History YMMV / Pannenkoek2012

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: Koopa the Quick is trapped by [[ItMakesSenseInContext cloned bowling balls]], causing him to jump in place repeatedly. Mario joins him, jumping and kicking in the air, as text reads "Forget racing. We're training for the high jump."

** Wing Mario Over the Rainbow is a wrench in several of the restriction challenges. It requires 2 A presses in the ABC (not including the 1 A press needed to enter the course), can't be done without special caps or coins (and for a while, couldn't be done without the cannon until [[https://youtu.be/JCzBOGHf_a0 sm64expert figured it out]]), and likely will never be done without the use of the joystick. The Red Coins in the level are just too spread out and too high up for anything else to work.

** TJ "Henry" Yoshi: "an a press is an a press. You can't say it's only a half" [[labelnote:Explanation]]TJ "Henry" Yoshi left a comment challenging the idea of half an A press. He's basically become pannennkoek2012's SitcomArchNemesis for that comment alone.[[/labelnote]]

* FaceOfTheBand: Pannen is this for the A Button Challenge, since he's the one who creates the first ABC TAS[=es=]. Equally as important to the project (though not always in the public eye) are [[ScienceHero Tyler Kehne]], [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist Timestoppa]], [[ChallengeGamer Iwer Sonsch]], fifdspence, and bad_boot, among others.

* EnsembleDarkHorse: TJ ”Henry” Yoshi became this with his comment about how ”an A-press is an A-press. You can’t say it’s only a half.” that became a meme.

** It's hard not to see the ''entire Rolling Rocks video'' as this, after [[http://docs.google.com/document/d/1K4OTAyampX1CueKyZUIunz0yIUYd3ldlQxv37oaySgs/edit Pannen's FAQ]] reveals that he made it largely out of turning all of his negative energy into productivity. He soon discontinued making main channel videos because he thought [[ToughActToFollow he'd never make anything as good as that again]] without subjecting himself to a similar level of emotional torture. It's even harsher when you look through his backlog of videos and saw how much enthusiasm he used to convey through his descriptions, text commentary, and frequent replies to comments. Ever since the Rolling Rocks video, that's slowly gone away, replaced instead by rather emotionless walls of text that seem ''designed'' to leave no room for MemeticMutation or any sort of misinterpretation.

*** However, on February 11, 2023 a breakthrough came at last, and the curse was dispelled. Investigation into an old strategy to do it in 0.5 a presses reopened. Stomp On The Thwomp planner Marbler posted a promising lead in the Discord server. They tried their hand at it after it was brought up again, and succeeded where previous attempts faltered. One week later, it all came together. Using Hyperspeed Jump Kicking for multiple, absurdly unit precise speed building interactions, along with some brute forcing to lower the total speed needed, the long sought after solution was found.

*** However, on February 15, 2023 a breakthrough came at last, and the curse was dispelled. Investigation into an old strategy to do itin 0.5 a presses reopened. Stomp On The Thwomp planner Marbler posted a promising lead in the Discord server. They tried their hand at it after it was brought up again, and succeeded where previous attempts faltered. One week later, it all came together. Using Hyperspeed Jump Kicking for multiple, absurdly unit precise speed building interactions, along with some brute forcing to lower the total speed needed, the long sought after solution was found.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEaInpcxrSg Treasure of the Ocean Cave]] in Jolly Roger Bay used to be the most frustrating example. It looks easy enough to grab, since the star spawns right out in the open. However, it spawns at such a location and height that almost all known ABC strategies (such as vertical speed conservation) fail to work to grab it. The only hope for a 0x strategy is building up enough speed to fling to the star off a nearby rock; the lowest amount required to do this is currently [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJYOQSlNHDA around 262]]. However, the maximum achievable speed in JRB is currently 160, which is quite a bit off from where Mario needs to be.
*** However, on February 15, 2023 a breakthrough came at last, and the curse was dispelled. Investigation into an old strategy to do in 0.5 a presses reopened. Stomp On The Thwomp planner Marlber posted a promising lead in the Discord server that made it past where it had failed before. Using Hyperspeed Jump Kicking, and multiple unit precise speed building interactions, along with some brute forcing to lower the total amount needed, the long sought after solution was found.

However, on February 15, 2023 a breakthrough came at last, and the curse was dispelled. Investigation into an old strategy to do in 0.5 a presses reopened. Stomp On The Thwomp planner Marlber posted a promising lead in the Discord server that made it past where it had failed before. Using Hyperspeed Jump Kicking, and multiple unit precise speed building interactions, along with some brute forcing to lower the total amount needed, the long sought solution was found.

Watch it for yourself [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAwienu67cU&feature=youtu.be ''here'']. It is astonishing that it only takes a mere five minutes compared to the multiple hours required for previous saves.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEaInpcxrSg Treasure of the Ocean Cave]] in Jolly Roger Bay is perhaps the most frustrating example. It looks easy enough to grab, since the star spawns right out in the open. However, it spawns at such a location and height that almost all known ABC strategies (such as vertical speed conservation) fail to work to grab it. The only hope for a 0x strategy is building up enough speed to fling to the star off a nearby rock; the lowest amount required to do this is currently [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJYOQSlNHDA around 262]]. However, the maximum achievable speed in JRB is currently 160, which is quite a bit off from where Mario needs to be.

** For the longest time, Bowser in the Fire Sea was the ultimate obstacle for an any% (70 star) 0x A press run. There was seemingly no way to dismount from the pole and continue with the level without pressing A. This A press was saved, however, with the discovery of a Wii VC-exclusive glitch where imprecise float rounding causes the blue platforms in the stage to rise. The ABC team is still investigating faster ways of saving this A press (the current method takes '''3 days''') that would also be compatible with the otherwise superior N64 version. The most promising is the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCJMwsS6t5E "Bully battery"]], but there's currently no way to use it to save the A press in practice.
** Tick-Tock Clock was the ABC crew's nemesis for a long time. The vertical nature of the course means that even with the discovery of a hyperspeed building method in the course (hyperspeed grinding on a treadmill), there was no way to complete the majority of stars without using at least one A press. However, a recent revolution of ideas has brought Tick-Tock Clock's A-press count '''all the way down to 1''' in mid-2022. The ABC crew discovered strategies such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C38He-OUAYk Behind Camera Anywhere]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01obxXOkQ4g squish-cancel ground pound chains]]; when combined, they completely vanquished almost every A-press left in the course except for Stomp on the Thwomp. Even that A-press has a theoretical 0x route in the works, so soon, one of the challenge's biggest obstacles will be completely conquered.

** Tick-Tock Clock is pannenkoek's ''nemesis''. Mario can't conserve speed into the upstairs area, so there's no way for him to even enter the level without using an A press. The vertical nature of the course means that even with the discovery of a hyperspeed building method in the course (hyperspeed grinding on a treadmill), there's no way to complete the majority of stars without using at least one A press. Worse yet, Mario dismounts from the top of the clock after every star, which forces the player to use an A press ''just to get back into the level''. At the very least, the Japanese N64-exclusive spawning displacement glitch[[note]]By landing on certain moving platforms after grabbing a star, Mario's position when he exits the course can be slightly altered.[[/note]] can allow Mario to leave the course while landing back on top of the clock, which can save 3 A presses in a full-game run.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEaInpcxrSg Treasure of the Ocean Cave]] in Jolly Roger Bay is perhaps the most frustrating example. It looks easy enough to grab, since the star spawns right out in the open. However, it spawns at such a location and height that almost all known ABC strategies (such as vertical speed conservation) fail to work to grab it. The only hope for a 0x strategy is building up enough speed to fling to the star off a nearby rock; the lowest amount required to do this is currently [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJYOQSlNHDA around 262]]. However, the maximum achievable speed in JRB is currently 150, which is quite a bit off from where Mario needs to be.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEaInpcxrSg Treasure of the Ocean Cave]] in Jolly Roger Bay is perhaps the most frustrating example. It looks easy enough to grab, since the star spawns right out in the open. However, it spawns at such a location and height that almost all known ABC strategies (such as vertical speed conservation) fail to work to grab it. The only hope for a 0x strategy is building up enough speed to fling to the star off a nearby rock; the lowest amount required to do this is currently [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amg4kaW1jGg around 275]]. However, the maximum achievable speed in JRB is currently 150, which is quite a bit off from where Mario needs to be.

* {{Narm}}: A lot of the 0xA strategies are a mix of weird-looking and cool, but there are a few speed-building strategies that take the "weird" part to another level.
** The moving punches (where Mario does two punches and then a kick) are used in a few instances, most notably for slowing down during PU movement or (more recently) Hyperspeed Punching (HSP)[[note]]When Mario punches while moving, he has very low friction, and will actually gain speed on a downhill slope because he's more susceptible to downhill acceleration. If Mario has a wall or out-of-bounds area to hold him in place on a downhill slope while he punches, he can slowly build unlimited speed.[[/note]]. The absurdity of seeing Mario punch and kick thin air for hours in place to adjust his speed, and his constant vocalization of "Yah! Wah! Hoo!" while doing so, have become MemeticMutation[=s=] in their own right, to the point where the ''ABC crew themselves'' refer to the moving punch as the "yah wah hoo."
** The "Pedro Spot"[[note]]A spot where Mario can become stuck between a ceiling and floor, which allows him to slowly build up horizontal speed.[[/note]] also fits the bill, but mostly due to its strange name rather than the nature of the strategy.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Pretty much the entire A Button Challenge. Many of the strategies used to minimize the A press count are humanly impossible due to the pixel-perfect precision (and sometimes even perfect RNG manipulation) needed to set everything up in just the right way. Most of them are really cool strategies, though, and it's amazing (especially as a first-time viewer) seeing how creative the solutions can get when restricted to just a few A presses.
* CharacterSignatureSong:
** ''Super Mario 64''[='=]s menu theme, which plays whenever Pannen cuts away from gameplay footage to explain a glitch or concept.
** sword lord's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7svUxY2Gns William Tell Overture remix]], which he plays in videos with repeated actions. Examples include the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEka8AR68jo 100 Lap Race]] and his [[https://youtu.be/3WLlQ2alTK8?t=114 Goomba cloning shenanigans]] in Bowser in the Sky.
* DiscreditedMeme: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. "Watch for Rolling Rocks" has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgNMKnkZEKY new strategy]] which only takes 5.4 hours, which you think might single-handedly kill the "building up speed for 12 hours" meme. However, since most of the masses do not watch Pannen's uncommentated channel, this improvement goes unnoticed.

** Wing Mario Over the Rainbow is a wrench in several of the restriction challenges. It requires 2 A presses in the ABC (not including the 1 A press needed to enter the course), can't be done without special caps, cannons, or coins, and likely will never be done without the use of the joystick. The Red Coins in the level are just too spread out and too high up for anything else to work.

** Hyperspeed Punching (HSP)[[note]]When Mario punches while moving, he has very low friction, and will actually gain speed on a downhill slope because he's more susceptible to downhill acceleration. If Mario has a wall or out-of-bounds area to hold him in place on a downhill slope while he punches, he can slowly build unlimited speed.[[/note]] is the most relevant example, due to the absurdity of seeing Mario punch and kick thin air for hours in place to gain speed. His constant vocalization of "Yah! Wah! Hoo!" while doing so has also become a MemeticMutation in its own right.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Pretty much the entire A Button Challenge. Many of the strategies used to minimize the A press count are humanly impossible due to the pixel-perfect precision (and sometimes even perfect RNG manipulation) needed to set everything up in just the right way.

* {{Narm}}: A lot of the 0xA hyperspeed strategies are a mix of weird-looking and cool, but there are a few that take the "weird" part to another level.