Speedrunner Benji64 has set an incredible new Super Mario 64 70 Star world record, beating the game in 46 minutes and 56 seconds. Super Mario 64 remains one of the most iconic games of all time, defining an era of 3D platformers in the 1990s.
It's incredible that players are still playing Super Mario 64, 27 years after its release. It speaks to the timeless gameplay that players are always looking for new ways to experience an old classic, and speedrunning is an extremely common way to do so in many gaming communities. Some players take speedruns one step further - one fan even beat Super Mario 64 with a drum set in under 20 minutes. It's a game that players don't seem to lose interest in, and no doubt there will be plenty of other unique ways in the future that players will experience Super Mario 64.
In the clip, Twitch streamer Benji64 can barely contain his excitement as he defeats Bowser with 70 stars and a time of 46:56. His excitement is understandable - the last world record for the game was 46:58 by Weegee, a record which has stood since November 2021. Beating the record by two seconds shows how optimized the speedrun for Super Mario 64 70 Star has become, with extremely fine margins of perfection defining who claims the record. It's not just Super Mario 64 that attracts the speedrunning community. World records are frequently being set in other games in the franchise, with the most recent being Super Mario Galaxy 2 during the recent Awesome Games Done Quick event.
While the 70 Star category has a new king, it's unsure what the future holds in the rest of the categories. As one of the most popular speedrunning games of all time, Super Mario 64 has plenty of different categories for players to attempt. 120 Star and 16 Star are also popular, although the age of the game means that most speedrunners now are veterans, with movement that takes years of gameplay to perfect.
Over the years, Nintendo has released many Super Mario games, but most have failed to gain a cult following resembling Super Mario 64. Fans continue to pay homage to the game in any way they can, many showing their appreciation in creative ways. Some fans are even still modding the original game, with one fan creating a mod for Super Mario 64 based on Yoshi's Island. While some fans look backward at the series' earlier days, the franchise continues to move forward, with the upcoming release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie in April 2023. With no Mario game currently penned for release, fans are overdue an announcement of the next entry into the legendary franchise.
Super Mario 64 was released in 1996 for the Nintendo 64.
