The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time glitch found nearly 30 years later

A new glitch has been discovered in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, potentially affecting speedruns nearly 30 years after the game’s 1998 release.

The exploit allows players to defeat certain bosses without items normally required for the fights. Its known uses include defeating Volvagia without the Megaton Hammer and Ganondorf without Light Arrows.

How the exploit works

The glitch is triggered by using a bottled item as a hitbox disappears, allowing damage values to be overwritten. Speedrunner ZFG said that loading and unloading memory data means some situations require specific setups and earlier actions.

Combining Magic Spin Attack with a bottled fairy appears relatively consistent. The glitch also works in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, where Magic Spin Attack followed by spring water generally produces “powder keg damage,” potentially providing faster access to Goron Racetrack and Romani Ranch.

Speedrun categories affected

ZFG expects the discovery to affect several categories, but not all of them. All Dungeons currently skips the Slingshot and magic, while one of those is needed for the glitch; runners are testing a route that obtains the Slingshot and may defeat Volvagia faster.

No Wrong Warp appears to have the most immediate benefit. ZFG said the glitch could replace the lengthy magic collection with only the Slingshot, potentially saving several minutes. Randomizer runs may benefit most overall because Volvagia can be defeated without the Megaton Hammer.

The exploit is not guaranteed to save time in every run because of its additional conditions, ZFG said. It can be tested in the Nintendo Switch Online version and on the original cartridge release.