Just to confirm, you didn't press New Kid right before the cutscene started? I saw the cursor was hovering over it when Bernard entered the radio room. If so, it could be that the action was delayed by the cutscene, and for whatever reason, the New Kid menu happens to activate at that point.

If not, the only other thing I can think of is if the Meteor Police cutscene somehow overlapped another cutscene that happened at the exact same time? If that cutscene was a little shorter, maybe the code causing that cutscene to end caused you to regain control even with another cutscene playing. This seems unlikely to me, but I don't know what else would cause this to happen.

Sounds right up my alley! MMNES does carry some glitches over from the computer versions but also has quite a few of its own.

Nice TASing!

I also have my doubts about the new tech being WR-viable. It seems to save a significant amount of time by not requiring a second kid in the dungeon, but that time save is largely negated when you have to go into the dungeon the second time. You'll either need to have a kid in the dungeon anyway, or have Ed take you, which loses time because you have to wait for him to go back upstairs to do Purple Tentacle Skip immediately afterwards.

Still, it's useful tech; it opens up new route options and it's been a real boon for 2-character%. We might even find a way to make it WR-viable in Any% someday.

This game never runs out of surprises...

Oh, this has a lot of potential! I think this tech will be especially pivotal in 2char.

It is in the hamsteak% category rules that "The other 2 kids must perish by any means necessary". By not having the third kid present, that requirement is not being met, so I personally don't think it's in the spirit of the original category.

So according to the rules, you're supposed to start the timer when the verb menu first appears, which happens after the beginning cutscene with Dave and the other two kids.

However, Dave moves around during this cutscene, and the position he starts in depends on where he was when the cutscene was cancelled. So theoretically, you can wait until he walks closer to the left side of the screen and start your run a little closer to the loading point (which can be desirable depending on your route). This can save about a second compared to walking to that point while the timer is going.

I guess my question is; is that allowed? Is it something worth addressing or is it not a big enough deal?