World record in ‘Super Mario Bros.’ – the perfect run is just 100 milliseconds away
The Brazilian Lekukie has completed Super Mario Bros. in 4 minutes and 54.365 seconds. That leaves him just six frames – one-tenth of a second – short of the theoretically perfect time. Speedrun expert Karl Jobst considers it virtually certain that this record will be broken soon.
There are speedruns where the gap to a perfect run is almost imperceptible. The new world record in «Super Mario Bros.» is one such run. In early June, Lekukie completed the Nintendo Entertainment System classic in 4 minutes, 54 seconds and 365 milliseconds – with a run that didn’t lose a single frame right up to the final Bowser level.
Only a handful of players had managed this before him – the first being Nipski in 2023. Six measly frames – a tenth of a second – now stand between him and the perfect run. Karl Jobst, one of the best-known voices in the speedrun scene, explains in his video why the perfect moment won’t be long in coming.
Perfect up to 8-4 – and then it gets tricky
On his way to the record, Lekukie nailed every single frame of the first 31 levels perfectly. The benchmark for this perfect run comes from a tool-assisted speedrun from 2019, which, at 4 minutes and 54.265 seconds, is considered the theoretical best time for a human. It was only in 8-4, the 32nd and final level, that he missed six frames. He has already demonstrated on several occasions that he is capable of nailing precisely these frames: he played 8-4 perfectly in individual runs – even twice in a row – and also managed a flawless complete run from World 4-2 onwards. For Jobst, these are strong indications that a perfect run is on the cards.
Why is 8-4, of all levels, so challenging? In the first 31 levels, a ‘frame rule’ system ensures that small time differences are often negated when entering the next level. In 8-4, the final level, this mechanism no longer applies – every frame saved counts immediately towards the final time. This creates scope for improvement, but also makes this section the most stressful test of the entire run. Very few players have ever completed 8-4 perfectly.
Incidentally, Lekukie plays with an original NES controller, using various grip techniques which he switches between during the run. Jobst argues that controller players have a slight advantage over keyboard users in this particular speedrun – an assessment that would have been different in the past, as the keyboard was long considered superior.
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