Ever wondered how some of the best players pull off their ridiculous tricks? Super Mario 64 player pannenkoek2012, known for beating the game in as few button presses as possible, made a video explaining his process. It’s amazing.



pannenkoek2012 walks through a bunch of his techniques in this video, though the one he initially focuses on is what’s called 0.5x button presses. The short version is that he’s holding down the A button, the long version is in the video.




You, like me, have probably watched a bunch of speedrun or challenge videos. It’s easy to sit in awe at what people are pulling off, but often, I don’t fully grasp what’s actually happening. This video helps demystify some techniques.

To give you a taste, here’s a sample of what pannenkoek2012 explaining “scuttlebug transportation,” which is way more complicated than it sounds:


Just take my word for it: watch the whole thing. It’s fascinating.

You can reach the author of this post at patrick.klepek@kotaku.com or on Twitter at @patrickklepek .