All sprites go invisible at 16:02 after I hit the axe in 2Q 8-4. I didn't read the part of the rules that say using B to start from 8-1 is allowed. I started both quest from 1-1. LOL.

I use Nestopia v1.40 with "2-in-1 Super Mario Bros - Duck Hunt.nes" ROM; my Nestopia is set to USA/NTSC with NTSC filter and with screen size "2x", the "No Sprite Limit" option is left unchecked, the "Allow up/down left/right simultaneously" option is left unchecked.

I use a generic USB controller (SNES shaped) all buttons are mapped as they should while X, Y, L and R are used to control LiveSplit as follows: R - Starts/Splits. L - Resets timer. Y - Deletes Split. X - Skips Split.

I time my runs manually with LiveSplit.

I use NintendoSpy as an Input Display with a custom skin I made. The XML archive does not recognize my d-pad as a d-pad but as a stick instead. That's why the blue dot lights in the center of the d-pad when I'm not pressing any button.