I feel like the run should begin on the frame before the first visible input and end on the frame where the castle changes colors. Those appear to be the most consistent within all the runs I've seen.

Hello. I hope this topic is still up for discussion.

I have created a quick video on the topic of how I feel timing should work in this game, and I wanted to put this question up to the mods to see if they have anything to say about it. I think the video speaks for itself so you can watch it right here:

I hope to hear a response sometime soon, and Happy New Year to you all.

This is some interesting information you have found. Thanks for sharing!

I always began frame counting on the first noticeable frame of input up until the frame where the color of the room changes at the end. I always felt like those were the two easiest frames to see in any run, making it easier and more fair to calculate times in my opinion.