How Nintendo Accidentally Patched the Biggest Speedrun Glitch in Zelda: Twilight Princess

Twitch: / linkus7
Today I break down how Nintendo Unintentionally Patched the biggest glitch in Twilight Princess on the Wii Version, and why no speedruns are done on the Japenese Version of the game.
I hope you enjoy this video, if you would like to see more videos like this, feel free to let me know!
Shoutout to d3lighted for allowing me to use his HD Speedrun Footage of Twilight Princess: / d3lighted

[@Linkus7]

Because I already got a few questions about this, for anyone wondering what is up with my splits in this video when I show footage of Twilight Princess, I do these Marathons every now and then on my Twitch Channel where I sit down and complete 12 Speedruns in Under 24 Hours. This features 6 Zelda Games, 4 Mario Games and 2 Bonus Games. And because it's been quite a while since I did a stand alone Twilight Princess Speedrun, this happened to be my most recent Speedrun of the game. ^^

[@potatobearsmo]

What the heck happened with WWGamecube Any%? I saw that WR was 54 minutes!

[@krime1566]

hey linkus, where can i find this speedrun, i want to watch it

[@mikeydrago-dt8by]

Honestly. Why can't speedrunners just speedrun without cheating? Using glitches is cheating.

[@devmas]

@@mikeydrago-dt8by Many (probably even most) people don't consider glitches in a speedrun to be cheating. But Glitchless speedruns are also incredibly common. I suggest you watch those if you don't like glitches in speedruns.

[@mikeydrago-dt8by]

@@devmas I forgot about the Glitchless speedruns. I just consider not playing a game the right way as wrong. And that is the same for puzzle solving.

[@kipcode]

"But mysteriously not the Wii version", Linkus just casualy denying my whole speedrun career... :'( Also, "When you pull out your sword, ... it will basically performs like a slash." This is false, you can pull out your sword on Wii without performing a slash. However, you got it right on the reason why it doesn't work: "... and because the pull out animation works differently, it takes you out of target". It's the very act of pulling out the sword that breaks the targeting. it's not because we do a slash, contrary to what most people think.

[@Linkus7]

I just went back to listen to the part you were talking about, I definitely could have been more clear. What I meant was more that the camera automatically behaves in a very similar way to if you perform a slash in for example the Gamecube Version, slashing your sword takes you out of target mode in a very similar way to how the camera in TP Wii does by default. Thank you for the heads up and for clarifying that!

[@yoshisaur2693]

Lol, I was gonna mention this too you kip but ig u saw it

[@kota9087]

Im sensing some underlying hate vibes but i have no idea what im talking about on this subject

[@avasam06]

"hard" vs "soft" actually comes from "hardware" (the console) vs "software" (the game or console's OS).

[@Cyberian_Khatru]

Exactly. Also: softlock means progression is impossible because of a software issue e.g. because of the way the game is designed or a certain glitch; hardlock means the hardware is preventing your progression, for instance maybe your particular gpu has issues with some graphics api and your game crashes consistently somewhere in a main story.

[@jellycore1316]

Ohh wow, I never knew that! Thank you both so much~!

[@LagMasterSam]

@@Cyberian_Khatru That's not necessarily true. Softlock means the game appears to be working fine but you can't actually progress. A hardlock (where the game is frozen or really messed up) could be caused by a software issue.

[@hentaidude666]

@@8Kazuja8 What an elegant way to school one of those "well ACTSHULLY" nerds. Props to you man!

[@markmossington3027]

@@Cyberian_Khatru lol

[@marisanya]

"Who wants to watch a Zelda analysis essay by Linkus at 3 in the morning" Oh boy, 3 AM!

[@marisanya]

It's literally 3 AM on the east coast in the US Linkus pls

[@BnanaDuk]

I love my shit sleep schedule

[@SilentVinyl]

Laughs in European timezone

[@Lheticus]

One of the best uses of this meme I've ever seen.

[@82ndhaydini]

Came up in my suggested. Its 3 am here rn too

[@versutus2699]

I love hearing people talk about glitches maybe you can even collab with gymnast

[@avocadothecat]

was thinking the same

[@PWBS-yc6xi]

Yes

[@half9777]

They did a gamesdonequick together

[@drsenseihugo]

@@half9777 They have done that many times.

[@bigyoshii]

They’ve already done it many times

[@hfc2x]

Nintendo didn't actually "patch" the Wii version, because the Wii version is an earlier build. There's many bugs in the Wii version that don't affect speedrunning that were removed in the Gamecube version, like the ability to obtain the dummied-out Green Chu Jelly item. Basically, the targeting glitch was a bug that was accidentally introduced in the Gamecube version, not the other way around. The reason the remaster has more in common with the Gamecube version is because they based it off the more updated version of the game, not simply because it supported a traditional controller.

[@Clara_Page]

Wait! what? mind blown

[@TheBreakingBenny]

Ah! That makes sense, actually. Launch copies for the Wii also included a bug where you can softlock the game through saving and then reloading at that point. Your game gets softlocked because Shad's still in the room, albeit invisible and thus you can't warp the Sky Cannon.

[@nobodybelievesunderscores4122]

This is correct

[@Hibernial]

@@TheBreakingBenny oh snap. Man some lore.

[@TheBreakingBenny]

@@Hibernial …I think it can be fixed if one does speedrun levels of glitching, maybe. Not 100% sure, but it's better than starting all over.

[@GANONdork123]

One correction, the HD version is actually based on the Wii version, though it's controls have been altered to more closely match the gamecube version. The Wii version is actually an earlier build than the Gamecube version. You can check this by looking at both version's build date files, which dates the Wii version as a month earlier than the gamecube version if I remember correctly. Because of this, the Wii version has a couple gltches that were patched in the gamecube version. The most noteable one is the Green Chu Jelly oversight. if you allow the blue and yellow Chus to merge in the Cave of Ordeals, they will create green chu jelly, which displays an empty text box upon scooping in a bottle and has no effect when drank. In the gamecube version, this was patched so that all Chus form purple Chu jelly when they merge with a Chu of a different color. In the HD version, if a yellow and blue Chu mix, they will form a green Chu, just like in the Wii version. Scooping it up in the HD version will have a textbox however that reads "Green Chu Jelly: It doesn't look all that tasty" and drinking it has no effect.

[@Linkus7]

Interesting, I have not heard about this detail before! I will definitely need to do some investigation into this

[@lpfan4491]

What is the source on HD being based on Wii instead of GC? And no, the green chu being enabled does not exactly count, considering they clearly did that one on purpose.

[@drluigi8563]

@@lpfan4491I doubt they would want to bring back a glitch on purpose, the green chu jelly was (most likely) supposed to restore magic because in teaser art we saw link in ToT with a magic meter

[@lpfan4491]

@@drluigi8563 They literally knew it existed and "purposefully kept it in", since they gave it an item description when it originally did not have one. It is not too far of a stretch that they simply restored it in 15 minutes as a joke.

[@drluigi8563]

@@lpfan4491 I mean I guess but there’s still a debate, I’m more on the side of it’s an accident but I see how them adding in text when they literally didn’t need to could favor your argument

[@rebekaho7420]

Definitely interested in more random speedrun knowledge content. It's always fascinating but difficult to find unless you're already know where to look.

[@Linkus7]

So a very interesting update on this video that I did not expect to make, when it comes to the Version the HD release is based on. So for a very long time it has been thought that it was based on the Japanese Gamecube Version, however after newer research, there is reason to believe that is not the full story. There actually exists a Wii Korean version of the game, which is an earlier build than what the Wii Version NA got, and has very similar fixes to the Japanese Gamecube Version. So there is reason to believe Twilight Princess HD might be based on the Korean Wii Version with the GC control scheme restored and then they worked from there modifying everything for HD. This is not 100% confirmed but I found this information very interesting and just had to share it!

[@easilypeasily6891]

Guess who’s gonna he the first reply? Me ;)

[@jakecg9182]

Hearing somebody who knows exactly what is going on, kind of explain the shenanigans of speed runs, glitches, etc. Is soooooo satisfying

[@KoyasuNoBara]

Weirdly, while speedruns themselves are only vaguely interesting to me, I _love_ learning about the glitches and stuff used for them, so I'm definitely interested in more of these!

[@THEpicND]

Hey linkus great video. Just a heads up “without further ado” is generally an introductory statement because it means without delay, and not a conclusive statement. Just thought I should let you know 👍🏻

[@bramble-east]

I would love to hear more glitch and speedrun breakdowns. Elusive Glitches by gymnast86 is one of my favourite series, if you will do something like that, it would be really cool.

[@ElementalPenguins]

I really like speedruns where the runner explains what they're doing, it's what made me into the filthy casual observer of the community that I am. I'm totally on board with more of these.

[@katharinap0116]

Same! ^-^

[@AndresLionheart]

I always find this kind of stuff fascinating. Hearing about the little differences from TP version and how they impact speedrunning was especially interesting. What makes it even more engaging is that you show pertinent clips to what you are explaining. Seeing examples is always appreciated. I'd say you should keep these up. This type of videos is the reason I'm subbed to Karl Jobst.

[@bdk336]

as someone who only casually follows speedrunning this is pretty cool

[@AndrewMartinezSider]

I really enjoyed this video Linkus! You should definitely make another one of this style

[@spike333s3]

~3 major glitches~ 1:03 Back in time(4 steps) -Step 1 +Fall into the void -> Teleport back to the nearest safe ground. +Software reset -> Go to title screen +Both -> Teleport to Bridge of Eldin, with all equipments after Faron's Twilight. -Step 2: Fall into the void under Bridge of Eldin -> 3.Save -> 4.Load -> Teleport to Faron Fountain, with all process after Faron's Twilight. 3:01 Long jump attack(3 steps)= 1.Lock the camera -> 2.Throw Boomerang -> 3.Jump attack -> Jump to A/B/C A= Higher surface ; B= Pass a void ; C= OOB 4:38 Early Master Sword(6 steps)= 1.Face Twilight monsters in North Faron Wood -> 2.Position a good angle for you, an enemy, and the higher surface -> 3.Charge Midna's power to an enemy -> 4.Jump to higher surface -> 5.Jump down to the entry of Sacred Wood -> 6.Complete the rest ~Resistance~ 5:17 No "Long jump attack" for Wii= Motion Control removes the target lock 6:58 No "Map glitch" for Japan= Japan is a later and fixed patch 7:52 Map glitch -Warp -> Teleport to target location -Talk -> Talk -Both -> Talk + Cannot be teleport back ．8:38 Early Snowpeak ．8:44 Skip the maze before Arbiter's Ground 9:22 No BIT and EMS for Wii U ~Final~ 10:11 Non-Japan Gamecube gives the fastest run.

[@fatefulstars8669]

Really enjoyed this video! Very interesting, I'd love to see more of this type of content from you

[@jetstreamjackie3437]

“Back In Time basically lets you go back in time” Thanks, that simple summary explains nothing and I don’t understand the full explanation. Awesome.

[@PuppetMasterIX]

Yeah I have to agree; that explanation was pretty muddled. I'll try to explain it. Back in Time lets you play in the title screen, which uses a dummy file set to the King Bulblin fight; this dummy file gives Link Epona and a usable sword and shield. It's performed at the beginning of the run by clipping through to Ordon Bridge, and then voiding and resetting on the same frame. Voiding out in the title screen map removes the title screen overlay and lets you save. When overwriting your file, the dummy file's properties are applied to it, giving Link a tamed Epona, sword and shield, and spawns Link at the Faron Woods spring (where the game's opening cutscene is set). This lets the player skip a sizable portion of the game's prologue (since you're already in Faron) and acquire Iron Boots early (since you have Epona). [The name "Back in Time" is a misnomer; it's carried over from before the trick was fully understood]

[@violetthunter]

I love these speedrun talk videos! Great video Linkus! This was also a good time to release the video, the day of gymnast's TP run on GDQ :D

[@canicalr]

I really enjoy your voice, the way you explain complex mechanics and glitches in an understandable way and the game's trivia 11/10 would watch another video like this one

[@Yesnomu]

Great video! It's awesome to hear a speedrunning expert break down a game like this.

[@moosecannibal8224]

I love your little dives into glitches/reasons for no glitches/ect. They're informative, so yeah, it's interesting to hear about :)

[@28thbam60]

I think these videos are very interesting. These glitches really educate you about the mechanics of these games. I absolutely loved the one where you explain the tool that broke Sploosh-Kaboom. Also, how about speedrunning Starfox Adventures for GC, I loved this game. ^^

[@renakunisaki]

+1, I also made a pretty cool mod for that game.

[@28thbam60]

@@renakunisaki Cool, what kind and where can I find information about it?

[@BlueTyphoon7]

hearing the in depth reasons as to why glitches work and what makes them viable in a speedrunning sense is one of my favorite things about speedrun culture in general, Please do more Linkus, you're the best!

[@NunyaByz]

Love this type of video. It would be great to see all the glitches and skips explained for Mario Sunshine

[@PWBS-yc6xi]

Hi Linkus7! I love your streams, they are very entertaining! I’m the one guy who likes to know how every glitch in every speedrun I watch works, so these kind of videos are perfect for me! Seriously, I have the most knowledge od video games out of anyone I know.

[@humblebee7477]

Totally would be down for more vids like this! as a wannabe game dev, picking apart game-breaking glitches is super interesting & informative

[@lotus_nc]

Nobody: Linkus: Even Japaness people play on other languagues. Speedrunning be like

[@Niterobin]

Man i loved this game. Still have my working gamecube copy and an HD copy for both this and Wind Waker.

[@matt4193]

5:24 A Howl press is a Howl press, you can't say it's only a half.

[@doshoo556]

5:53 you said "HD version" instead of "wii version" here. Small detail :)

[@Ocarinist_Drew_Gaming]

Yooooo is that my boi D3lighted??? Interesting that the JP version is the slowest version. Kinda reminds me of the Shindou version of SM64.

[@renakunisaki]

Unplugging the controller and plugging it back in with a few buttons held to do a frame-perfect input... Genius!

[@Krankify]

This video really clarified a lot of questions I had about BiT and LGA. Thank you so much

[@shinhatiwolf_]

I definitely know that I’m not going to risk doing the title screen glitch ever again because when I did it the first time on the Wii version, I accidentally saved that file (of course it was my only save file that I pretty much almost completed the whole game on) and lost all my progress. I was so mad after that since I worked super hard to get that far in the game! Anyway, great video.

[@-Rua-]

I live for this kind of content! I'd love it if you made more like this!

[@roachdoggjr45]

YES PLEASE MORE. Your voice is nice and I can't get enough of it. Your explanations are interesting, and you are AWESOME!!!

[@pharoahcaraboo9610]

I’m glad that at least the speedrun community appreciates the GameCube version hah. The mild inconvenience of having to reverse instructions for walkthroughs because nearly all of them back in the day were for the wii version....

[@Knight_Percevel]

Twilight princess is one of my favorite games in general. I might just Speedrun it for fun one of these days seeing the possible shenanigans I can pull off.

[@Berry-mj9mp]

Hi linkus watch your streams are nice I’ve probably watched your race with gymnast86 hundreds of times keep on speedrunning and nice job on the 5:25 in wind waker

[@diribigal]

10:26 sounds like you're saying "but without further ado" here, which doesn't make sense to me in this context.

[@notheretoargue2885]

Hearing Linkus talk about speedrunning at 3am??? HELL YEAH sign me up for that sht

[@Alkaris]

There were 2 ways for map glitch in GC version, the controller unplug like you mentioned, and doing it without having to unplug the controller. Also there was a new trick for getting through Snowpeak early in HD using a carefully timed jump to get over the void area. It's pretty cool that a similar but different kind of map glitch was discovered for bypassing the void out zone, but involves a lot of RNG with the Snow Wolfos being in the correct position. I would like to see a side-by-side comparison for all game text in real-time showing the text speed differences simultaneously, because it's easier to visualize how the text dialog renders.

I do like this format for short videos! Keep up the great work!

[@sagacious03]

Fun video! I like hearing about speedrunning history like this! Thanks for uploading!

[@capgamer1454]

These are my favorite kinds of videos from you, Linkus

[@dartheleven2108]

Early master sword is my favorite Zelda glitch. If speedruners ever find a way to do it on Wii u I would jump for joy.

[@kipcode]

You can actually do Early master sword on Wii

[@dartheleven2108]

@@kipcode *Wii u

[@pulsefel9210]

nice to see nintendo actually putting effort into making people play the game the right way.

[@Rebateman]

Idea: They should make for TP categories GC% and Wii%

[@JBLZFTW]

neither of those are numbers and therefore % isn't applicable zfg would not approve

[@CassiusStelar]

@@JBLZFTW *ahem* Any%, Glitch%, Meme%, Death%, DieInLink'sHouse%, and DieInTutorial% are all categories in various games.

[@MLennholm]

@@CassiusStelar GetLaid% ...

[@CassiusStelar]

@@MLennholm Oh yeah, in BOTW I think... Ya know they made a mod so that restores your hearts like it did in Zelda2?

[@theleftfootedsultan]

JOTWAD%

[@knighty0220]

I love these videos because you can't just find this stuff easily like on Wikipedia or whatever like with most science explanation videos and the likes

[@imreallytomcat]

One thing about Nintendo: They hate glitches in their games, and will do ANYTHING in their power to make sure they never return. Ceave Gaming just uploaded a video about the cat suit and how Nintendo removed the simplicity of the powerup and ruined the feel of it because they wanted to patch out the cat dive momentum glitch.

[@astralm8072]

First of all, you say this like wanting to avoid glitches is a bad thing. The Ceave video is absolutely right about how it makes SMM2 Cat Suit feel unwieldy due to the changed dive mechanic and multiple button mapping. But avoiding glitches is not a bad thing, that feels like an oversimplification. Furthermore, Back in Time was discovered ages ago. Nintendo had not patched it in Skyward Sword which was released well after Back in Time was discovered in WW and TP. They didn't patch it in the TP HD re-release, which came out 5 years after Skyward Sword.

[@dylanwicklund5129]

I clicked the video not paying attention to who made it but the second I heard him speak I was like ohh its linkus lol

[@DudeThaDude]

what was that incredible series of runs that you were performing? were you doing every category you are comfortable with? I love it

[@DudeThaDude]

In the first few minutes at least

[@Linkus7]

Just made a pinned comment clearing it up!

[@TrulyNaN]

TP Wii speedrunning is still a good speed game. Absence of Boomerang LJA does not "ruin" it.

[@Zinkolo]

You can do back in time on the Wii. It's not easy but I've done it plenty of times

[@chloec3206]

I really enjoyed this type of video! Please make more of them! ❤😊

[@ryancostorf5114]

I'd love to see more videos like this, I very much enjoy them

[@jacksonpercy8044]

"Now, a glitch that exists in both Wind Waker, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword" The word "both' only applies if there are 2 things, so it should have been omitted.

[@Electro4890]

LJA is so useful in this game. Even in casual playthroughs

[@condemnedd684]

Its even funnier because of how BIT was discovered on the wii version where you reset after pausing for home screen when you see the tip of links fingers before he gets completely consumed by sand

[@Dameentsia]

Please make more of these! I love the talking videos.

[@tjlaweej]

Its 3 in the morning yet i still stayed awake a little longer cause the title looked interesting

[@THEpicND]

For those of you who have never tried- LJA’s are so easy and intuitive it almost feels like a feature of the game

[@LovevonMelenEkman]

Glitch lore is the best speed running content!!

[@dancinswords]

Clicked for Midna, stayed for Midna. And the speedrun stuff was interesting too

[@ungulatemanalpha]

In case anyone is wondering why the HD version is based on the Gamecube version rather than the Wii version: The Gamecube version preserves the 'canon' of Link being left-handed, while the Wii version flips literally the entire world to allow the game to function better for the majority of right-handed players. With motion controls not a concern, they went with the version that is more faithful to Link's typical handedness.

[@ookjannesplanting1296]

One of my favourite things about Twilight Princess is that all these glitches basically give you an unintentional New Game +

[@zigazav1]

Waiiiitt...your username seems familiar... Are you the speedrunner who discovered and used in the same playthrough the bypass Hyrule barrier glitch thing in Wind Waker? If so, good job! You've revealed a new trick for Speedrunners of Wind Waker!

[@pogospeedruns]

Nice video man this was really interesting

[@absorbedmytripletsis]

me who has never played a game in this franchise getting this on my youtube recommended page

[@4xzx4]

You should really try out The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. You will not regret it.

[@Onyxtinct]

Its a good series, you're def missing out on some great memories

[@krishnane.m7685]

I really wish u would make more of these vids

[@callumjones2888]

Actually you can do the Gamecube glitches on the Wii version except the Long Jump glitch you can't do that on the Wii version but the Back In Time glitch, Early Master Sword glitch, Keep the Wooden Sword glitch, and the infinite arrows glitch are on both the Gamecube and Wii version just not on the HD version

[@b1nary_f1nary]

Yeah these Glitch videos are awesome make more! I subbed because of this vid :)

[@gamerjustin2000]

Going to say that you can do the long jump to the first boss on gamecube not only on the HD version

[@kevinpalmer4137]

I think my favorite tp glitch was fast magnets, which was Wii exclusive

[@GeneralChrisGaming]

I like these types of videos.

[@charlieburnham39]

I love random speedrun knowledge. Super technical or specific stuff is good too but i enjoy both.

[@gabrielsantana6161]

It's funny how TP from wiii it's actually a mirrowed version of the Game Cube, only because of the controls.

[@FalconFetus8]

Please make more videos like this. Thanks!

[@PKMNwww411_MkII]

The Chinese version on the NVIDIA SHIELD is based on the GameCube release. The initial Wii release depicts the Wii Remote with the initial wrist strap upon starting up. Most later Wii releases depict the Wii Remote with the wrist strap that snaps and the Wii Remote jacket upon starting up. Can this glitch be done in the 1.0 Wii version? We probably have to download the ISO of the 1.0 Wii version and Dolphin to find out.

[@PortlandGReview]

Definitely love these types of videos.

[@vivithegr8389]

I really like these kinds of videos!

[@sadieedits6445]

id love to see you try and do a twilight princess wii speed run now lol

[@caelan5301]

I would love more videos like this, you have a really nice accent

[@stuffums]

I wish the skip was somewhere less interesting in the game because the beginning of TP is very comfy so its sad to be skipped

[@plamaoverstrike]

I love every game from the Legend of Zelda and you manage to explain the easy way how glitches works, you should continue this is very nice I'm a big fan since you beated world record on Wind Waker and I watched all your randomized speedrun on this game and OOT, do you plan to make more of them ?

[@PWBS-yc6xi]

You even love the Zelda CDI games?

[@plamaoverstrike]

@@PWBS-yc6xi This is part of the Zelda serie isn't it ? Plus people can't stop talking about this one and we have tons of references of that game

[@PWBS-yc6xi]

In my opinion, twilight princess is overrated, and so is breath of the wild

[@PWBS-yc6xi]

The best Zelda games in my opinion are link to the past and wind waker

[@plamaoverstrike]

@@PWBS-yc6xi there is no over or underated game, you may not like if the community love or hate a game while you have a different opinion of it, but games are appreciated as they are by people, they don't deserve more nor less

[@Hibernial]

I played TP on wii. I actually liked it, and the motion controls didn’t really bother me. I almost liked the control scheme a fair bit...except for those stupid batteries. Energizer Bunny. More like Lethargic Bunny.

[@redphienix]

This is my jam and more speedrun miscellaneous information is interesting :)

[@robertmcdonald1369]

If you shake the nunchuck lightly it takes the sword out without slashing

[@commonfreak9093]

this explains why i never got the long jump in my wii version

[@Q269]

I do really like these dives

[@Lolord322]

Great video. Love these topics

[@andreworders7305]

0:25 and also being less patched for the pre-software update games

[@Formalec]

Speedruns can be done on slower versions but those aren't top tier competitive in an generic any% category.

[@kingcrimson4133]

"Without further ado" basically means "That's enough dillydallying from me, let's get to what's important"

[@Dave-og2ui]

Well yeah, thats literally what it means

[@noahslvr]

Love this type of content!

[@Heliotay]

Would be realy fun If you would Do more videos like these (i realy liked this one)

[@emerald_s9023]

I honestly prefer the original wii version of twilight princess over the hd version Could just be cause I’ve never played the hd version But I like the older look compared to the color of the hd version