Jumping
There are a few techniques used while jumping. First for the basics:
- Jumping on solid ground does not lose or gain Mario speed.
- Running and jumping makes Mario jump higher than stationairy jumping (running then holding
2for the entire jump will be refered to as full jumps). - Doing consecutive jumps with running speed allows Mario to double and triple jump.
Double Jumps
Jumping then following with another jump with at least 3 speed within 8 frames (roughly .1 seconds) allows Mario to double jump.
A double jump can also be initiated with a crouch off of a ledge, or a wallkick that gains enough speed and falls far enough. Messing around in practice will help you understand these concepts.
A full single or double jump will make Mario jump 5 blocks high.
Triple Jumps
Double jumping, landing, and jumping with at least 3 speed within 8 frames will make Mario perform a triple jump.
A full triple jump will make Mario jump 6 blocks high, one higher than any single or double jump.
Triple jumps will make Mario do a front-flip animation, unless…
Triple Jump Storage and Crouch Triples
Double jumping and landing activates triple jump storage.
Triple jump storage can be activated a few ways, but really only one is useful. with fire, ice, or penguin power, shooting fire/ice and jumping within 6 frames will make Mario jump with triple jump height, but not perform the flip animation. You can also activate it by throwing an item like a shell or propeller block. Watch the input display to get a better idea of how this is done.
Triple jump storage in 8-Castle to instantly jump over Bowser (“Volza Vault”).
Triple storage can be preserved through slowing down to a complete stop, crouching, changing X directions, and even through boss cutscenes. You will lose triple jump storage if you leave the ground, crouch jump, or spin jump.
A crouch triple is done by double jumping, then doing a frame-perfect crouch jump. You will get triple jump height without the flip animation. Your hitbox will also be reduced to one block tall for all powerups (except small and mini), but this trick is impossible with penguin.
Both of these triple jump techniques will make the “boing” sound effect, but Mario won’t say anything like he does while performing a regular triple jump.
Hovering
An underrated mechanic that is worth getting used to is hovering. Hovering is done by buffering 2 as you’re falling. It will decrease your negative-Y acceleration so you fall slower! This is useful for a ton of strats, notably the first skip in 6-1 and the last skip in 8-Airship. Take note of the usage of the 2 button on the input display in the examples.
This trick is difficult without hovering (6-1).
Even small hover jumps make a big difference (Try to not hit the ceiling when doing this trick in 8-Airship).
Stutterstepping
Stutterstepping is a trick that is useful in only one or two settings in the entire game, but just so happens to be useful in Any% and actually gives you a lot of speed.
To stutterstep, you need to hold 2 while you land (technically a hover jump…) and you should continue holding 2 as long as you can while running on the rolling hill. Seeing the example with input display may be helpful:
Mario’s speed goes above 6.0 for a few frames on each rolling hill (8-2).
Jump Rule Exceptions
If Mario jumps onto backwards moving ground (specifically moving ground that affects your midair speed; more info here), double and triple jumps must be frame-perfect.
If Mario jumps very precisely at the edge of a platform, he will lose his jump progression (Mario will do a single jump regardless of the prevous jump). Try not to jump at the very edge of platforms to avoid this.
On moving platforms that affect your speed midair like the bone coaster, jumping off the very edge will cause you not only to lose your jump progression, but also your speed.
Now that we feel confident making the plumber jump, let’s make sure he knows how to enter and exit every pipe optimally.