Within the gaming community, there are those who dedicate hundreds of hours to finding the fastest routes, and the most exploits, in order to finish a title as quickly as possible. While on its own, it can be something of a personal achievement, or the opportunity to beat world records and receive kudos, speedrunning has taken off and become a charitable endeavor, with organizations raising millions for worthy causes. There are many tactics to speedrunning a game, but more often than not, it means having the full release of the game to begin with. However, one Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time fan decided to see whether they could complete the game using just the demo.
In a video uploaded to YouTube a few days ago, user Savestate managed to finish the entirety of Ocarina of Time in a record-breaking 3:41. The most impressive thing about this feat is they managed to do it without using the full release. Instead, they took the five-minute demo and decided that this would be an ideal opportunity to see if they could get to the closing credits before the timed demonstration ended. Savestate's attempt was an "any%" run, which means finishing the game as fast as possible without needing to complete all objectives. Essentially, this type of speedrun permits the player to use exploits and skips to bypass large segments of the game.
For those who aren't aware, the Ocarina of Time demo was bundled with Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Nintendo Wii. Other timed demos, such as Super Mario Bros. 1 and 2, Metroid, Earthbound, and even Pac-Man, were included in the game. The fact that Savestate was able to finish the entirety of OOT in under the limited time frame shows an incredible amount of skill, and knowledge of the N64 title.
While it's mightily impressive, it's actually not the first time someone has attempted this. Back in August, another user managed to beat the Ocarina of Time demo within the limit as well. While this other person managed to finish it just shy of five minutes, literally nine seconds before time was up, it doesn't come as close as this new attempt, which the video's title marks as a new world record.
With the classic Legend of Zelda game now available on Switch, along with a bunch of other Nintendo 64 games, the 23-year-old adventure title is coming back into vogue, making it readily available for newcomers and older fans looking for that nostalgia kick. Maybe others will attempt new world records, but it will take a lot to outdo Savestate's mega quick performance.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is available on Nintendo 64 and 3DS, as well as the Nintendo Switch.