Capture linking

Capture linking is a glitch that allows the player to control one or more captures while still having full control of Mario. This glitch can only be performed in Wooded Kingdom, as it is an extension of capture frame untethering that requires access to a Warp Painting nearby.

The glitch is performed by capturing a Coin Coffer inside of a damage source to activate CFU, and then falling into a painting. When hovering in front of the painting, Cappy will be returned to Mario despite being captured to the Coin Coffer. This allows the player to capture a nearby capture such as a Fire Bro, resulting in the player's inputs controlling both the Coin Coffer and the additional capture. In this state, pressing the crouch button will only uncapture the Fire Bro and leave the player in full control of the Coin Coffer. After falling from the painting, if Mario's invincibility frames end before the player captures anything, the game will crash.

Side effects

When initially performing the glitch, the Coin Coffer can sometimes turn invisible. This glitch is only visual.

Different captures behave differently in capture linking. In most cases, the camera will follow Mario or the capture Mario is in. If Mario is linked to an Uproot, the camera will instead follow the Uproot. If Mario is linked to Glydon, the camera will only follow Glydon when it is gliding, and otherwise the camera will follow Mario.

Capture linking can be used to achieve many other glitches. Some of these are listed below.

Link swapping

After successfully linking Mario to the Coin Coffer, it can then be swapped out for any other capture. By capturing any other capture as Mario and then killing the linked capture using water or an upwards-facing pipe, Mario will jump out of the capture he is in as if he had just uncaptured it, and that capture will now be linked to Mario instead.

Chain linking

If a linked capture is touching a damage source, CFU can then be performed with captures other than a Coin Coffer. Using this, the same steps to perform capture linking can be used to link additional captures by replacing the Coin Coffer with any other capture while keeping a linked capture in a damage source.

Binoculars glitches

When capturing the binoculars as Mario, the binoculars camera will always follow and stay above the linked capture. If the player performs CFU with a binoculars as described above, the binoculars will not launch and instead Mario will stay visible on the ground inside of them. In this state, if the linked capture touches water, Mario will pop out of the binoculars. The binoculars will then be in a glitched state where the game considers Mario to be captured and linked to them, so the binoculars cannot be captured, but the binoculars are in an idle state on the ground. This state is called binoculars storage, in which capturing anything will cause the binoculars to launch and follow whatever Mario captured, and also cause Mario to untether from the capture and fall without collision. In this state, if Mario is bubbled, for example by having the capture fall into the void, the binoculars camera will instead follow Mario from above. Going into first person mode and exiting will result in the binoculars camera following the default camera.

Half capturing

By capturing a Fire Bro while it is inside the linked capture and bouncing on the Fire Bro with the linked capture while it is the capture sequence, the capture sequence will be interrupted. Normal Fire Bros die when they are bounced on, so if Mario half captures a normal Fire Bro, Mario will be tethered to where the Fire Bro was when it was captured. In this state, Mario enters the idle animation and cannot be controlled. However if this is performed with an Invincibro, Mario will be visibly tethered to the Invincibro as they do not die in the process. In this state, Mario is considered to be captured and tethered to the Invincibro, but the Invincibro is put back into the idle state by being bounced on so it is never properly captured. This is why this state is referred to as half capturing. While half captured, Mario has no control over the Invincibro, and instead the Invincibro can only be moved by being bounced on and being ground pounded by 2p Cappy. Collecting a moon will turn Mario invisible after the moon animation finishes. Globing in this state will crash the game after the globe cutscene finishes.

If Mario is bubbled in this state, various effects can be achieved. Moving the Invincibro into the void will cause the Invincibro to die and Mario to be bubbled to his last safespot. However his collision will be permamently removed, so he will repeatedly fall into the void until he dies. While Mario is being bubbled back up, collecting a moon with the linked capture will cause Mario to go through the moon dance sequence until his assist bubble would have popped before the moon dance, at which point Mario will exit his bubble and continue to repeatedly fall and be bubbled while the moon get cutscene finishes. If Mario falls into a moon in this falling state, the game will crash.