Super Mario 64 DS 80 Star Routes & Notes

This document contains all the necessary info about routes for 80 Star. It is split into two sections: routes, and notes. Notes that only affect routes that unlock Luigi will be marked [L], and notes that only affect Mario-only routes will be marked [M]. Notes that affect all routes will marked [A].

ROUTES
Here are the four main routes, ordered by speed. (Note: the delta here is no longer accurate)
Name                   | Delta | Level  | Route link            | Video link
Mario-only (Early DDD) | ±0s   | Hard   | pastebin.com/mxZ6NTBv | youtube.com/watch?v=e3g6hbkTMBQ
Mario-only (Late DDD)  | +10s  | Medium | pastebin.com/B7VF9iZi | youtube.com/watch?v=uroxlYwRckw
Luigi (Mario Basement) | +50s  | Medium | pastebin.com/nXdmrUZm | twitch.tv/thewayfaringfox/v/200554505
Luigi (Luigi Basement) | +50s  | Easy   | pastebin.com/FyxpK5hY |

NOTES
General
[A] If you are new to the game, I'd recommend learning the Mario-only (Late DDD) route. It's really not much harder than the Luigi routes, and saves a considerable amount of time.
[A] Following the star order provided for each course is advised, and sometimes necessary.
[A] If you are removing a star from a route, some of the longest stars are WDW 100 coins + 5 Secrets in the Shallows & Sky (secrets is decent alone), Quick Race Through Downtown!, CCM 100 coins + Big Penguin Race, Rematch with Koopa the Quick + Klepto the Condor, and The Secret of Battle Fort.
[A] If you are adding a star to a route, some of the quickest stars not included are Swimming Beast in the Cavern, Treasure in the Ocean Cave, and Red Coins in the House.

Faster Stars
[A] Switch Star of Cool, Cool Mountain can be done as Mario by clipping OoB. This saves about 15 seconds but is extremely difficult. Video: youtube.com/watch?v=2ro5gdXBx1k
[A] LLL 100 coins can be done at the same time as silver stars. This saves about 10 seconds if done perfectly, but it's easy to lose time, or break the shell and fail the strat completely. Video: twitch.tv/really_tall/v/232772368

Strategies & Tips
[A] For Fall onto the Caged Island, there is an owlless strategy which saves around 4 seconds. It requires Mario, so to do it you must move the first PSS star to before WF 1, then do the star during WF 2. This is actually required in the Luigi (Luigi Basement) route, and doesn't apply to the Mario-only (Early DDD) route.
[A] In Whomp's Fortress there is an advanced strategy of doing 100 coins + Red Coins on the Floating Isle on the first trip as Yoshi. This means you can reach 8 stars without doing Fall onto the Caged Island and To the Top of the Fortress. Instead they can be done on the second trip, as Mario, which saves around 10s. Video: twitch.tv/videos/520388423?t=00h03m03s
[M] For Blast to the Stone Pillar (JRB), there is a strat to reach the star without either the cannon or a power flower. This saves 15s for the early DDD route, and 10s for the late DDD route, but is inconsistent and tricky. Video: clips.twitch.tv/BigAverageFriseeSquadGoals
[A] For Bully the Bullies (LLL), using the shell is about 2 seconds slower but is a much safer strat. If you want to use that strat, it is important to select star 5 or star 6 to make the shell box appear in the course.
[L] For Top O' the Town (WDW), there is a faster but more difficult strat that uses the high water level.
[A] For Quick Race Through Downtown! (WDW), there is an Out of Bounds strat that saves a lot of time. Tutorial here: https://youtu.be/PPMefuxg76E
[L] For Rematch with Koopa the Quick (THI), make sure to grab the Mario cap near the start of the course, as he will only race Mario.
[A] For Timed Jumps on Moving Bars (TTC), there is a clip past the black brick, which is how the star can be included in routes that only unlock Mario. This is the fastest way to get the star, even if you unlock Luigi. Note that the clip can be done more easily than in the video if you hold L and up then dive, recover, land, and switch to up-left.  Video: youtube.com/watch?v=bI6BBlHsg64
[A] For Cruiser Crossing the Rainbow (RR), if you grab the star correctly you can fall and die, skipping the 80 star text.