With only a few days to go until The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases, some speedrunners have started to plot their next adventures.
It’s been six long years since Nintendo released Breath of the Wild, and so far, a few dedicated speedrunners have managed to whittle down the playtime to only 23 minutes and 50 seconds. One such fan goes by the name of Player 5 and not only is the current Any% world record holder for Breath of the Wild (meaning completion to any percentage) but also managed to beat the game 50 times in just one day!
The speedrunner community surrounding Zelda games is almost unlike any other, with some of the most dedicated fans there are. With Breath of the Wild almost entirely conquered, many are now looking towards Tears of the Kingdom as the next adventure in breaking games and completing missions in record time.
Same aim, new game
In an interview with IGN, Player 5 discussed his hopes and fears for Tears of the Kingdom. After six years of breaking and replaying the same title over and over again, fans are looking forward to doing it all over again with something completely fresh.
"I'm hoping that none of [Breath of the Wild's speedrunning techniques] get carried over so that we have kind of a brand new set of techniques to use," Player 5 said. "Because I can just play Breath of the Wild if I want to use those glitches… Getting to figure stuff out at the early stages of the game should be fun before there's an established route."
Luckily, these wishes are set to come true with Tears of the Kingdom's impressive sandbox and mechanics looking to outshine its predecessor. With new features like Fuse, Ascend, Recall, and Ultrahand abilities shown in the gameplay trailer in March, there seems to be plenty for speedrunners to sink their teeth into.
“Fuse could make the weapon routing for fighting the bosses in Tears of the Kingdom pretty cool, pretty unique," Player 5 said. "I think Ascend could be pretty interesting. It'll be interesting to see if we can break that”. Weapon routing is essential to speedrunning a title, allowing players to beat bosses quickly. At a glance, it seems like Fuse could be made just for this feature.
Not for mere mortals
As someone who takes at least an hour customizing my character, the idea of speedrunning through any title fills me with dread as my brain doesn’t work that quickly. If I’m spending big bucks on a AAA game like Tears of the Kingdom, I want to enjoy every moment of it and get my money’s worth.
Some speedrunners even think the same way; Tallest Thomas talked with IGN and discussed how he plans to start a casual playthrough before any game-breaking begins. It seems like savoring the storyline of this widely anticipated Nintendo Switch title is essential to every fan and not just mere mortals like myself.
