Super Mario World has plenty of warps and tricks to help players finish the game faster than usual, but none are as extreme as the credits warp. This intense glitch was once thought to be nearly impossible for a human to perform, but one speedrunner recently used it to complete the game in less that one minute.
The Super Mario World credits warp is a kind of trick called “arbitrary code execution,” in which speedrunners can perform certain actions that change values in the game’s memory. This essentially programs the game to run specific code that triggers the game’s credits. Speedrunner and programmer SethBling used a new variation of the trick to complete the game in 54 seconds and 56 milliseconds earlier this week.
To accomplish the trick, SethBling plugs in four controllers and two Super Multitap peripherals and leaves specific buttons pressed down on the controllers. The inputs change memory bytes that tell the game to run certain code after he performs certain actions. These actions include stomping on specific koopa troopers in key locations, duplicating Yoshi blocks, and kicking a red shell into the air while standing at a specific pixel. If everything goes well, he can reach the end of the game without ever fighting Bowser.