Zelda: Breath of the Wild has remained one of the Switch's most popular games despite being released right at the start of the console's life back in 2017. Since its release, fans have spent countless hours trying to unearth all of its secrets and master the strategies that will allow them to speed-run it in new and interesting ways.
To that end, one of the most sought-after secrets has been the ability to access certain items early or retain items in a 'New Game+' situation – such as the Bow of Light, which is only available during the final boss battle. With an attack power of 100, infinite ammo and infinite durability, it's one of the best weapons in the game – but once you defeat Dark Beast Ganon, the game ends and you lose access to it – until now, that is.
Amazingly, this is now possible thanks to the discovery of the "Memory Storage" glitch. This particular glitch was found by YouTuber LegendofLinkk very recently and requires the player to 'trick' the game into carrying data across save files.
It's also quite a complicated glitch to activate, but the hard work is arguably worth it, as it means you can start a New Game+ with items and gear you wouldn't normally have access to from the beginning of the adventure, such as the Master Sword or the glider. Because you can get these items from the very start, this glitch will have massive ramifications on the way people speedrun Breath of the Wild, as glitches are considered to be fair game.
Gaming Reinvented has put together a tutorial video which explains the whole process, and if you visit the site you'll find a step-by-step guide on how to pull this off. It's not easy, so consider yourself warned – and there's always the chance that Nintendo will find some way to patch it out with an update. If you've managed to pull it off nonetheless, let us know with a comment.
[source gamingreinvented.com]
Comments 32
I mean... it's funny cause despite being a glitch it also kinda works like an old style unlock challange.
Want to play an OP godmode? Beat the game in a full sit without saving or dying! Ack..this is not even an old style challange, this is actually a schoolground's rumour made true XD
Would the speedrun on NG+ not have to take account of the time spent on the first playthrough or would it be it’s own thing (a Game speed record and a separate NG+ speed record)?
Gonna have to try this sometime. Neat!
The hardest part for me is going to be listening to this guy's voice for the entire video.
@BakaKnight "Want to play an OP godmode? Beat the game in a full sit without saving or dying!"
As the Bragging Rights Reward trope page's epigraph aptly puts it, "all I'll have ever proven to anyone is that I clearly don't need the thing".
Wow, that’s long-winded...
Also, I don’t like the line at the end “fixing 2 of the game’s biggest problems.” I would hardly call not starting with the glider or a virtually Game-breaking weapon to be problems with the game. Speed-running-community dreams yes. Problems with the game no.
Those legendary items should be a part of link.
Same as the Ocarina of Time fluit. Magical item.
Master Sword, and all the sheikah slates moves, majoras mask etc. Man man man if they can do all that in one game i would cry. Transforming into Fierce Deity Link and smash ganons head lol.
Continually impressed folks find these things! So many obscure steps
The glitch that I've been toying around with is the double-bomb trick.
Drop a square and spherical bomb back to back, then detonate them while you're in bullet-time mode. The blast catapults you like a ragdoll, and hilarity ensues.
@Kid_Sickarus As far as I'm aware the golden rule in any% speedrunning is that you have to start from a clean, vanilla-state game.
Any modifications you have to do to get to your speedrun, have to be accounted for in your time
EDIT: this probably means this will start it's own category. Nothing is impossible
Geez how do people figure stuff out like this‽
A bit complex for me, but a testament to the enduring quality of this game (and other perennial classics) that people play for so long and find all these glitches.
@redpanda0310 Possibly by analysing the game’s code that has been dumped. They could see a possibility from the code, then it’s just a case of figuring out how to realise the possibility in-game.
Too complicated for me , thanks but i ll pass, even your accent makes it difficult to understand !
@Fre4ked It could also potentially be a used glitch I'm 100 percent speedruns though since it's a useful item to have. Or all lynel speedrun which is a less known but still fun category.
Now the question is: is it faster to speed run the game normally or to execute this glitch. The funny thing is, the simple fact that you do have the paraglider doesn’t get you off the great plateau. You have to complete all shrines and then the fog is lifted. So this really doesn’t change Zelda speed running a whole lot.
This is what only makes botw link special. He has power to glitch and get anything he wants.
"It's also quite a complicated glitch to activate, but the hard work is arguably worth it..."
Until Nintendo releases a patch.
Hmm, I wonder if this would open another speedrun category, though it seems way too tedious to pull off just to skip the Great Plateau.
@TheLightSpirit I actually recently replayed it. Just turn your controller upside down and turn it to jump the ball at the right time.
@Kid_Sickarus exactly. That was what I was thinking. It appears you are using/have previous save files on the "new game" after doing the glitch. It seems like it's not actually starting a new game/file, but continuing the old game/file, but starting you off at the beginning of the game for whatever reason.
@The-Chosen-one "the Ocarina of Time fluit".... You mean...the Ocarina? The musical item featured in Ocarina of Time? Out of everything on this page, this is what stood out the most to me
I am not a believer in speed runs as a thing but to each their own. Having said that this was painful to listen to, a bit convoluted and seems to actually not be a glitch but a remnant of beta testing that was not buttoned up totally. Additionally how is this a valid speed run when you are actually using the same file(per the system) to "start over"?
I am all for the odd bugs and dynamics that come from multiple developers making code but this feel forced.
@Mountain_Man play it offline & don't update...
@HobbitGamer not the "fluit"? (Flute...)
this is way too to complicated to perform, i prefer the normal way of playing Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild.
@rjc-32 Probably, but still... geez...
I'm conflicted, part of me wants to start Master Mode over with a Bow of Light and do a full playthrough with that. It would make it soooo much easier, but I've always wanted to keep the Bow of Light in the post game and it's a shame that you can't. But I also never finished my Master Mode save, I haven't played in awhile, but it'd still be a bit sad to lose my save that I've probably put a solid 30 hours or so into. Shame you can't carry the item over into an established save.
Im going to need to try that. I've been meaning to kill ganon again after getting all the memeories
@gaga64 I think the meaning was that for players starting a new game, there's so long before the world opens up, especially only getting early-game gear.
@Mountain_Man no more patches, Breath of the Wild hasn't been patched since before DLC releases.
@CheekyZelda @Fre4ked the way that BotW mods are currently pushing the possible inclusion of this is as a separate category NG+ Any%. Then, the time would start from after the glitch is completed.
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