Thanks all. I've been trying my best to just lightly tap the jump button, with mixed results. Practice will probably help. It seems like I'm more likely to make the jump if I don't get a running start, which seems sort of counter-intuitive.

I'm playing on original hardware. I used to just sit around and wait to fall asleep to make the jump easier, but if I could just make the jump and back easily while still awake I would probably save 60-90 seconds.

I'm new to running Nightmare on Elm Street (though I've been casually playing this game now off and on for about 23 years).

A lot of places in the game I understand that I can optimize with better jumps, punches, etc. But I'm having trouble finding out the best way to tackle the pixel perfect jumps in the first room of the high school. I try and get a running start and I think I'm tapping the jump button at the last second, but it's really hit or miss whether I make the jump or fall into the pit. Are there any tricks to help make these difficult jumps easier?