Submission #9847: OmerAras55's Linux Mario Forever: Community Edition "warps" in 08:13.133

Game version: 1.1 (Linux version) TAS is made by using libTAS.

TAS timing 8:13.1333333... RTA timing: 7:54.5833333...

Movie frame count: 29588 (if we count frame 0, I guess.) RTA frame count: 28475 (starts on 1113. frame, ends of frame 29587.) Rerecord count: 3004

This is my first TAS and submission to TASVideos. The goal of this run is to complete Mario Forever: Community Edition v1.1 as fast as possible by utilizing warp pipes to skip worlds and reach the final level with minimal stage count.

The in-game timer starts upon pressing the jump key in the save game room to begin World 1, and ends when Bowser is defeated in 8-4.

Although the game contains 32 main levels, only 9 levels are actually played during the run by taking advantage of two warp pipe shortcuts located in 1-4 and 3-1.

Before entering 1-1, I made several super quick optimizations in the main menu using also the mouse:

Options >

Tweaks > Aesthetic >

Disabling this also unintentionally enabled "Alternative level complete soundtrack (from 2.16+)" due to a bug, but it has no gameplay impact.

I then exited the Aesthetic menu, switched my character from Mario to Luigi because Luigi is faster in Green Lui, and entered the save game room. I immediately moved to the right, collected Green Lui because the Green Lui power-up makes Luigi (and Mario) run faster and jump higher. And then entered the third warp pipe, which was the closest. This leads to the start of World 1-1.

A very short and simple stage. No improvements seem possible. I quickly move left at the start and then enter an invisible pipe near the start point, which leads to the end of the stage, a common trick used by speedrunners known as the Mushroom Plague pipe skip.

Nothing surprising here, pure platforming and movement optimization. I added some flair by collecting as many coins and points as possible for entertainment.

Here I use the first warp of the run. Right after the checkpoint, I climb upwards with clean platforming to reach a warp pipe that leads directly to World 3. It’s possible that this section can be slightly improved, but I tested many variations and this was the best balance between speed and consistency.

Only the beginning of this stage is played, since there's another warp pipe here. If you enter the second warp pipe from the left side, it takes you directly to World 8. I use a bounce platform to reach it, and release the jump key early to reduce my vertical position and enter the pipe faster.

This is where things start getting interesting. I use a strategy discovered independently by Jue13 and me (a day apart), with Jue13 publishing it first. Normally, this level is completed by riding a moving stone platform from beginning to end, especially in the final section where several Thwomps block the path and nothing else seems usable.

However, there's a way to skip waiting for the platform. Inspired by a trick seen in HappyLee's TAS of Mario Forever: Advance Edition, where HappyLee jumps around the lower parts of the screen just for entertainment, I realized it could be used practically here thanks to Green Lui's enhanced jump and speed.

By enabling the XScroll option earlier in the settings menu, I manipulated the camera so that Luigi is positioned more to the left, which causes the Bullet Bill launcher on the right to fire slightly earlier. After briefly baiting the last Thwomp, I jump across the bottom platform, stomp the Bullet Bill, land on a launcher, and hop over the stage ceiling to reach the goal, skipping the slow moving stone platform entirely.

Before this discovery, players had to wait several seconds for the platform to arrive. This new route saves a significant amount of time. Still, I believe some minor improvements may be possible here.

This is one of the only 3 auto-scroll levels in the game. There’s nothing noteworthy here, I simply follow the scroll and avoid mistakes. I don’t believe further optimizations are possible.

This stage is likely improvable.

Despite many attempts, this was the best I could produce. It looks smooth and fast, but I'm quite confident someone might be able to improve the routing or inputs further.

The level scrolls upward with rising lava, and you must climb platforms without falling. In this TAS, I avoid taking damage from a Spiny that is traditionally tanked through in RTA runs. Normally, runners take a hit because the ceiling prevents clean jumping over it. But by doing a frame-perfect jump, I bypass the Spiny without losing my Green Lui, which is extremely useful for both this level and the final boss.

Having Green Lui at the end of this stage ensures faster movement and higher jumps in 8-4, which saves time.

Another auto-scroll section. Not much to optimize here. I simply prepare for the boss fight ahead.

Arriving with Green Lui is a clear advantage. Thanks to his higher jump and faster speed, I land the first hit on Bowser slightly earlier than possible with regular Luigi.

I then maintain pressure by dealing additional hits immediately after each invincibility phase ends, maximizing damage output efficiency.

Once Bowser’s health runs out, the game ends... and so does the TAS. I don't think so, but maybe this Bowser Fight can be improved.

(I cut the ending because it was too long.)

I used libTAS v1.4.6 - interim f60dfb5e (2025/07/19) on Ubuntu. SHA1: edffd069d4952cd3048f043d20af8d89f98f4446 Mario Forever Community Edition.x86_64 I did not changed any default libTAS settings, I just increased the bitrate for encoding.