Moon clip

Moon clipping is a common method of reaching out of bounds areas that involves tilting Mario's hitbox into a wall just as he collects a Power Moon. The Power Moon must be uncollected, meaning this is a one-try trick in speedruns. However, save file backups can allow players to attempt these clips multiple times outside of a speedrun context.

Execution

To perform a moon clip, you will need to execute a backflip and cancel the backflip animation with a cap throw right as you collect the Power Moon. Mario's hitbox tilts sideways when he performs a cap throw during a backflip, and collecting the moon forces his hitbox upright. However, if his hitbox is tilted into a wall, Mario will be half-bounds after he is forced upright, allowing him to be moved fully out of bounds after the moon cutscene is over.

Examples

There are a few notable moon clips that have been made applicable for speedrunning:

• Chest Moon Clip (Cascade Kingdom)
• Nut Clip (Wooded Kingdom)
• Snow Moon Clip (Snow Kingdom)

Each of these clips requires a slightly different timing for the inputs, since the moon positioning and timing is different for each.