Super Mario Bros. World Record Now Just A Half-Second Short Of A Perfect Run - Kotaku

And a speedrunner blitzing through Super Mario Bros., setting a new time to beat in Nintendo’s all-time-classic side-scroller.

Yes, the preeminent Mario speedrunner Niftski clocked a sub-five-minute run this weekend, shattering the existing world record by less than a second.

Niftski, who streams on Twitch and YouTube, has picked up a following for completing all sorts of speedrunning feats in Super Mario Bros., and is also responsible for the game’s previous world record of 4:54.881, set last winter.

(Every Super Mario Bros. level ends when you jump onto the flagpole at the end; Mario slides down the pole before moving onto the next stage, which eats up precious seconds.) You’ll note, too, that Niftski plays with a keyboard, not a gamepad.

If a perfect run is ever going to happen, my money’s on either Niftski or the Mario speedrunner Miniland, who held the world record before Niftski with 4:54.914.