New Record Set on Halloween
Niftski, the speedrunning world record holder for Super Mario Bros., beat his own record on a Halloween livestream while dressed as Mario. Speaking in character, he said: “Hopefully I don’t get this today because that would be very stupid.”
The Halloween run shaved 0.33 seconds off the previous world record, also held by Niftski, bringing the time to 4:54.299 and leaving the attempt just two frames away from a theoretical perfect run.
4:54.299 SMB1 ANY% WORLD RECORD ON HALLOWEEN WHILE LARPING AS MARIO! It doesn't even feel real that I actually achieved this, but here we are. Only 2 frames (33 milliseconds) stand between this run and absolute perfection / TAS tie. 4:54.265 next! https://t.co/S1ZpmEMG4c— Niftski (@Niftski) November 1, 2026
The Path to a Perfect Run
According to Niftski, those two frames were lost early in the run due to minor errors in fast accelerations during the first and second rooms, which cost one frame each and kept the attempt from matching a tool-assisted speedrun (TAS) tie.
If no further strategies are found to reduce the time significantly, only two more world records remain possible in the category before absolute perfection is reached.
“Will this be like the first ever game perfected? Like what's gonna happen once someone matches the TAS? It's just over?” asked a fan following the event.
Niftski breaks the SMB1 world record while doing the worst Mario impression ever. Frame-perfect hands, not-so-perfect voice 🍄 https://t.co/B21YnDkrwH— imngrok • Stream Clips (@imngrok) November 1, 2026
Categories and Strategy
Niftski holds multiple records across different categories, including warpless, glitchless, and the any% category, which involves reaching the end of the game by any means necessary using exploits and glitches.
The Halloween run improved his previous any% record down to 4:54.299. Halfway through the attempt, Niftski leaned fully into the costume persona.
Reflecting on the costume, the speedrunner noted that staying in character helped ease tension. “It made me not nervous at all,” said Niftski. “It doesn’t even feel real. It felt so casual.”
“I can't believe I witnessed a russian mario do the 67 and get any% wr in the same video,” said one X / Twitter user who watched the stream.
Image credit: Niftski / YouTube.
