When the natural challenges of a video game are exhausted, players don't hesitate to create more, and at the top of the list appears the speedrun. We have previously seen extreme examples in Doom, and other more absurd cases such as the installation of Windows 95, but today we return to the inexhaustible Super Mario Bros., which has just recorded a new world record. Speedrunner Niftski had already reached glory in 2021 with a mark under 4m 55s, however, his new time in Any% leaves him at the gates of the best "tool-assisted speedrun".
Many traditional institutions say that video games are not a sport. Enthusiasts responded by creating their own tournaments that today move millions of dollars... but in reality, that is not the point. The point is that video games allow us to do extraordinary things, challenge limits, end them, and create new ones. The concept of speedrun holds a part of that spirit, and the simple fact of seeing a player fighting against the clock transmits to us its intensity, its desperation to achieve the objective. If you are not convinced of that, watch Niftski break the world record for Any% in Super Mario Bros.:
The new Any% record of Super Mario Bros. made by a human
No robots. No algorithms. The TAS stashed in a drawer. With a mark of 4:54.631, Niftski came within 22 frames of perfection. The so-called "frame rule" in Super Mario Bros. (an internal timer that checks if you have finished the level every 21 frames) defines an absolute minimum of 4:54.26, which has only been recorded with tool assistance. But level 8-4 of the game does not operate under the frame rule, and that means that there is still a chance to reach that minimum.
The technical aspects demanded by a perfect Super Mario Bros. speedrun are impressive, but that takes a back seat knowing that Niftski played on his own. Personally, I need to highlight the emotional factor: If the heart rate shown on the screen is accurate, Niftski was basically a turbine when he achieved the record.
