Shell Jumps

Shell jumping is a trick that involves bouncing off of a thrown shell in mid-air, allowing Mario to cross much longer gaps or reach much higher heights than normal. Shell jumping is most easily done against a wall, as it's easy to land on the shell during its rebound, but for speedrunning it's more commonly done in midair to cross gaps such as in Yoshi's Island 4.

Midair Shelljump

Video: YI4 Shelljump Source: rezephos

Video: Shell Jumping Guidelines Source: dram551

Midair shelljumps allow Mario to scale large gaps or reach higher platforms when a wall isn't present. However, because Mario doesn't interact with a thrown shell for a short period of time, it can be difficult to keep up with the shell as it moves. The basic process is like this:

• Start Mario's jump. Hold A/B the full time.
• Near the peak of Mario's jump (but before reaching it), tap the opposite direction Mario is moving, to initiate a turn.
• Immediately after tapping, switch back to the forward direction again. This is to regain the lost speed from turning before Mario fully faces left.
• Shortly after, once Mario has turned all the way left, release X/Y to throw the shell and hold it again afterwards.

If done correctly, Mario should be able to catch up to the shell and subsequently bounce off. Though this is slightly easier and more useful at full sprinting speed, it's still possible without a full P-meter, as long as you're accurate in the timing of your inputs.