Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1989, NES) by Bandai

Current Any% Leaderboard (speedrun.com)

At the end of Castlevania II’s Trial, I said that the game was bad, that I thought I hit a roadblock with that game.  Little did I know, I had no inclination what a bad speedrun would be.  As game #2 of the Trials, I had no help from folks this time around, and nobody that ran the game I knew; I was alone.  And boy, did it show.

I will say, thanks to this run I did meet the incredible Lucha_Gym but twas too little, too late.  I had to figure this game out by myself, and it was a lot of work.  First off, the incredibly precise scroll trick that allows you to quickly pass by obstacles was a project in itself to figure out.  Luckily, this setup allowed me to gain the learning skills and tricks that would come in handy later on in the trials, helping me to become a better learner.

Oh yeah.  The game.  This game sucks lol.  Sub-par music, mediocre graphics, and awful controls.  But believe it or not, I think this game just missed being a hidden gem; the concept of keeping Jekyll in front of Hyde in order to allow his good side to triumph is a brilliant take on the book’s morals.  Unfortunately, that’s about all the game has on the book.  Weird and unfair enemies, useless weapons, the whole kit-n-kaboodle is here.  I started this trial hoping to complete the “good ending” run, but as time went on and run-after-run died, I eventually gave up that goal and just went for the any% run.  This was my first one-and-done, but it sure wouldn’t be the last.

At least this is a quality game with NO glitches OneHand

This was a speedrun I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemies.  Unless you’re a glutton for punishment (or a sucker for a challenge) I’d steer far away from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.