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 a backflip against the wall (or in some cases, ceiling) the player wishes to clip through, using a moon that is spawned by a specific action.
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 | Bonneter Blockade | Long jump | Theorized to save time in the Dark Side and Darker Side categories. | Link |
| Cap Kingdom | Secrets of the Frog Pond | Triple jump | Link | |
| Cascade Kingdom | Treasure of the Waterfall Basin | Backflip | Saves time in multiple categories. Known as Chest Clip. | Link |
| Cascade Kingdom | Rolling Rocks by the Falls | Backflip | Saves time in the Dark Side and Darker Side categories. | Link |
| Cascade Kingdom | Chomp Through the Rocks | Triple jump | Link | |
| Sand Kingdom | Employees Only | Triple jump | Saves time in Darker Side. | Link |
| Sand Kingdom | Hidden Room in the Flowing Sands | Roll cancel | Link | |
| Sand Kingdom | Desert Gardening: Plaza Seed
Desert Gardening: Ruins Seed Desert Gardening: Seed on the Cliff |
Backflip | Link | |
| Sand Kingdom | Skull Sign in the Transparent Maze | Long jump | Theorized to save time in All Sub Areas. | Link |
| Sand Kingdom | The Invisible Maze | Long jump | Link | |
| Sand Kingdom | Jump Onto the Transparent Lift | Triple jump | Link | |
| Lake Kingdom | End of the Hidden Passage | Triple jump | A faster alternative to Lake Clip known as Triple Lake Clip. | Link |
| Lake Kingdom | End of the Hidden Passage | 2p vault | An even faster alternative to Lake Clip for two-player mode. | Link |
| Lake Kingdom | Behind the Floodgate | Backflip | Link | |
| Lake Kingdom | Found with Dark Side Art 9 | Backflip | Link | |
| Wooded Kingdom | Tucked Away Inside the Tunnel | Backflip | Saves time in multiple categories. Known as Nut Clip. | Link |
| Wooded Kingdom | Behind the Rock Wall | Backflip | A clip performed immediately after Nut Clip that saves time in multiple categories. | 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 | |
| Wooded Kingdom | Rolling Rock in the Woods | Backflip | Saves time in the All Sub Areas Category Extention. | Link |
| Wooded Kingdom | Down and Back Breakdown Road | Triple jump | Link | |
| Wooded Kingdom | Below Breakdown Road | Backflip | Link | |
| Wooded Kingdom | Thanks For the Charge | Backflip | Link | |
| Wooded Kingdom | Found With Moon Kingdom Art | Backflip | Link | |
| Wooded Kingdom | Nut Hidden in the Fog | Backflip | 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 | Saves time in the Dark Side and Darker Side categories. | 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 | 2p bounce | Link | |
| Metro Kingdom | Inside an Iron Girder | Backflip | Saves time in Any% No NSCA. | Link |
| Metro Kingdom | Inside an Iron Girder | Long jump | Theorized to save time in Any% No NSCA. | Link |
| Metro Kingdom | City Hall Lost & Found | Backflip | Link | |
| Metro Kingdom | Secret Girder Tunnel! | 2p vault | Saves time in Minimum Captures. | Link |
| Metro Kingdom | Secret Girder Tunnel! | Backflip | Link | |
| Metro Kingdom | Girder Sandwich | Backflip | Saves time in Any% and multiple other Categories. | Link |
| Metro Kingdom | Outside the Rotating Maze | Long jump | Theorized to save time in All Sub Areas. | Link |
| Metro Kingdom | High Over the Crowd | Backflip | Link | |
| Metro Kingdom | Sewer Treasure | Triple jump | Link | |
| Metro Kingdom | Off the Beaten Wire | Triple jump | Link | |
| Snow Kingdom | Behind Snowy Mountain | Triple jump | Link | |
| Snow Kingdom | Behind Snowy Mountain | Backflip | Link | |
| Snow Kingdom | Shining in the Snow in Town | Backflip | Saves time in multiple categories. Known as Snow Moon Clip. | Link |
| Seaside Kingdom | The Back Canyon: Excavate! | Backflip | Link | |
| Luncheon Kingdom | Climb the Cheese Rocks | Backflip | Saves time in Minimum Captures. | Link |
| Luncheon Kingdom | From Inside a Bright Stone | Backflip | Link | |
| Luncheon Kingdom | Love Above the Lava | Triple jump | Link | |
| Luncheon Kingdom | Volcano Cave and Mysterious Clouds | Triple jump | 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 in the Dark Side and Darker Side categories. | Link |
| Bowser's Kingdom | Poking the Turret Wall | Backflip | Theorized to save time in 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 | |
| Bowser's Kingdom | Poking Your Nose by the Great Gate | Backflip | Link | |
| Bowser's Kingdom | Poke the Wooden Tower | Backflip | Link | |
| Bowser's Kingdom | Sphinx Over Bowser's Castle | Triple jump | Theorized to save time in All Moons. | Link |
| Bowser's Kingdom | Jizo and the Hidden Room | Sideflip | Link |