Backwards Long Jump: Difference between revisions

The '''Backwards long jump''' or '''BLJ''' is a way of building up a lot of speed very fast by long-jumping backwards. It is the result of a minor oversight by the game's programmers/developers: There is no reasonable limit on Mario's speed when it becomes negative. Therefore, by long-jumping backwards in a position where you can continue to long-jump backwards, you can build of lots of speed very fast. BLJs can be done on certain slopes, stairways, and obstacles. To perform a BLJ, do a long jump with Mario facing away from the obstacle/stairway/slope but move backwards towards it (by holding the joystick in the opposite direction). Mario will collide with the obstacle/stairway/slope, leaving him on the ground and enabling him to backwards long jump again. Mario's speed becomes negative at this point, and BLJing repeatedly causes a negative speed increase of approximately 45-50% of Mario's currently stored speed at that time. Once the desired speed is reached, simply stop BLJing and Mario will zoom off backwards at an incredibly high speed. If you continue BLJing long enough, Mario's speed, stored in a float, will eventually reach -229399772256808620000000000000000000000, then tick over to -1.#INF, and crash the game.

The key aspect of BLJs is Mario's capability of retaining negative speed temporarily. Eventually, the speed will increase back to 0; however, there are a few frames within a BLJ in which his speed doesn't deplete instantly. These frames allow for repeated BLJs, thus increasing his speed.

While all BLJs work by the same principle, there are many different methods of performing them. There are numerous places where a BLJ can be performed throughout the game (virtually every level contains at least one), and it is unlikely that all such locations have been discovered.

Stair BLJs were the first kind of BLJs to be discovered. A Stair BLJ consists of long jumping backwards onto stairs, which are basically tiny floors, which Mario can run directly over. BLJing on stairs works similar to Elevator BLJs because they both consist of Mario's jumps being interrupted allowing for more jumps to be performed, however, the timing must be precise.

Here's how it works: When BLJing on a steep slope, Mario's jump is interrupted by the steep ground. With no negative horizontal velocity, Mario's long jumps behave just as the developers intended. However, on steeper slopes, with a negative horizontal velocity, and with ground located behind Mario, the game has no choice but to force Mario's position backwards along with an increased vertical position. This process is repeatable, allowing for Slope BLJs to be performed.

Here's how they work: BLJs are possible on rising elevators because an elevator's vertical velocity allows them to catch up to Mario as soon as he leaves the ground from a BLJ. This interrupts the first jump and allows him to jump again, thus repeating the process of a BLJ.

The most common Low Ceiling BLJ is the one presented in the video (located in the Jolly Roger Bay room). It is literally a low ceiling. Either one of the Lobby BLJs in the main room of the castle are also Low Ceiling BLJs, but they utilize Invisible Wall Hitboxes which act as Low Ceilings.