RTA Guide/120 Star

The goal of 120 star is to complete the game while collecting every star.

Rules

There are no restrictions. All forms of BLJ are allowed. Timing starts from power on and ends when the big star is collected at the end of the game.

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. It is also generally recommended to learn 70 star before 120 since almost everything you learn will carry over to 120 star and with the shorter stars out of the way you can focus solely on the longer 120 star specific stars.

There are many routes for 120 star involving different stage order and castle movement. The route used in this guide is the most commonly used non-lblj route which gets to basement as early as possible as it is one of the hardest parts of the run. Once you have learned all the stars separately, you will be able to adapt to other routes fairly easily.

These star routes are just a few examples of RTA strategies, they are not single star records. For a demonstration of completely optimized RTA strats, check out the 120 star ideal run.

The Route

Timing starts on reset. Press START to get past the first screen, and time START + A to select the top left file. Then an intro will show. Clear the text boxes in the end by timing A + B right as described in the movement guide. Then, you can move Mario and enter the castle using the Lakitu Skip. Enter the left door in the castle lobby and enter BOB.

Bob-Omb Battlefield

• Star 1: Bomb Clip

Whomp's Fortress

• Stars 2-8: Guide for all WF stars

The Secret Aquarium

• Star 9: Aquarium

Jolly Roger Bay

• Stars 10-16: Guide for all JRB stars

Castle Stars

• Star 17: First slide star (<21s)
• Star 18: Wing Cap Stage
• Star 19: Second Slide Star

1st Bowser Stage

• Star 20: Bowser in the Dark World
• Bowser Fight 1: -

Bob-omb Battlefield

• Star 21: King Bob-Omb
• Star 22: Koopa Race
• Star 23-24: 100c & Red Coins
• Star 25: Sky Jump
• Star 26: Secrets

Castle Star

• Star 27: 1st Mips

Shifting Sand Land

• Star 28-34: Guide for all SSL stars

Hazy Maze Cave

• Stars 35-42: Guide for all HMC stars

Castle Star

• Star 43: HMC Toad

Lethal Lava Land

• Stars 44-50: Guide for all LLL stars

We collect the 50th star in LLL so we get a textbox once we're done with the stage. That makes the camera for the MIPS grab much easier.

Castle Star

• Star 51: 2nd Mips

Vanish Cap Under the Moat

• Star 52: Vanish Cap Stage

Cool Cool Mountain

• Stars 53-59: Guide for all CCM stars

Big Boo's Haunt

• Stars 60-66: Guide for all BBH stars

Dire, Dire Docks Part 1

• Stars 67-68: DDD100
• Stars 69: Chests
• Star 70: Sub Star

2nd Bowser Stage

• Star 71: Bowser in the Fire Sea Reds
• Bowser Fight 2: -

Dire, Dire Docks Part 2

• Star 72: Mant
• Star 73: Jet Stream / Rings
• Star 74: Collect the Caps

Reenter Fire Sea and Exit Stage.

Wet Dry World

• Stars 75-81: Guide for all WDW stars

Tiny Huge Island

• Stars 82-88: Guide for all THI stars

Castle Star

• Star 89: Upstairs Toad

Tall, Tall Mountain

• Stars 90-96: Guide for all TTM stars

Snowman's Land

• Stars 97-103: Guide for all SL stars

Wing Mario Over the Rainbow

• Star 104: Cloud Stage

Tick Tock Clock

• Stars 105-111: Guide for all TTC stars

Castle Star

• Star 112: Tippy Toad

Rainbow Ride

• Stars 113-119: Guide for all RR stars

3rd Bowser Stage

• Star 120: Bowser in the Sky Red Coins

Bowser Fight 3: -