Self Imposed Challenge / Super Mario 64

The fanbase of Super Mario 64 has taken to many of these when replaying this game, due to the game's very flexible, non-linear nature.

Examples:

• Obviously, there are many ways to do a Minimalist Run in the game:
  • The first question: how many stars do you need to beat the game? It depends on how hardcore you are. Casual players go for 70 stars, the minimum number required to access "Bowser in the Sky". If you want to go below that, it takes glitches:
    • The "16-star run" requires 15 stars to spawn MIPS the Rabbit, who is used in a glitch to clip through the 30-star door that leads to Bowser in the Fire Sea. You then need to collect one more star to bypass Dire, Dire Docks and clear Fire Sea, before going upstairs and using two Backwards Long Jumps (one on the 50-star door, then on the Endless Staircase) to reach "Bowser in the Sky."
    • The "one-star run" has the player bypass the 30-star door with a different glitch: the Side Backwards Long Jump (SBLJ), which is one of the most difficult tricks to execute in all of Mario 64. By doing a BLJ on the small staircase near that door at a very precise angle and position, you can build up enough speed to clip through the door without using MIPS. You still need one star to bypass Dire, Dire Docks, though.
    • The "zero-star run" is possible if the player performs a perfect SBLJ, building up enough speed to shoot past even the loading zone for Dire, Dire Docks and enter Bowser in the Fire Sea directly.
  • It's technically possible to beat the game with only one of the two keys (meaning you can skip "Bowser in the Dark World"), but it requires using a "Parallel Universe" glitch on the castle grounds to get into the basement. Navigating to parallel universes at all is nearly impossible for a normal player; to manipulate the exact speed, positioning, and angles needed to skip the moat door is all but impossible without tool assistance. The foyer key is impossible to bypass even with glitching, because the upstairs area will not load even if Mario glitches past the door — it only loads if Mario actually opens the door with the key.
  • Sufficiently knowledgeable TASers like pannenkoek2012 have challenges where you beat the game without pressing certain buttons, such as the "No A-Press Run" (meaning you can't jump), the "No B-Press Run" (meaning you can't attack or throw items), and the "No Joystick Run" (meaning you can't even move). Some of the solutions are exceptionally elaborate, taking advantage of everything from cloning glitches to parallel universes to collecting stars just for the height boost. Even still, many levels are impossible to beat without at least some button presses. That said, the A-button press challenge is almost completely do-able, with the only obstacle remaining to a non-120 star 0 A-press run being one pole in Bowser in the Fire Sea.^note Slight variations between different versions of the game allow for different exploits to be used in bypassing A-presses. Worth noting here is that the Wii Virtual Console version has a glitch which allows the pole in Bowser in the Fire Sea to be passed without pressing A, but lacks a glitch in the original Japanese release which lets the player enter Tick Tock Clock after collecting certain stars without pressing A. This means that currently, the Wii VC version is the best for an Any% minimum A-press run (0 A-presses compared to 1), but the original Japanese is the best for a 100% run (13 A-presses compared to 15, discounting "half-presses" that are rounded down).
  • Beating the game without pressing the Cap Switches is a common challenge. It's definitely possible, but it cuts you off from getting quite a few stars and makes getting a few others much more difficult. It sometimes overlaps with a "No Cannons" run.
  • Much like other Mario games, you can do a "No Coin Run". In Super Mario 64, beating the game without collecting a single coin is possible, but it makes over a quarter of the game's stars uncollectible unless you exploit glitches (38 of them require collecting coins, and several others are in places you cannot reach without grabbing coins), and it makes the game much more challenging.
  • The "Coinless, Capless, Cannonless" challenge combines several of the above-mentioned challenges. It can get pretty ridiculous, as shown in this run where Mario visits "parallel universes" to hit some trigger spots without collecting coins, painstakingly creates a bridge of glitched Goombas to climb up to a spot in midair (instead of using a cannon and Wing Cap), and uses an elaborate glitch to move a coin out of the way so he avoids collecting it.
  • A Pacifist Run would entail not attacking any enemies or bosses except Bowser. Again, it's possible, but it makes 23 stars uncollectible (you can only get two of them back even if you use glitches or tool assistance), makes getting some stars trickier, and makes other levels flat-out impossible without exploiting Sequence Breaking or glitches like the Backwards Long Jump.
• In contrast to the coinless run, grabbing every possible coin is a similar challenge, and it's similarly difficult, particularly in Lethal Lava Land, where the coins that pop out of a burned Bully can easily fall into the nearby lava.
• Beating the bulk of the game without Mario's cap, which causes Mario to take significantly more damage from almost everything. You can lose your cap to Klepto the Vulture as early as 8 stars in (because by then you have access to Shifting Sand Land after the first Bowser fight).
• There are certain specific stars that lend themselves well to challenges:
  • Getting the "Mario Wings to the Sky" star in Bob-Omb Battlefield without using the Wing Cap. It's definitely possible, but it's not a cakewalk — while the first three star points can be grabbed in one cannon shot, the other two (between rings of floating coins) require some very precise aim with the cannon, without even being able to see them, necessitating some Trial-and-Error Gameplay (hint: don't even bother using the control stick for the last ring). And if you miss, you have to go all the way back up to the floating island and try again.
  • Getting certain stars without using cannons:
    • The "Shoot to the Island in the Sky" star in Bob-Omb Battlefield requires a flawlessly timed long jump from the mountain;
    • The "Shoot to the Stone Pillar" star in Jolly Roger Bay requires a perfectly timed long jump off the pirate ship to the wall near the platform with the star, followed by another flawlessly executed wall-kick off the wall to reach it.
    • The "Shoot into the Wild Blue" star in Whomp's Fortress requires a carefully positioned angled Wall Jump, or barring that, a well positioned long jump from the floor above.
  • Relatedly, getting the "Fall into the Caged Island" star in Whomp's Fortress without the owl is possible either by using the cannon, jumping off the Whomp King's head, or a well-timed long jump.
  • Getting the first star in Dire, Dire Docks a second time once Bowser's Sub vanishes. It's possible using the floating poles, but it requires perfect timing and accuracy, and the camera, the girders' position, and the star's transparency make it hard to judge your jump correctly.
  • Getting the "Stomp on the Thwomp" star with the clock stopped, which requires you to use a side somersault-wall kick combo just to get to that part of the level without the elevators, and then a very precise jump onto the Thwomp itself — if you miss even slightly, you'll slide down the walls and have to do everything all over again. "Get a Hand" is also possible with the clock stopped, and "Stop Time for 8 Red Coins" is possible without stopping the clock — both are easier, but not by much.
• Cool, Cool Mountain has an optional side challenge where if you get all 120 stars and play Big Penguin Race, the eponymous penguin will be even bigger than ever when you race him, thus making it harder to beat him.
• When Mario reveals a hidden 1-Up Mushroom, it constantly gives chase at high speed until it's collected by him. Players eventually came up with the idea of purposefully finding a hidden 1-Up and then trying to collect the red coin star in a level without being caught by it, warranting constant, precise, and creative movement. Its popularity grew quickly, and it eventually became known as "The Green Demon Challenge". Some have gone out of their way to mod the game and make it so that contact with the 1-Up is a 1-Down. As time went on, people began to wonder if it was possible to collect all 120 stars while being pursued by the Green Demon... and as one former speedrunner revealed whilst taking on the challenge, it is indeed possible. Barely.
• Beating the game with the Nintendo 64 mouse, which according to the article is apparently possible but insanely difficult.
• You thought the Nintendo 64 mouse was a tough controller? Try an official Guitar Hero guitar controller.
• Taken to an extreme by the One Button Speedrun which is pretty much how it sounds. A speedrun using a handmade "controller" consisting of a single button that sends different inputs through morse code
• The controls are so simple that it is possible to beat the game using your feet.
• Collecting all the 1-up mushrooms in Lethal Lava Land in one session of the Wing Cap without touching the ground or lava.
• Flying upwards with the owl in Whomp's Fortress, letting go (he'll disappear and respawn near the ground where you found him) and grabbing onto him again without hitting the ground.
• Starting a new game, glitching through the wall to get into Cool, Cool Mountain early and trying to get a record time for dropping the baby penguin off the edge of the level.