Speedrunners find early ways to bypass restrictions in the Ocarina of Time remake

• Players find ways to launch Link into the air and bypass parts of the game in the remake
• A roll canceled with an attack or jump can be faster than sprinting
• The first Any% run mentioned took just under four and a half hours

The first glitches are already changing the usual route

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for Nintendo Switch 2 launched on November 5, and within hours, players had begun testing how its game mechanics work. For the speedrunning community, this is a special case: the classic Ocarina of Time has accumulated unusual routes and techniques for nearly three decades, and the new version offers a chance to explore a familiar adventure all over again. The first discoveries came quickly, but this is still only the beginning of the investigation.

One of the most notable discoveries involves Link's physics: when used in a certain way, it launches him sharply upward. Speedrunner ZFG demonstrated the effect, and other players were able to reproduce it in the same spot; similar instances were also spotted in other areas when the character was positioned just right. A high launch doesn't guarantee that you can bypass an obstacle, but a well-timed landing could make it possible to skip part of the usual route.

For another version of this jump, players simply need to stand on a chest and perform a few quick movements; a well-placed bomb is also mentioned as one possible method. This matters not as a flashy effect in its own right, but as a potential tool for getting through sections that would normally require a longer route. How widely the technique can be used, and exactly which obstacles it can bypass, remains to be seen: the published examples date from the first few days after release.

High Jumps and Faster Movement

The developers gave Link a sprint to make getting around the world faster, but speedrunning still depends on choosing the right technique. Players are comparing running with rolls, jumps, and backwalking—familiar movement methods that have long been examined for time-saving potential in Ocarina of Time. Early experiments with the remake show that the addition of a sprint hasn’t stopped players from searching for more efficient combinations.

For now, one promising option is built around a roll: the player jumps forward while keeping a target locked, then transitions into a roll. According to an early test description, this sequence looks slightly faster than a regular sprint. The word “slightly” matters here: the results have not yet become a definitive comparison across all routes, and the article does not provide precise final measurements. The community is only beginning to figure out where this technique actually saves time.

There’s also a simpler way to speed up a roll: interrupt it with a quick attack. This option doesn’t require the same sequence of jumping while locked onto a target and, judging by the demonstration, is easier to learn. It’s important to note that these are early techniques, not a universally accepted single best way to beat the game. Different combinations may be useful in different situations, and further testing will show how consistently they can be used over longer runs.

How discoveries change progression

The tricks players have found can affect not only movement speed, but also the order in which they progress through the game. Players are already exploring ways to skip parts of the game by using unusual interactions with items and level geometry. For example, players have reported being able to reach a high surface by switching items during a Deku Stick jump attack. This discovery could potentially be useful in other places too, but its applicability beyond the demonstrated case has yet to be confirmed.

Another category of discoveries involves the differences between Young Link and Adult Link. In a normal playthrough, some tasks are intended for only one of these versions of the hero. However, when progressing through the game in unintended ways, the game does not always correctly recognize, according to community members, which version is supposed to perform the action. A large jump made it possible to open a chest containing the Silver Gauntlets as Adult Link, even though this item is normally obtained as a child. This is an example of sequence breaking, not an intended route.

The effects of this sequence-breaking glitch are also visible in cutscenes: after opening the chest, the game starts a scene intended for young Link, but the adult version of the hero appears instead. The resulting mismatch looks unusual and shows how story events are tied to the character’s state. The reverse scenario, however, has yet to be confirmed: ZFG noted that players have not found a way to enter an adult scene as a child. It is important to distinguish here between what has already been demonstrated and what is merely assumed.

Records Are Only a Starting Point

The early times give an idea of the scale of the challenge, but they do not yet define the limits of what speedrunners can achieve. For an ordinary player, completing the remake may take around 20 hours, according to a preliminary estimate. Content creator MrGymnast86 has already completed an Any% run in under four and a half hours. This category focuses on completing the game with minimal restrictions, but the time should still be viewed as a starting benchmark: the article’s authors expect new methods could bring it down further.

Practical takeaway for players: familiar areas are now worth checking not only for direct shortcuts, but also for interactions between movement, items, and Link’s state. Tosses, canceling a roll with an attack, and switching items mid-jump point to different avenues for exploration. However, the initial demonstrations don’t provide exhaustive conditions for each technique or confirm that they’re all equally reliable. So reproducing a trick in one location doesn’t yet prove it works universally.

The main uncertainty right now is how quickly early discoveries will turn into reliable routes and records. The remake has been available on Switch 2 since November 5, and several notable demonstrations had already appeared by November 7; nevertheless, exploration has only just begun. New ways to skip sections will likely be tested over the coming weeks, months, and years, but their number and impact are not yet known. For now, we can talk about the potential of the physics and event-order glitches, rather than a definitive optimal strategy.

Source: IGN