Super Mario Bros speedrunner is now just 11 frames away from the absolute perfect playthrough of the 40-year-old classic, after beating the world record for the third time this year

Mario jumps over Bowser in the original Super Mario Bros
(Image credit: Nintendo/Niftski)

Super Mario Bros. Any% category is probably the most impressive in all the speedrunning world because, well, this is a game that's four whole decades old and people are still finding ways to break records. This year alone has seen multiple world records broken as speedrunners inch ever closer to literal perfection.

In the case of Super Mario Bros, perfection is actually a 4:54.26 tool-assisted speedrun. Essentially, it's mathematically the quickest way of beating the classic platformer (so far) if certain inputs are executed at exactly the right frames. And the closest speedrunner to perfection is Niftski, who has just broken another Any% record for the third time this year. (Again, this is a game that came out in 1985... mind blowing.)

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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