The Legend Of Zelda's World Record Speedrun Is Staggeringly Fast
Speedrunning has become one of the most tried and true traditions in the world of gaming. While many gamers are happy to just play or replay their favorite games at their leisure, a dedicated few have turned their hobby into a competition, one that exploits gaming bugs, overpowered attack combinations, and sometimes outright cheating — all in the name of getting the lowest time possible in terms of beating a game.
Of course, retro games like "The Legend of Zelda" have become a big part of the speedrunning scene. With their less complex designs and long-established bugs and exploits, old-school games can provide a whole host of fun challenges and competitions for speedrunners. Likely due in part to its classic status, "The Legend of Zelda" has thousands of recorded speed runs, but when you look through them all, there's one that stands head and shoulders above the rest.
A streamer beat the original Legend of Zelda in under 27 minutes
On SpeedRun.com, Schicksal is at the top of the heap when it comes to the fastest "The Legend of Zelda" playthrough. From the start, it's clear that they are utilizing some clever tricks to advance the screen without having to make Link walk across it — which helps them get their insane 26-minutes, 55-seconds finish time.
Still, the playthrough becomes even more impressive when Schicksal uses a combination of their knowledge of the game and some shortcuts that most players probably don't even know about to get through the entire first dungeon in around two minutes.
By avoiding enemies, using bombs to kill clusters of baddies quickly, and spamming bombs to kill the boss in just a few seconds, Schicksal is able to motor through the first dungeon in "The Legend of Zelda" with unflinching speed and precision. Even the occasional damage and subsequent healing by killing enemies seem to be figured into their strategy.
The player also takes advantage of how "The Legend of Zelda" respawns Link at the starting point of the map or dungeon regularly to cut down on the time-consuming travel that Link's slow movement makes a regular part of the game. Honestly, it's an extremely impressive playthrough and one that's surprisingly entertaining to watch, even for gamers who aren't typically interested in the idea of speedrunning.