One speedrunner has 100% completed nine 3D Mario games in a single, sleep-deprived, 44-hour marathon.
'Multiple Mario games' is a speedrun category dating back several years, featuring specific runs with names like 3D Mario 602, a challenge where you need to collect 120 stars in Super Mario 64, 120 shines in Sunshine, 120 stars in Galaxy, and 242 stars in Galaxy 2. Top runs in this category can take nearly 20 hours, and breaks - even to eat and sleep - are counted as part of your time.
Then you've got 3D Mario 1862, which requires you to do everything in 602, plus get all 380 green stars in 3D World and all 880 moons in Odyssey. The top run here is just under 32 hours, and runner Odme_ submitted it with this comment: "Insanity. Never doing this again lol."
Another runner, named KingJ, currently holds the second-place record in the 1862 category, with a time just under 35 hours. Rather than simply go for another attempt, he was inspired to go even further with the first (and "probably only") 3D Mario 2405 run, which includes all the challenges above, but adds 150 stars in Mario 64 DS, 293 medals in 3D Land, and 100 cat shines in Bowser's Fury.
"I've been speedrunning for around six or seven years," KingJ tells GamesRadar+. "I had done multiple 1862s in the past since 2020, and held world records for it extensively. About a year ago, someone named CreateSource made up the idea of 2405 and I thought it was a smart and cool expansion off of 1862." So KingJ made plans to take on 2405 - once he picked up the pricey 3DS mod needed to stream his runs of 3D Land.
KingJ tells us that he's "spent the last four years grinding all the different categories on and off and improving upon all of them. Once I announced a date for the 2405 I spent the month leading up to it running all the games and getting used to the ones that I hadn't played in a few years."
And folks, on May 28, the madman actually did it. He beat the whole damn thing in 44 hours, with the games arranged in such a way that he could also use the run to submit times for the 602 and 1862 challenges - clever. The archive of the video is available on Twitch, and it's worth at least skimming through just to watch KingJ's face devolve from 'normal streamer' to 'man who has gone through things no one should experience'. It's a bit like a before and after photo of the Obama presidency.
I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID IT! I FINISHED THE WORLDS FIRST (probably only) SLEEPLESS 3D Mario 2405! All 9 3D Mario games 100% back to back in under 44 hours/2 days in 1 sitting! The past 3-4 years of my life have built up to this moment and i'm so fucking proud of myself!!! (1/3) pic.twitter.com/oLYizi8jbcMay 28, 2023
Here's a quick transcription of the moment of victory, just after KingJ beat Bowser in the final game, Mario 64 DS: "Yes! Augh, fucking god it's over! Oh my god, it's a seven-minute Bowser in this - [incoherent, into laughter] I don't care! This 64 DS is a joke! We fucking did it baby! Oh my fucking god, dude. Fuck. Oh, fucking, what did I do with my life? [laughter] Oh my god."
KingJ notes that "the 2405 is only three games/eight hours longer than 1862, so it isn't too much more challenging, but eight hours is still a big difference when it comes to a run like this."
With that in mind, KingJ says, "I wasn't as tired, sleepy, or delirious as I thought I'd be for this run, considering I had done 1862s in the past, so I was accustomed to these long runs. I was completely fine mentally until I reached Mario 3D Land (the second-last game), where it really hit me and just became hard to focus on movement and skips because of how long I had been going for. But since it was so close to the end, it was easy to just push on and persevere."
When I ask whether he'd consider making another run at this category, KingJ says that "in terms of 3D Mario, 2405 was a magnum opus for me. This was a culmination of four-plus years of work and dedication all colliding into one massive run to show how far I've come and how far I can push myself, so I don't really see myself wanting or needing to do anything on this scope again, at least for Mario games." He adds that he might be tempted to extend the run and try again whenever a new 3D Mario finally launches, though, and will continue to participate in long runs, like the biannual 3D Mario 602 race.
While I cannot recommend anyone undergoes this level of sleep deprivation for, really, any reason, I can certainly admire the dedication it takes to survive a challenge like this. Godspeed and congrats, KingJ.
Mario speedrunning has had a busy few months, with runs in Mario 64's 16-star and one-star challenges that have serious potential as category killers.
