Speedrunner beats Mario Bros. word record while wearing heart rate monitor

A new world record for Super Mario Bros. on the NES has been set. The work was done by a speedrunner who goes by the name of Darbian. He holds a few first and second place records on several games, and this latest world record makes him the fastest to beat Super Mario Bros. with warps on a console without a computer’s help (those are called TAS, or tool-assisted speedruns).

He beat the game in 4 minutes, 57 seconds and 260 milliseconds. That new time beats the previous record, also held by Darbian. That one clocked in at 4:57.427. Yes, we’re talking about a separation of milliseconds here.

The speedrunner did it with a heart rate monitor attached to his body. His heart rate peaked at 172 beat per minute in the clip. That’s basically me on a real life run, for reference.

As good as the run is (and it’s astoundingly good), it isn’t perfect. That’s right, this any percentage run is imperfect by 10 frames. That’s what separates Darbian’s run from perfection. As such, he claims that he’s reached his “potential in this category.” He’s done, and his quest is over.

This may be the fastest we ever see a human be Super Mario Bros. on a real console without any tool-assists. Pretty incredible.