Speedrunning, which involves working to complete a game in record time, is an art form that thrives inThe Legend of Zelda series. The world records are in some cases shockingly quick, including Breath of the Wild, which can be completed in less than 25 minutes, or The Ocarina of Time, which can be completed in less than five.
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Such feats wouldn’t be possible without the ongoing discovery of glitches and game exploits that help cut corners — or sometimes even entire dungeons. Speedrunners work hard to find them, and when they are announced to the public, it can have a massive ripple effect. The Legend of Zelda series has decades of speed-running history with many epic tricks that anyone who gets into the speedrunning community should learn about.
8Early Master Sword
Used In Twilight Princess
InTwilight Princess, it is possible to obtainthe Master Swordlong before you are supposed to. In fact, speed runners paraxade and sexyzora19 discovered that all you need is your first full mission as a wolf in the FaronTwilight realmto do it.
While in battle with some evil messengers, approach a very specific wall with an out-of-bounds ledge. Lure one of the messengers there and use a jump attack to leap out of bounds and run towards the Sacred Grove, where the Master Sword waits. This is a pivotal trick for a Twilight Princess speedrun, as it gives Link the ability to switch between wolf and human forms much earlier and the Master Sword deals extra damage.
7Moon Warp
Used In Majora’s Mask
Creating the Moon Warp glitch was a community effort discovered 19 years afterMajora’s Maskoriginally launched. It works in tandem with another glitch called Stale Reference Manipulation (SRM), which pushes an item with warp capability out of its coding position and into another one.
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For example, Majora’s Mask uses owl statues as warp totems. SRM allows you to use another item to confuse the game into thinking the owl statue is located somewhere else. Moon Warp does this using a pot and a guard who, instead of throwing you out of the Deku Palace, will throw you right up onto the moon and into the final battle of the game.
6Superswim
Used In The Wind Waker
Why should Link ride in a boat when he can just swim backwards really fast? This The Wind Waker strategy is as difficult as it is rewarding. The goal, once Link is in the water, is to keep him swimming back and forth in a line as many times as possible.
This builds up his swimming speed — while he is swimming backwards. To build up as much speed as possible, though, you will need to manipulate Link quickly. There are many techniques used to rotate Link faster, but all of them are complicated and require manual labor.
5Bullet Time Bounce
Used In Breath Of The Wild
One of the biggest challenges forBreath of the Wildspeedrunners is how to navigate the game’s open-world map as quickly as possible. Bullet Time Bounce is an incredibly effective solution. It begins with ‘ragdolling,’ which occurs when an enemy is hit hard enough that their entire body collapses.
With an easy enemy like the Red Bokoblin, using a shield jump is all it takes. While you are shield jumping, you also need to have your bow out and aimed as if you were about to shoot. This activates a slow-motion game mechanic — orbullet time— which, when paired with the jump and releasing the bow at the right time, can send Link flying.
4Reverse BiT Magic
Used In Skyward Sword
Speedrunner gymnast86 discovered thisSkyward Swordglitch by using the power of another glitch called Back in Time, which essentially loads an alternate version of the game usually inaccessible. The reverse part of this puts the state of the alternate version onto the normal version of the game.
This allows you to access parts of the game way ahead of time. It can also unlock doors and other barriers that could take a longer time to get past in a normal playthrough. In a game as difficult to reroute as Skyward Sword, Revere BiT Magic is crucial.
3Barrier Skip
Partway through The Wind Waker, Link visits Hyrule Castle and discovers a magic barrier blocking it from the outside world. Just beyond the barrieris Ganon’s Towerand the end of the game. Finding a way to skip the barrier is extremely rewarding.
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The trick is done in two parts. First, you need to break through the barrier’s pushback effect by activating an item like the Wind Waker with frame-perfect timing. Then, you need to projectile Link through the rest of the way using another trick called the Item Slide, where you activate first person mode with an item and literally shoot him like a slingshot.
2Wrong Warp
Used In Ocarina Of Time
The Wrong Warp discovery was a monumental game changer for the speed runners ofOcarina of Time. There is a coded-in grid that the game uses to dictate what maps or cutscenes load in transitions from one place to another, and speedrunners learned now to manipulate it.
To keep it simple, there are blue warp circles at the end of every boss battle. If Link triggers a warp circle, but manages to cancel the warp, then the next time Link transitions between scenes or locations, the game will glitch out and load the wrong location. Wrong Warp is so powerful that it can bring you to very close to the end of the game in Ganon’s crumbling tower. The rest of the speed run is mostly setup for this trick.
1Back In Time
Used In Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, And The Wind Waker
You can use the Back in Time (BiT) glitch in not one, but three different Zelda games: Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, and The Wind Waker, making it the most versatile of all glitches. To set it up, Link needs to die. In the game over screen, you then select continue and manually reset the game within a half-second.
When the game opens back up, it should show the title screen — and load in a version of Link that you’re able to control. This gives you access to the title screen version of the game, which can open up doors and load hard-to-get items into your inventory and cut down on backtracking. No wonder manipulating this glitch is called BiT Magic.
