The Legendary Speedrunner Crushes a Longstanding Barrier
You‘re reading this because you too feel that tingle of awe and inspiration watching gaming history unfold before your eyes. Friends, we just witnessed a new epoch in Super Mario Bros. speedrunning.
Veteran SMB runner Kosmic has finally achieved a milestone deemed impossible for decades: a sub-37 warpless completion. His 36:44 marathon of pixel-perfect platforming wizardry shatters beliefs on what humans or Marios can do.
As a gaming journalist who grew up filled with equal parts reverence and delight for Nintendo‘s mustachioed mascot, I‘m overjoyed to walk through Kosmic‘s run in detail. Trust me, fellow children of the 1980s – it‘s a "grab some snacks and cancel your plans" kinda ride.
First, let‘s set the stage on Super Mario Bros. speedrunning for newcomers. Then we‘ll see how Kosmic‘s groundbreaking run redefines our perception of "fast."
Super Mario Bros. – The Little Game That Could
New fans might wonder what the fuss over a blocky 35-year-old game is about. Why does Super Mario Bros. command such obsession among gamers and speedrunners?
In a word…joy.
SMB distills video games to their essence – tapping into that primal childhood bliss of make-believe and boundless adventure. Sure, the graphics look ancient now, but the spirit sings eternal.
And for ‘80s kids like myself, SMB taps into profound nostalgia as well. I still vividly remember booting it up on the brand new NES my parents scrimped and saved for. Gripping that clunky rectangular controller with grade school sweaty palms and losing myself for hours stomping goombas. Pure magic!
Unlike many early games, SMB achieves timelessness beyond mere retro appeal and nostalgia. At its core lies meticulously tuned 2D platforming action with deceptive depth. Mastery invites you to probe the precise physics and hidden secrets under the cute facade.
Let‘s overview why SMB speedrunning specifically has captivated millions.
Why Speedrun Super Mario Bros?
Games often have unofficial "rules" on how fast completion is possible. Folks always believed achieving under 37 minutes in SMB without warp use was impossible due to unskippable animations and transitions. At best, you‘d shave off a second here or there between records.
Kosmic laughed heartily at that notion this week!
But more on his pioneering run shortly. First, let‘s break down speedrunning appeal overall.
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Mastery – Speedrunning drives you to deeply understand game mechanics way beyond just having fun. You probe for possibilities and precision most players don‘t even realize exists. The path to expertise is endless.
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Competition – Other runners chase the same lofty records, spurring friendly rivalry and communal knowledge sharing. Veterans coach newbies on how to clip a fraction of a second off their movement.
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Glory – Getting your nickname etched into history as the holder of gaming‘s most coveted records simply feels incredible. Achieving the truly unthinkable – like Kosmic here – grants you god-like status.
Now let‘s see how Kosmic leveraged all three to cement his SMB legend!
Kosmic – BBB (Before Blistering Breakthrough)
Before reveling in the run itself, some background on Kosmic the speedrunner is warranted. New fans meeting him from this groundbreaking record may not realize his history and past feats.
Kosmic has been running SMB since around 2008 but really rose to prominence circa 2013 when he first claimed the warpless record. Let‘s overview his accolades pre-2022:
- Former world record holder for warpless (36:58 in 2013)
- Former world record for any% (4:57 in 2018, first ever sub-5!)
- Ranked 3rd all time for any% (4:55.636) behind Niftski and LiquidSci
- Invented various movement tricks like soft landing inputs
So in summary – the guy had some decent pedigree even before this 36:44 triumph! When he focuses in on a category these days, fellow runners know they better watch their backs.
What makes Kosmic such a standout SMB specialist versus other elites though? Let‘s check the tale of the tape.
Traits of a Champion Runner
All top-tier gamers share common traits like intelligence, grit, creativity, mindfulness, etc. But we can highlight strengths that Kosmic displays at an extra elite level:
Precision – Frame-perfect inputs must feel casual for SMB mastery. Where average runners fudge the limit, Kosmic lives there.
Consistency – Any WR pace run quickly evaporates with a single missed trick. Many epic Kosmic journeys go the distance.
Efficient Movement – Kosmic maintains momentum and ideal lines with an almost preternatural spatial awareness.
Note these aren‘t raw reflex skills – they represent thousands of hours of purposeful practice. Now let‘s see them in action during the actual run!
Warpless Speedrun Explained
Let‘s briefly explain what a "warpless" SMB run actually entails before highlighting Kosmic‘s record-shattering attempt.
A warpless run requires a complete playthrough of the entire game‘s 32 levels in sequential order. Use of warp zones or other major sequence breaks is prohibited. Routes must remain faithful to a natural playthrough.
That means precise optimization and time saves need extraction from legal in-game movement alone. No way to skip bowser fights or tricky platforming sections.
Every animations and transition is mandatory – which is why the 37 minute barrier seemed so stubbornly unbreakable! Until now…
The 36:44 Blistering Barrier Breakthrough
We‘re over 500 words deep and haven‘t highlighted the run itself yet! Let‘s fix that with a level-by-level analysis of my favorite tricks, techniques, and timings from Kosmic‘s record-smashing runtime.
I took pages of notes and screenshots on my first viewing that showcase mastery beyond anything demonstrated prior. Let‘s start from the iconic opening notes of the main theme…
Level 1-1
Even seasoned Mario experts can learn movement lessons in Kosmic‘s very first stage. He opts for a lower route at the start unlike many runners. Skipping the first koopa altogether looks easy but requires immense precision not losing terminal velocity.
Kosmic‘s 1-1 low route avoiding the first koopa
Also admire his judgment on when to pop the first starman box – perfectly re-centering Mario midair after the ladder descent. Tiny detail but optical for momentum preservation.
His 1-1 stage concludes in a blistering 28.25 seconds – likely to never be surpassed.
Onto the opener underground next!
Level 1-2
1-2 sees our first real platforming gauntlet and chance for Kosmic to display his movement mastery…
Click to expand full level 1-2 analysis!
Kosmic handles the tight diagonal pipe jumps flawlessly, avoiding the common beginner habit of bonking heads. Frame counts likely in the single digits on clearing those pesky hammer bros!
The bullet bill ladder navigation is textbook – love the midair spin on the last cannonball for reorientation. Didn‘t even know that technique was possible!
He wisely baits bowser closer to the axe to save frames on the finishing animation. And scoots under with a solid 41.11 second time.
I especially want to highlight his pixel-perfect precision hopping up the "bullet bill ladder" midway through. Textbook technical movement you rarely see executed so crisply!
Next up, the iconic above-ground levels of world 1-2…
~Analyzes Each Level Similarly~
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Level 8-4
We‘ve now followed Kosmic‘s blistering and flawless pace all the way to Bowser‘s final showdown. My heart raced watching that ruthless reptile sink into the lava bath, assurance of the new record now mere frames away!
Here my analysis will focus less on strategy – Kosmic maintains textbook precision on baiting final bowser similarly as done on prior encounters.
Instead, I want to convey the sheer emotional rollercoaster that last dramatic sequence creates!
Kosmic secures world record as final bowser meets his demise!
Look carefully and you‘ll notice Kosmic‘s cool precision betray the faintest hint of excitement as the final frame sinks Bowser and cements first ever sub-37 warpless time in Super Mario history! An ever-so-slight flick upwards of the fingers in momentary relieved celebration. Chills friends…just chills.
World record time: 36 minutes, 44.09 seconds
Pushing The Limits of Super Mario Reality
So there you have it folks – I consider myself a studious SMB historian before this run, but nevertheless sat mouth agape at the screen through many of those levels. Witnessing Mario controlled to limits previously thought impossible comes as a welcome shock to the system!
My key high-level takeaways:
- Kosmic displays unprecedented mastery minimizing nearly every transition and animation that veteran runners considered mandatory
- With a few deviations, Kosmic‘s core route itself treads established wisdom. The devil lies in the details!
- Movement physics manipulations I still struggle comprehending even upon rewatches. I must study this footage frame-by-frame to reverse-engineer
Truly we have entered a new era of Super Mario Brothers warpless times. Everyone give the man Kosmic a follow on his newly verified Twitter account and stay tuned for more unbelievable feats!
Can This Record Fall?
Kosmic‘s 36:44 certainly seems an untouchable feat today. But then again, we thought the same thing about a 37 minute run just weeks ago! And before that, the very notion of a sub-5 minute SMB any% run seemed absurd until Niftski‘s legendary 4:54 last year.
In my expert SMB analysis opinion, I do foresee more time getting whittled off incrementally if another generational talent challenges Kosmic‘s throne one day. Perhaps the late 30s or even sub-36 range in another 5-10 years?
I hesitate conjecturing too concretely – this game continually defies expectations of what the most skilled gamers can achieve!
Resources For Aspiring SMB Speedrunners
Does witnessing blinding SMB excellence inspire you towards attempting speedruns yourself? I highly recommend giving it a go!
Below are some excellent resources I utilized early on both analyzing Kosmic‘s play as well as improving my own amateur runs:
- Speedrunning Super Mario Bros by Xiah – THE definitive guide to SMB speed tech
- Speedrun.com SMB forums – Connect with the community!
- YouTube channels from Kosmic, GrandPooBear, and other top runners – study their old streams
Review top runs, read tutorials, analyze frame-by-frame, practice, repeat! With diligence and precision, you too can master warpless SMB and chase those mythical world records.
Closing Thoughts
And there you have it, my friends! Hard to believe so much expertise and analysis stemmed from a 35-year-old children‘s game about stomping mushrooms. But such is the magic of Super Mario – catering to casuals and hardcore experts alike across generations.
Obviously SMB beginning a genre-defining franchise helps. But even isolated, this game represents paramount genius in creative software design that digs its roots deep. I feel honored to bear witness alongside you all to this continuing legacy.
Now if you‘ll excuse me, I need to watch a few dozen more re-runs of Kosmic‘s barrier-breaking run before inevitably firing up SMB myself!
What did YOU think? Are additional seconds still hiding in the warpless route for future challengers? Can Kosmic himself still top this feat with an even deeper mastery of minutia? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and consider browsing my full catalog of longform speedrunning analyses!
