26,461 Attempts Later

June 29, 2018 2:41 PM

Choco Mountain: The History of Mario Kart 64's Most Infamous Track - A Nintendo 64 speedrun record almost 20 years in the making. [30 minute video, no Mario Kart knowledge is necessary.]
posted by Sibrax (21 comments total)

I didn't want to spoil the final time, but whatever you're thinking it is, it's less than that.
posted by Sibrax at 2:41 PM on June 29, 2018 [5 favorites]

I don’t care about gaming, but this was fascinating. Thanks!
posted by Amity at 3:06 PM on June 29, 2018

For the curious, Kotaku has an article about the video and what it shows, but the link is is still well worth watching. Abney's accomplishment is astonishing.
posted by zarq at 3:17 PM on June 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

That part about no Mario Kart knowledge necessary is really good and worth noting again. Even if you're not into gaming, the video is presented in such a way as to just educate you about this particular game and why this feat is so impressive. It is a really cool deep dive into this specific game and track.

Thanks for sharing.
posted by Fizz at 3:27 PM on June 29, 2018 [4 favorites]

I also love that email is what is being used to communicate these shortcuts/hacks from back in the day. It feels so quaint here in 2018. Ugh, I'm so old, when did email become the snailmail of digital communication. I digress, it's cool how the online community shared this type of information in the early days.
posted by Fizz at 3:29 PM on June 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

Don't miss the rest of Summoning Salt's videos about speedrunning, they all are surprisingly interesting.
posted by Memo at 3:42 PM on June 29, 2018

Wow, that was unbelievably good, and I never really played. Thanks for sharing it!
posted by hypersloth at 3:53 PM on June 29, 2018

Summoning Salt's speedrunning videos really are delightful. He's so passionate about his subject and does a wonderful job of sharing that passion with his audience.
posted by Proofs and Refutations at 3:57 PM on June 29, 2018

Yeah, his ability to make compelling videos out of a super-wonky subject is an effing miracle.

His most popular video to date is, IMO, his best: 4-2: The History of Super Mario Bros.' Most Infamous Level
posted by boghead at 4:40 PM on June 29, 2018 [4 favorites]

I was a freshman living in the dorms in '97-'98 and spent many (many) hours playing MK64 (and Goldeneye). We knew about some of the shortcuts in the game, but never anything on this level. This was exactly the kind of wholesome reprieve I needed after a long week. Thanks.
posted by Ufez Jones at 4:51 PM on June 29, 2018

riveted from start to finish. I actually cheered at one point. I think this is my favorite sports movie now.
posted by colorblock sock at 5:23 PM on June 29, 2018 [2 favorites]

We never approached this level of skill, but this brings back fond memories of a stretch of a few months in winter 2008 where my roommate would set a few records in Link's Crossbow Training for the Wii and then retire to his office to work for a few hours, whereupon I would bolt to the living room and play the game until I'd beat all of his records, then quietly return to my bedroom, say nothing, and wait. Many a joyous morning, cold though it was, I woke to the sweet sounds of my roommate sitting in the living room, cursing me. I am no slouch, but he is overall much better at video games than I am. Except Link's Crossbow Training.

I should also mention that whenever he happened to come into the living room while I was actually playing, I would nerf my performance and pretend to be terrible until he left. This cracked him up thoroughly, and often led to me laughing so hard I couldn't have played the game well if I'd tried (it requires a very steady hand).
posted by lefty lucky cat at 5:31 PM on June 29, 2018 [12 favorites]

riveted from start to finish. I actually cheered at one point. I think this is my favorite sports movie now.

If this satisfies an itch, you might check out the GamesDoneQuick stream which is currently happening over on Twitch.tv. They're speedrunning Mario64 right now.
posted by Fizz at 5:37 PM on June 29, 2018 [3 favorites]

I should mention the Games Done Quick is benefiting Doctors Without Borders, fun to watch but also a good charity to throw some money towards, if you're so inclined.
posted by Fizz at 5:39 PM on June 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

Oh man, that's an incredible achievement (and an incredible video breaking it down.)

I just wish that, once Mario Kart Wii came out, that this hadn't led to half the players online always picking Grumble Goddamn Volcano so they could attempt a similar (much easier, but not easy if you're in grand prix mode) glitch there.
posted by Navelgazer at 6:03 PM on June 29, 2018

A recent episode of Waypoint mentioned a specific achievement in Super Mario 64, where the player only used half an A-button press to achieve it (previously on MetaFilter). Amazingly, I had never seen it before, and although it is significantly more technical than the Choco Mountain speedrun right here, it also makes for a fascinating watch. I'm not going to spoil anything, but for those of you who enjoyed this video, here's another one waiting for you (YouTube, 25 min.).
posted by bigendian at 6:09 PM on June 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

When I started this video and saw it was like 30 minutes long, I was like "no way am I going to watch this all".

I watched it all. Thank you.
posted by smoke at 6:52 PM on June 29, 2018 [6 favorites]

Same here, smoke. In fact I’ve never had the patience to watch SLYT videos linked on the blue but I did just now and wow! That’s a feel good video!

I played this game so much, both as an innocent kid and later post-college in my stoner phase. Coming home from my terrible retail job and playing with my roommates was honestly such a meaningful time to me, and I remember how much fun we had trying to find shortcuts. Actually, I was the only one really driven (pun intended) to find them but occasionally they’d indulge me and we’d all waste time trying to jump a wall or do that damn jump on the beach where you go through a cave. I was SO bad at that one.

Also, it’s fun to see early web screenshots where everyone writes in complete sentences. It’s the norm here on Metafilter, of course, but not elsewhere on the web so it always looks so...academic to see screenshots of emails like in the video!

Anyway. Pure joy. Thanks for posting!
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 10:49 PM on June 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

I've been following his channel for a while now - all of his videos are delightful. I don't game much, but damnit if I don't find the culture and stories fascinating.
posted by holmesian at 5:38 AM on June 30, 2018

I'm not going to spoil anything, but for those of you who enjoyed this video, here's another one waiting for you (YouTube, 25 min.).

That's exactly what I thought of when I started watching this FPP. The previous FPP, "Hyper Speed Walking to Parallel Universes via Scuttlebug Raising," is quite a bit more technical than this Mario Kart video, but I find it just as enjoyable and even more mind-blowing.
posted by msbrauer at 6:42 AM on June 30, 2018

After the comments here, I was intrigued. Like a few others, I'm not much of a video watcher.

I watched this. Then I watched the SMB 4-2 video. Then I watched a SMB3 speedrun that came up on the suggestions sidebar. Then I watched the previous FPP M64 video, which made no sense to me because I don't have enough context. So I went back to Summoning Salt's videos and watched the SMB world record video. Which led to watching actual SMB speedrun videos.

Then I had to go to bed because I'd stayed up too late, but I'm looking forward to watching more of Summoning Salt's speedrun documentaries. This is fascinating.
posted by monopas at 9:52 AM on June 30, 2018