I played as a kid at the library. I kept a notebook full of clues/attempts to solve puzzles. I also had another friend that was really into the game. Somehow together we progressed pretty far over months of play. I don’t believe we solved every puzzle or even finished every age, but I remember we happened upon the end of the game by accident. If I recall, just flipping the switches in a certain combination on the main island without even visiting the other ages or collecting pages for the brothers gives you a white page that you can use to end the game. In some ways it is like a slap in the face to the player because the game is so hard, but the ending is right under your nose. As far as speed runs go, you can finish the game in minutes.