One of the most iconic video games of all-time is still managing to capture headlines and attract players nearly 30 years after it was first launched. A speedrunner by the name of "Blubber" has managed to beat the game in a new world record time of 4:57:69, narrowly edging out the previous record and becoming the first to beat the game in under 4:58 in this manner.
It's worth pointing out that, unlike some other speedsruns you've probably seen on the Internet, this is an all-natural run (to an extent). While the author did use an emulator (Original NTSC NES Release emulated on FCEUX 2.2.1), it wasn't a tool-assisted run so there are no cheats, replays, slow-motion or other tricks used.
The runner does exploit some glitches but these are all part of the game that can be performed on original hardware / software. Many of these glitches, like making contact with enemies and not taking damage, using a Bullet Bill to skip a castle walk animation scene and not climbing a vine to a warp zone, are well-known in the speedrun community.
Some will no doubt argue that an emulator run shouldn't be considered for a world record but it's impressive nevertheless.
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