Um...is there a secret button to start this? I am using .138 and nothing happens after the RAM / ROM check screen.
There are no rom/ram checks. The game just starts up.
Finally got a little farther, past the uphill boulders after J. You get closely spaced landmines at the top and man are they a pain. Ended up at M on Championship Course with 85080 (with the correct settings )
I find double-tapping, like in DK, is helpful. Sometimes paranioically. Which isn't enough in some circumstances. This path from E to J is crazy. Going against form, I played it through a few times. It's been so long since I've been to this spot, I'd forgotten about it. It sure requires some fancy moving, and the right pace. I think I finished it, though. The next leg was just too intense.
I have to say, though, that this version of MAME32 was giving me the hardest games I've played in a long while.