempted. Now that we’re at the upper floors, let’s do a comparison. We have 22 total stars that cannot be collected, and if we factor in the secret castle stars for all toads and Mips, that gives us another 5 stars. So in total, at this point, we are looking at a 27 star deficit. So that means we need to still collect 70 out of 93 stars in order to clear the game. However, it’s important to know that the total number of available stars is going to keep decreasing as time goes on. So let’s queue up our next level: Wet-Dry World. The interesting thing about Wet-Dry World is that all water changing devices within the level have become coins. So changing the water level won’t work within the stage. If it’s needed, you’d have to exit. However, skilled players will find that the water isn’t really necessary, especially when objects that would normally be a hindrance underwater are cleared by being transformed to coins. Collecting the 100 coin star isn’t too bad, and all the coins provide enough air to collect all 8 red coins underwater with no issues. Secrets in the Shallows & Sky isn’t that much more difficult at all either and is a pretty quick star to collect. Express Elevator— Hurry Up is again pretty simple with a few wall kicks. You can grab the star in less than 10 seconds after starting. Shocking Arrow Lifts is super simple… and so is Top of the Town. Most of these stars are extremely easy to snag and the coins offer no real extra challenge. However, because you don’t have Vanish Cap, Quick Race Through Downtown is impossible. One could argue that you could store a BLJ using the water to clip through the gate, but that only works if the water can be lowered in the first place. Without the ability to do so, the final star is lost. However, 6 obtainable stars out of 7 isn’t too shabby. Next up, we have Tiny Huge Island. When attempting this challenge the first time, for some reason this level was heavily corrupted and resulted in some creepy stuff… Like Mario not having a face. But it’s remedied, so it can be tackled normally. Generally a lot of the stars on this map aren’t too difficult. The Tip Top of the Huge Island can be acquired like normal, and doesn’t have any increased challenge. Five Itty Bitty Secrets is a bit interesting because normally a player would take the cork box bridge across to where the star spawns, but it’s been converted all to coins. Because of this, you must use the momentum of sliding down the side of the mountain to propel Mario to the island to pick up the star. However, not all the stars in this level are smooth sailing as we actually run into some trouble early on. Pluck the Piranha Flower is impossible because all the piranha plants have been converted to coins. In addition to that, you can’t rematch Koopa the quick because everything associated with him has been turned into a coin. You can’t race him anyways because without being able to finish the first star, you can’t load the scenario for Koopa regardless. But we can collect 100 coins on this map and all 8 red coins within it as well, giving us a two star boost. And to finish off the stage, since Wiggler is classified as a boss and a star container, we’re able to collect the star they hold. All in all, 5 obtainable stars with 2 that can’t be collected. Off to Tall Tall Mountain, both the red coin star and the 100 coin star aren’t too challenging. With the huge bonus of coins on the slide, getting to 100 isn’t too hard. Turning the objects into coins on this map actually seems to help more than do harm, manly because there are only a few hurdles to overcome that block our path. The rolling log becomes a coin so we have to long jump across it, but that’s pretty much the only peril. Blast to the Lonely Mushroom can be acquired by jumping off right after the log, and getting up to this point again is pretty easy by utilizing the wall and water warp right near the start of the map. This makes coming back for Scale the Mountain pretty easy, but unfortunately the star that follows it gets axed because of the rule set. Because the Monkey is needed to unlock the cage, both the Monkey and the cage are coins similar to how the Baby Penguin and Mother Penguin fall into the same category. One being the key to the other. Mysterious Mountain Slide can honestly be skipped entirely, or if you want to go down it, you can achieve it that way as well. With that, we have another positive finish with 6 stars being obtainable and only 1 star that can’t be collected. Heading over to the last world we haven’t covered yet in this area, we can dive right into Snowman’s Land and secure a few more stars. In The Deep Freeze doesn’t change at all, as it’s just the star that is within the ice block maze right near the spawn of the level. However, 8 red coins is a bit more challenging because we don’t have a shell to protect us from the freezing water beneath the Bully. Similar to lava though, a sliding kick actually grants immunity until the animation is over, so if we utilize the downward momentum gained from a hill on the side of the level, we can propel Mario into a sliding kick long enough, to skate across the surface of the water without getting burned until he clears the ceiling area. Otherwise, it’d be instant death. Doing this grants us the Red Coin Star. The biggest problem with this stage in general actually has to do with the Igloo area, as it not only locks us out of a star, but it’s also the bane of the 100 coin star. Because we don’t have a Vanish Cap, we can’t collect the massive amount of coins held within the ice. Even using BLJ’s to build up speed and break through walls is ineffective against the one sheet of ice that holds all the coins. So Into the Igloo and the hundred coin star are not possible due to this problem. Outside though, Whirl from the Freezing Pond is a simple star to collect as is Snowman’s Big Head. Since all the perils of the climb are turned to coins, including the snowman’s wind and the snow waves down below, getting to the top is pretty easy. Defeating the Chill bully is no hard task either, as this boss character yields a star upon defeat. This leaves us with a final count of 5 stars obtainable, with 2 stars not. And with this, we have the 70 stars needed to clear the game, sitting at 71 total… Or, one would think. But before celebrating or throwing a wrench into things, let’s cap off these last two stages leading up to Bowser… Because we might have some star penalty’s coming into play after them. First and foremost, Wing Mario Over the Rainbow is impossible. We don’t have cannons, wing caps, or even pole access. Thus once we jump down, we’re down for good. And given the state of these two final stages, one would immediately think things aren’t looking good for maximizing the stars they have within. Upon loading Tick Tock Clock, well, you’ll find that there is no clock to be had. Every moveable object in the clock has been converted into a coin, which makes navigating this place pretty darn tricky as your normal routes don’t work. The Red Coin Star is a bit annoying since in order to get it, you pretty much have to climb up and fall down several times, but it is possible with enough patience. And patience is pretty much key for this entire stage, as you have to use unconventional ways of maneuvering, to change floors and to get stars. By far the most surprising thing to me about Tick Tock Clock is that everything is obtainable. Given this huge mechanical nightmare and how everything is unloaded, you’d think at some point you’d get hung up grabbing a star. But that’s not the case at all. Roll into the Cage is obtainable. Get a Hand is obtainable. The Pit and The Pendulums is obtainable. Timed Jumps on Moving Bars? Obtainable. Stomp on the Thwomp despite it not being there? Also obtainable. Even the 100 coin star can be gotten. And while none of this is an easy feat, it gives us a perfect 7 star run for this level. But… Rainbow Ride isn’t so forgiving. Because with how widespread things are within the stage, unloaded objects cause a big issue. There’s no carpets or anything. About the only place Mario can choose to go at the start actually involves a triple jump wall kick up to the area where the Swingin’ in the Breeze star is. Mario can long jump across the gap afterwords onto the collapsable donut platforms - which for some reason don’t register as objects in the game. Because of that, he can navigate his way over to this area to collect this star - or at least given what we were working with, Mario is able to. But keep this in mind because we’re going to talk about this later… We walk away with only one obtainable star out of seven. Which takes us to Bowser in the Sky… A level we once again have to gift immunity to. Or at least certain sections anyways. Mainly the collapsing staircase and the two sets of revolving platforms at the top. Even with the other assets removed, it’s still possible to get all 8 red coins to trigger the last star of the run… Bringing the total to 80 stars. And this is normally where we’d be celebrating because the game is beatable. 80 stars can be collected, and 40 stars cannot. We only needed 70 anyways, so we’re in the clear! And you’d be right! But that also depends on how you look at the rules… Because throughout this video, you’ve probably have argued in favor or against the rules, and the choices that were made during the run… and that’s okay, because that’s exactly what we’re about to address. Because truthfully if everything was supposed to be coins, and all enemies except bosses became coins, then why not bosses? And honestly, that’s a good point. It’s personal preference, and it was a rule I made when establishing the challenge because I feared it might not be possible without it. However, at no point do bosses prevent you from advancing at all, so given this, and probably what most of you are thinking, bosses outside of Bowser should actually be subtracted from the star count. That means King Bomb-omb, The Whomp King, King Boo on top of the mansion, Eyerock, both bully stars in Lethal Lava Land, the Bully in Snowman’s Land, and Wiggler should all be removed. Enemies that hold stars physically, like the bird in shifting sand land, were turned into a coin, so that’s something to consider. Converted to a coin and never given the chance to gift Mario a star. With 8 boss-related stars total, our total star count is dropped from 80 to 72. But in reality, that star count is only 79 because the 80th star collected was Bowser’s in the sky’s red coin star - a star we shouldn’t have access to unless we can determine we already have about 70 stars. At 71 stars, we have another outlier to address. In Rainbow Ride the donut platforms should rightfully be classified as an object, but given how the mod was created, they weren’t appearing as one. This limitation made it so they were included whereas all other similar platforms, like collapsing bridges, were removed. Without these platforms, Swingin’ in the Breeze at Rainbow Ride isn’t obtainable as you need them to land on when wall kicking to the star in the route provided. This brings the star count down to 70 stars even… And pretty much has us teetering on the edge. But there’s one final thing that breaks everything we’ve worked towards in this run… And that’s Big Boo’s Haunt. If immunity is stripped away from all enemies except for Bowser, then rightfully the Boo holding the entrance to the level should become a coin as well. I mean, Toad and Mips were sacrificed to the coin gods, so why not this boo? Having a rule excluding this unique enemy doesn’t sit right if everything else is redacted… And if this is taken into consideration, which I believe it should be, our star count drops to 68 stars total… Two shy of what we need to actually beat the game legitimately. That is, unless you’re just going to BLJ up the staircase and steal the victory anyways. So given this logic, and what we have to work with, I feel bosses and the like should actually be included… Thus Super Mario 64 cannot be beaten if every object becomes a coin, assuming Mario only walks up Bowser’s staircase, and doesn’t do so through exploits. But that’s just my analysis on this whole thing. What do you think? Given what you now know, do you think the bosses should be included or not? Star boxes were immune, so should bosses be? The answer to this video relies on that viewpoint alone. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed quite possibly the longest video I’ve ever made. A big shoutout to SimpleFlips for helping me navigate this nightmare of a creation, and for Loohhoo for her assistance with fixing Tiny Huge Island. And with that… Thanks for tuning in to this coinpocalypse! Why not check out my breakdown of how to travel via wormholes in Super Mario Galaxy. I think you’ll enjoy it! Anyways, thanks for watching guys and gals, and until my next video - cheers!
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Channel: SwankyBox
Views: 2,207,833
Rating: 4.7759709 out of 5
Keywords: mario, super mario 64, mario coinless, super mario 64 coinless, super mario 64 challenge, mario challenge, mario challenge no coins, coinless, coinless mario, vg myths, vg myths mario, nintendo, ceave gaming mario, is it possible, is it possible to beat, is it possible to beat super mario, no coins, all coins, swankybox, swankybox mario, theory, super mario bros
Id: Zsu0RGeJkQg
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 38min 45sec (2325 seconds)
Published: Thu Jan 17 2019
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