Speedrunner Niftski has once again set a new world record for Super Mario Bros., this time achieving the feat on a Halloween livestream while dressed as the iconic plumber. The run, which Niftski described as feeling unreal and casual due to his costume, bested his previous record by 0.33 seconds, bringing him to within two frames of a perfect game.
This new record in the "any percent" category, where the goal is to finish the game as quickly as possible by any means, including glitches and exploits, now stands at 4:54.229. Niftski stated that the small errors that prevented a perfect run occurred early in the game, costing him one frame in the first and second rooms due to slight miscalculations in fast accelerations.
Niftski holds multiple Super Mario Bros. speedrunning records, including warpless and glitchless categories, in addition to the "any percent" category he just improved. The current record represents the closest a player has come to the theoretical perfect run, or TAS (Tool-Assisted Speedrun) tie, with only two milliseconds separating Niftski's run from this theoretical maximum.
The speedrunner credited his Mario costume for helping him stay calm and focused during the high-pressure attempt. "It made me not nervous at all," Niftski commented. The livestreamed run can be viewed on Niftski's YouTube channel.