The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is an epic game; it takes hours to explore dungeons, travel through time and fight giant monsters. Released in 1998, it’s the first Legend of Zelda game to breach the third dimension, and it was meant to take players hours or days to complete on their Nintendo 64.

Or, you could beat the whole thing in 21 minutes and 45 seconds.

This is known as a speedrun. Talented players use their skills, days of practice and known glitches to get the fastest possible time in games that were never intended for quick play. This isn’t about appreciating the game for the story or the graphics, but about exploiting development holes for players to burn through.

In the past, there wasn’t a way to prove the glitches weren’t just something added by the players to get a faster time. But thanks to services like uStream and Twitch.TV, speedruns are broadcast for thousands to enjoy and scrutinize.

“Back in the beginning, nobody streamed speed runs ever. It’s so entertaining to see what steps people take and how they get to their goal,” says Cosmo Wright, who started SpeedRunsLive, a site that features gamers livestreaming their attempts at faster times.

Wright, 23, says he first got interested in speedrunning by playing GoldenEye on his Nintendo 64. That game featured multiplayer modes that could only be unlocked with fast times in the single player campaign. Wright says he’d unlock the achievement, then go back for an even better time. A few years later, he was drawn in to watching speedruns of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Wright says games from the Nintendo 64 era are great for speedrunning because the early days of 3D level design were fraught with glitches that savvy players could exploit. In speedrunning circles, it’s known as finding a “sequence break” — a glitch that allows them to reach the end of the game without completing previous objectives.

Examples of this exist in Super Mario 64, where by executing a certain backwards jump, a player can break the game and access areas that would normally require a certain number of stars to unlock. There are speedruns where players completed Super Mario 64 without collecting any stars, though it’s done with special software that allows them to exploit these glitches to the fullest. While the tools are frowned on by traditional speedrunners, it’s a good example of what breaks in the game can lead to.

Even more examples of sequence breaking are available in Ocarina of Time. The biggest exploit was uncovered earlier this year; it allows Link to enter the final level of the game shortly after beating its first boss, meaning a speedrunner can beat Ocarina of Time in a little more than 20 minutes. (The whole video of this run can be found in the gallery below.)

Ocarina of Time is the speedrunner gateway drug for many because there are a number of paths, and runners would make up different challenges based on the menu of glitches available. Wright says that in 2009, he and some friends created an IRC bot that would spit out random objectives for speedrunners, and they would race for the best times. Eventually this became so popular that “our method of storing times in a text file became too difficult, so I said ‘we probably should get a website up for this.’”

Speedrunning and Streaming: BFFs

SpeedRunsLive is now a gathering place for speedrunners to watch others, compare times and set up races. It couldn’t be successful without the streaming technologies behind it; until the rise of services like uStream, players had no way to really watch each other. Twitch has made it even easier, with its easily embeddable stream and chat. While there is still some technology players must purchase to stream, such as tv tuner cards, Twitch has made it easier for communities to form around these websites, and for superstar speedrunners to emerge.

Michael Sigler, better known as Siglemic, is one of the most well-known speedrunners on TwitchTV. His runs attract thousands of viewers, and it’s enough success for him to support himself entirely on the ad revenue he earns from TwitchTV. He holds the world record for his 120-star run on Super Mario 64, at 1:44:52. Despite holding the record, he plans to continue on the same game.

“I feel like I can still shave another minute off my time,” says Sigler, who has been working on Super Mario 64 for more than two years. He broadcasts his daily training on his Twitch channel and keeps a running dialog with his fanatic viewers, who have turned his skills into several memes.

If you want to see Sigler’s impressive speedruns, along with a few more great ones curated by Cosmo Wright, check out the gallery below.

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This is my speedrun of The Wind Waker in 5:21:08, done by Cosmo Wright.

It is played in one sitting, with English text, and uses the Tingle Tuner. As of this upload, it is the current record.

This speedrun utilizes a glitch where a player can warp from the first boss chamber directly to the final boss fight of the game. This glitch was discovered in April 2012, and allowed for a very fast time for game completion. This is the current world record holding run for the game, and the commentary also explains some of the details of how it was achieved.

Cosmo says: “This game is already insanely hard, and these strategies are pushing it to near human limit.”

Cosmo says: “romscout is incredibly fast, without a turbo controller. Performs a lot of difficult skips.”

This is the world record as of 2/20/2012.

Siglemic, aka Michael Sigler, getting the world record for a 70-star run in Super Mario 64

Siglemic, aka Michael Sigler, getting the world record for a 120-star run in Super Mario 64

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is an epic game; it takes hours to explore dungeons, travel through time and fight giant monsters. Released in 1998, it’s the first Legend of Zelda game to breach the third dimension, and it was meant to take players hours or days to complete on their Nintendo 64.

Or, you could beat the whole thing in 21 minutes and 45 seconds.

This is known as a speedrun. Talented players use their skills, days of practice and known glitches to get the fastest possible time in games that were never intended for quick play. This isn’t about appreciating the game for the story or the graphics, but about exploiting development holes for players to burn through.

In the past, there wasn’t a way to prove the glitches weren’t just something added by the players to get a faster time. But thanks to services like uStream and Twitch.TV, speedruns are broadcast for thousands to enjoy and scrutinize.

“Back in the beginning, nobody streamed speed runs ever. It’s so entertaining to see what steps people take and how they get to their goal,” says Cosmo Wright, who started SpeedRunsLive, a site that features gamers livestreaming their attempts at faster times.

Wright, 23, says he first got interested in speedrunning by playing GoldenEye on his Nintendo 64. That game featured multiplayer modes that could only be unlocked with fast times in the single player campaign. Wright says he’d unlock the achievement, then go back for an even better time. A few years later, he was drawn in to watching speedruns of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Wright says games from the Nintendo 64 era are great for speedrunning because the early days of 3D level design were fraught with glitches that savvy players could exploit. In speedrunning circles, it’s known as finding a “sequence break” — a glitch that allows them to reach the end of the game without completing previous objectives.

Examples of this exist in Super Mario 64, where by executing a certain backwards jump, a player can break the game and access areas that would normally require a certain number of stars to unlock. There are speedruns where players completed Super Mario 64 without collecting any stars, though it’s done with special software that allows them to exploit these glitches to the fullest. While the tools are frowned on by traditional speedrunners, it’s a good example of what breaks in the game can lead to.

Even more examples of sequence breaking are available in Ocarina of Time. The biggest exploit was uncovered earlier this year; it allows Link to enter the final level of the game shortly after beating its first boss, meaning a speedrunner can beat Ocarina of Time in a little more than 20 minutes. (The whole video of this run can be found in the gallery below.)

Ocarina of Time is the speedrunner gateway drug for many because there are a number of paths, and runners would make up different challenges based on the menu of glitches available. Wright says that in 2009, he and some friends created an IRC bot that would spit out random objectives for speedrunners, and they would race for the best times. Eventually this became so popular that “our method of storing times in a text file became too difficult, so I said ‘we probably should get a website up for this.’”

Speedrunning and Streaming: BFFs

SpeedRunsLive is now a gathering place for speedrunners to watch others, compare times and set up races. It couldn’t be successful without the streaming technologies behind it; until the rise of services like uStream, players had no way to really watch each other. Twitch has made it even easier, with its easily embeddable stream and chat. While there is still some technology players must purchase to stream, such as tv tuner cards, Twitch has made it easier for communities to form around these websites, and for superstar speedrunners to emerge.

Michael Sigler, better known as Siglemic, is one of the most well-known speedrunners on TwitchTV. His runs attract thousands of viewers, and it’s enough success for him to support himself entirely on the ad revenue he earns from TwitchTV. He holds the world record for his 120-star run on Super Mario 64, at 1:44:52. Despite holding the record, he plans to continue on the same game.

“I feel like I can still shave another minute off my time,” says Sigler, who has been working on Super Mario 64 for more than two years. He broadcasts his daily training on his Twitch channel and keeps a running dialog with his fanatic viewers, who have turned his skills into several memes.

If you want to see Sigler’s impressive speedruns, along with a few more great ones curated by Cosmo Wright, check out the gallery below.

• 
  
  

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• 
  
  

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• 
  
  

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• 
  
  

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• 
  
  

  15 Adorable Animal-Shaped iPhone Cases

• 
  
  

  How to Personalize Your PC

This is my speedrun of The Wind Waker in 5:21:08, done by Cosmo Wright.

It is played in one sitting, with English text, and uses the Tingle Tuner. As of this upload, it is the current record.

This speedrun utilizes a glitch where a player can warp from the first boss chamber directly to the final boss fight of the game. This glitch was discovered in April 2012, and allowed for a very fast time for game completion. This is the current world record holding run for the game, and the commentary also explains some of the details of how it was achieved.

Cosmo says: “This game is already insanely hard, and these strategies are pushing it to near human limit.”

Cosmo says: “romscout is incredibly fast, without a turbo controller. Performs a lot of difficult skips.”

This is the world record as of 2/20/2012.

Siglemic, aka Michael Sigler, getting the world record for a 70-star run in Super Mario 64

Siglemic, aka Michael Sigler, getting the world record for a 120-star run in Super Mario 64

An unnamed source claims the upcoming Wii U Zelda will be the most expensive game Nintendo has ever made.

It’s not hard to accurately predict that Nintendo is working on a new Legend of Zelda for the Wii U. It’s like guessing that the sun is going to rise; after you’ve watched it happen so many times you can eventually set your clock around it. What’s much less certain are the details, such as where the story will be set in the enormous Zelda timeline, or what particular art style the game will use. While we continue to wait for confirmation on what Nintendo has planned, an unnamed source for Wii U Daily claims to have seen the game in action. According to the report, the new Zelda title will make full use of the Wii U’s increased graphical capabilities, and features huge virtual worlds that rival Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto games.

“It’s a 4-year development cycle with a new console, new technology, new engine,” the source explained. “It’ll end up being the most expensive game they’ve made to date. It’s a huge investment for [Nintendo] in money and manpower, this is Rockstar/GTA territory.”

The report lists several ways in which the new Zelda title differs from previous entries, but the actual scale of the game world being the most prominent. According to the source, all content presented during 2011′s E3 has been scrapped to build an enormous adventure experience from scratch. “The first test dungeon they made was a giant forest running on early and buggy Wii U hardware,” Wii U Daily’s source said. “The dungeon was bigger than the Hyrule field in Ocarina, and the whole thing is one dungeon. You use the GamePad to navigate, avoid traps, follow clues etc. It’s dark, lush, with a ton of trees, foliage, some which you have to cut your way through. Its scope and details are unlike anything you’ve seen in a Zelda game.”

Of course, the main feature that sets the Wii U apart from its peers is the GamePad tablet controller, which while unique, still needs to prove itself as a worthwhile gaming accessory. According to the source, Zelda fans have nothing to worry about because the GamePad was designed partly designed for this very game. “At least one of the hardware features added to the GamePad were solely implemented because the Zelda team figured out they could do something cool with it,” the source states. “Zelda designers started sketching out concepts as soon as Nintendo decided to include a screen with the new console … everything in the game is built around the controller and its unique abilities. Every single feature in the controller is used to its full potential.”

While the overall tone of the report can be summarized as an enthusiastic “Ermagerd, Zelda,” if even some of the reported information is true, it could make for a refreshing return-to-form for the series. While Skyward Sword was fun and well-designed, it simply didn’t provide a vast open-world for the player to explore like Ocarina of Time or even A Link to the Past did. Regardless, we’ll still have lots of time to speculate; thanks to all of the new features the source claims Nintendo is adding, The Legend of Zelda won’t see the light of day until 2014.

Thanks to Mr. Mattress finding the info.

Source: Wii U Daily

To even the most seasoned fan, the idea of an orchestral concert based on a video game series might sound silly. But think about your favorite video game as a child. Now, what about those memories has lodged itself into the forefront of your brain as you read these words? The music. Those catchy tunes that played ad infinitum as you leaped on top of turtle shells, launched laser beams from your sword or neatly fit puzzle pieces together.

Jeron Moore, producer and creative lead for The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, a comprehensive concert series spanning The Legend of Zelda mythos, remembers that feeling all too well. It’s what got him here in the first place.

“My older sister gave me her score to a film called ‘Out of Africa’ by a composer named John Barry, who wrote the James Bond theme. I was, like, six or seven years old, which is a really weird age for me to kind of latch on to music like that,” Moore admits, “but something about it really captured my imagination. And at that same time, I just got a Nintendo, and along with that, once it came out, the gold cartridge.”

As the gap between the complexity of music in games and in film grew smaller, Moore pursued a career in music and video production in the video game industry. He has worked on some of the most prominent releases in gaming, including The Elder Scrolls Morrowind and Oblivion, Prey, Duke Nukem Forever and more. But as music in games reached critical mass in terms of quality, Moore saw a golden opportunity.

Gallery: The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses

“Now we’re at the point where you can look back at the ancient stuff and do these crazy retro references. You can just have fun. You can really tap into nostalgia,” Moore points out, referring to the recent trend of video game-inspired orchestral concerts. “For me, that was kind of what doing the Zelda concert was about. Tapping into, well first and foremost, my nostalgia. I don’t mean that in a selfish way, because, for me, I’m a diehard Zelda fan. I figure, if I can get it right and be happy with it myself–because I’m very discerning and critical when it comes to that sort of thing–then I think it would be great if other people were happy with it.”

As it turns out, Symphony of the Goddesses has been received with acclaim, leading to the audiovisual event recently receiving 11 more tour dates and a free special event at the Nintendo World Store in Rockefeller Plaza, New York on Sept. 14 in New York. In other words, the show has been a resounding success. But members of the team, even executive producer Jason Michael Paul, had their doubts when Moore presented his idea for Symphony of the Goddesses to his dream team.

“At first, [Jason] liked Zelda, don’t get me wrong, but Final Fantasy was always his game. He was like, ‘Are you sure? Do you think it will work?’ I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I already had kind of the team in mind,” Moore explains. “One of my best friends, Chad Seiter, who’s the music director and arranger for Symphony of the Goddesses, is in it. Our team actually is the team that put together the E3 [2011] presentation, where the orchestra came out from under ground and performed that big overture for the 25th anniversary.”

Being a performance that melds both dramatic visual content from previous releases in the series, Symphony of the Goddesses was quite the massive undertaking. The show is what Moore calls a “four movement symphony,” with each movement focusing on a major game within the franchise … paying respect to The Timeline, of course. (Moore isn’t kidding when he claims to be “a diehard Zelda fan.”)

“Little did we know, when Hyrule Historia was released in Japan, that the two timelines are really three. So, that sort of blew some minds and confused some people, [but] it’s slowly been accepted,” Moore says, letting his fan flag fly. “Bear in mind, our concert is linear. We can’t set a room over here, a room over there and say, ‘OK, for these next couple pieces, if you want to go to Timeline A, go over there. And if you want to go to Timeline C, go over here.’ That would be a huge production and confusing–completely impractical.”

Given Moore’s intensely intimate knowledge of The Legend of Zelda series, it’s not surprising that he claims franchise composer Koji Kondo and producer Eiji Aonuma had little to no issues with Symphony of the Goddesses. Though, Moore recalls one particularly nerve-wracking interaction with Mr. Aonuma and Mr. Kondo in the flesh.

After working rather closely with the duo for months prior on the music for the concert, Moore (pictured above center) had unfortunately learned that Eiji had yet to see the video content he created for the show. Hours before the show was to go live in Los Angeles at the Pantages Theater, Eiji was prepared to see the videos that would play during:

Bill Trenton, [Shigeru] Miyamoto’s translator and the product director at Nintendo, pulls me aside and says, ‘Hey, Jeron, lets go review the videos with Mr. Aonuma.’ And so, we walk down. The auditorium is completely empty, and we just file into one of the rows in front of the orchestra, as they’re playing.

And Mr. Kondo is already sitting out there, so Bill sits next to Mr. Kondo, so Mr. Kondo’s to Bills left. I sit next to Bill, and then Mr. Aonuma sits to my right. So, I’m sandwiched between these three guys. Normally it wouldn’t be a big deal, but my brain was exploding. I mean, the only person who was missing was Mr. Miyamoto.

I’m just sitting here with these icons, and then of course, with the idea that Mr. Aonuma hasn’t seen any of the work that I’ve labored over for the past few weeks, and we’re supposed to have a show later that evening. So, I’m like, ‘What if there’s something wrong? What if he wants a change? I don’t have time to go back and do this.’ You know, we’ve got a lot going on.

At the end, after we finished watching it all, he extended out his hand, shook my hand and said, ‘Excellent work.’ And I was just like, ‘Awesome. That just made my year.’ Just getting his full stamp of approval, no caveats. He was totally fine with it all.

Moore has already proved the weight of his work to some of the greatest minds behind The Legend of Zelda series. But he’s more concerned with everyone else in the theater–the moms, dads and grandparents who were dragged there by their little Link fans, especially. To Moore, Symphony of the Goddesses has something important to say to the audience.

“It’s not just a video game. It’s not just a silly toy. Their eyes open to, ‘Hey, there is actually something to this. Maybe I misjudged. Maybe I sized it up too quickly.’ Obviously, the audience for Zelda–all of us–saw something in it that was special, acknowledged it as a piece of art and experienced it as such. That’s something that a lot of people don’t get initially.”

Have you seen Symphony of the Goddesses or a show like it? What effect did it have on you? Share with us in the comments. Add Comment.

With Nintendo expected to unveil its new Wii U home console this winter, the Manifesto’s contributors are offering their picks for the greatest games on each of the company’s U.S. consoles.

By the time the Nintendo 64 came along in 1996, The Big N had made itself the top name in video game consoles with the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo. But it soon would find itself a distant second as the N64 and its cartridges would falter compared to Sony’s first PlayStation, which used CDs.

But that doesn’t mean the N64 didn’t boast plenty of accomplishments. It ushered in solid 3D gaming with some of the following titles, which became more legendary than the system that ran them.

Many of these are available on Wii’s Virtual Console if you want to see the ancestors of today’s top games.

Goldeneye 007: Everyone talks of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as the revolutionary game on the Nintendo 64. It no doubt was revolutionary, but it wasn’t alone. For everyone who loves playing Call of Duty or Halo, they owe a thank-you to Goldeneye 007.

It was the first game to truly show that first- person shooters could work on consoles in addition to PCs. It introduced local multi-player death matches, which would become the staple of first-person shooters of the future.

It also had a great story and stellar graphics for its time. It’s just a shame that the Bond games since haven’t risen to the standard Goldeneye 007 created.

Most underrated N64 game: WWF War Zone

SCOTT SLOAN

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Most of my friends were into Zelda pretty big in the 1980s, and I never understood why. Aside from the gold cartridge, I always thought the game, which moved up and down and left and right on a pathetic grid, was pretty lame.

But I finally got into the series when Nintendo released Ocarina of Time. There was a lot of hype surrounding the game, and it was justified.

Ocarina of Time told the story of Link in such a different way. It was 3-D and, at that time, truly a thing of beauty. A target-lock system was introduced and has since become a staple.

The story line also was displayed with far more grace than any other game at that point. It was cinematic, and it drew you in. You actually wanted to help Link.

This exciting action-adventure game set the tone for what gaming would become.

Most underrated N64 game: Diddy Kong Racing

DELANO R. MASSEY, dmassey@herald-leader.com

Paper Mario: Paper Mario completely surprised me. After all, who would have thought a kiddie-themed Mario role-playing game with turn-based battles could be a stellar offering?

So I passed and didn’t actually play it until years later while I was in college. Once I got into it, though, it blew me away.

What I thought was a child’s RPG was in fact a deep game with memorable moments and an art style that was not even geared toward kids. The turn-based battles and associated action system were welcome changes and still stand up well today. The puzzles, while not terribly difficult, were challenging enough to keep the pace of gameplay going.

If you passed on this game because it wasn’t in your comfort zone, give it a chance today. It’ll surprise you.

Most underrated N64 game: Diddy Kong Racing

WILLIAM WOOD JR.

Perfect Dark: I’ve played video games since I was old enough to grip an Atari joystick, but before Perfect Dark, I almost always played by myself.

Perfect Dark taught me gaming could be a social affair. Sure, the single-player game had awesome graphics, tons of weapons and a cool story, but all of that was secondary to the best, most customizable multiplayer experience of the Nintendo 64 generation.

When I was 16, after working long night shifts at KFC in Eaton, Ohio, a few co-workers and I would walk to my manager’s house nearby, plug in Perfect Dark and play for hours, setting up fights against one another other or huge armies of computer- controlled players. Our favorite game type? “One-shot, one-kill,” in which a single bullet kills you. Pistols only.

Unlike many classic games, Perfect Dark does not withstand the test of time. First-person shooters have evolved leaps and bounds since 2000, making the N64 classic seem frustratingly dated now. But if you’re willing to wade through the frustration for a tidbit of nostalgia, a high- definition remake of Perfect Dark is available on Xbox Live Arcade.

Most underrated N64 game: Beetle Adventure Racing

JOSH KEGLEY, jkegley@herald-leader.com

Scott Sloan: (859) 231-1447. Twitter: @HeraldLeaderBiz.