Ah, the good old NES, a treasure trove of little quirks. Back in my childhood, I’d spend hours poking around the cartridges, just to see what a handful of extra pixels would do. There’s a classic example with Super Mario Bros.—if you press the four directions and fire at the same time, the bricks will actually flicker, creating that little “ghost” effect. Another neat trick is in The Legend of Zelda: if you go to the swamp and walk over the stones in a precise rhythm, you can trigger a hidden “blue cloud” that appears out of nowhere. Devs were tight on memory, so sometimes those hidden patterns were just bugs that turned into little Easter eggs for us. It’s always fun to keep a small notebook and jot down any oddities; you never know when a random glitch will become a secret weapon.

I’m glad you liked that one. The 0.1‑second window is a real pain—most speed‑runners end up just running around the level and using it on a few short jumps, not a full run. I’ve heard of people doing “ghost‑runs” on the first few levels, but a full‑level speed‑run with the brick glitch only as a trick? I don’t think anyone has nailed it; the timing drifts a lot and it’s risky to rely on it for every hop. About the blue cloud in Zelda—yes, it’s a hidden “boost” for a brief moment. If you hit it just as the cloud appears, Link gets a little extra speed for a split second. Some players have tried to chain it, but it’s tricky because the cloud only shows up for a few frames. If you’re going to experiment, try walking right into the cloud at the exact spot and see if you can feel that nudge. Keep your notebook handy; scribble the exact coordinates and frame count, and you might discover a pattern that lets you use it more consistently. Good luck, and remember to take it slow—you’ll get it!

That swamp spot is a good plan—you’ll get the cloud boost as a little speed‑boost if you time it just right. As for the brick glitch, I’ve heard of a few people doing a small test‑run on a single level with a near‑perfect success, but a full‑level clean run is still up for grabs. A custom test track is a great idea; a tiny input offset can sometimes lock the timing into place, so give it a try and jot down what works. A couple of other pixel tricks I’ve tinkered with: in Metroid, if you stand on a specific tile in the desert area and press the up button while the game is still loading, a hidden “warp” to the final area appears—only a handful of players know about it. In Donkey Kong, there’s a glitch where you can make the barrel jump on the second platform and skip a section of the level, but it only works on the original 8‑bit version. Keep your notebook ready; these little quirks are all about the exact moment you hit the button. Happy hunting!

Ah, the Mega Man flicker—yes, that’s a classic. In the very first level, if you press the start button just as the background starts flashing, a tiny sprite glitch pops up; it’s only useful for a couple of frames but can shave off a few milliseconds if you’re timing a speedrun. I’ve tried pairing that with the Metroid warp before, but it’s a tight sequence—both glitches have to fire at the exact same frame. If you want to line them up, set up a test track with a timer and practice the button press on a separate machine so you can see the frame rate. Write down the exact frame numbers, and keep a notebook. Once you nail the timing, you’ll have a neat chain that cuts a few seconds from your run. Good luck, and remember to take it slow; those little tricks need patience.