Super Mario Bros. speedrunner Niftski has set a new Any% world record, finishing the NES classic in 4:54.299 on Halloween while dressed as Mario. The run places the fastest human performance just two frames from the current tool-assisted benchmark for the category.

The result improves Niftski’s previous record of 4:54.332, set in August 2026, by 33 milliseconds. It also brings the human leaderboard closer than ever to the 4:54.265 time considered the practical theoretical limit under the rules used for real-time runs.

Niftski has spent years pursuing the game’s fastest possible completion. In 2021, he became the first runner to finish Super Mario Bros. in under 4:55, a milestone that was likened to breaking the four-minute mile in Speedrunning.

The record race has largely focused on Niftski and Brazilian runner LeKukie. LeKukie briefly took the world record in June with a 4:54.365 run, narrowing the gap to the theoretical limit to six frames. Niftski reclaimed the top position two months later.

After his latest performance, Niftski wrote that only two frames, or 33 milliseconds, separate the run from “absolute perfection / TAS tie.” A tool-assisted speedrun uses frame-by-frame inputs to establish how quickly a game can theoretically be completed.

Super Mario Bros. runs at 60 frames per second, with each frame lasting roughly 16.7 milliseconds. Most levels use 21-frame cycles, allowing runners to lose a small number of frames without affecting the final clock if they still reach the next cycle. The final stage, World 8-4, does not provide the same cushion, making every movement and button press significant.

A faster TAS time of 4:54.032 exists, but it relies on simultaneous left-and-right inputs that are not possible with a standard NES controller and are banned from human attempts. For that reason, the 4:54.265 benchmark is treated as the relevant practical limit.

LeKukie remains close behind, with both runners streaming attempts at the goal of matching the benchmark. Niftski’s latest record leaves the human record less than the blink of an eye from machine-perfect play and raises the possibility of the first human TAS tie in the category.

Sources: Dexerto.