Yes I guess the devs feared their game would be too easy and so they add a timer which is quite painful. But the second stage with the path following bugs is easier. I saw that you can finish the game in 17 minutes but it seems almost impossible unless you are a huge fan of the game. The original Amiga version has first person elements in an RPG environment that can be finished in 1 hour which is completely different from this genesis version.

THIS GAME IS BRUTAL! even getting past the first screen is a challange