Super Mario Bros. speedrunner Niftski set a new any% world record on Halloween while dressed as Mario, completing the NES classic in 4:54.299 and moving within two frames of a theoretically perfect run.
The performance lowered Niftski’s previous record of 4:54.332, set in August 2026, by 33 milliseconds. It also pushed the game’s human leaderboard closer than ever to the current benchmark for perfection.
Niftski has spent years pushing Super Mario Bros. toward its limits. In 2021, he became the first player to complete the game in under 4:55, a milestone that was compared to breaking the four-minute mile in speedrunning.
The record chase has since become a battle between Niftski and Brazilian runner LeKukie. LeKukie briefly claimed the world record in June with a 4:54.365 run, cutting the gap to the theoretical limit to six frames before Niftski reclaimed the top spot two months later.
Two frames are all that stand between humans and TAS
“Only 2 frames (33 milliseconds) stand between this run and absolute perfection / TAS tie,” Niftski wrote after the run.
That target is based on a tool-assisted speedrun, or TAS, which uses frame-by-frame inputs to determine how quickly the game can theoretically be completed. The relevant benchmark is 4:54.265, created under the same rules used for real-time runs.
There is an even faster TAS time of 4:54.032, but that version uses simultaneous left-and-right inputs that are impossible on a standard NES controller and are banned from human attempts. The 4:54.265 benchmark is therefore treated as the practical theoretical limit for the category.
Super Mario Bros. runs at 60 frames per second, meaning each frame lasts roughly 16.7 milliseconds. The game also uses 21-frame cycles to determine when most levels are completed. That means a runner can lose a few frames in some stages without losing time on the final clock, as long as they still reach the next cycle.
The final level, World 8-4, works differently. It does not offer the same frame-rule cushion, so every successful jump, movement and button press can affect the final result. That is where the remaining gap between Niftski’s record and the TAS benchmark must be erased.
LeKukie remains close behind in the race, and both runners have been streaming attempts at the same impossible-looking goal.
Niftski’s latest record proves that the barrier is no longer theoretical in the way it once seemed. The game has been played for more than 40 years, yet the fastest human performance is now separated from machine-perfect play by less than the blink of an eye.
In 2021, breaking 4:55 felt like the end of what a person could do in Super Mario Bros. Now the question is whether Niftski, LeKukie or another runner can string together the final two frames and complete the first human TAS tie.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
