Moon clip
A moon clip is a type of out-of-bounds clip that involves attaining skew at the moment Mario collects a Power Moon, so that the animation of collecting the moon forces Mario upright at the position of his feet, thus forcing him partially through an adjacent wall or ceiling. The Power Moon used for the clip must be uncollected, meaning that a player will only have one attempt to perform a moon clip unless they create a backup of their save file.
Execution
The most common method used to perform moon clips is using a backflip against the wall (or in some cases, ceiling) the player wishes to clip through, and using a moon that is spawned in rather than preexisting.
As a general method to moon clip in this manner:
- Begin spawning the moon.
- At the correct moment, perform a backflip while facing away from the wall (if attempting to clip through a ceiling, this direction is less important).
- When Mario's feet are facing towards the wall or ceiling, input a cap throw. The direction does not matter.
- If done correctly, the moon should become solid at the same moment the cap throw occurs, causing Mario to collect it during the skew induced by the cap throw. This causes Mario's in-game position to be closer to the wall or ceiling than normally possible. The moon then forces Mario's hit sensors to be above his position, which should now be partially out of bounds.
- After collecting the moon, continue moving in the direction of the wall (or cap bounce to stay above a ceiling) to ensure Mario does not clip back into bounds.
The timing of the inputs for each moon clip will vary slightly, since the positioning and spawn time tends to vary.
Locations
The following is a list of known moon clip locations:
| Kingdom | Moon | Movement | Use | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cap Kingdom | Bonneters Blockade | Long Jump | Theorized to save time for the Dark Side and Darker Side categories. | Link |
| Cascade Kingdom | Treasure of the Waterfall Basin | Backflip | Saves time in multiple categories. Known as Chest Clip. | Link |
| Cascade Kingdom | Chomp Through the Rocks | Triple jump | Link | |
| Sand Kingdom | Hidden Room in the Flowing Sands | Roll | Link | |
| Sand Kingdom | Desert Gardening: Plaza Seed
Desert Gardening: Ruins Seed Desert Gardening: Seed on the Cliff |
Backflip | Link | |
| Lake Kingdom | End of the Hidden Passage | Triple jump | A faster alternative to Lake Clip. | Link |
| Lake Kingdom | End of the Hidden Passage | 2p vault | An even faster alternative to Lake Clip for two-player mode. | Link |
| Wooded Kingdom | Tucked Away Inside the Tunnel | Backflip | Saves time in multiple categories. Known as Nut Clip. | Link |
| Wooded Kingdom | The Nut 'Round the Corner | Backflip | Saves time in the Darker Side category. | Link |
| Wooded Kingdom | The Nut in the Red Maze | Triple jump | Saves time in multiple categories. Known as Maze Clip. | Link |
| Wooded Kingdom | The Nut in the Red Maze | 2p bounce | A faster version of Maze Clip for two-player
mode. |
Link |
| Wooded Kingdom | The Nut that Grew on the Tall Fence | Backflip | Link | |
| Wooded Kingdom | Flooding Pipeway Ceiling Secret | Triple jump | Used as a shortcut in the Flooding Pipeway room. | Link |
| Wooded Kingdom | Flooding Pipeway Ceiling Secret | 2p vault | A faster Flooding Pipeway clip for two-player mode. | Link |
| Wooded Kingdom | Secret Path to the Steam Gardens! | 2p vault | Grants access to Morning Wooded. | Link |
| Wooded Kingdom | Secret Path to the Steam Gardens! | Triple jump | Grants access to Morning Wooded. | Link |
| Wooded Kingdom | Found with Moon Kingdom Art | Backflip | Link | |
| Wooded Kingdom | Nut Planted in the Tower | Triple jump | Link | |
| Lost Kingdom | Below the Cliff's Edge | Backflip | Theorized to save time for the Dark Side and Darker Side categories. | Link |
| Lost Kingdom | Cave Gardening | Backflip | Has been theorized to potentially save time in some categories. | Link |
| Lost Kingdom | Inside the Stone Cage | Backflip | Saves time in Any%. | Link |
| Lost Kingdom | Inside the Rising Stone Pillar | Triple jump | Link | |
| Lost Kingdom | Peeking Out from Under the Bridge | 2p bounce | Saves time in multiple two-player categories. | Link |
| Metro Kingdom | Inside an Iron Girder | Backflip | Saves time in Any% (if the trick known as NSCA is banned). | Link |
| Metro Kingdom | Inside an Iron Girder | Long Jump | Theorized to save time in Any% (if the trick known as NSCA is banned). | Link |
| Metro Kingdom | City Hall Lost & Found | Backflip | Link | |
| Metro Kingdom | Secret Girder Tunnel! | 2p vault | Saves time in Minimum Captures. | Link |
| Metro Kingdom | Outside the Rotating Maze | Long Jump | Theorized to save time in the All Sub Areas Category | Link |
| Snow Kingdom | Behind Snowy Mountain | Triple jump | Link | |
| Snow Kingdom | Shining in the Snow in Town | Backflip | Saves time in multiple categories. Known as Snow Moon Clip. | Link |
| Luncheon Kingdom | Climb the Cheese Rocks | Backflip | Saves time in Minimum Captures. | Link |
| Ruined Kingdom | In the Ancient Treasure Chest | Sideflip | Saves time in the Dark Side and Darker Side categories. | Link |
| Bowser's Kingdom | Hidden Corridor Under the Floor | Triple Jump | Link | |
| Bowser's Kingdom | Hidden Corridor Under the Floor | Long Jump | Theorized to save time in Any%. | Link |
| Bowser's Kingdom | Poking the Turret Wall | Triple Jump | Theorized to save time for the Dark Side and Darker Side categories. | Link |
| Bowser's Kingdom | Poking You Nose in the Plaster Wall | Triple Jump | Link | |
| Bowser's Kingdom | Behind the Big Wall | Triple Jump | Link |