Before we dive into the astonishing details, let‘s briefly introduce the man himself. Dram55 has been completely dominating the speedrunning scene for nearly a decade thanks to his seemingly superhuman Mario gaming abilities. Through his YouTube channel with over 300k subscribers and leadership within the tight-knit speedrunning community, his presence as an influencer cannot be overstated.
Which brings us to his magnum opus (so far) – an incredible sub-10 second speedrun of the beloved classic Super Mario World that shook the gaming world to its core back in 20XX. Let‘s break it down!
What is Speedrunning?
Speedrunning is all about playing through video games or selected sections as fast as humanly possible through sheer skill and intricately honed strategy. Here are some common speedrun categories:
| Category | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Any% | Reach the end fastest with lowest completion | SMB1 Any% in 4m55s |
| 100% | Fully complete the entire game | SMW 100% in 2h42m |
| Low% | Finish with lowest % possible | Ocarina of Time Low% |
| Glitchless | No major glitches or sequence breaks | Super Metroid Glitchless |
And in tool-assisted speedruns (TAS), creators painstakingly plan out frame-perfect input sequences down to the last detail – almost like programming a superhuman robot speedrunner!
Conquering Super Mario World in Under 10 Seconds
The key to Dram55‘s astonishing SMW run is abusing the Star Road shortcut to warp far ahead, skipping most of the game‘s levels and overworld entirely. Then he utilizes a cloud trick during the final Bowser battle to crush his nemesis near instantaneously. Let‘s analyze the precise routing plan:
[insert overall world map diagram with route highlighted]By taking the secret exit in Donut Plains 1, Dram55 reaches the Star Road which provides access to later worlds without traversal in-between. From there, he speedily crosses a few rotating bonus stages before landing in the Valley of Bowser.
Now inside the final castle itself, Dram55 employs clever cloud positioning to land on, bounce Bowser from below, then jump off sending Bowser falling onto spikes almost immediately from frame-perfect inputs.
[insert Bowser fight diagram]And just like that – credits roll in an unbelievable 0:00:09! Such precise planning and flawless execution seemed nearly superhuman at the time to viewers around the world.
Why Super Mario World Became an Iconic Classic
When it first landed on the brand new Super Nintendo console in 1990, SMW brought a colorful new evolution of Mario‘s sidescrolling adventures. Building on the foundation of beloved predecessor Super Mario Bros 3, SMW kept core elements like an overworld map while greatly expanding scope and depth.
Reviewers praised the huge sprites, catchy music, clever enemy designs, and sheer variety sprinkled throughout the plentiful stages. Sales exceeded expectations topping over 20 million copies sold becoming the best selling SNES game ever at the time. And with so many hidden paths and secrets peppered across Dinosaur Land, dedicated fans kept discovering new tricks for years.
Many mechanics and elements pioneered in SMW like the feather cape, ghost house stages, and branching overworld progression later found their way into future Mario titles as the series continued innovating. Modern entries still pays homage to its legacy through music remixes and callbacks.
Dram55: Mario Mastermind
While his sub-10 second claim to fame cemented his popularity early on, Dram55 has continued demonstrating Mario mastery across countless games in the venerable franchise ever since. He primarily focuses on core series entries, but also gleefully takes on the notorious Kaizo Mario ROM hacks.
These custom Super Mario World mods feature the same sprites and sounds but with insanely amped up difficulty tweaks to obstacles, enemies, and more. Truly made for only the most hardcore platforming veterans. Think immensely precise jumps between barrages of lethal hazards!
Through his years cultivating a tight-knit community of fans, Dram55 has amassed quite the collection of impressive feats beyond just raw speed. He thoroughly explores boundary breaking glitches, uncovers deeply obscure secrets hidden within classic Mario games, and showcases seemingly impossible Mario magic.
Thanks to his deep insight and hands-on experimentation paired with a wildly entertaining personality, Dram55 remains one of the most beloved and talented Mario experts around. His legendary claim to fame Super Mario World run will likely stand unmatched for ages to come!
