Having read the rules for the runs for this game, I discovered that the Cowabunga collection prevents the removal of a button for special attack use as the game will not allow it without assigning a button for it. This also seems to affect trying to use the special with attack and jump buttons it seems.

The Cowabunga collection version might need its own rules.

Also there is a new category potentially with Nightmare mode which is as advertised. I will play this game on the collection again to see if I can have constructive breakdown soon.

We briefly entertained a "3 Button" category a while back, where one could map the special attack inputs to an additional button. Looks like it might become a reality!

Here's a run I did just recently. Sadly, I didn't show proof of it being on default settings so it'll need to be checked before submitting or not. As I said before, The Cowabunga Collection has a dedicated special button that couldn't be unassigned and it kind of screws up using the actual buttons for the attack.