Over the past few years, speedrunning has developed substantially, will games like "Super Mario 64," "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time," and "GoldenEye 007" becoming some of the most famous games to complete fast.
However, it is not too often that racing games make it massive in the speedrunning scene, but the game "Mario Kart 64" has been a major exception to this type of trend.
Mario Kart 64 speedrunning record
Older games are targeted for speedruns as they can't be digitally updated through patches and bug-fixes, and their years of lifespans have given game players a decent amount of time to show certain exploits too.
Even 25 years after it is release, "Mario Kart 64" players continue to find exploits that they can utilize in speedrunning, as Back Abney, a skilled speedrunner, has used to set a new world record in the iconic game, according to VG247.
Even though "Mario Kart 64" was released in 1997, the legacy of the game lives on in speedruns. In a video that was uploaded on February 12, Abney, also known as abney317, broke a glass ceiling by setting a new world record on the Luigi Raceway course of the game.
Abney set numerous world records, beating his own record multiple time during a livestream. After he learned of a new shortcut that involved repeatedly crashing into a wall, he set a 21-second world record on the game course, according to Reddit.
Abney's game win
In a video interview, Abney explained that the shortcut was covered in a vide that was made by Bismuth, a speedrunning historian, who documented the game's shortcuts that were discovered by Weatherton, Forest64 and micro500, all speedrunners, according to Kotaku.
The Luigi Raceway shortcut was discovered by Forest64, and the exploit has become known as half clip. This technique of clipping has long been utilized in video game speedrun, and while some "Mario Kart" courses allow players to clip through the walls and fences, a half clip essentially makes the game think that players have crossed over to the other side of the course and made their way back around.
Players can cross the finish line, making the game believe that the player did a full lap and the game is complete.
Although this technique may be weird for some, it is not too out of the realm of speedrunning because players have seen some strange methods in the past. One of them was when Breath of the Wild speedrun focused on bread.
Aside from this new world record, Abney has been a long-time record holder in "Mario Kart 64" for runs that have included both and excluded exploits. It is safe to say that Abney is a skilled player that deserves the recognition for the new record that he has set.
"Mario Kart" is still as popular as it was decades ago, with "Mario Kart 8: Delux" on Switch continuing to be one of the highest selling titles on the platform since its release.
However, older "Mario Kart" games still hold popularity, especially with fans who are hoping that "Mario Kart 64" will be distributed to Nintendo Switch Online.
This article owned by Tech Times
Written by Sieeka Khan
