The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

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This section will have an overview of the techniques used in every runs of The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past. This includes the any% run segmented, the Single Segment as well as the 100% Single Segment.

Save Warping Locations (segmented)

When you save and quit in Light World, you have the opportunity to restart in 3 different places, as long as you've already visited them. Those are:

1. Link's House
2. The Sanctuary
3. Death Mountain

You can teleport there at any moment during the game with one exception: If you have found Zelda at the beginning of the game but have not dropped her off at the Sanctuary, you'll be teleported to the cell where you found her.

On the other hand, no matter where you save quit in Dark World, you'll be teleported at the top of the pyramid. This can still be useful, of course.

Luck Manipulation

Luck manipulation requires luck 90% of the time. It is used mostly in the segmented run in order to lose the least time possible. The most evident part is when you fight Aghanim, when he throws his balls. One of them is useless and waste time. In a segmented run, you can afford to restart until Aghanim gives you 0 or 1 useless ball, unlike his usual 4-5 uselss balls per fight.

Overall, luck can be manipulated but it's really hard to achieve in real-time. TASers can manipulate it as much as they want though.

Dash Attack: In Depth

How to travel with it efficiently

Using the dash attack is simple. Press A once you have the Pegasus Boots. But there's a way you can save frames from point A to point B, a subtle way that you may think it's longer but it's not.

Since it's really hard to explain, I'll let a video talk for me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CBnIKIMbFQ

As you can see, I used two path to travel in the room. One of them used as much diagonal walking as possible, the other one did not. This is the key.

Diagonal walking is slower than straight walking. And even if it looks like I started the dash attack at the same time, I started earlier in path B. The next second I was ahead of my other self from path A... Not by much, but I really was.

It's also better to stop the dash attack when you're at a straight line from point B. Yet again, it is to prevent from diagonal walking.

Hitting a wall

When hitting a wall during a dash, Link flies 3 tiles backward. This can be used to travel over holes of 2 tiles or less, as long as you have a wall around to dash into.

Edge Cancelling

When you want to jump off an edge, there's a pause before you actually jump off. The edge cancel is a way to cut this second of waiting.

Edge cancel can be pulled off only when you have the Pegasus Boots. It simply consists of pressing A once you are against an edge.

Damage Boost

With bombs

A bomb, when placed at the right distance from Link, can throw him 3 tiles through the air. This can be used to travel over a gap of 2 tiles or less. It is difficult, but with practice it can be done efficiently.

With enemies

When getting hit by an enemy, you are thrown away from them at a greater speed than normal walking, and you are invincible for a second as well as "invisible". Many of these characteristics can be used in order to save time.

One example is in the Eastern Dungeon, where you're supposed to kill every enemy to get the Big Key. You can also get hit by an enemy to approach the protected bottle and remove it from there while invincible. You'll get hit a few more times, but you'll press the button and can get the Big Key without having to hunt around the room for enemies..

Another one is in Ganon's Castle at the part with many teleports. The last one can be skipped by getting hit by an enemy. While invincible, the teleport will not trigger.

Mirror Shield Skip

Most of the equipment in the game is mandatory. The first two items that are obvious to go without are the blue and red mails, which merely provide defense. Sure, without these you die in 3 hits from any enemy in Turtle's Rock or 2 hits from Ganon, but it's still feasible.

The red round shield is also an obvious skip, but the Mirror Shield was, some time ago, a necessity to finish the game because of one room in Turtle's Rock. But it has been discovered that you can skip the Mirror Shield to!

There's a room in Turtle's Rock that you usually need the Mirror Shield to advance against an eye on the wall shooting lasers at you. Going there gets you the last needed key to finish Turtle's Rock. However, the lasers have a really thin hitbox. It hits you only if you're totally in front of them.

To get the key despite the eye in the room, you have to be near the edge (not right in front of the eye) until you can't really go further. There's a wall that makes you have no choice but to face the eye, but the wall is very thin. If your timing is good, you can pass this spot without even get hit by the eye and get the key, but it's really hard.

Once you have the key, wait for the eye to stop shooting, and go pass the spot the eye can hit you and go one pixel above the range of the laser to not get hit while going back from this place of doom. If you did everything correctly, Congratulation! You just skipped the mirror shield!

Getting The Flute Sequence Skip (100%)

In the 100% run, after you get the Flute, you need to go to the digging game which is right nearby, but in the Dark World.

When you catch the flute, you'll trigger the sequence where the animals run away from the flute boy and he disappears. There's a way to skip this sequence, but it's only of use if you're heading back to the Dark World, which is only the case in the 100% run.

When in the Dark World, once you got the Shovel, you have to teleport back in Light World to dig up the flute, but don't make the teleport just anywhere! Teleport yourself exactly where you will catch the flute. Once in the Light World, you have to dig up the flute so it lands on your mirror warp, while you are still flashing (otherwise you will teleport before you catch the flute). If done correctly, the message "You got the flute!" will appear and you'll warp back in Dark World, skipping the flute boy sequence.

In Depth on bosses and some enemies

Coming soon