Speedrunning is a fascinating branch of competitive gaming. Those who are so dedicated to a particular game and know it so well that they can finish it in a time that the rest of us can only dream of. Whether it's discovering glitches that allow you to skip chunks of the game, or simply knowing its worlds and levels so well that you know exactly what to do and when to do it like it's a part of your muscle memory.
Speedrunning is impressive, but blindfolded speedrunning is just downright unbelievable. Some people know their chosen games so well that they can complete them without even looking. YouTuber Bubzia is one of the most renowned blindfolded speedrunners around and is making headlines again this week. Bubzia has beaten their own record for a blindfolded Super Mario 64 70-star speedrun record, completing it in one hour, 44 minutes, and 28 seconds.
Watching Bubzia traverse Super Mario 64's levels without being able to see anything is mesmerizing. They use the audio cues of Mario bumping into walls and collecting coins to figure out where they go next. After defeating Bowser in the game's final boss fight, Bubzia misses the last star you need to collect to complete the game and starts to panic. They needn't have been worried though as once he finds it and removes his blindfold, it's revealed they have beaten their previous best time by more than five and a half minutes.
Bubzia has been speedrunning a number of different games blindfolded for the past few years. They have done so with various Pokemon games and Wii Sports, but Super Mario 64 is their specialty. While they don't hold the record for the fastest blindfolded speedrun of the game, which only requires you to collect 16 stars, they have managed to do so in a little more than 30 minutes. They are also trying to prove a full 120-star run can be done blindfolded, something no one has managed to achieve.
After you manage to move past how impressive Bubzia's latest run is, odds are sadness will start to set in. The realization that someone can complete a game you thought you were relatively competent at faster than you with the added hurdle of being blindfolded. Now go fire up Super Mario 64 and finish it in less than one hour and 44 minutes. You can do it, we believe in you.