Manhunter: New York (DOS) speedrun in

Played in DOSBox (config: max cycles, Tandy). Timing begins on restart and ends when Phil appears after the final bomb hits.
"The Orbs invaded New York in 2002..."
I'm back(!) with a speedrun of an early point-and-click(?) adventure game published by Sierra On-Line (--) truly a sci-fi masterpiece(...) of something(.)
First off, standard disclaimer: this game makes for a horrible speedrun. Don't run it!
Second, controls are keyboard only (mostly numpad) though joystick is supported but I wouldn't bother. The game is basically a rudimentary point-and-click with no mouse support. Please note, the controls are garbage. Expect dropped inputs, unexpected input buffering, and canceled input if you accidentally bump any other key.
Third, this game plays as a series of minigames with varying degrees of randomness and BS. One of these minigames requires save scumming to finish (unless you're looking to waste a ridiculous amount of time). This is the only place in the speedrun saving is strictly required -- as a personal rule, I don't save anywhere else. Otherwise, the game lets you retry if you die.
The time for this run is decent given the route. The most notable trouble spots are Hospital Escape (17:35), which consists mostly of reloading until the game lets you pass, and Underground (21:12), which is a horrible mix of garbage controls and random wall bouncing. I would say sub-25 minutes is a realistic time to shoot for, but the time could potentially go much lower by around a full minute.
Route Notes
1:05 - You have to wait through tracking sequences in order to unlock key locations. This includes Prospect Park on Day 1, and Central Park and the Museum on Day 2.
2:11 - Ah, the sewers! This is a maze in which you have to find 12 keycards and get to the exit. Most of what I do here is count steps. It's easy to get lost if I miscount. Surprisingly the game's controls make this part really fast and pretty fun.
7:04 - Wretched Alley. For whatever reason, the game designers didn't give you a way to move forward directly. You gain a little distance when jumping, but quite a bit more when punching. Also, the game will drop inputs for jump and duck, so it's easy to die here. If you tap jump or duck, you can punch immediately to step past a projectile. You don't need to wait for the jumping/ducking animation.
17:35 - Bellevue Hospital Escape. Prepare to save scum. AFAIK the flames(?) spawn randomly but are more likely to spawn directly above you. Some areas are really tight and it's easy to misstep and get knocked off, which doesn't kill you but does send you back to the start.
21:12 - Movement in the orb is really bad. You can't just tap to move a little bit. The controls aren't consistent enough. You can hold the directional key down but that will move you way too fast. The best you can do is tap repeatedly while trying not to tap too much, so you only gain a little bit of speed. Also, bumping the wall nudges you in a random direction. Good luck!
25:00 - Orb movement is the same here, but you have more space to maneuver, so it's not as bad. You only get 4 bombs to destroy 4 targets, so don't miss!
(Editor's note: My sincere apologies to the City of New York. But let's face it, it was ruined by the Orbs to begin with, amirite?)
To be continued...

[@itsponskansfry]

Wow dude this game was my childhood. Way to rock it even in those parts of utter bull.

[@FhargaZ]

7:20 what the hell with the collision detection? 😄

[@greventlv]

Did this game have music? I remember playing this game when it came out and I was completely abacked by how awesome it was. I don't remember if it had music though.