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Super Mario 64 speedrunner Bubzia has done what the community once thought impossible, securing a sub-20 minute time in the game's 16 star category while blindfolded. And all it took to get here was a 118-day grind in one of the best N64 games ever made.
Bubzia is the one to beat when it comes to blindfolded Mario 64 speedrunning, as he holds the records - and in some cases, the only time - in 0 star, 1 star, 16 star, 31 star, 50 star, 70 star, and 120 star categories. As in standard Mario 64 runs, the 16 star category is the most popular and competitive, but since achieving the blindfolded 16 star world record back in 2022 Bubzia has never been dethroned.
These days, aspiring Mario 64 runners - the regular, non-blindfolded kind - consider it a major milestone in their personal progress to complete a 16 star run in under 20 minutes. (The normal 16 star record is currently 14 minutes and 35 seconds.) So, earlier this year, Bubzia set to work breaking the 20 minute barrier blindfolded.
Starting from a personal best (and world record) of 22 minutes and 23 seconds, Bubzia began regular streams of blindfolded record attempts in January, and he managed several. 21:48 in February. 21:13 in June. 20:30 in August. 20:24 in September. Always inching closer, but never quite hitting that sub-20 goal.
"There are so many difficult points now in this optimized state," Bubzia explained in a recap of the first 100 days of the challenge. "You get maybe one run per day - out of a 3-hour stream - where you get past the first stage. It was insanely frustrating to run this. I cannot overstate how mentally taxing this was."
But after 118 days of grinding spread across 10 months of effort, it finally happened. Bubzia managed a 19:43 blindfolded. "I honestly don't have much to say about the run," he said in the description of the video. "It can still be improved and maybe I will return one day. But as cliché as it might sound, the much more important part than me breaking this milestone and the world record is the absolutely amazing and kind community that I have. Thank you all so incredibly much!"
That community response has been hovering between awe, disbelief, and simple congratulations to Bubzia on the accomplishment. Speedrun legend Summoning Salt puts it simply: "This seemed completely impossible a few years ago. Huge congrats to him for reaching his goal!"
