Super Mario Bros. Both Quests in 8:00.608 FWR @Niftski

Niftski Absolutely incredible run! After a casual 4:55 and being 3 framerules behind Both Quests WR going into Second Quest, I was able to salvage the run with pl8-1, 8-3 FPG, and an awesome 8-4 with 2 fast accels! This run happened while jscarbo and I were going for simultaneous 4:56 Any%, and after he died to a pipejump in 8-1, I decided to continue the run to see what time I could get, and this was the end result. During Second Quest I was unable to focus and calculate what pace I was on at the same time, but thankfully, going for basically all timesaves possible at that point was enough to squeeze out a new WR by about 0.2 seconds. Sub 8 will definitely happen in this category, and if it doesn't happen after my next Any% PB, I'll be sure to find an alternative route for a good First Quest time + Second Quest BBG to secure it!

First Quest: 4:55.879
Second Quest: 8:00.608

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/riSZCs4X8ng

updated 1 year ago

Super Mario Bros. Both Quests in 8:00.608 *FWR*

Niftski 2023-04-29 | Absolutely incredible run! After a casual 4:55 and being 3 framerules behind Both Quests WR going into Second Quest, I was able to salvage the run with pl8-1, 8-3 FPG, and an awesome 8-4 with 2 fast accels! This run happened while jscarbo and I were going for simultaneous 4:56 Any%, and after he died to a pipejump in 8-1, I decided to continue the run to see what time I could get, and this was the end result. During Second Quest I was unable to focus and calculate what pace I was on at the same time, but thankfully, going for basically all timesaves possible at that point was enough to squeeze out a new WR by about 0.2 seconds. Sub 8 will definitely happen in this category, and if it doesn't happen after my next Any% PB, I'll be sure to find an alternative route for a good First Quest time + Second Quest BBG to secure it!

First Quest: 4:55.879
Second Quest: 8:00.608

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/riSZCs4X8ng

Red Ball Level 11 IL in 10.903 *TWR*

Niftski 2024-08-28 | Second ever sub 11 train and TAS tie 11 IL! This is debatably the hardest IL in Red Ball, so it's nuts to me that I got this on day 1 of attempts after only learning it for the first time 4 days prior. Getting past the first two carts and not dying to the spikes in the process is so specific and tight that you need to be playing the game in 1670x939 resolution for it to work, so it's crazy that this trick even works in the first place. I think I'm done with ILs for now, but I may return and go for some other crazy ones in the future!

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/-GHuGmGk3a8

Shoutouts to Lia for making the thumbnail! ❤

Super Mario Bros. Co-op in 10:13.756 (ft. Maximum and Niftski)

Niftski 2024-08-11 | Third place clutch on the last run of the day! We were able to achieve this run on a keyboard while playing on a CRT thanks to Maximum's MiSTer! Huge shoutouts to Zen for the Luigi BBG setup that made this run possible.

Maximum's time: 4:59.024
Niftski's time: 4:57.244
Final time: 10:13.756

Check out Maximum's channel here: youtube.com/@Maximum

Niftski Live Stream

Niftski 2024-07-29 | ...

Vs. Super Mario Bros. Any% in 10:12.042 *WR*

Niftski 2024-07-15 | Low 10:1x! Thanks to 4-2 wrong warp, a new powerup grab route, and faster 6-4 strats, it made achieving this time much easier. Besides the small mistake in 7-4, this run was pretty clean all around. 10:0x is very much possible, and I will eventually return to this category and go for it!

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/4jD_HMUaZYM

Super Mario Bros. Softlock in 18.377 *WR*

Niftski 2024-06-27 | FIRST EVER SOFTLOCK TAS TIE! For PAL SMB1 All-Stars, if you do Full FPG it softlocks the game, which is why this is such a massive timesave. Thankfully the frame saves for TAS tie, including the underground section, are relatively easy on PAL, which made achieving this time a lot easier. Played on an 8bitdo N30 controller to make fast accels and pole inputs easier.

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/bwZ9n2MTDHQ

Super Mario Bros. Co-op in 10:11.909 (ft. jtknott and Niftski)

Niftski 2024-06-23 | Second 10:11 besides me and Nebula's! We were going for WR this run, but unfortunately jtknott messed up the BBG setup for Luigi, so we just decided to finish the run out since it was already insanely good. My run was also a 4:55.613 (8-H speed) with 8-3 walljump and ONE fast accel, meaning I accidentally got frame 69 with subspeed frame in turnaround room and saved a framerule going into Luigi that jtknott had to lose back in 8-1. That means that we were a second ahead of WR going into Luigi! As good as this run is, we know we are very capable of getting WR in this category, so hopefully we can make that happen one day! Played in the practice room of PACE Summer 2024.

Niftski's time: 4:55.613
jtknott's time: 4:58.891
Final time: 10:11.909

Check out jtknott's channel here: youtube.com/@jtknott0528

Super Mario Bros. Co-op Warpless in 38:24 (ft. jtknott and Niftski) *WR*

Niftski 2024-06-18 | New world record by a second in the practice room of PACE Summer 2024! The timesave over FWR was jtknott playing a second faster as Mario with faster world 1 grabs, and the rest of the way, I played the same run as Luigi that me and Nebula's FWR did. This was a very clutch run for the both of us since we both had to do 1 frame walljump to make up for lost framerules in world 8. It was also our very first run past Mario, and I was able to clutch it out! We are both very proud of this run, and I hope to push this category to a lower 38:2x and maybe even 38:1x in the future!

jtknott's time: 19:02.269
Niftski's time: 19:04.399
Final time: 38:24.155

Check out jtknott's channel here: youtube.com/@jtknott0528

Shoutouts to @LeKukie for the banger thumbnail!

@ludwigs Fast50 Speedrunning Event: 4:59.174 Any% Live!

Niftski 2024-06-16 | Got the sub 5 on demand live at Fast50! For those of you who are unaware, Ludwig put together a 50 hour charity speedrunning event called Fast50 which included a variety of speedrunners. I was blessed with the opportunity to run SMB1 Any% and Warpless during the event. Considering I was sleep deprived, jetlagged, and nervous since I had to play this live in front of tens of thousands of people, I would definitely say that this run was an absolute success! Huge shoutouts to Ludwig for putting this incredible event together and inviting me out to participate, and big thanks to my friends and family back at home for supporting me during this!

Super Mario Bros. Any% All-Stars No L+R TAS in 4:52.535 (RTA Timing) by Niftski and Kriller37

Niftski 2024-05-24 | Fastest No L+R TAS yet! I believe the previous fastest was KingOfJonnyBoy's 4:52.968 human theory TAS. This run features a NEW framerule save in 4-2/8-1 that gets the framerule with 0 frames to spare. Credits to Kriller37 who gave me the idea of doing this method. It involves doing an 11px bump while the wrong warp pipe's plant is loaded on screen, and finishing it off with a 9px walljump to achieve the minimum amount of pixels needed to execute the wrong warp. I was able to improve 8-4 by at least 2 frames in first room with very specific Y positioning and winning cointoss to the plant (this new tech actually saved 2 frames over Blazit's L+R TAS as well)! I was also able to avoid 2 out of a few lagframes that occur in water section with a very specific swimming route, shoutouts to Simplistic for giving me information on how to avoid those lagframes as well. Overall, I am very proud of how this TAS turned out. I plan to finish up and upload my L+R TAS soon since I improved that as well, so be on the lookout!

Rerecord Count: 12526

Special thanks to Zen for the help with converting the bk2 file to an msm file and to 108Pi for the script to make that happen.

Super Mario Bros. Definitive (Warps 8-4) in 4:53.966 *WR*

Niftski 2024-05-10 | 4:53 HAS BEEN ACHIEVED!!! There are a few quirks about this rom hack that make it very unique to run: You need a different setup other than sockfolder FPG in 1-1 to save the framerule, you can go directly in the World 4 pipe without having to load the warpzone, 4-2 needs 376 IGT pipe entry to save the framerule, BBG is more difficult and needs to be done differently due to different enemy bounce heights, 8-3 FPG can be done with 243 IGT because fireworks work the same way it does in SMB2J, and 8-4 needs to be played faster than normal due to extra loading frames between rooms. I would probably compare the difficulty of this time to a 4:55.2xx in SMB1 Any%. Either way, I am very proud of this time! Also, the reason why I played this on console is because I am currently warming up for PACE Summer 2024 and getting the feel of controller again.

4:54.814 Any% on Original Hardware

Niftski 2024-05-04 | My second ever 4:54 on original hardware and new WR for console! This is for the people who try to say that my previous Any% WRs on emulator / keyboard "don't count", so now it is undeniable that I have the WR, regardless of if people like emulator / keyboard or not. This unfortunately would've been 4:54.798 if it wasn't for losing a frame in water, but regardless, I am very happy to have achieved this. I might continue to push this lower in the future, but for now, I am fully satisfied with this run! Also, sorry about the low quality recording with the taven cam, I now have a capture card set up, so future console runs will be recorded in higher quality than this.

Super Mario Bros. Co-op in 10:14.671 (ft. Thelxinoe and Niftski)

Niftski 2024-04-24 | Really scuffed 8-4 for the both of us, but overall very good run! We'll most likely improve this time in the future.

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/Yj0Sz4wl43E

Thelxinoe's time: 4:58.791
Niftski's time: 4:58.159
Final time: 10:14.671

Check out Thelxinoe's channel here: youtube.com/@Thelxinoe

Red Ball 12 Levels in 2:34.613 *WR*

Niftski 2024-04-13 | This run is nothing short of unbelievable. With the fastest pace anyone has ever been on going into levels 9-12, I was able to clutch up and finish out the run with a mid 2:34! This run has absolutely zero mistakes, and even then, I played either extremely optimally or absolutely perfect for my strats in every single level. This is not only the best Red Ball run I've ever played by a mile, but it's also arguably the best Red Ball run ever played execution wise because of how optimally and perfectly I played in every single level for my strats. If I'm crazy enough to, I may continue to push this time lower in the future, but I'm definitely done with this category for now. Huge thanks to everyone who kept me positive and motivated during these attempts! ❤

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/3avzYOTrGfc

Red Ball 12 Levels in 2:36.710 | 17 Levels in 4:01.387 *FWR*

Niftski 2024-04-12 | Got the first ever 2:36 and 17 levels world record! Other than 2 minor mistakes in 12 levels and 1 mistake in 17 levels, I am quite happy with this run. I am not stopping here, I hope to get a 2:34 / WR in 12 levels and hopefully the first ever sub 4 in 17 levels!

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/hk1SeHmez0w

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels 1 Warp in 14:09.734 (without loads) *WR*

Niftski 2024-03-25 | First ever 14:0x in 1 warp! This was a run that "died" to 3-4 jump that I was somehow able to bring back to life with every late game framerule save I went for! If I hit 3-4 jump, this would've been a mid 14:06, which would've been quite a big jump for this category. I'm definitely not done with this category yet considering 3-4 has an easy 3 second timesave, but I can be happy with this time for now knowing I got my goal of 14:0x!

Time with loads is 14:15.574

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/1DQNdUbk-9Q

Lightning 4-2 Framerule Save With 6 Frames to Spare

Niftski 2024-03-16 | FIRST EVER R06 LIGHTNING AND K INTO WARPZONE LIGHTNING! This is the fastest possible frame you can get into warpzone with KingOfJonnyBoy's Lightning 4-2 method. The frame save for K into warpzone is done by doing an RLR TAS accel right after coinblock bump to save a frame accelerating to running speed. I was able to achieve this only a few days after getting my Keychron keyboard, and it definitely made getting this a lot more bearable because of how consistent 1 framers are. I think I might continue sticking to the Logitech G815 in general due to comfort reasons, however, it was very nice being able to achieve this on the Keychron!

4:54.332 From the Start of 4-2

Niftski 2024-03-06 | On the 104th run to 8-4 and nearly 500 Lightning 4-2s in the making, I finally achieved a TRUE LOW 4:54 from 4-2 with a 44.2xx / ultrafast 8-A 8-4! The amount of runs it took to finally get this should be a true testament of how much harder a low 4:54.3xx is than a high 4:54.3xx even though the difference is only a few frames. This run's 8-4 is only 4 frames away from TAS Tie, but I'd love to eventually go for a run from 4-2 with an 8-4 at least 2 frames away from TAS Tie (an ultrafast 8-C 8-4) for a 4:54.2xx from 4-2!

Super Mario Bros. Glitchless 8-4 IL in 45.508 (8-J + 2) *WR*

Niftski 2024-02-16 | First ever fast 8-# in Glitchless 8-4 IL! This run is now perfected in all rooms except 2nd room, which still has 3 frames until absolute perfection with a really stupid coinblock climb strat. I didn't do 2nd room FFA because it doesn't actually save any time if you play the room without slowing down at all (shoutouts to KingOfJonnyBoy for finding this RTA viable setup). There is still a frame to save in 2nd room with the same strats and a cleaner coinblock climb, and KingOfJonnyBoy recently found frame 160 and 159 setups, which are 2 and 3 frames faster than this run's 2nd room respectively, but they are incredibly difficult. I would like to at least push this to 8-0 + 2 and be 1 frame off of TAS tie before I'm fully done because getting 8-1 + 2 seems to be a lot harder than 8-4 IL TAS tie with glitches. This now lowers the human sum of best down to a 5:02.535, 3 frames away from the TAS of 5:02.485!

Super Mario Bros. Beat 5-4 in 2:52.383 *WR*

Niftski 2024-02-10 | First ever Beat 5-4 WR with 5-4 FFA! This category is now tied with the human sum of best for every level! The only timesave left is a framerule save in 5-3 with TAS accel + D00 pole inputs to get the TAS framerule with 0 frames to spare, but humans are yet to do this full level, and I don't see it ever being implemented in a run because of how ridiculous it is. Also, sorry for the frozen webcam, it happened out of nowhere only a few attempts before this run.

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/-M_JU6nNXig

8-4 IL TAS Tie in 44.227 on Original ROM

Niftski 2024-02-04 | FIRST EVER TAS TIE 8-4 IL ON OG ROM!!! This happened in just 30 minutes of attempts on my first session ever going for it, I once again clutched out last room, and it was achieved the same day I got maxout 8-4 IL a second time! I now have a perfect run on OG ROM in 2 segments, and this proves that a TAS tie in Any% is completely viable without the assistance of the practice ROM. Achieving this and having this 8-4 consistency is very promising, and I'm super excited to see what the future holds.

8-4 IL TAS Tie in 44.227 AGAIN

Niftski 2024-02-02 | FIRST HUMAN TO GET MORE THAN ONE 8-4 IL TAS TIE! I have been going for this inconsistently on and off the past 2 months, but recently, I had the motivation to grind it more consistently. Just like my first 8-4 IL maxout, I was able to clutch it out first run past turnaround room! For me, achieving this not only means that this is replicable, but it'll also help build my 8-4 consistency in the long run, which will be very good for Any% moving forward since that's now just a battle of 8-4 frames. Be on the lookout for the next upload soon as you haven't seen it all just yet... 👀

Super Mario Bros. Glitchless in 5:02.685 *WR*

Niftski 2024-01-29 | Clutched the 5:02.6xx in classic Niftski fashion by having a bad first room fast accel and saving it with second room fast accel! I got this in only 7 attempts with the first run out of 4-2 getting it as well! Glitchless is now only 0.2 seconds / 12 frames away from the TAS, which is a 5:02.485. I do not plan on just stopping here, I would love to push this to a lower 5:02.6xx in the future since there are 3 easy frames to save in first room. A 5:02.5xx is possible with third room TAS accel + more accels, but if I were to ever achieve this, it would definitely be my stopping point.

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/F1ahworjiZY

Best of Niftski 2023

Niftski 2024-01-25 | 2023 was an absolutely amazing year all around, easily blowing 2022, 2021, and 2020 out of the water! I was once again able to continue the streak of achieving all of my crazy goals by the end of the year! Thank you to everyone who stuck by, supported, and kept me motivated throughout all of my speedrunning endeavors ❤. Let's make 2024 even more amazing!

Song: Juice WRLD - Fast (Wild Cards Remix) youtu.be/M3dbVSj4ArE (I do not own the music used in this video)

Check out my 2024 goals here: pastebin.com/raw/awWc1hZ1

Massive thanks to @vLiaaTTV for making the thumbnail!

All runs used in this video (From start to finish):

JANUARY:

Super Mario Bros. AISSON in 4:39.423 *WR*: youtu.be/5QxdMomCd1o

Super Mario Bros. AISSON 8-4 IL in 41.166 (8-9) *WR*: youtu.be/wRPR6CSEtCE

MCMG SMB1+SMB2J Any% in 12:53 (without loads) *WR*: youtu.be/n-P_myU9xKg

Super Mario Bros. 1-1 as Fire Mario in 24.609 *WR*: youtu.be/gav1U8BajB4

FEBRUARY:

Super Mario Bros. 11x Warpless in 3:30:47 *WR*: youtu.be/M_2D_IhE30U

Super Pixel Bros. Any% in 4:55.713 *WR*: youtu.be/PAx_3mPqD-0

All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros. Warpless in 19:59.791 (without loads) *WR*: youtu.be/orM1LBH3jvQ

SMB2J Lightning 5-2 Framerule Save: youtu.be/MOY0pq-gNIQ

MARCH:

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Warpless 8-4 in 21:26.947 (without loads): youtu.be/ppQJL8qjLV4

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Warpless 8-4 in 21:18.744 (without loads) *FWR*: youtu.be/L7W1d3q5erE

Super Mario Bros. Over the Flagpole in 1:23.646 *WR*: youtu.be/ekmT_6k9AwI

4:55.630 on Controller: youtu.be/39A31UGI7Qg

APRIL:

Super Mario Bros. Small Fire Warpless in 19:03.899 *WR*: youtu.be/XFzq3VmxcMg

Simultaneous 4:56 Any% Runs (ft. @jscarbo99): youtu.be/bEpeEH7InKI

Super Mario Bros. Small Only Warpless in 19:08.841 *WR*: youtu.be/TifS_7hIjYY

Super Mario Bros. Both Quests in 8:00.608 *FWR*: youtu.be/TkidrF7dwYY

MAY:

Super Bob 2 Any% in 2:04.745 *WR*: youtu.be/kn3QEcurbN8

Super Mario Bros. 10 Lives in 1:27.755 *WR*: youtu.be/7u8sepfxI_U

Super Mario Bros. Minus World Ending in 2:30.219 *WR*: youtu.be/yGPyXGhFkcc

Super Mario Bros. Any% All-Stars Speedrun in 4:55.780 *WR*: youtu.be/dahY7WMJyFU

JUNE:

Super Mario Bros. Warpless All-Stars in 19:45.697 *FWR*: youtu.be/3ecOKDTJu1A

Super Mario Bros. ★8-4 Any% in 10:28.914 *FWR*: youtu.be/aejoCaikj4c

Super Mario Bros. Second Quest Warpless in 18:58.741 *WR*: youtu.be/eCmaRV254PQ

4:55.364 Any% on Original Hardware: youtu.be/4jVxF_r91j0

JULY:

Super Mario Bros. Warpless Speedrun in 18:54.864 *WR*: youtu.be/BuhTgSJY3T4

4:54.931 Any% on Original Hardware: youtu.be/lnZLC1W6yTc

Super Mario Bros. Both Quests in 8:00.459 *FWR*: youtu.be/sp0jRHXaYm4

Donkey Kong 4 Any% in 1:48.704 *WR*: youtu.be/0I61yQwDsNs

AUGUST:

Super Mario Bros. Second Quest in 4:54.914 *WR*: youtu.be/LHcZxPq5DFY

Any% TAS Tie to 8-2... but in Second Quest: youtu.be/NfPSvluWCa8

4:55.913 Without FPGs: youtu.be/1k3YBm9pyt0

SMB2J 7-4 334 IGT Framerule Save: youtu.be/2WkCzlHKjKw

SEPTEMBER:

Super Mario Bros. Any% Speedrun in 4:54.631 *WR*: youtu.be/Khu9BB2g4Ks

Super Mario Bros. 11x Any% in 55:17.869 *WR*: youtu.be/bXCNocw7tUI

4:59.906 Without Wrong Warps: youtu.be/_UwJOMl2h7E

4:55.580 in a Live Speedrunning Competition: youtu.be/_-wptZynXZM

OCTOBER:

Super Mario Bros. Warpless All-Stars in 19:42.885 *WR*: youtu.be/iu6G8Az-i54

SMB2J TAS 5-2 Framerule Save (Warpless Route): youtu.be/A1-VX1ytoTE

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Any% 8-4 (Luigi) in 8:01.707 (without loads) *FWR*: youtu.be/9u676LGVje4

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Any% 8-4 (SNES) in 8:09.594 *WR*: youtu.be/C2vncoW6_iQ

NOVEMBER:

Super Mario Bros. Both Quests in 7:59.926 *FWR*: youtu.be/hQGdeARh-LQ

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Warpless 8-4 (SNES) in 21:46.548 *WR*: youtu.be/eoUDtCnUxQc

DECEMBER:

Super Mario Bros. Frustration Any% in 2:40.835 *WR*: youtu.be/Vq6jvfTYtR4

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Warpless 8-4 (Luigi) in 21:48.062 (without loads) *WR*: youtu.be/jMsU_9ZJfkk

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Any% 8-4 (Luigi) in 7:59.893 (without loads) *WR*: youtu.be/KLV8VkoD6FE

Super Mario Bros. 10 Walljumps in 12.579 *WR*: youtu.be/mTnxqI9iY2Q

Super Mario Bros. Both Quests in 7:59.560 *WR*

Niftski 2024-01-05 | New both quests WR in just 5 attempts! After derusting mario physics and tricks with casual Any% runs, I decided to try and go for non-serious both quests WR attempts, and this was the end result! This run was also saved with second quest pl8-1 since I lost the framerule going into second quest. I still hope to eventually push this time down to a 7:58.

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/Gpi8Sum3t5A

First Quest: 4:55.563
Second Quest: 7:59.560

Super Mario Bros. 10 Walljumps in 12.579 *WR*

Niftski 2024-01-01 | Absolutely perfect run for my strats, all walljump pixels hit with all walljumps hit! This was my goal for this category and I'm very happy I was able to get it in under 100 attempts! Beating this is going to be pretty hard, but there are still slight improvements or even more difficult improvements that could be implemented.

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/z2KQSm3limE

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Any% 8-4 (Luigi) in 7:59.893 (without loads) *WR*

Niftski 2023-12-31 | FIRST EVER SUB 8 ANY% AS LUIGI!!! After multiple hours of practice on stream, I was able to get this exact time from the beginning of 4-4 in just a few attempts, and from there I knew I was ready for full game attempts. After getting my third run of the session to 5-2, I was able to make it to world 8 and finish it out on my very first run there! This was also my final goal of 2023 and I was able to get it at the very last minute on December 29th!

For those who don't know, Luigi's physics are different than Mario's in SMB2J, and Luigi runs are slower. Due to this, leaderboards between Mario and Luigi are separated. Luigi accelerates and decelerates slower than Mario, jumps about a block higher, and facing backwards has the same acceleration and deceleration as facing forwards. This allows for things like running speed 5-1 superjump and noslowdown 8-3, but loses time in levels like 5-2 due to needing to wait a cycle for the beginning piranha plant.

Time with loads is 8:05.717

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/HVFlOMbvm1Y

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Warpless 8-4 (Luigi) in 21:48.062 (without loads) *WR*

Niftski 2023-12-30 | Got the sub 22 and first ever 21:4x! This category was quite brutal to play, so I'm very happy that I got this in under 100 attempts. Besides a few minor timelosses, this run was very clean all around. This was also my second to last 2023 goal left and I was able to get it at the very last minute on December 28th!

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/u0Wb471fiYk

PAL 8-4 IL in 45.794 (8-3) *WR*

Niftski 2023-12-23 | PAL 8-4 IL AND THE HUMAN SUM OF BEST ARE NOW PERFECTED! This was way easier to get than NTSC 8-4 IL maxout since you only need 2 accels, but this is pretty huge regardless. This lowers the human sum of best down to a 4:52.239, which is now tied with the No L+R TAS! I'm very proud to be able to say that I'm the first person to get the perfect sum of best for PAL!

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/VKlECLUbkmw

PAL 8-2 Full FPG TAS Framerule Save Full Level

Niftski 2023-12-16 | The last PAL FFPG for Any% has been achieved! I got this in only 30 minutes of attempts and on the same day I got 8-1 FFPG! I found a setup for this that gets everything out of the way at the very start of the level and is automatically set up for FFPG after blant, which made grinding this IL a lot more tolerable. This once again saves 2.88 seconds / 8 framerules over a normal completion of the level and ties the L+R TAS. This also lowers the PAL human sum of best down to a 4:52.299, which is now just 3 frames off of maxout / no L+R TAS Tie! Expect an 8-4 IL maxout for that sweet 4:52.239 sum of best perfection very soon.

PAL 8-1 Full FPG TAS Framerule Save Full Level

Niftski 2023-12-15 | First ever 8-1 FFPG full level! I had to play the level a bit differently in order to avoid some lag frames that occur on the practice rom for PAL. I went for this framerule save for a bit a little over a year ago, but I ended up getting demotivated and never got it. Recently I tried again and I ended up getting it within a few hours of attempts total! This saves 2.88 seconds / 8 framerules over a normal completion of the level and ties the L+R TAS! The only remaining PAL Full FPG left for Any% is 8-2 :)

Super Mario Bros. Frustration Any% in 2:40.835 *WR*

Niftski 2023-12-09 | Third WR of the day and first ever 2:40! I played this run multiple times but all of them ended up dying to something I've never seen before in 1-4, so it was very nice to get a break this run. This run was also saved with 1-3 fast accel framerule since I didn't get the optimal 1-1 framerule. 2:3x is completely possible with this exact same run and a more optimal 1-4, so I will most likely return to this game and get that eventually!

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/EmbaDE_hXFM

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Warpless 8-4 (SNES) in 21:46.548 *WR*

Niftski 2023-11-26 | Got the 21:4x! Although I had to wait on bowser at the end due to taking damage in water, this is still a very good run and a great leap for pushing this category further. A 21:3x in this category is possible and would likely be the equivalent of a mid 21:1x in SMB2J warpless FDS, so I may return to this category and push it there in the future! :)

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/3eHiucb7xXM

Super Mario Bros. Both Quests in 7:59.926 *FWR*

Niftski 2023-11-04 | FIRST EVER SUB 8 BOTH QUESTS! After not being able to finish out the sub 8 after my previous two Any% WRs when I had the perfect chance to, I knew I had to return to this category and break the minute barrier. In just 46 attempts of going for this, I was able to get a whopping 8 4:55s in the process: 2 4:55.547s, a 4:55.563, a 4:55.580, 3 4:55.597s, and a 4:55.713, making me 17% at getting 4:55 this session! I hope to lower this even further in the future, and maybe one day to a 7:58, as this second quest route would align with it perfectly after a 4:54.5xx/4xx. :D

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/5ipNSspmpkA

First Quest: 4:55.597
Second Quest: 7:59.926

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Any% 8-4 (SNES) in 8:09.594 *WR*

Niftski 2023-10-29 | First ever 8:0x! For this category, the small only route and fire route are close to the same speed, but I ultimately decided that I'd rather use the small only route. Although this is a great run all around, there are still various framerules that can be saved in multiple levels, so I'd love to improve this further in the future!

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/FUv0FakyJ0s

4:57.843 With the OG 2013 Route

Niftski 2023-10-23 | 4:57 with the decade old route has been achieved! The first WR with this route was AndrewG's 4:58.159 from 7/1/2013. However, the first 4:57 was with BBG instead of 2 bump 4-2, so I thought achieving this would be a fun challenge since it was never featured in the first 4:57. For this particular route, I believe I'm the first person to achieve a 4:57 with these exact strats, but I could be wrong. Either way, it was very fun going back to the old 2 bump 4-2 strat a decade later to see the challenge runners had to face at that time. Shoutouts to Kosmic for giving me the idea to go for this!

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Any% 8-4 (Luigi) in 8:01.707 (without loads) *FWR*

Niftski 2023-10-14 | Frame perfect bowser WR and first 8:01! All around this run was the exact same as my former PB of 8:03.837 except with 1-2 and 4-4 clips, which both saved a second each. Sub 8 is on the horizon for this category and will most likely be achieved very very soon, so stay on the lookout!

For those who don't know, Luigi's physics are different than Mario's in SMB2J, and Luigi runs are slower. Due to this, leaderboards between Mario and Luigi are separated. Luigi accelerates and decelerates slower than Mario, jumps about a block higher, and facing backwards has the same acceleration and deceleration as facing forwards. This allows for things like running speed 5-1 superjump and noslowdown 8-3, but loses time in levels like 5-2 due to needing to wait a cycle for the beginning piranha plant.

Time with loads is 8:07.530

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/NYCf_Toy09o

SMB2J TAS 5-2 Framerule Save (Warpless Route)

Niftski 2023-10-12 | First ever 5-2 TAS tie for Warpless! This saves 5 framerules (1.75 seconds) over WR and ties the L+R TAS in this level, meaning 5-2 has now been perfected by humans for both Any% and Warpless! The reason why devil's spell saves time here over simply entering the pipe at the end is because it skips the cutscene of Mario coming out of the pipe in second room. I got this 3 weeks ago but I'm only just now getting around to uploading it lol. Big shoutouts to KingOfJonnyBoy for finding the setups for clip + FPG and encouraging me to go for this!

Super Mario Bros. Warpless All-Stars in 19:42.885 *WR*

Niftski 2023-10-05 | First ever 19:42 + 6/6 NTSC Main Category WRs has once again been achieved! This run features a ton of super tight framerules, and I'm very happy I was able to play perfectly alongside my route and save all of them I was going for. As clean as this run is, there are still plenty of levels to save time in, and I'd love to eventually push this category all the way down to a 19:3x in the future!

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/JNkcYkv2W7s

4:55.580 in a Live Speedrunning Competition

Niftski 2023-09-28 | I absolutely outdid myself in this competition with a 1st place time of 4:55.580! For those unaware, this was an in-person speedrunning event hosted at PACE Summer 2023 on July 5th where 6 of the best SMB1 runners, myself included, participated in an hour long LTA (Live Time Attack) on stage to see who could get the best time. On the very first run of the event, I got a 4:56.861, then a 4:55.763 2 attempts later, and then after 10 more attempts, I ended up getting this 4:55.580 run! I knew I had the ability to pull off a 4:55 in this event, but getting 2 of them as well as this run with an awesome 8-4 is even more insane to me. This event was an absolute blast, and I long to participate in even more in the future! Also, big thanks to Maximum for editing and fixing the blue light filter my capture had.

If you'd like to watch the entirety of this Any% LTA event, check it out here: twitch.tv/videos/1915021141

4:59.906 Without Wrong Warps

Niftski 2023-09-24 | First ever sub 5 without wrong warps! Since 4-2 vine climb loses so much time compared to wrong warp (a whopping 13 framerule loss over my 4:54.631), getting a sub 5 requires all high 4:54 tricks, which effectively makes this the same difficulty as an actual 4:54. I was able to clutch this out my very first run past 1-1 of this session. This would've been a 4:59.8xx if it wasn't for a super goofy frame loss in the first room of 8-4, but I am still very very happy with this run regardless. Shoutouts to Kosmic for giving me the idea for this challenge back in 2021!

(Edit: I accidentally rendered this in 720p60 instead of 1080p60, sorry for the slightly lower quality on this video!)

Super Mario Bros. 11x Any% in 55:17.869 *WR*

Niftski 2023-09-16 | I did this category as a warmup for the Peercast SMB1 Any% Tournament, and it paid off! The first two runs were a 4:56 and a mid 4:57 in order to get a decent lead so I could just finish out the rest of the runs with mid 4:58 strats. I'll likely push this time even lower in the future, and if I'm crazy enough, I may even go for all 4:57s!

If anyone is confused about the retiming for this run, we now add the final times of all 11 runs + 197 frames (-3.27 title screen delay) to each of them. This makes the category no longer require perfect resets.

1st run: 4:56.778 (Best)

2nd run: 4:57.510

3rd run: 4:58.575

4th run: 4:58.575

5th run: 4:58.575

6th run: 4:59.008 (Worst)

7th run: 4:58.542

8th run: 4:58.525

9th run: 4:58.592

10th run: 4:58.558

11th run: 4:58.575

Final Time: 55:17.869

Full Session: youtu.be/GUPnFa4ChMc

Super Mario Bros. Any% Speedrun in 4:54.631 *WR*

Niftski 2023-09-07 | FIRST RUN TO EVER BE TIED WITH THE TAS GOING INTO 8-4! I truly cannot put into words how much achieving this time means to me, and it still feels unreal that I actually pulled this off. Lightning 4-2 was the final framerule left to be saved in SMB1 Any%, but thanks to the efforts of @KingOfJonnyBoy, this framerule that was once thought to be impossible has now been implemented in runs, and this is the first WR to ever feature this final framerule save! This run marks the start of a new era, there are no more framerules left to be saved, so this is now a battle of the remaining 8-4 frames! Only 22 frames, or 0.366 seconds, separate this run from absolute perfection. As much as I've stressed how amazing this run is to me, this is not my end goal, and I will not be stopping here! 4:54.5xx/.4xx will most likely be my next goal for whenever I return to this category, and even after that, I plan to take this category as low as possible. Also, I apologize in advance for my crazy popoff after the run was finished, this was simply pure happiness and euphoria coming out all at once!

As a side note, for those concerned about my heartrate being high, my normal resting heartrate is ~70 BPM average. When I am doing runs and constantly getting some of them far, drinking caffeine, and streaming, it can occasionally linger over 100 BPM. Compared to my normal resting heartrate, this is a whole different thing, and doing speedruns isn't a resting heartrate when nerves can skyrocket at any given time due to the pace. Hopefully this clears up any confusion, I am completely healthy and do not have any heart condition!

Another frequently asked question is about keyboard / emulator. Emulation for this game is 100% accurate, which means that anything that can be done on an NES is possible on emulator. Keyboard offers no advantage, and it is actually debatably worse for speedrunning this game. I use keyboard over controller for personal preference reasons, I have been playing games on keyboard since a little kid, and I have a very good feel for it compared to controller. For speedrun.com, emulator has been allowed since the beginning of time, and no rules were ever changed just to allow emulator. Another misconception is that some people think I am able to input L+R using a keyboard. It is possible to do so, but since it isn't possible with a standard NES controller without it being broken or modified, inputting this is banned. I have to have an option in my emulator settings that makes L+R input nothing, so no invalid input was done during this run. Hopefully this clears up any confusion, emulator / keyboard is a completely valid and legitimate way of speedrunning this game, and this is a verified run at speedrun.com/smb1.

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/KgvheaW5vQ4?t=536

Twitch VOD: twitch.tv/videos/1919089743

Full Session: twitch.tv/videos/1919103097

Pulsoid Heartrate Statistics: pulsoid.net/stream-report/niftski-S86AY

Watch me live: twitch.tv/Niftski

Join my discord: discord.gg/w4Xtkvqvdu

#Speedrun #WorldRecord #Mario

SMB2J 7-4 334 IGT Framerule Save

Niftski 2023-08-27 | First ever full level 334 IGT and one of the craziest ILs I've ever pulled off! If done in a run, this would save a whopping 8 framerules (2.8 seconds) over WR and 11 framerules (3.85 seconds) over my PB! For this IL, there is subpixel manipulation for all 3 clips, which means you have to do the same few inputs that work in order to be set up for everything. All 3 clips require frame perfect right represses and many other perfect inputs, but even after all of that, you still preferably want a frame perfect R,D and D,R press to perfectly duck under the 2 beetles in order for it to be fast enough for 334 IGT.

There is technically one more framerule that can be squeezed out of this level without L+R or R,D,R,D,R,etc under the 2 beetles to stay at full speed while winning cointoss (a humanly unviable strat). Execution for this framerule would have to be absolutely perfect and a really good setup would have to be found, but it's technically RTA viable, and it'd be TAS tie for No L+R and the final framerule left to be saved in this level. Even with this framerule save left, a 335 IGT 7-4 still seems to be multiple frames away for strats that are viable, so I'm very happy to be able to say that I've pretty much achieved maxout IGT for 7-4!

Any% TAS Tie to 8-3

Niftski 2023-08-24 | FIRST EVER MID 4:54 PACE TO 8-3! This was done on only day 2 of attempts, and both runs with Lightning 4-2 this session made it all the way to bill! The run died because the pole inputs in 8-3 were slightly late, but I believe this was an overthinking mistake more than a nerves mistake. This is a huge confidence boost for attempts, and my runs that get past 4-2 are making it far, so expect a new Any% WR of 4:54.6xx/.5xx very soon!

4:55.913 Without FPGs

Niftski 2023-08-16 | FIRST EVER 4:55 WITHOUT FPGS AND TAS TIE NO FPGS TO 8-4! This is something that was considered impossible not too long ago, but thanks to my godlike Lightning 4-2 consistency, I was able to make it happen on day 1 of trying. Not only is this achievement alone incredible, but this session showcased a whopping 4 FOR 9 (NEARLY 50%) consistency with Lightning 4-2 on runs! This statistic, even for me, is absolutely outrageous, and it goes to show that an Any% WR with Lightning 4-2 in it is overdue at this point. 4:54.6xx soon. :)

Any% TAS Tie to 8-2... but in Second Quest

Niftski 2023-08-08 | On the 6th attempt of the traditional 9 attempts after my Second Quest WR of 4:54.914, on the first try to 4-2, and without having any expectations at all, I was able to pull off this run! The fact that this run was in Second Quest and happened so fast and felt so unreal gave me little to no nerves for the entirety of the run. Doing these 9 mid 4:54 attempts in Second Quest was supposed to be a joke in the first place, but unfortunately I ended up having to purposely throw away the run to prevent it from getting any further.

Many people were annoyed or confused by this decision, but I can promise that this is for the better for various reasons. 1. The run wouldn't have even been eligible for verification under the Any% leaderboard since it was in Second Quest. 2. I did not want to beat Any% WR in a category extension category that many people don't really care about in the first place and get clowned for it in the process. 3. If I actually did end up fluking this and finishing the run, it would be pretty bad for my mentality going into actual mid 4:54 Any% WR attempts because of how fast I got it without properly trying. 4. This would put the Any% WR progression in a very awkward position, and it's best to just not have to deal with any of that. 5. My Lightning 4-2 + World 8 consistencies are nearly at their prime states right now, and since I'm doing mid 4:54 Any% WR attempts very soon, I have no doubt that I'll make it right back to 8-2 (without being in Second Quest) in no time!

Super Mario Bros. Second Quest in 4:54.914 *WR*

Niftski 2023-08-05 | First 4:54 in Second Quest and my 5th 4:54 total! In this session alone, I was 7/10 with pl8-1, with the last three of the runs to 8-2 hitting TAS 8-2 and getting all the way to 8-4, making this 3 4:54s to 8-4 in a single session! During the 9 meme attempts after, I somehow ended up getting MID 4:54 WITH LIGHTNING 4-2 all the way to 8-2 in Second Quest, and this category was a warmup for Any%, so expect 4:54.6xx Any% WR very soon!

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/Vmm76ShaVhA

For those who don't know, in Second Quest, enemies move faster. Goombas become buzzy beetles and the difficulty is ramped up. Elevators are also shortened, which makes blazit useless because you can't hit the vine block after it to despawn the piranha in the wrong warp pipe (which is why I do the All-Stars pipe clip instead to get the framerule). Bullet bills spawn in earlier levels like 1-3 and podoboos spawn in earlier castles, as well as more firebars like in 1-4. This mode is unlocked upon hitting B after Peach's final speech.

Donkey Kong 4 Any% in 1:48.704 *WR*

Niftski 2023-07-30 | Yet another Maxout / TAS Tie! In 1-2, you can get a double framerule save with FPG if you get one of the first frames of 355 IGT and don't slowpg. In 1-4, TAS accel doesn't actually save the full frame, so all I needed to do for a perfect run was 3 FPGs, a perfect fast accel, and 2 frame perfect 2 framers to land on the moving platform on a frame it wasn't moving in order to not lose a frame. Although pretty short, this was a very fun rom hack to speedrun.

Desktop Only Video: youtu.be/l5QKZoiqoyY

Super Mario Bros. Both Quests in 8:00.459 *FWR*

Niftski 2023-07-24 | After a former console Any% PB of 4:55.247, I was able to clutch out the Both Quests WR! Just like my 4:54.931 Any% on Original Hardware, I achieved this in the practice room of PACE Summer 2023, which was very hype. I saved an extra framerule going into second quest 8-1 since my 8-4 in my first quest was really good, so all I needed for WR at that point was 8-3 FPG and 1 frame walljump. Sub 8 is under half a second away at this point, so hopefully that will be my next PB in this category!

First Quest: 4:55.247
Second Quest: 8:00.459

4:54.931 Any% on Original Hardware

Niftski 2023-07-21 | Achieved in the practice room of PACE Summer 2023. I absolutely cannot believe I was able to get this time on only the first session of serious attempts, especially this quickly. In this attempt session, I did only 9 attempts, was 5/5 with pl8-1 (best run consistency out of anyone ever?), and got back2back runs to bill on pace! This is my fourth 4:54 I've ever achieved and the first one that hasn't been a PB for me. This should prove that I am not just good because I play on keyboard, this session was beyond better than any keyboard consistency I've ever had!

Huge shoutouts to Storster for recording the end of my run from her POV. You can check that out here: twitter.com/Storsterr/status/1677451505908035586