Gamers are a resourceful bunch. They can impose limits on themselves to maximize a game’s replayability, even years after a title’s launch. A little while back, a YouTuber named UncommentatedPannen stretched the physics of Super Mario 64 to its breaking point. They did this by beating the first Bowser lair without using the joystick.
Watching this makes my brain melt
Here’s footage of UncommentatedPannen absolutely wrecking the stage Bowser in the Dark World without the use of analog movement:
WHOA. I know this footage is tool assisted. However, it’s still impressive!
As you can see, UncommentatedPannen uses a combination of jumps, backflips, punches, ledge grabs, enemy placement, and purposeful damage intake to make their way through the entire level. Once they reach Bowser, they deliberately get burned by the Koopa King in order to manipulate him into jumping directly in front of Mario. After that, there’s a tail swing and immediate bomb to the face.
Awesome job, my dude. Please do Bowser in the Sky next. Above all, I need to see you do three turtle swings in a row!
Gentle readers, never take your joystick for granted ever again. How do you feel about these self-imposed challenges? Do they increase a game’s replayability long after gamers have moved on to newer titles? Give us your thoughts with a comment below!
