It took almost 28 years, but Super Mario 64 players have finally opened an "unopenable" door - using a penguin and a sick backflip
May. 13, 2024The door was functional all along, but an annoying hitbox made it impossible to reach - until now
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
It’s been almost 28 years, but Super Mario 64 players have finally figured out the impossible. A door which was previously thought to be unopenable has been opened, all thanks to an angry penguin and some fancy footwork.
A lone cabin door at the bottom of Cool, Cool Mountain has sat taunting us for decades, with a pesky wall hitbox stopping us from inching our way close enough to break through it. Those who’ve played the classic 3D platformer will know this as the cabin you emerge from after diving into a chimney at the top of the mountain, and cruising down a slide before receiving the Slip Slidin' Away Star. The door is fully functional, and Mario has always been able to use it from the inside to load the outside area and unlock the Star, but no one has ever been able to figure out how to get back in through it without using hacks.
For context, the door is right next to an adorable mother penguin, whose baby you need to find and give back in order to receive another Star. Picking up the baby after this will make the mother penguin rightfully annoyed, causing her to chase Mario down. Even before now, players have been able to use the mother penguin’s hitbox next to the cabin wall to force Mario through it, but this doesn’t actually open the door since he’s sent into freefall, plummeting into the void to his doom.
Using this logic, Alexpalix1 pulls off a sick backflip behind the mother penguin, whose hitbox pushes Mario through the wall hitbox and into the proximity of the door, and by finishing the turning around action at the right time, the door is successfully opened. It seems like such a tiny difference in strategy compared to what players have been trying for years, but lo and behold, it’s made all the difference.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
If you love Mario, be sure to check out our ranking of the15 best Mario games of all time.
I’m one of GamesRadar+’s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield’s student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming’s news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you’re sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.
Legendary Super Mario 64 speedrunner tries to beat the game blindfolded on a dance pad and fails, but not as badly as you or I would
Super Mario 64 speedrunning is “dead” after one runner claims all 5 major categories in what’s being dubbed “the greatest speedrunning achievement of all time”
The Witcher 4 gets even more coin teasers from CD Projekt Red, sparking another round of theories from RPG fans on Project Polaris' plot
