Fandom-Enraging Misconception: Often misspelled "Load Runner" (possibly after the computer commands to Load the game, then Run it); the game is actually named after the (mother)lode of gold.
Lode Runner: The Legend Returns comes with some rather humorous cutscenes that play in between world transitions.
In the Fungus Delvings cutscene, the titular character Jake Peril is seen picking up a bomb and bowling it down the ground like a bowling ball towards a group of clueless monks.
The Lost City of Ur cutscene has Jake evade a monk's chase by hiding in a very obvious hidey hole that you can see him squeezed into, but it ends up actually working and confuses the poor monk. Before they can even figure out where Jake ran off to, a second monk comes in, to which Jake sticks out his foot to make him trip comically onto his face. Jake uses the confusion of the moment to make his getaway.
During the Crystal Hoard cutscene, Jake manages to stop a monk hoard's pursuit by lobbing a bucket of goo on the floor. The goo is so slippery that the Monks can only comically run in place and trip on top of one another while Jake pulls out a folding chair and watches the hilarity before him.
In the Winter's Dungeon cutscene, Jake manages to trap 4 monks in a row by laying down snare traps, which swiftly lift them off their feet and are left to dangle. Jake then pulls back one of the trapped monks and lets them collide off of one another like a large Newton's Cradle toy.
During the cutscene that plays for Skeleton's Keep, Jake is seemingly surrounded on both sides by mad monks. How does he get out of this predicament? By throwing up some construction barricades that the monks actually stop in front of. Jake then uses their moment of stupidity to pull out a jackhammer and dig a downwards escape route for himself.
Probably one of the funniest cutscenes in the entire game is the one for Inferno's Playground, where Jake blasts three monks point blank with a canister of befuddlement gas. The first Monk coughs up the gas and seems as though he's lost his memory as he casually walks up to Jake and shakes his hand while his eyes wander around the cavern. The second monk is sitting down motionless in a meditative pose; Jake nonchalantly knocks him over to get him out of the way. The third monk is in a drunken-like stupor as he wobbles back and forth in place. As Jake makes his escape the monk holds up his hand for a high-five, to which Jake hilariously responds in kind.
During the Shimmering Caverns cutscene, Jake is seen using a pickaxe to bore some rock from a ceiling, unaware that a monk is approaching him from behind. When the monk gets close enough Jake's pickaxe unknowingly catches on the robe of the monk, which swiftly gets ripped off of the baddie's body. When the monk realizes he's naked he covers his lower half with his hands as he embarrassingly walks off screen.
The re-release Mad Monk's Revenge also has some funny cutscenes as well.
While evading monk pursuit in the Astral World cutscene, Jake manages to get away from the two monks who were chasing him while the phaze blocks are vanishing before their very eyes. The first monk just stares down at Jake, who gives him a casual wave (the monk humorously waves back at him). Meanwhile the other monk behind him tries to get the first monk's attention that the phaze blocks behind them are vanishing, to which the first monk gives a double take before becoming aware of the danger they're in. Once both monks realize they only have one tile of footing left they hold each other closely before they take a looney tunes-esque plunge into the pit below.
In the Reef World cutscene, Jake wanders past a pool of water with a "no swimming" sign planted next to it. He decides to test that out by pulling out the sign and holding it over the pool of water, to which a school of ravenous piranhas shoot out to completely consume the sign. Jake shrugs it off then continues on his journey. After he leaves the screen, two monks stop by the pool of water to go swimming, unaware of the missing danger sign. The first monk takes off their robe to reveal the swimsuit underneath and proceeds to cannon ball into to the water. It goes exactly how you'd expect. The other monk tumbles into the same pool after messing with a beach umbrella they brought with.
There's a new ending cutscene where Jake manages to infiltrate the main base of the Mad Monks. After disguising himself in one of their spare robes, Jake manages to end their entire operation... by pulling out a plug that literally cuts the power to the entire facility.
In Lode Runner 3-D, if you happen to die from being too close to a bomb explosion, you're treated to an image of the player character's Smoldering Shoes while the level reloads from the beginning.
In general across all games, it's pretty scary to see your character get swallowed up by the ground they dug up should they get stuck in a puzzle.
In Lode Runner 3-D whenever you lose a life you're treated to a still image of how you died while the level restarts and reloads. Two in particular are actually quite disturbing.
If you get killed by a monk you're given an image of a very beaten and battered Jake being dragged away by the lunatic baddies.
Once you unlock the Furnace of Despair world, you're given a new hazard to work with: Fire. Stepping on any metal platform that's actively being superheated by a capped well is instant death, and then you're treated to a very pleasant image of Jake being charred and consumed in flames.
Sequel Difficulty Spike: Championship Lode Runner, which is essentially a Mission-Pack Sequel to the first game but packed with the most brutal levels possible. Hard enough that a certificate was offered to anyone that could prove they actually managed to beat it.
