New world record in Super Mario

A Brazilian speedrunner has set a new world record in Super Mario Bros. With his new record, 41 years after the game’s release, he’s just six individual frames away from a perfect run.

New world record in Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros. recently made headlines mainly due to the successful film. Then a few weeks ago a copy of the NES game from 1985 was auctioned off for a record price of three million dollars (around 2.6 million euros). Despite its age, the title is still very popular not only with collectors, but also with speed runners. Brazilian speedrunner LeKukie set a new world record at the beginning of June. In a live broadcast of the game on original hardware, he reached the end of the game in just 4:54 minutes and 365 milliseconds. The 41-year-old beat the previous best time by 50 milliseconds and managed an almost error-free run.
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This brings the theoretically possible best time within reach. It is 4:54 minutes and 265 milliseconds and has so far only been achieved in a so-called tool-assisted speed run, in which the computer takes over the control. Such machine-assisted runs combine all known techniques such as exploits and guarantee error-free input. LeKukie is separated by just six frames from the perfect and therefore fastest possible game run. To achieve such extreme times, players use a game mechanic called framerule. Super Mario Bros. only checks whether a level has been completed every 21 frames. Therefore, a slightly faster run often does not result in a better finish time unless the player reaches the previous framerule. This makes the record hunt particularly relentless.

The biggest challenge

For a long time, the gaming community assumed that it was impossible for a human to complete all levels without errors. How Golem reported, the last World 8-4 is considered the biggest challenge. While it is hardly possible to save time in the previous sections, the final level requires maximum precision with every single jump. In World 8-4 there are no longer generous time windows in which input errors go unpunished. Instead, literally every single frame counts as you jump over the rotating fire poles to Bowser. LeKukie reportedly invested six years of intensive training in the game in order to internalize and consistently execute the millimeter-precise maneuvers on a standard controller.

The perfect run is getting closer

Although the last jumps in the final lock caused minimal time losses, the Brazilian is already planning to make up the remaining six frames. He is determined to be the first person to reach the theoretical minimum on the console. Such an achievement would probably mark the most important milestone in the history of the Super Mario Bros. speedrun community – and probably also its end. The decades-long optimization of running paths and jumps is now nearing its ultimate conclusion.