The world of speedrunning is full of challenges, but few are as extreme as attempts to complete Super Mario 64 while blindfolded. Bubzia is one of the most recognizable names in this category, with years of experience memorizing every move necessary to advance without looking at the screen. His latest feat could have been historic, but an unexpected failure in his equipment made all his efforts go in vain.
A blind record
On February 10, Bubzia was in the middle of a match with the intention of beating his own record in the 70-star category. His previous best time was 1 hour, 25 minutes and 11 seconds, and everything indicated that he was on his way to beating him. However, after 24 minutes of play, his webcam, which is a mandatory requirement To validate this type of attempts, it stopped working without him knowing.
As he continued to play with pinpoint precision, his livestream chat reacted with frustration and humor to the situation. They knew that even if she managed to beat the record, the race would not count due to the lack of visual proof that she was actually blindfolded. Despite attempts to warn her in the chat, Bubzia could not see the messages or receive any kind of help, as the rules prohibit any external assistance.
Yesterday, it finally happened. My webcam died in the beginning of a 70 Star run, and I didn't know until I finished an hour later. Luckily, it was a few seconds behind World Record pic.twitter.com/7BJzFwYHVH
— Bubzia (@Bubzia1) February 11, 2025
The most tense moment came when Bubzia was approaching the end of the speedrun with a time that was close to the world record. The audience, aware of the problem, began to wish for the unthinkable: that he would make mistakes so that the record would not be invalidated. Ultimately, his performance was not enough to beat his personal best, and he finished the game with a time of 1 hour, 26 minutes and 9 seconds, 58 seconds slower than the record.
It was only at the end of the broadcast that Bubzia discovered what had happened. As he removed his blindfold and watched the chat reaction, he realized that his camera had been off for most of the game. With relief, he confessed that if he had achieved the record and then discovered that it didn't count, it would have been such a devastating blow that he would have probably given up Super Mario 64 speedrunning for good.
That's taking it with humor.
Following the incident, Bubzia mentioned the possibility of finding a technical solution to prevent something similar from happening again. Among the options being considered are the use of a alert system to notify you when your camera fails or even have friends who can call you in case of emergency. However, these measures must be carefully evaluated so as not to violate the strict rules of speedrun competitions.
This event has served as a reminder of how fragile these attempts can be, where not only the skill and memory of the player are essential, but also the proper functioning of the team. The speedrunning community has reacted with support for Bubzia, encouraging him to keep trying and taking steps to avoid future technical issues.