The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle (1989, NES) by Kemco

Current Any% [NES] Leaderboard (speedrun.com)

GAMES FROM THIS EPISODE OF AVGN:
–The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle (NES)
-The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2 (Game Boy)
-Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 3 (Game Boy)
-Bugs Bunny in Crazy Castle 4 (Game Boy Color)
-Woody Woodpecker in Crazy Castle 5 (Game Boy Advance)

I don’t care what anyone says: I have a soft spot for this fluffy bunny game. Bugs must collect the carrots and avoid all his “friends”. Yeah the concept is dumb, but the game is not: it’s basically a glorified puzzle game in the guise of a platformer, except Bugs cannot jump or attack (unless he get an item first!) There’s a ton of stages to explore, 60 to be exact, and some of them are legitimately difficult to get through. One touch from an enemy, and “That’s All, Folks!”

I’ll be honest: when I looked at this speedrun I didn’t find myself very enthralled with it. There’s zero tech here, and the routing is exactly the same as a casual playthrough. And, despite my nostalgia for this title, I had zero interest in this speedrun. However, this was actually a fun run, and I wouldn’t mind stepping foot back in the Crazy Castle again at some point in the future.

One thing I’ll say is that this game controls worse than I remember.  Bugs will “snap” to the next tile that you move to (there’s no in-between), meaning that if you commit to a movement, Bugs will finish it, no matter what.  This is especially true with stairs, as Bugs will go up and down all the way once you commit to it.  Doorways as well; this game is relentless in this regard.  However, once you get used to it, it’s tolerable.