RTA Guide/16 Star

The goal of the 16 Star category is to beat the game as quickly as possible using MIPS clipping to skip the 30 star door. Any form of BLJ (or technique other than MIPS clipping) to pass the 30 star door is not allowed. It's a great category for beginners as it is not very long and doesn't involve any tricks that are overly difficult.

Rules

• Using any form of BLJ to skip the 30 star door is banned. (e.g. Side BLJ)
• LBLJ is allowed
• MIPS Clip is allowed

Notes

This guide is made for players with at least some sort of knowledge about the game’s mechanics. If you have just started running this game, I recommend watching both of Simply’s movement tutorials and Sean Raider's movement guide.

Easy Route

Main article: 16 Star (Beginner Route)
This is the most basic version of the "No LBLJ" 16 star route. It skips Bowser in the Dark World Reds, however it is strongly recommend to start practicing and implementing this in your runs sooner than later.

1. Lakitu Skip
2. Bob-omb Battlefield
   • Behind Chain Chomp's Gate
3. Whomp's Fortress
   • Blast Away the Wall
   • Shoot into the Wild Blue
   • Fall onto the Caged Island *If you're using the owl, move this star to after To the Top of the Fortress
   • Chip off Whomp's Block
   • To the Top of the Fortress
4. Cool Cool Mountain
   • Li'l Penguin Lost
   • Wall Kicks Will Work
5. Bowser in the Dark World (No Reds)
6. Shifting Sand Land
   • In the Talons of the Big Bird
   • Shining atop the Pyramid
7. Lethal Lava Land
   • 8-Coin Puzzle with 15 Pieces
8. Hazy Maze Cave
   • A-maze-ing Emergency Exit
   • HMC Toad
   • Watch for Rolling Rocks
   • Swimming Beast in the Cavern
9. MIPS Clip
10. Dire, Dire Docks
    • Board Bowser's Sub
11. Bowser in the Fire Sea (No Reds)
12. BLJ's
13. Bowser in the Sky (No Reds)

Medium Route

Main article: 16 Star (Medium Route)

This route is potentially ~8 seconds faster than the Easy Route. It is essentially the same as the previous route, except Dark World Reds replaces one of the slower stars in Hazy Maze Cave. Also listed are optional tweaks to the route that save time but considerably increase the difficulty, these are generally recommended only to people that are running the No LBLJ 16 star category extension for top times, otherwise see the one of the LBLJ routes.

1. Bob-omb Battlefield
   • Behind Chain Chomp's Gate
2. Whomp's Fortress
   • Blast Away the Wall
   • Shoot into the Wild Blue
   • Fall onto the Caged Island
   • Chip off Whomp's Block
   • To the Top of the Fortress
   • Optional
     • 100c + Reds (skips going to CCM, only saves time with the "expert" movement)
3. Cool Cool Mountain
   • Li'l Penguin Lost
   • Wall Kicks Will Work
4. Bowser in the Dark World (Reds)
5. Shifting Sand Land
   • In the Talons of the Big Bird
   • Shining atop the Pyramid
   • Optional
     • Pillarless (only worth if you do fastest strat, replaces a star in HMC)
6. Lethal Lava Land
   • 8-Coin Puzzle with 15 Pieces
   • Optional
     • Red-Hot_Log_Rolling (Sidehop) (replaces one of the longer stars in HMC)
7. HMC Toad
8. Hazy Maze Cave
   • A-maze-ing Emergency Exit
   • Watch for Rolling Rocks
9. MIPS Clip
10. Dire, Dire Docks
    • Board Bowser's Sub
11. Bowser in the Fire Sea (No Reds)
12. BLJ's
13. Bowser in the Sky (No Reds)

Hard Route (LBLJ)

This route is potentially ~37 seconds faster than Medium Route assuming the fastest strats are used in each route. It is not recommended for new players.

1. Lobby Backwards Long Jump
2. Bowser in the Dark World (Reds)
3. Whomp's Fortress
   • Blast Away the Wall
   • Fall onto the Caged Island
   • Shoot into the Wild Blue
4. Shifting Sand Land
   • Inside the Ancient Pyramid (Pillarless)
   • In the Talons of the Big Bird
   • Shining atop the Pyramid
5. Lethal Lava Land
   • 8-Coin Puzzle with 15 Pieces
   • Red-Hot Log Rolling (No Wing Cap)
   • Boil the Big Bully
   • Choose one of the following two stars:
     • Hot-Foot-It into the Volcano (~1.2s faster using optimal strats)
     • Elevator Tour in the Volcano (recommended unless proficient at optimal lavaboost)
6. Haze Maze Cave
   • A-maze-ing Emergency Exit
   • HMC Toad
   • Watch for Rolling Rocks
   • Swimming Beast in the Cavern
7. MIPS Clip
8. Dire, Dire Docks
   • Board Bowser's Sub
9. Bowser in the Fire Sea (No Reds)
10. BLJ's
11. Bowser in the Sky (No Reds)