Useful Glitches
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Useful Glitches
Updated 7 years ago by Saradoc

[big]__Wrong Warp[/big]__

The Wrong Warp glitch occurs when a pipe takes you somewhere other than its intended destination. Theory: The game can have only one "entry point" (a pipe or vine) per screen. The reason lies in how the game is designed: There is just one global variable in the game RAM that determines where pipes or vines in the current screen lead. Once the screen scrolls far enough for the next target label to be loaded from the level data, all entry points in the current screen will lead to that destination instead.

• If Mario is far on the right side of the screen, the entry point variable will be out of date, so a new entry point will lead to the target of the previous one. (Example: In 4-2 of SMB1, if Mario is far enough on the right side of the screen, he can use the pipe to go to the warp room since the destination info of the vine is still valid. Making the vine appear is not required for this glitch. The only thing needed is that the screen hasn't scrolled too far when the pipe is entered.) • If the screen is ahead of Mario (Mario is on the left side of screen), the variable will have updated too soon, so you can access a future entry point's target from an earlier entry point. (Example: In 8-4 of SMB1, in the area before the water area, instead of going in the pipe after the lava pit, go a little past the previous pipe, and then turn around and go in that pipe, and it will take you to the water area instead of taking you back to the beginning of the level.)

Methods of getting Mario to the left side of the screen: • Just move back. Methods of getting Mario to the right side of the screen: • If you enter a wall, the wall will automatically transport Mario towards the right edge of the screen without scrolling. • If Mario bumps into the left edge of an obstacle (wall, pipe, coin block etc.) while jumping, the screen scrolling will momentarily stop even if Mario continues to move to the right. Since Mario accelerates faster in the direction he isn't facing, you should use this trick while jumping backwards (with Mario facing left).

[big]__Walljump[/big]__

A walljump is when you jump towards a wall and somehow Mario's foot catches the wall and allows to jump again, boosting from the wall. Walljumps happen because the game does a floor check (a simple "is there a solid block below him?" test) even during a wall-ejection. Wall-ejection is SMB's mechanism for pushing Mario out of a wall he has partially entered.

To perform a walljump, you need two things: • Some horizontal speed • Mario's feet must hit the wall exactly at a block boundary (every 16 pixels)

Depending on your precise position you may not be able to catch the wall even if you jump correctly. Most of the time you have 1 frame to do the jump, but rarely you have 2 or even more.

As Mario accelerates faster in the opposite direction, you should do a backwards jump before attempting a walljump to save 0.1 seconds. If you jump after the first possible frame, you will turn back around and lose the 0.1 seconds.

[big]__Half flagpole glitch[/big]__

Complete the level without lowering the flag by glitching into the base block of the flagpole and touching the flapole from inside. Doing so is faster than lowering the flag. Setup: Resources: https://www.speedrun.com/smb1/resources

[big]__Full flagpole glitch[/big]__

Enter the block below the flagpole and touch the flagpole from inside the block to skip lowering the flag and get ejected to the left side of the block, which then skips the routines of the flag lowering and of Mario walking to the castle and entering it. On the PAL version you can do this glitch directly. On NTSC this glitch only works if you stomp an enemy just before you touch the block below the flagpole or if you do it underwater or if you jump from inside the ground. On the All-Stars version this glitch doesn't work anymore.

[big]__Going through walls as big Mario[/big]__

When Mario is big, he can simply perform a duck-jump into the corner and start walking. This is because his head will be well inside the ceiling, enabling the ejection to the right.

[big]__Going through walls as small Mario[/big]__

__Jump into a solid object below a floor__

For the purpose of activating this glitch, any solid object (including pipes) counts as a floor. It is really difficult to perform, but here are the instructions.

  1. You need the right speed. If the object is only 2 blocks tall, such as the pipe in the end of 1-2, you can not jump into it while running. Deaccelerate before jumping. If you have too high speed, you'll just find yourself standing on top of the object instead of inside it.
  2. You need the right position. The right position is: as near as possible. You are too near, if when you jump toward the object, you'll bump into it without getting ejected pixel by pixel.
  3. Immediately before the wall starts ejecting Mario, start steering away from it. This causes the wall to pull you in instead of push you out.
  4. Immediately after your vertical movement stops, start moving to the direction you want to go. If the wall is ejecting you now, you failed some of the previous steps or you had a bad subpixel position.

The easiest way to perform this trick is into 2-block tall obstacles at walking speed.

  1. Do a minimal height jump (hold A for 1 frame) at the exactly right distance. ◦ You're too close if you bump into the wall without a chance to counter the ejection. ◦ You held A for more than 1 frame if you land on top of the floor.
  2. As the wall-eject is about to start, hold the opposite direction from the obstacle.
  3. Once Mario lands in the wall, start walking normally. ◦ If the wall just ejects Mario, you were too far from the wall when you jumped.

__Jump into a wall just below a solid ceiling and walk through it__

To perform the trick, do a walljump at a position right below the ceiling. When you get foothold, jump immediately. When you land, jump again. When you land again, jump again. Each jump embeds you deeper into the wall. Usually three or four jumps are enough for passing through.

During each of the jumps, you need to steer in the direction opposite to where you're traveling. Otherwise Mario gets ejected.

__Jump into a solid wall and walk through it__

It is possible to perform the wall-entry trick even without a ceiling. However, it requires extremely precise positioning and speed. This is the hardest of all of the tricks.

Instructions: You will need to have the right X-subpixel position for this to work. A subpixel is a position component which is not rendered onscreen. In this game a pixel is made up of 16 subpixels. Try jumping into a wall. You are either pushed out immediately without having entered the wall at all, or otherwise you might have been able to partially enter the wall. The latter is what you want, but there is no way to effectively influence the subpixel value besides holding left for a few frames while running and hoping for the best outcome.

  1. Jump towards a wall from a position as close to it as possible (but not touching it).
  2. Before the wall starts ejecting you, immediately start steering away from it. This causes the wall to pull you in instead of pushing you out.
  3. As soon as you land inside the wall, repeatedly jump while moving away from the wall.
  4. After you have entered the wall deep enough, start moving in the direction you want to go as soon as you land. If the wall is ejecting you now, you failed the previous steps or had a bad subpixel position.

[big]__Off-screen wall climbing[/big]__

This trick is trivial to perform. When there is a hole on the left side of the screen, you can cram Mario in between the screen edge and the wall and climb up. Mario will be unable to fall down. It can be used to reach the ceiling of the dungeon in places where there normally is no way to do that.

By jumping repeatedly and steering to the left, the trick can also be used for entering the wall.

[big]__Jump in mid-air[/big]__

If you grab a mushroom in mid-air, you can jump again. To do this let go of A before you touch the mushroom and then hold A until the transformation is over.

[big]__Ducking while swimming[/big]__

Duck on the ground and start swimming, Mario will still look as usual, but his hitbox is as though he was small and he will be unable to shoot fireballs. The optimal way to start this is: • accelerate to maximum speed • let go off right and hold down (this will not slow you down) • briefly touch the ground • press A • hold right until you are back to maximum speed Repeat this each time you have to touch the ground. To stop ducking and enable fireballs again simply hold down+right and touch the ground.

[big]__Ducking while falling[/big]__

Just hold down before sliding off a platform and Mario will have the small hitbox despite looking big.

[big]__The Minus World[/big]__

This is a well-known glitch which occurs when Mario glitches behind the wall in 1-2 in SMB1 and enters the first pipe. The minus world is basically just a random location of the game ROM, it is not a real world. It wasn't designed that way ― it's just an oversight of the programmers that you can get into the pipe before the correct warp labels are assigned.

In the NES version of Super Mario Bros., the "minus world" was a looping, uncompleteable copy of world 2-2. In the FDS version, however, it is an underwater 1-3, 7-3, and an underground 4-4, making it completable. Completing the game this way would give the "in another castle" message, but would return to the title screen as if 8-4 had been beaten; hard mode and the level selection become accessible, as well.

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