Minimum Captures Any%
Any% Minimum Captures is a subcategory of Minimum Captures that involves completing the Any% category with as few captures as possible. In other words, the primary goal of this category is to simply complete the game while capturing the lowest possible number of objects or enemies.
Explanation
Under normal circumstances, the game can be completed in a minimum of 13 captures, with the hardest trick in the run being Pokio Skip. This can be reduced by one if the game is played on version 1.1.0 or earlier, using the nut jumping exploit, as well as reduced by nine if two-player mode is permitted using various 2P-exclusive tricks. The table below shows the various subcategories as well as the hardest tricks in each:
| Conditions | 2P, any version | 2P, latest version | 1P, any version | 1P, latest version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captures | 3 Captures | 4 Captures | 12 Captures | 13 Captures |
| Madame Broode Skip | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Morning Metro | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Bowser's Kingdom wire skips | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Pokio Skip | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Nut jumping | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
, using Madame Broode Skip. Additionally, Cappy Return Cancel (CRC) was recently found, eliminating doing nighttime metro kingdom and all of the captures in Bowser's kingdom. Therefore, the absolute minimum number of captures required to beat the game (to the extent of the community's knowledge) is three.
These two variables result in five distinct subcategories of Any% Minimum Captures, depending on whether the use of earlier versions (i.e. nut jumping) and/or two-player mode (i.e. Madame Broode Skip) are permitted. These categories are labeled 3 Captures, 9 Captures, 10 Captures, 12 Captures and 13 Captures. The easiest of these subcategories is 13 Captures, since it omits Cappy Return Cancel, Madame Broode Skip, and nut jumping, all of which are considered to be extremely difficult. However, all four of these categories are quite challenging regardless, due to the presence of Pokio Skip.
This category is widely known due to streamer Smallant1, who is one of the most prominent runners for the category and holds many of the top times across the various subcategories.
Route
The route for Minimum Captures varies between versions and capture amount.
(Note: Most of the route documents are currently oriented toward the older categories that prevailed before the recent discovery of Pokio Skip, and have not been updated yet.)