After 8 Years of Trials, Fan Finally Frees Lakitu From Super Mario Odyssey’s Sand Kingdom
Super Mario Odyssey fans have solved a long-running glitch and freed Lakitu from the Sand Kingdom oasis after years of attempts. A player called GamesJam used a mix of odd leaf physics, a roaming moon, and two-player capture tricks to push Lakitu out of its confined area so it can roam the kingdom.
Summary of the trick and results
For about eight years, the Super Mario Odyssey community had not managed to free Lakitu from the small oasis in the Sand Kingdom. Then GamesJam tested and combined several mechanics and succeeded. The result: Lakitu can now be captured and moved out of the oasis area, allowing it to roam the Sand Kingdom.
How it works
The trick relies on three concrete facts about the game mechanics. First, palm tree leaves in the Sand Kingdom keep accumulating momentum even while the game is paused during cutscenes. Second, a moon in that kingdom is tied to a bird that eventually drops the moon onto the oasis. Third, in two-player mode Cappy’s actions are detached from Mario’s movement, so Cappy can capture independently while Mario is affected by other forces.
GamesJam arranged the sequence like this. They hit the bird so it spawns its moon under a leaf. Then Mario picks up the moon, which triggers the short cutscene that pauses in-game time. Meanwhile, the leaf that Mario stood on has been gaining momentum. During that pause, Cappy (operated via two-player mode) captures Lakitu and moves him into position. When the cutscene ends, the leaf releases like a spring and pushes Lakitu off the oasis. As a result, Lakitu ends up outside the area it normally cannot leave.
Key technical points
Leaf momentum: Leaves accrue motion during cutscenes.
Moon behavior: The kingdom’s moon is carried by a bird and can be spawned onto the oasis.
Two-player capture: Cappy’s independence in two-player mode lets the capture occur while Mario experiences the moon cutscene.
Why players care
Players and glitch hunters pursue these “Freedom” tricks to learn everything a game can do, even if the tricks don’t directly help speedruns. For example, Lakitu’s capture has limited practical use for most speedrun categories, but it can be useful in a challenge run that bans ZL and ZR because Lakitu can fish up ground-pound moons.
Community reaction has been enthusiastic, and other glitch hunters praised the effort. As one community member put it, “Freeing Lakitu in Sand seemed like a lost cause.” That sentence came from a glitch hunter with the handle Relaxmas.
GamesJam described the related challenge run as “underwhelming,” but the community that follows these tricks responded with excitement. Finally, Relaxmas said, “I’m very proud to be part of a community that will go to such lengths to squeeze every ounce out of our favorite video game.”
Video and tweets
GamesJam worked on the trick on and off since January, testing theories like dropping the leaf with Glydon or clipping onto the map, before landing on the palm-leaf and moon combination.
Moe Eye Escape has officially been PROVEN!! This single attempt took over 13 hours to complete. This was done without mods on the latest version 🙂 pic.twitter.com/IJXBFqIyb4
— Dosle (@Dosle_22) December 9, 2023
After the successful attempt, a clip showing the method was shared by other community members.
It was thought to be impossible for 8 years… but @GamesJam8216 just found a way to free Lakitu from the oasis! During the moon get animation, the leaf builds up momentum from Mario’s weight. Then it releases, we capture Lakitu, and the leaf scoops him up towards freedom! pic.twitter.com/0WOAVctPoH
— relaxmas (@relaxmas1) August 24, 2025
