Note for future runners. Check your fps. I was having trouble getting a good time. I compared my run to others and the music was going much slower and i was leaving the first screen even a 1/2 second behind. Turns out mesen wqs set to default region, which this game translated as PAL (50 fps). Once i set it to ntsc instead of auto, i was all set. So check your emulator and the region setting (should be ntsc) and display your fps (should be 60) and you'll be in a level playing field.