Backwards long jump
Famous glitch in Super Mario 64
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The backwards long jump (BLJ) is a video game glitch in Super Mario 64 that is commonly used in speedrunning to bypass large portions of the game by building up immense negative speed. It is used extensively within 0-star and 16-star runs to bypass areas to beat the game with fewer stars than intended.[1] As the player character Mario increases speed rapidly, he often becomes so fast that he passes through collision detection (walls and doors) that are meant to stop him. In the Shindou re-release of Super Mario 64, the backwards long jump is absent.[2][3] The BLJ is also not possible in the Super Mario 3D All-Stars (2020) version of Super Mario 64, though it can be performed in the 2021 Nintendo Switch Online version of the game.[4]
Execution
To BLJ, the player must hold backwards while performing a sequence of long jumps. As Mario stays on the ground while long jumping, the player must continue to hold backwards and repeatedly press the jump button, causing Mario to continually gain speed while moving backwards. The optimal place to perform the glitch is at a flight of stairs or an ascending platform.[5][unreliable source?]
In speedrunning
In a speedrun, the BLJ is used four times, once on each floor of the castle. It is first used on the ground floor, where Mario clips into a pillar, executes a BLJ against the wall, and gains enough speed to clip through the 8-star door. In the basement, the BLJ is used to bypass the 30-star door and the portal to the level Dire Dire Docks. On the second floor, the BLJ is used on the stairs that lead up to the third floor, allowing Mario to clip through the wall and into the third floor. The BLJ is last used on the Endless Stairs, where it bypasses the warp that creates the illusion of the endless staircase.
In November 2025, a substitution for the BLJ to bypass the 30-star door in the basement was discovered; the player can instead have Mario line up against a particular wall in the basement, backflip against it, and slide on the railing next to the wall, causing him to be catapulted up to the door and clip through the wall.[6]
