Niftski Breaks Super Mario Bros. Speedrun World Record in Mario Costume, Nears Theoretical Perfect Run

Speedrunning champion Niftski has once again shattered his own Super Mario Bros. world record, this time while dressed as the iconic Italian plumber during a Halloween livestream. The record-breaking run brings him within just two frames of the theoretical fastest possible completion time for the classic 1985 Nintendo game. Niftski, who already held the previous world record, achieved the new milestone in character, quipping before the run: 'Hopefully I don’t get this today because that would be very stupid.' The feat underscores the razor-thin margins at the pinnacle of speedrunning, where every frame—1/60th of a second—can mean the difference between glory and defeat. The Halloween costume added a layer of spectacle to an already high-stakes attempt, drawing attention from the speedrunning community and casual fans alike. As Niftski closes in on the game’s theoretical limit, the question remains whether a human can ever achieve a flawless, frame-perfect run. This latest record cements Niftski’s status as one of the greatest Super Mario Bros. players in history and sets the stage for an even more dramatic chase for perfection.