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Movement Mechanics
Information
There are many different forms of movement which need to be considered when speedrunning Majora's Mask, both those resulting from glitches and those intended in the game. This page will cover some of the movement mechanics in the game to explain how they work and how they are performed, and some generally preferred methods of movement.
This page also contains exact movement speeds for the various methods of movement in the game.
Categories of Movement
There are three main classifications of movement in the game:
- Land/Ground movement
- Air/Aerial movement
- Water movement/Swimming
There are also others which do not fit into these three categories, such as climbing ladders or ledge grabbing, but those don't come up very often.
General Concepts
Recoil
One of the most common concepts used to reach high speeds within the game is recoil. Recoil most commonly refers to situations in the game where link may gain a large backwards velocity in an instant. This backwards velocity may be caused by a number of things in the game though they all require other techniques for the speed boost to be maintained or utilised. Some of the kinds of recoil are as follows:
Shield Recoil
Shielding a damage source will give superslide speed (18 speed, see tables below)
Sword Recoil
Sword recoil gives some recoil speed, however not as much speed as that of a superslide. The most common form is the Jumpslash recoil.
Roll Recoil
Rolling into a damage source with a specific timing will cause a superslide speed recoil. This is one of the most common sources of speed for the fastest movement types.
Respawn Recoil
Upon drowning and respawning, Being hit by a damage source will cause the same kind of recoil that roll recoil causes. This method is not as commonly used.
Damage Boost
Damage boosting is the concept of using a damage source provide extra speed or allow for a greater distance than normal to be covered. This concept is most commonly applied to aerial movements, however there are movement methods on the ground which use damage boosts.
Regular Movement
While knowing the tricks involving the use of glitches such as boosts and recoils is important, it is also important to know about the different types of regular movement and the differences between them. Some commonly used fast methods of movement include:
- Sidehops
- Backwalking
- Rolling
- Dolphin diving
(Specific movement speeds and rankings can be found at the bottom of this page)
Movement Limitations
Some movement types cannot be performed while in the middle of some actions. Equally, some actions cannot be performed while in the middle of some movement types. For example:
Holding up an item (such as a bomb)
- Rolls cannot be performed
- Sidehops cannot be performed
- Superslides cannot be performed
- Items may not be pulled out
- Any form of regular movement cannot be performed
- The sword may not be used
~ The following section is under construction ~
Maintaining Speed
Ground Movement
Since the majority of the movement in Majora's Mask is done on ground, It's important to know how to maintain speed on the ground. Normally, any form of high speed movement decelerates extremely quickly down to 0 on the ground, however there are various methods to get around this.
ESS position
When you press very slightly in any direction on the control stick, link will shuffle his feet and slowly turn on the spot to face that direction. See ESS for more details. While in this state, speed given to him through some boosts or recoils will be maintained. You can see the most common forms of these on the ESS page linked above, however there are also a few other kinds of boosts or initial movements which can have speed maintained, such as the speed one has coming out of a goron roll or the speed one has when landing a high-speed aerial movement.
A-Slide
An A-slide (Analog-Slide) is a precise method of maintaining speed which requires an alternation of control stick positions in quick succession. Specifically, it requires a direction to be held every 2nd frame, while releasing the control stick to neutral in the frames in-between. Holding directly down every 2nd frame will allow for a forwards-travelling Aslide, while holding any other direction every 2nd frame will result in a backwards-travelling Aslide (providing the initial boost received produces a backwards velocity). Due to this trick's frame-perfect nature, it would require pause-buffering to execute in real-time and so should not to be used for a method of fast movement in a real-time speedrun (however the A-slide itself can lead to other useful glitches such as weirdshot).
Z-slide
a Z-slide in principle is very similar to A-slide, it does all the same things in terms of maintaining speed, however it does not lead on to any of the useful glitches that the A-slide leads on to. Z-sliding requires holding forwards on the control stick and pressing Z every other frame. Again, like the A-slide this isn't something that should be performed in a real-time run as a form of fast movement.
Air Movement
In regular gameplay air movements usually come in just a few types e.g. regular jumping, using deku flowers, dolphin diving. In glitching and speedrunning, the mechanics of air movements can amount to many more tricks and timesavers.
Being in the air
Just being in the air in itself is a common way to preserve speed. When link is in the air and in a falling state, he will decelerate extremely slowly, allowing for huge distance to be covered just from one jump for example. There are many examples of using link's position in the air to preserve high speeds for the duration of a jump, some of these include megaflips, recoil-flips, long jumps and recoil jumps.
Air damage boosting
This is more of an application of damage boosting to extend travel distance than a way to maintain speed, however it is a notable one. Being damaged in the air will cause knockback, causing link to be boosted up into the air in a direction. This can be used to reach ledges that are regularly too high/far. This was originally commonly used with a goron pound to get over tall fences or walls.
Water Movement
Superswimming
Superswimming in Majora's Mask is somewhat similar to the Z-slide, however due to the nature of water, can be performed in real time and is not frame-perfect. The trick consists of getting a speed source, usually a recoil, and tapping Z multiple times upon entering the water. Speed will only be lost when link surfaces. If a specific method is used where the trick is done as zora link, he will be able to stay submerged underwater and thus not lose the speed.
Dolphin diving
In terms of regular zora swimming movement, dolphin diving is the fastest method of movement in the water and gives a boost in speed for every jump, compared to regular swimming which does not.
Movement crashes
The same wacky animation that makes weirdshots work also causes a crash if not handled properly. This animation can be initiated with an A-Slide or with ESS position. For all crash cases below:
- "holding a full direction/ESS" refers to any direction other than up or up-ESS, which cannot cause crashes
- crashes can be prevented with inputs such as rolling/sidehopping/backflipping, slashing, and putting on a transformation mask
- on English, the crashes behave the same whether Link is grounded or in the air during a hover
- on Japanese, the crashes can only occur when Link is grounded; they cannot occur in the air during a hover
A-Slide crashes
To begin an A-Slide, get hit by a damage source on a frog frame and hold (target + a full direction) for 1 frame (target input not required if hovering with the camera already locked). After this frame, release the control stick to any ESS position or neutral while still holding target for 4 more frames to crash.
Releasing target at any point before the crash will prevent it. The wacky animation that leads to crash starts 2 frames after the damage frame, so an ESS position on the first frame after damage counts as holding a direction and prevents the crash if held for at least 2 frames (just holding it for 1 frame only delays the crash by 1 frame). Once the wacky animation starts, only holding beyond ESS will prevent a crash if still targeting. Holding R to shield also prevents the animation from continuing long enough to crash.
This crash is commonly encountered while attempting megaflips and megasidehops. For example, mistiming a megaflip's backflip input so that the A press lands before a frog frame/bomb damage frame but the down input lands on a frog frame/bomb damage frame means the first input of an A-Slide has been performed, so releasing the control stick to neutral for 4 more frames will crash. To prevent this, runners hold R during megaflips and/or flick the control stick upwards after the backflip input so that it isn't neutral.
ESS crashes
To ESS crash, get hit by a damage source on a frog frame and hold (target + ESS) for 1 frame (target input not required if hovering with the camera already locked). After this frame, continue to hold ESS or neutral while still holding target for 2 more frames to crash. The crash will take one additional frame to occur if the ESS input is mid-hover and only begins on the second damage frame from a dropped bomb. There may be other cases that also take an additional frame to crash.
Releasing target at any point before the crash will prevent it. Unlike in an A-Slide, the wacky animation that leads to crash starts on the first frame after the damage frame, so only holding beyond ESS will prevent a crash if still targeting.
This crash is commonly encountered while attempting a HESS, which requires holding ESS while getting hit by a damage source on a frog frame and then pressing target afterwards. Pressing target too early such that it is already being held on the frame the damage source reaches Link will cause the crash.
Movement commonly used for position and angle setups
All distances assume flat ground. Whenever Link is in the air, the control stick position held will influence his trajectory.
As human
- Position
- Dry roll (38 units). From a standstill, hold target and press A, leaving the control stick neutral.
- Full roll (117 units). From a standstill, hold up and press A on the same frame or the frame after. Begin to hold shield during the roll, and continue holding up until Link stops moving and begins shielding. If doing another full roll after shielding, continue holding up, release shield, and press A on either of the first two frames after releasing shield.
- Sidehop (tap) (81.68 units). While targeting, tap left/right for one frame and press A on this frame. Release the control stick to neutral until Link lands. This also moves Link 5.817 units forwards.
- Sidehop (full) (82.05 units). While targeting, hold left/right and press A. Continue holding the direction until Link lands. This does not move Link forwards at all.
- Backflip (tap) (31.5 units). While targeting, tap down for one frame and press A on this frame. Release the control stick to neutral until Link lands.
- Backflip (full) (99.75 units). While targeting, hold down and press A. Continue holding down until Link lands.
- Shield scoot (6 units). Hold shield and up. Release shield for 3 frames, then press it again. Pressing shield again within the first 2 frames will not change Link's position at all.
- Angle
- Shield turn. Hold shield and any direction. Release shield for 2 frames, then press it again to make Link face that direction without his position changing at all.
- ESS turn (708 hex angle units/frame). Hold ESS position to turn. While in an ESS shuffle, release and re-press target to allow frames of ESS turning to pass.
- Bomb damage (~153A-154C hex angle units). Pull out a bomb and stand still until Link has taken damage and moved. The exact angle change seems to depend on starting angle.
Movement Speeds
Information collected by petrie911
The following is a table of movements and their speed values in Majora's Mask. Each movement type has a short acceleration delay, so most of the listed values are the maximum speed attainable. These values were found by observing the speed addresses (80400880 in U1.0 for Link's movements) in a memory viewer for each type of movement.
It's important to note that internally the game reports speed as being 2/3rds slower than real distance traveled every frame; this is most likely due to the fact that the Zelda 64 engine was derived from the Super Mario 64 engine, which ran at 30 frames per second, whereas the final Zelda 64 engine games ran at 20 frames per second. For the sake of using the preferred standard, the values below are what the game internally reports the speed to be.
This is a list of all known and tested speed values.
Movement Speeds (Continuous)
| Movement Type | Constant Speed | Acceleration | Deceleration |
| Walking (Link) | 5.5 | 2 | -1.5 |
| Backwalking (Link) | 8.25 | 1.5 | -8 |
| Walking (Bunny Hood) | 8.25 | 2 | -1.5 |
| Walking (Deku) | 6 | 2 | -1.5 |
| Backwalking (Deku) | 9 | 1.5 | -8 |
| Walking (Goron) | 6 | 2 | -1.5 |
| Backwalking (Goron) | 9 | 1.5 | -8 |
| Rolling (Goron) | 15.6 | .6 (q) | -8 |
| Spike Roll (Goron) | 18 | 1.8 | -8 |
| Walking (Zora) | 6 | 2 | -1.5 |
| Backwalking (Zora) | 9 | 2 | -1.5 |
| Swimming (Zora) | 9 | ??? | ??? |
| Walking (Fierce Deity) | 10 | 2 | -1.5 |
| Backwalking (Fierce Deity) | 15 | 1.5 | -8 |
| Walking (Giant Link) | 3.5 | 1 | -1.5 |
| Backwalking (Giant Link) | 5.25 | 1.5 | -1.5 |
| Supersliding (All) | 18 | 18 | -8 |
The Goron Roll accelerates quadratically. Acceleration starts at 0 and you add .6 to it each frame. If you start your roll from a full-speed run, Goron Link starts with a .30 acceleration instead of 0.
Movement Speeds (Cyclic)
| Movement Type | Average Speed | Speed Cycle | Notes |
| Sidehopping (Link) | 7.813 | 8.5, 8.1, 8, 7.9, 7.8, 7.7, 6.7 | Sidehopping continues its deceleration until Link reaches his natural airspeed of 5.5. The landing frame has 1 lower speed than the previous. |
| Rolling (Link) | 6.583 | 2.25, 2.45, 6.25, 8.25, 8.25, 8.25, 8.25, 8.25, 8.25, 8.25, 8.25, .25 | Rolling accelerates from your initial velocity at 2/frame until it reaches 8.25. |
| Sidehopping (Deku) | 8.073 | 8.5, 8.4, 8.3, 8.2, 8.1, 8, 7 | Sidehopping continues its deceleration until Deku Link reaches his natural airspeed of 3. The landing frame has 1 lower speed than the previous. |
| Spinning (Deku) | 7.02 | 6.88, 8.88, 9.546, 9.16, 8.773, 8.373, 8, 7.607, 7.217, 6.827, 6.38, 6.047, 5.66, 5.267, 7.32, 7.32, 7.32 | Spinning accelerates from your previous velocity at ~2/frame. It sometimes becomes desynced from updating every 2 frames. |
| Sidehopping (Goron) | 8.12 | 8.5, 8.4, 8.3, 8.2, 7.2 | Sidehopping continues its deceleration until Goron Link reaches his natural airspeed of 6. The landing frame has 1 lower speed than the previous. |
| Sidehopping (Zora) | 8.073 | 8.5, 8.4, 8.3, 8.2, 8.1, 8, 7 | Sidehopping continues its deceleration until Zora Link reaches his natural airspeed of 6. The landing frame has 1 lower speed than the previous. |
| Rolling (Zora) | 7.333 | 3, 5, 7, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 1 | Rolling accelerates at 2/frame from your initial velocity until it reaches 9. |
| Dolphin Dives (Zora) | 11.506 | 12.747, 12.773, 12.493, 12.067, 11.56, 10.593, 9.44, 8.333, 11.64 x 10.667 | This assumes a diving speed of 11.64 is optimal. |
| Sidehopping (Fierce Deity) | 8.506 | 8.5, 8.55, 8.6, 8.65, 8.7, 8.75, 7.75 | Sidehopping continues its acceleration until the Fierce Deity reaches his natural airspeed of 10. The landing frame has 1 lower speed than the previous. |
| Rolling (Fierce Deity) | 13.133 | 8.8, 10.8, 12.8, 14.8, 14.8, 14.8, 14.8, 14.8, 14.8, 14.8, 14.8, 14.8 | Rolling accelerates at 2/frame until it reaches 14.8 |
| Sidehopping (Giant Link) | 7.4 | 8.5, 8.1, 7.7, 7.3, 6.9, 5.9 | Sidehopping continues its deceleration until Giant Link reaches his natural airspeed of (presumably) 3.5. The landing frame has 1 lower speed than the previous. |
| Rolling (Giant Link) | 3.875 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.25, 5.25, 5.25, 5.25, 5.25, 5.25, 0 | Rolling accelerates at 1/frame until it reaches 5.25 |
Movement Rankings
| Speed | Movement Type |
| 18 | Superslide, Goron Spike Roll |
| 15.6 | Goron Roll |
| 15 | Backwalk (Fierce Deity) |
| 13.133 | Rolling (Fierce Deity) |
| 11.507 | Dolphin Diving |
| 10 | Walking (Fierce Deity) |
| 9 | Backwalking (Deku, Goron, Zora), Swimming (Zora) |
| 8.507 | Sidehopping (Fierce Deity) |
| 8.25 | Backwalking (Link), Walking (Bunny Hood) |
| 8.12 | Sidehopping (Goron) |
| 8.073 | Sidehopping (Deku, Zora) |
| 7.813 | Sidehopping (Link) |
| 7.4 | Sidehopping (Giant Link) |
| 7.333 | Rolling (Zora) |
| 7.02 | Spinning (Deku) |
| 6.583 | Rolling (Link) |
| 6 | Walking (Deku, Goron, Zora) |
| 5.5 | Walking (Link) |
| 5.25 | Backwalking (Giant Link) |
| 3.875 | Rolling (Giant Link) |
| 3.5 | Walking (Giant Link) |
It should be noted that backwalking is faster than sidehopping overall, but its slow acceleration makes sidehopping superior for short distances.
