Mario Kart World Record Finally Broken With Crazy Rainbow Road Shortcut

Nearly 13 years after the game's release on Nintendo Wii, a new world record has been set on Mario Kart Wii's Rainbow Road course by Twitch streamer ArthurMKW. The course has two ultra shortcuts, which allow the driver to skip over the majority of the course, if performed correctly. Essentially, players can pull off an ultra shortcut by driving off the course in a very specific spot. One of Rainbow Road's ultra shortcuts can be accomplished without much difficulty, but the other has never been pulled off without the help of outside programs. Fans of the game now have a new record to chase, as a result!

A video of the feat can be found in the Reddit post embedded below.

[WR] Arthur becomes the first player to make the Rainbow Road ultra shortcut! from r/speedrun

Arthur's reaction to the feat is awesome, to say the least! The video is mostly silent before the streamer pulls off the feat, but the celebration in his voice shows just how difficult this task is. Rainbow Road has long been the most difficult course in the Mario Kart franchise, so it only seems appropriate that the hardest ultra shortcut would be found there!

It's always interesting to see the various tricks that speedrunners use to shave precious seconds off their records. Setting a record in a video game is a very difficult process, and one that usually requires a lot of practice and research. Sometimes, the best possible methods to accomplish each task are intentional shortcuts designed by the developer, while others are glitches or errors that players can use to their advantage.

Now that Arthur has pulled off the feat, it will be interesting to see if other speedrunners try to figure out the second ultra shortcut for themselves. It remains to be seen how long Arthur will hold the new world record for Rainbow Road, but regardless of whether or not someone can top his time, there's something to be said for being the first person to pull it off!

Those interested in trying out the accomplishment for themselves will have to track down a copy of Mario Kart Wii for the Nintendo Wii.

What do you think of Arthur's Mario Kart accomplishment? Have you ever set a world record in a game? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!