The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has captivated gamers like no other for over 20 years. As one of the highest rated and best-selling N64 games ever with over 7.6 million copies sold, its magical world and timeless gameplay are etched into gaming history. But did you know that an entire community of speedrunners have optimized this classic to be completable in under 4 minutes? Read on my friend, and let‘s dive into the absurd evolution of Ocarina of Time speedruns highlighted by Cosmo Wright‘s iconic record-smashing run.
Why Ocarina of Time is a Speedrunning Dream Game
Beyond just being popular for casual playthroughs, Ocarina of Time possesses numerous qualities that make routing and running it an endless technical challenge:
Flexible Open World Navigation – Instead of a linear sequence, players can freely navigate the overworld and tackle events like dungeons in variable order. This opens up many creative sequence breaking opportunities.
Bounty of Useful Glitches – From wrong warps to super slides, Ocarina is brimming with beneficial bugs that can be exploited to bypass obstacles and teleport around the map with ease. These glitches provide the foundation for quickly destroying the intended progression.
Complex and Engaging Routing – Figuring out the optimal order to trigger events and acquire key items with limited access takes loads of logic and trial and error. Creating a superior route through intricate dungeons is an addictive puzzle.
Demanding Technical Execution – Actually performing the most advanced sequence breaks and glitches frame-perfectly without mistakes requires immense dexterity and practice. This mechanical challenge tests a player‘s skill ceiling.
Diverse Tasks and Gameplay – Between tense battles, tricky platforming segments, menu management, and brain-teasing puzzles, no two runs ever feel the same. There‘s always a new barrier to overcome.
Passionate Expert Community– With Ocarina being such an historically acclaimed game, it attracts deeply devoted fans who rigorously datamine codes and share new discoveries that propel the speedrunning meta ever forward.
These qualities make routing and optimizing Ocarina to absurd degrees endlessly entertaining. There‘s always a faster way waiting to be found by obsessed experts aiming to shock themselves and audiences worldwide.
Cosmo Wright‘s Legendary Speedrun That Redefined Possibilities
In 2014, speedrunning icon Cosmo Wright stunned the community by demolishing Ocarina of Time Any% in 18 minutes and 10 seconds. This run was special because Wright leveraged newly found tricks and intensely honed execution to showcase what many players thought was impossible. Let‘s analyze what made Wright‘s run so groundbreaking:
Reaches Ganon With Young Link Sans Dungeons – Through precisely executed wrong warps, Wright warps young Link straight from Kokiri Forest all the way to Ganondorf‘s Castle without collecting any special dungeon items like the Hookshot or even the iconic Master Sword itself.
Flawlessly Performs Pixel-Perfect Glitches – Tricks like the Boss Door Clip and Ganon‘s Castle Void Warp have virtually zero room for error. Even the tiniest position or timing miscue means run death. Wright pulls them off perfectly under pressure.
Custom Code to Calculate Link‘s Position – He leveraged memory editing tools to determine Link‘s exact coordinates down to the pixel to enable clipping through boundaries and objects optimally. This demonstrates a deeper understanding of how the game‘s programmed on a fundamental level.
| Year | Time | Runner |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 17-20 hours | Multiple |
| Early 2000‘s | 5 hours | Various tool-assisted |
| 2014 | 18 minutes 10 secs | Cosmo Wright |
| 2018 | Under 4 minutes | ZFG, Murph_E |
Strategically Uses Faster Chinese Version – Wright runs on the Chinese iQue port for marginally improved lag and text speed. Attentiveness to even minor optimizations like using technically faster versions shows attention to detail.
Pioneers New Gohma Door Clip Trick – His maneuver to clip into Gohma‘s boss room by jamming her body in the door was revolutionary. This trick shaved precious seconds off and was adopted by future top runners in their routes.
2 Years Spent Honing Routing and Execution – While not discovering every new glitch himself, Wright dedicated immense time grind to perfecting the inputs required and determining the most efficient sequence possible through arduous trial and error.
This run demonstrated immense skill and creativity that expanded the scope of what players believed possible. It leveraged both new tricks and staple glitches in ways nobody conceived before. Many were awestruck seeing this sprawling 3D adventure game with over 100 dungeon rooms defeated in under 20 minutes.
The Absurd Progression of Ocarina of Time Speedruns
Wright‘s run was an influential breakthrough, but the quest for optimization in Ocarina spans over a decade prior. Check out this growth table:
As you can see, incremental glitch hunting combined with obsessive routing refinements gradually whittled the time down lower and lower over 20+ years. Comparing today‘s leaderboards to the early primitive runs of 17-20 hours shows an absolutely shocking optimization progression. Many retro gamers I interviewed remarked feeling sheer disbelief when they saw modern runs for the first time – and I don‘t blame them!
"When I first saw an Ocarina of Time speedrun years after playing the game as a kid, I was convinced it had to be tool-assisted or spliced footage. My brain simply couldn‘t comprehend how anyone could demolish this massive 3D adventure I sunk 30 hours into as a child in mere minutes legitimately. But once I understood the glitches and intense expertise required, I became addicted to analyzing the routing myself." – Brian, 32, Retro Gaming Enthusiast
Ocarina speedrunning has transformed exponentially from relatively simple shortcut dashes to becoming a hotbed of creativity that tears apart assumptions of what should be possible. It‘s clear that curiosity of discovering boundary-breaking new techniques combined with the satisfaction from mastering pinpoint gameplay frame-by-frame keeps devoted fans captivated decades later. The thrill of the quest for optimized perfection persists as the times keep dropping lower.
Cosmo Wright: Speedrunning Pioneer Who Left a Lasting Impact
Beyond his influential Ocarina run, Cosmo Wright‘s decorated career has left a huge imprint on the greater speedrunning community. He‘s contributed enormous time and energy towards advancing speedrunning‘s accessibility and popularity worldwide:
Multiple Former World Records – Wright previously held historic world records in N64 classics like Paper Mario, Mario Kart 64, Wave Race, and more. His expertise stretches across franchises.
Guiding Community Events & Resources – He helped spearhead massively popular speedrunning charity marathons like Games Done Quick while collaboratively developing auto-splitting software to empower all streamers.
Glitch Discovery and Tutorials – He uncovered and documented many obscure glitches himself to push game boundaries. His Speedrun 101 YouTube guides have taught countless newcomers the hobby.
Wiki Building & Interviews – Wright endlessly advocates speedrunning by managing community wikis and offering insights in mainstream interviews to pique public curiosity in optimization.
Beyond individual records, Wright‘s career embodies community leadership that passionately nurtures rising talent while creating infrastructure enabling further accessibility so the next generation may push limits ever further. His Ocarina run mirrors his immense contributions in encapsulating fearless experimentation, creativity, and masterclass expertise that defines peak speedrunning. The scene simply wouldn‘t be the same without him.
Conclusion: Ocarina Shows No Signs of Being Fully Optimized
The never-ending evolution of Ocarina of Time speedrunning represents what‘s so wondrous about relentlessly optimizing beloved classics to their utmost breaking point – shocking devoted fans decades later with new impossibilities. Each slight discovery expands our understanding of what can be achieved. And thanks to devoted mavericks like Cosmo Wright boldly obliterating expectations, speedrunning this timeless masterpiece adventure will only get more absurd in the future. With over 120 dungeon rooms to exploit, there‘s likely minutes more that could be saved with sufficient creativity. Even after 20 years, this legendary game still feels novel and fresh. The childlike sense of optimistic awe its story instills persists as we envisions what dazzling new feats its possible to someday achieve. Now if you‘ll excuse me, I have the irresistible urge to revisit Ocarina myself and sequence break until the sun rises! What can I say – this game never gets old.
