I’m wondering for the SWITCH runners out there (or any runners with a lot of knowledge). Is there truly a difference here? I ask because I am having a very hard time with consistencies on the pipe jumps. I have a PB of 5:09, my sum of best segments would be 459, but I am losing almost all my runs on the pipe jumps. I typically get to 8-1 and just miss one. I rarely have problems with 8-2 or 8-4 pipe clip. It is largely the pipe jumps crushing me.

I watch other runners largely handle the pipe jumps fairly consistently.

I’m wondering if it’s worth it to move to a NES CLASSIC or if I should just carry on with the SWITCH.

My goal is just sub 5.

Thanks all,

The switch uses an LCD to show a picture instead of the standard CRT that most people use for speedrunning. I'm guessing that there is a bit of input delay, enough to make a difference. If you switch to an NES Classic, you should try to use a CRT instead of an LCD or OLED display.

There's basically no reason to invest in an NES Classic for speedrunning this game. The NES emulation on Switch is better in every way, suffering less from input lag compared to the NES Classic. In addition, both the Switch and NES Classic use HDMI, making CRT not viable for those systems. Even if you prefer the feel of an NES controller, there are wireless NES-style controllers for the Switch that you can buy as long as your NSO subscription is still active.

Yes, the NES emulation on Switch inherently has input lag, plus your TV might add additional lag, but I would say your best option is to stick with the Switch, and try to reduce input lag on your TV by turning on "Game Mode", if your TV has that feature. That's the best you can do if you can't/don't want to play on an NES or emulator. Also be aware that by playing on Switch, you lose around half a second during a five minute run compared to NES/emulator runners because the Switch (and NES Classic) have a framerate of 60 FPS compared to the NES/emulator framerate of around 60.0988139 FPS.

^^^^^^^ Thank you man. This was an awesome response. You all are so much more helpful than other gaming communities.