What is the difference between NTSC and PAL?

PAL or European versions of older video games run at 50 fps while the American and Japenese releases, also called NTSC, run at 60 fps. this means that the pal versions run slightly slower. While FFPG and other time saves not present in NTSC are possible in PAL the speed of the game still makes it slower in the end. There is a good comparison of the NTSC Tas vs. the PAL Tas linked here.