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Super Mario Bros. Players Are Closing In on a Perfect Playthrough
The Super Mario Bros. speedrunning community stands on the verge of a historic achievement. Brazilian speedrunner LeKukie recently set a world record by completing the NES classic in 4 minutes, 54.365 seconds—a time that researchers have calculated falls merely 0.1 seconds short of the theoretically perfect completion time. Through years of meticulous analysis, the community has pinpointed exactly what an optimal run looks like frame by frame.
Executing this flawless performance requires speedrunners to land a precise sequence of pixel-perfect jumps and maneuvers without a single mistake, a challenge that has eluded even the world's most skilled players. LeKukie's recent breakthrough was aided by an unconventional controller-holding technique that enables rapid consecutive inputs, suggesting the speedrunning community has found the techniques needed to approach perfection. While experts believe a perfect run is inevitable rather than merely possible, the actual feat of hitting every critical maneuver in one continuous run remains gaming's ultimate technical test.
In short
- LeKukie's world record of 4:54.365 sits 0.1 seconds from the theoretical perfect time
- A perfect run requires flawless execution of pixel-precise maneuvers throughout the entire game
- Experts believe an immaculate playthrough is inevitable and could occur within months
Explained simply
Super Mario Bros. is a platform game released for Nintendo’s NES console in 1985. Players guide Mario through levels, jumping over obstacles and enemies to reach the end as quickly as possible.
In speedrunning, players try to finish a game in the shortest time, and records are measured to fractions of a second. The community studies the game’s timing and movement closely, while players practise precise sequences of jumps and other actions.
A theoretically perfect run would follow the fastest known route without losing time to mistakes. Reaching it would mark a notable achievement for players who have spent years refining how the game can be completed.