Unlocking the Impossible: How Speedrunners Achieve 25 Shines Before the Game Even Begins in Super Mario Sunshine

The Unthinkable Feat

Ever watched a speedrun and thought, "How is that even possible?" The title "How Speedrunners get 25 Shines before the game starts" is a prime example of that awe-inspiring question. For most players, reaching 25 Shines in Super Mario Sunshine involves countless hours of exploration, mastering FLUDD, and navigating the vibrant yet challenging island of Isle Delfino. But for elite speedrunners, the game's start is merely a suggestion, a playground for exploiting its deepest mechanics to shave off precious seconds, or in this case, achieve what seems like the impossible. This isn't about completing the main story; it's about breaking the game's intended progression to achieve a goal that defies conventional gameplay.

What Does "Before the Game Starts" Actually Mean?

The phrase "before the game starts" in this context is a bit of a speedrunner's trick, a way to describe achieving a significant in-game milestone *before* the official progression of the narrative or gameplay typically allows. In Super Mario Sunshine, the "start" can be interpreted as the point after the introductory cutscenes and the player is given control of Mario on the beach. Collecting 25 Shines without progressing through the story, without clearing certain obstacles, and without even officially "starting" the game in a traditional sense, is a testament to the incredible depth of knowledge speedrunners possess about game engines. It's a category that often pushes the boundaries of what players thought was achievable within the game's code.

Mastering Super Mario Sunshine's Engine: Glitches and Skips

Super Mario Sunshine, like many Nintendo titles of its era, is rich with glitches and exploits that speedrunners have meticulously cataloged and utilized. Achieving 25 Shines pre-gameplay isn't about brute force; it's about precision execution of highly specific techniques. These often involve:
  • Out of Bounds (OOB) Glitches: Finding ways to push Mario or manipulate his position outside the intended playable areas of the game. These can grant access to levels or Shine Sprites early.
  • Object Clipping: Using environmental objects or enemy behaviors to clip through walls or floors, bypassing normal progression routes.
  • FLUDD Manipulation: Creative uses of Mario's water-spraying device, FLUDD, to achieve higher jumps, faster movement, or even break certain collision detections. Techniques like "hoverless jumps" or precise water-rocket maneuvers are crucial.
  • Menu Glitches: Exploiting the game's menus to reset Mario's state, trigger events out of sequence, or gain unintended advantages.
These aren't bugs to be fixed; they are the tools of the trade for any serious speedrunner aiming for top times. The community at speedrunning communities constantly shares and refines these techniques.

The 25 Shine Strategy: A Breakdown

The specific route to achieving 25 Shines before the official start of the game is an intricate dance of precise movements and glitch execution. While the exact sequence can vary slightly between runners and patches, the core principles remain:
  • Early Access to Key Areas: Speedrunners utilize OOB techniques within the initial areas (like the Grandmas' Beach) to gain access to levels or sections of levels that are normally gated behind story progression or specific Shine collection.
  • Strategic Shine Collection: Not all Shines are created equal. Runners will target Shines that are accessible via glitches with minimal setup time. This often means collecting Shines that require intricate platforming or precise FLUDD usage, but can be reached earlier than intended.
  • Skip Critical Cutscenes and Dialogues: Every second counts. Runners have mastered the art of skipping all non-essential dialogues and cutscenes to save time.
  • Optimized Movement: From the moment Mario gains control, every jump, every hover, and every dive is calculated for maximum efficiency. This includes techniques like corner corrects and dive-cancels.
The goal is to chain these early-game exploits together seamlessly, treating each collected Shine as a stepping stone to the next, all without triggering the "official" start of your adventure in Delfino Plaza.

A Speedrunner's Perspective: The Grind and the Glory

For the dedicated speedrunner, achieving such a feat is the culmination of hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of practice. It's about:
  • Muscle Memory: Executing complex glitch sequences requires near-perfect muscle memory. One missed input can mean starting over or losing significant time.
  • RNG Manipulation: While some RNG elements are present, speedrunners often employ strategies to influence or bypass unfavorable RNG, ensuring consistency.
  • Constant Refinement: The speedrunning community is always pushing the envelope. New skips and tricks are discovered, demanding continuous adaptation and practice.
  • The Thrill of the PB: The personal best (PB) is the ultimate goal. Achieving a new PB, especially on a category as demanding as this, is an immense satisfaction.

Advanced Techniques and Mind Games

Beyond the fundamental glitches, advanced speedrunners employ a variety of techniques to shave off those critical milliseconds:
  • Frame-Perfect Inputs: Some glitches require inputs to be performed with frame-perfect precision, demanding incredible timing and concentration.
  • Strategic Movement Optimization: This goes beyond just running fast. It includes precise angles for jumps, optimal use of dive momentum, and even the rare instances of "wall clipping" or "corner clipping" to maintain speed.
  • Game Knowledge: Understanding enemy patrol patterns, level geometry, and the game's physics engine inside and out is paramount. This allows runners to anticipate and exploit game behaviors.
It's a constant battle against the game's design, where every millisecond saved is a victory.

Impact on the Speedrunning Community

Feats like collecting 25 Shines before the game truly "starts" have a significant impact on the speedrunning community. They:
  • Inspire Innovation: Discoveries in one game often inspire runners in other games to look for similar exploits or develop new techniques.
  • Push Boundaries: These runs redefine what is considered "possible" within a game, encouraging runners to explore previously unthought-of strategies.
  • Entertain and Educate: Watching these incredible feats is not only entertaining but also educational for aspiring speedrunners, showcasing the pinnacle of skill and game knowledge.
The pursuit of such extreme goals is what keeps the GamingSpeedrun community vibrant and ever-evolving. It's a testament to human ingenuity and dedication within the digital realm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Is this considered "cheating" in a traditional sense?

No, in speedrunning, exploiting glitches and unintended mechanics that are part of the game's code is not considered cheating. It's known as "glitching" or "exploiting" and is a core part of many speedrun categories. Cheating would typically refer to using external tools or hacks that modify the game beyond its intended engine.

Q2: How long does it typically take a speedrunner to achieve this?

Achieving 25 Shines before the game starts requires immense practice. While the run itself might be under 15 minutes (once mastered), the path to mastering it can take hundreds of hours of dedicated practice and learning the precise strats and RNG manipulations.

Q3: Are these glitches specific to a particular version or platform of Super Mario Sunshine?

Often, yes. Glitches can be patched out in later versions or may behave differently on different emulators or hardware. Speedrunners typically focus on specific versions (e.g., the original GameCube release) where the known glitches are present and consistent.

Q4: What is the category name for this type of speedrun?

This particular challenge is often referred to as "Any% Pre-Sequence" or a similar variation, indicating the fastest possible completion of a set objective without following the game's intended narrative progression. The specific goal of 25 Shines is a community-defined benchmark within that category.

Q5: Where can I learn more about Super Mario Sunshine speedrunning?

The best places to learn are communities like Speedrun.com, dedicated Discord servers for Super Mario Sunshine speedrunning, and watching top runners on platforms like Twitch and YouTube.

In conclusion, the ability of speedrunners to collect 25 Shines before the "game starts" in Super Mario Sunshine is a breathtaking demonstration of deep game knowledge, precise execution, and the relentless pursuit of optimization. It's a reminder that games are far more than their intended design, offering a hidden layer of mechanics waiting to be discovered and exploited by the dedicated few. What are your thoughts on these incredible speedrunning feats? Have you ever attempted any advanced glitches in your favorite games? Share your experiences and any other speedrun strategies you'd like to see covered in the comments below! Let's keep the conversation going and push the boundaries of gaming together.