The Most Incredible World Records In Breath Of The Wild
Fans love to find and break world records in video games. The more loved a game series, the more speed runners it generally has, and "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" is one of the most loved ones out there, especially when you realize it sold more units on release than the Nintendo Switch itself. While fans are busy worrying about "Breath of the Wild 2" – especially after the bad news that the game was delayed until Spring 2023 – others are still grinding out to best the world records for the original game.
While some are checking out the coolest things they can do in the game, such as the mind-blowing snipe shot that came close to being a mile long, some fans are trying to master certain parts of the game. Whether that's completing all the shrines as fast as possible or just spending as much time playing the game as the Switch will even record, there are some crazy world records that fans have achieved in "Breath of the Wild."
Defeating Dark Beast Ganon and ending the game
One of the most popular speed runs in "Breath of the Wild" is the Any% speed run, which basically means that the player has successfully defeated Dark Beast Ganon. There are no other real requirements, and players are able to do whatever they want from the start of the game to prepare for the fight. Player5 holds the world record for the Any% run using no amiibo, beating the main boss of the game in 24 minutes and 27 seconds.
The times on these speed runs are incredible. The top nine, according to Speedrun.com, are all under 26 minutes. Player5 uploaded his speed run to YouTube so others could see (and verify) exactly what he did. According to the video's description, Player5 attributed part of the run to the fact that they got great "glider and castle splits" that helped them, but they lost a lot of time in the Calamity Ganon fight itself.
While this speed run is the best, Player5 thinks that shaving seven seconds off is completely doable. Considering they held the last world record for an Any% run before breaking it again, they might just be right.
Completing all shrines
Part of the fun in "Breath of the Wild" is exploring the dungeons, many of which have an incredible number of small easter eggs in them. However, while some people are literally stopping to sniff the flowers, others are perfecting them and competing for the fastest completion. Johnnyboom has the best time completing all the dungeons in the game, doing so in 4 hours, 43 minutes, and 13 seconds (via Speedrun.com.)
The run was uploaded to YouTube, so fellow "Breath of the Wild" enthusiasts can take a look and see exactly how they did it. While there's not much narration or explanation of strategy through the video, it can be mind-boggling to watch Johnnyboom beat something in seconds that takes normal players hours of contemplation to even think about finishing.
This isn't the only speed run that the user holds first place in, either. Johnnyboom also holds the fastest time for completing the game with 100%, completing all the main quests in the game, and even completing all the mini-games in the game.
Shield surfing extraordinaire
While there are plenty of serious things to do in "Breath of the Wild," there are some things that are just fun. One of these is racing on a shield in a fashion similar to snowboarding, lovingly dubbed "shield surfing" in the game. And yes, there's a world record for surfing, and it's held by Komali.
While you can shield surf in pretty much any area of the game, there's a minigame called Selmie's Shield-Surfing where players can win different shields by beating specific times. While you need to finish in 1 minute and 45 seconds, Komali's fastest time is actually under 8 seconds. While the second place player finished in a little over 8 seconds, no one else has come close. According to Speedrun.com, everyone else needs at least 23 seconds.
That's a pretty massive jump in time. Ironically, the run itself includes zero shield surfing, and Komali ends up gliding the entire course. It's also worth pointing out that the run lagged, something that didn't disqualify the run but does seem strange. In side-by-sides, Komali showed that the laggy run actually went more quickly than the others.
Most time spent in the game
It takes a special kind of person to be able to grind out speedruns in any game, nevertheless one as highly praised and adored as "Breath of the Wild." The sheer dedication and mechanical skill required can make it difficult for the average player to spend time in the game.
However, there are still other records other types of players can hit. For instance, Twitter user Samir AID hit Nintendo's cap on the recorded amount of hours played in the game. In a screenshot from their Switch, Samir AID showed that they played "9,999 hours or more" in the game. The screenshot is verified as well, being uploaded straight from the Nintendo Switch itself.
According to Samir, they used to consistently farm Golden Lynels and really pushed their Switch to its limits. In fact, their response became a bit of a meme as they used it in almost all their responses. One user made a meme with a picture of Link and the text, which Samir loved.