As the highly anticipated release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom draws near, speedrunners are already gearing up for their next epic adventures.
With six long years since the release of Breath of the Wild, a dedicated group of speedrunners has managed to achieve an astonishing playtime of only 23 minutes and 50 seconds. Player 5, one of the renowned speedrunners, not only holds the current Any% world record for Breath of the Wild but also completed the game a remarkable 50 times in just one day.
The speedrunner community surrounding Zelda games is known for its unparalleled dedication. Having conquered Breath of the Wild, many speedrunners are now eagerly looking forward to Tears of the Kingdom as their next challenge to break games and set new completion records.
In an interview with IGN, Player 5 expressed their hopes and fears for Tears of the Kingdom. After years of pushing the limits of Breath of the Wild, fans are excited to embark on a fresh adventure. Player 5 stated, “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. 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.”
Fortunately, Tears of the Kingdom seems poised to fulfill these wishes with its impressive sandbox environment and mechanics. The gameplay trailer in March showcased new features such as Fuse, Ascend, Recall, and Ultrahand abilities, providing speedrunners with ample opportunities to dive deep into the game and discover innovative strategies.
Player 5 further commented on the potential of these new mechanics, stating, “Fuse could make the weapon routing for fighting the bosses in Tears of the Kingdom pretty cool, pretty unique. I think Ascend could be pretty interesting. It’ll be interesting to see if we can break that.” Weapon routing plays a vital role in speedrunning, allowing players to defeat bosses quickly, and it appears that Fuse may have been designed precisely for this purpose.
While some players thrive on the adrenaline rush of speedrunning, others, like Tallest Thomas, approach the game differently. Tallest Thomas shared with IGN their plan to enjoy a casual playthrough before diving into any game-breaking techniques. This sentiment highlights that savoring the storyline of Tears of the Kingdom is important to all fans, not just those who excel at speedrunning.
While speedrunning might not be for everyone, the dedication and skill of these players are truly remarkable. As Tears of the Kingdom releases, it will be thrilling to see how the speedrunning community tackles this new Zelda adventure and pushes the boundaries of what is possible in record-breaking time.
