The Wind Waker Speedrunners Discover Glitch Previously Thought to be Impossible

For years, speedrunners of The Wind Waker have searched endlessly for a glitch known as the “Barrier Skip,” a way to bypass an energy barrier blocking Link’s path from Hyrule Castle to Ganon’s Tower during the hero’s first visit to the submerged kingdom. Effectively skipping a return to the surface and about an hour of questing, this glitch would allow runners to reach the final dungeon early and complete the game far quicker than intended. The Barrier Skip always seemed like an impossible goal, that is, until just recently. Last week, Zelda speedrunner LinkOscuro finally managed to achieve the skip in The Wind Waker HD, capturing the occasion on Twitch.

When players first descend beneath the waves of the Great Sea and step foot in the halls of Hyrule Castle, they are expected to retrieve the Master Sword and travel back to the surface. However, some crafty players may leave the castle and attempt to explore further into Hyrule. These people will however quickly find their progress blocked by a seemingly impenetrable barrier of dark energy, as way for the developers to direct them back to the intended quest line. For years, speedrunners have searched for a way to skip this barrier and potentially shave an hour off the game’s world record speedrun time.

Last week, runner LinkOscuro successfully performed the Barrier Skip in The Wind Waker HD. Since then, many in the WW speedrunning community have tirelessly strived to formulate a method by which to dependably recreate the glitch. These efforts come after another runner, Girtana1, had posted video on August 16 claiming to have performed the glitch. While the video did show footage of Link on the other side of the barrier, it unfortunately did not present the skip itself, leading to a wave of skepticism among viewers. Girtana1 has since removed the video (re-uploaded elsewhere) and released a video defending himself.

The Barrier Skip was achieved using another glitch known as “Item Sliding,” which utilizes the Hookshot and Iron Boots to rapidly accelerate Link’s walking speed. With some precision and a bit of luck, this increased momentum will shoot Link through the barrier. As of the time of writing, a dependable way to execute the skip has not yet been found. It should also be noted that because the Iron Boots are needed to perform the glitch, the Barrier Skip may not be as big a time-save as runners expected it to be. Regardless, the potential this glitch holds could still drastically change the current speedrunning route for The Wind Waker HD.

The current world record for The Wind Waker Any% speedruns is held by gymnast86, with a time of 3 hours, 45 minutes, 6 seconds.

Source: Kotaku

Rod Lloyd

Rod Lloyd is the Editor-In-Chief at Zelda Dungeon, overseeing the news and feature content for the site. Rod is considered the veteran of the writing team, having started writing for Zelda Informer in 2014 as a Junior Editor. After ZD and ZI officially merged in 2017, he stepped into the Managing Editor role and has helped steer the ship ever since. He stepped up to lead the writing team as Editor-In-Chief in 2023.
You can reach Rod at: rod.lloyd@zeldadungeon.net