A Florida man (and there's nothing weird, crazy or negative following that phrase...it's actually something positive!) Steven Kleisath has guided the original iteration of Mario to a new world record on the 1983 arcade classic "Mario Bros." His accomplishment, done on an original coin-op version of the Nintendo classic and live-streamed in front of the world, finished up on the afternoon of Mon. Jan. 5 with a score of 5,424,920 points, crushing the previous mark of 4,678,440 points set by Tom Votava in 2009, according to an article at Kotaku.
"I feel amazing," Kleisath stated right after his record setting game. "I definitely know now it can be pushed up even further, but you gotta have the time and stamina and focus to pull it off."
As he advanced the all-time high score, Kleisath says his energy levels were low but the pressure was somewhat off.
"I was tired but determined and because at that point I had one extra man still, I viewed it as a safety net which alleviated pressure if I would have been on my last man," he added.
In an interview with the Examiner last March, Kleisath recalled how he'd discovered the original "Mario Bros." in the mid-1980s, and how determined he was to oust Votava's imposing world record score.
Now the proud holder of the record he'd chased for so long, Kleisath stated he might take a break from "Mario Bros." The next world record in his sights would be on the turbo version of "Ms. Pac-Man."
