Mario racing minus the karts
by Conrad Quilty-Harper 
{ Feb 28th 2006 at 3:30PM }
Check out the above video which shows a friendly speed run competition through Super Mario Bros. on two NES consoles. Jeff Ninneman and Jason Harmer's personal records are 5:11 and 5:09 respectively, but this video clocks them at just over 6 minutes. It's hardly a tense match (they both fool around a couple of times) but the ending is a true photo finish. It's great to compare the two NES gamer's techniques and to hear the crowd of supporters cheer as one opponent overtakes the other.
[Via Re:Retro]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rymix @ Feb 28th 2006 3:41PM
Lovin that vid :D
Edgar @ Feb 28th 2006 3:41PM
Good idea.
I wonder where exactly that took place at.
That song at the end. That was a good song.
Derek @ Feb 28th 2006 3:41PM
That video is tha shiznit. Damn, I remember when I was 10 years old and beat SMB for the first time...That seemed like one hell of a gaming accomplishment at the time.
duder @ Feb 28th 2006 3:49PM
that was somewhat awesome
The U @ Feb 28th 2006 3:52PM
haha...
highway to the danger zone?
wtf.
and nice pussy cop out awards go to both of them for the end. Both getting hit to go through Bowser at the end is lame if these nerds were showing off in front of a cheering crowd. I always slid under him.
David @ Feb 28th 2006 3:57PM
That was inspiring up until they showed both the guys and they were dressed as mario and luigi Lol
bluebren @ Feb 28th 2006 4:02PM
4:44: "OHHH MY GOD!..."
There's always That One Guy. :D
Rappateng @ Feb 28th 2006 4:02PM
wow, that was amazing to watch... thanks!
Imp @ Feb 28th 2006 4:03PM
The U, one was tiny and ran under Bowser.
I didn't look at the other one.
Gonzo @ Feb 28th 2006 4:05PM
Yea
Go ahead and laugh but a bunch of my friends & I used to do this at my friends house. But we usually did it with Sonic the Hedgehog (the original from the Genesis) and we were always chemically altered at the time.
Don't do drugs kids. Especially not that riddalin stuff. That's Really bad for you.
lestrade @ Feb 28th 2006 4:07PM
That was enjoyable because the two were neck-and-neck the entire time, yet each was obviously stronger on different levels. I was getting tense watching this, and loved the fact that they finish at the exact same time.
Mr. Samuel @ Feb 28th 2006 4:09PM
If this were an Olympic sport I might actually care about the Olympics.
The song is "Danger Zone" AKA "The Top Gun song" by Kenny Loggins BTW.
Paul @ Feb 28th 2006 4:19PM
I can't drive if that song comes on. I'll get into the song, then take a look at my speedometer and realize I'm going over 100.
dp @ Feb 28th 2006 4:45PM
What's the song in the beginning? The Rock one.
Jago @ Feb 28th 2006 4:49PM
Wow that was freakin' sweet!
God bless Google Video...I can be on there all day and be entertained.
The U @ Feb 28th 2006 4:54PM
"The U, one was tiny and ran under Bowser.
I didn't look at the other one."
Imp, look at it again. One intentionally gets hit by a fireball to get invincible and another runs into bowser to shrink for the same effect.
both were lame, as they were showing off the whole time...even getting a "OH MY GOD" yell.
Chris Maguire @ Feb 28th 2006 4:57PM
The first song is 'History of a Boring Town', by Less than Jake.
Joe @ Feb 28th 2006 5:24PM
What is this, The Wizard? Mario speed-runs?
Hamson @ Feb 28th 2006 6:09PM
13. "I can't drive if that song comes on. I'll get into the song, then take a look at my speedometer and realize I'm going over 100."
lmao
JRM @ Feb 28th 2006 10:05PM
reminded me of "the wizard" (but with SMB1)
Jago @ Feb 28th 2006 11:17PM
HAHA! I thought that movie was the greatest thing ever made when I saw it.
Troopa @ Mar 1st 2006 5:12AM
The U,
What's really "lame" is you complaining about something so trivial in the video. It was a cool close finish, and it entertained the crowd. Why so negative?
Cool video.
Dave @ Mar 2nd 2006 10:31PM
the one on the right who slid under bowser won
C?r Hern? @ Mar 4th 2006 8:40AM
Jajajaja,no pasa nada con esos 2 aficionados, al parecer yo mismo les gano hasta con un control defectuoso y cogiendo todas las vidas para no hay ningun probelma, al parecer yo tengo varios trucos para llegar primero y pasar el juego, soy el mejor del Per?bre todo en Piura mi ciudad natal.
Q @ Mar 4th 2006 1:48PM
You guys whine too much, the video was great.
DOOM Anomaly @ Mar 5th 2006 12:28AM
Haha, that was utterly fantastic. :D Danger Zone is the perfect song for such a thing. :D Watching this video made me try to do some speed runs in Super Mario Bros. but I can't do nearly as well. :D
--:DA--
Harla @ Mar 5th 2006 10:41AM
Hehehe... Bloody brilliant.
This sort of thing can only really be done on older games, and I think it's great... Nerdy as hell, but still great.
I've always thought I was fairly good at stuff like this, but seriously, that's a whole other level. Hats off.
Harla
Poots @ Mar 5th 2006 6:08PM
hey guys
this is jason harmer, i was on the left screen playin with my roomie jeff ninnemann ("ninneman" is a common misspelling). anyway that was taken at the Black Student Union talent show at Luther College (Decorah, IA) back in the spring of 2003.
a little background info - it was supposed to be set up that we both played on two 17 or 19 inch tvs that were hooked up to projectors so everyone could see. however the night of the show, my tv didn't work, so i actually had to play off the projection. this is evidenced by my mistimed jump on world 1-1 when i missed the pipe. after that i did get used to it, but man was that tough.
also, we did talk before the race to try and keep it close...we couldn't have imagined for that close of a finish though. you see at times on the right screen where jeff stops running for a bit - although we did want to keep it close (and he did have a huge lead over me at the beginning), his controller was actually glitching out on him (probably due to the hundreds of times he smashed it against the floor, wall, etc. during college), and mario would occasionally stop running. nonetheless, it was a fantastic finish.
i do have a vid clip of me getting a 5:09, it'll be posted on google video by monday (march 6) sometime. once it's up i'll post a link.
anyway hope you all enjoy watching it. yes it was fun. yes it's nerdy. but atleast we had a good time doing it.
Tengu @ Mar 6th 2006 12:37PM
Well..... now i have some inspiration for getting my SMB times down. my personal best is 7:58 but i know i can get it down to less than 7 min... still that was friggin amazing.
Poots @ Mar 7th 2006 4:32PM
Here it is guys, my 5:09 run. Not the fastest on the web (think the world record is 5:06 or 5:07), but it is my personal best. you'll see a few mistakes, but you'll also see some nice moves.
long live 8-bit nintendo.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8590658024798572543
RotJ @ Mar 8th 2006 12:14AM
I don't see how the U's "pussy cop out" remark applies in a speed run. Bowser's movements are random, as far as I recall, so sometimes you can get under him in a straight charge, while other times you have to wait a second for him to jump. Waiting might make sense early in the game so you don't lose Fiery Mario, but to do it in the final 2 seconds would be dumb. You'll see a lot of FPS speed runs in which the player will take 5 extra seconds getting a health pickup in order to save 30 seconds later by running through lava, instead of navigating a jumping puzzle. I wouldn't call that a cop out.
Anyway, the left player seemed to have let go of his jump too early, and he lost some time from having to make a second jump, so he didn't make great use of the invincibility.
Me @ Mar 18th 2006 2:40PM
This was a fun video to watch. No idea why some people complained. Some people (U) cursed. This was done in fun. Shown to us in fun. If you got nothing FUN to say about it, why post? Go insult Britney or something. The video is for fun.