The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has become a legendary game over the past six years, in part due to its dedicated and impressive speedrunning scene – in a game designed so that you can finish it incredibly quickly, countless individuals has worked tirelessly to beat the game in a matter of minutes. So IGN’s Logan Plant (our erstwhile contributor!) spoke with BotW Any% record holder Player 5 and fellow speedrunner Tallest Thomas about their craft and what they hope Tears of the Kingdom will bring to the table.
Both Player 5 and Tallest Thomas are excited to return to a “wild west” state of speedrunning, before all the tricks and strategies for running the game are discovered, standardized, and optimized. They both hope that Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t have any of BotW’s old glitches or exploits (like “Bow Lift Smuggling Slide” or BLSS, a complicated maneuver that allows Link to slide across the map at incredible speeds) so they can experiment with a fresh slate of ideas.
When it comes to known new mechanics that might change the shape of the speedrunning game, Fuse and Ascend are cited as particularly notable – Fuse for offering options for “Weapon Routing” (picking up powerful weapons on the way to the end), Ascend for possible out-of-bounds trickery. But both players plan to start with casual playthroughs to enjoy the game before seeking to bend or break it open.
Be sure to read the full interview for more details. Tears of the Kingdom releases this Friday, May 12th.
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Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
