It's been quite a while since the last article, but this time I’ll explain the real-time attack (RTA) strategy for the Eel fight.
Since this explanation is text-only, please refer to players’ recorded runs or explanatory videos made by others to see the actual in-game movements.
In this part, repeatedly aiming upward in Y-camera view and firing a few shotgun bursts will slightly increase Mario’s sinking speed.
However, even with TAS-level precision, you'd need to shoot around 9 times to save a single frame, so it’s not necessary to force this trick.
This is the phase where you approach the eel after the sinking segment to trigger its reaction.
Since an upward water current is generated in the center of the stage, waiting directly above the eel while sinking can cause a time loss of up to 0.5 seconds.
Therefore, it's theoretically better to move into the center at the very edge of the height where the eel reacts.
Once the eel reacts, check the direction of its rotation to identify the position of the golden tooth and align Mario accordingly.
This is especially important if you're aiming to clean 6 or more teeth—if the golden tooth's position isn’t consistent, the tooth Mario collides with during the movie skip may vary, which can mess up the setup.
If Mario’s orientation remains unchanged from the starting position:
This is the section where time varies significantly depending on how many teeth you can clean before the eel starts its suction after opening its mouth.
There are three common brushing patterns for cleaning 5 teeth: