100% Glitchless

See [Addenda] for notes on beginner-friendly route variations.

This route is designed for Eng Switch NSO/Wii VC. The route also works (and may even be slightly faster) on JP Wii VC, but because the Oceanside Spider House mask code must be guessed and the JP version has no nearby arrow refills, Eng is recommended. 100% requires completing the game after collecting everything that doesn't get erased by Song of Time:

  • All unique Hearts Pieces and Heart Containers
  • All Items
  • All Masks
  • All Songs
  • All Fairy rewards
  • All Max Upgrades
  • All Dungeon maps and compasses
  • All Tingle maps
  • All Owls
  • All Happiness Seals

Although glitchless categories do not allow many of the techniques listed on the sidebar, the movement techniques and general tips pages are still relevant and helpful.

Equips are notated as (e.g.)

  • || ||

Bomb, bombchu, and rupee counts and health are notated as [b, c, r, h] where relevant. See Common Terms and Abbreviations for other acronyms.

First cycle

  • Intro cutscene
  • Slash grass for 9r+ [9r]
  • Backwalk and roll through Lost Woods
  • Deku transformation cutscene
  • Spin through grass for 3r+ [12r]
  • Take lower flower to next room
  • Tatl text skip on final flower
  • Happy Mask Salesman cutscene
  • Enter Clock Town
  • Reset the console after the "South Clock Town" area banner disappears completely (faster than watching the cutscene on Eng)
  • Load file

  • Enter ECT and take flower to inn upper door
  • Listen to Granny's overnight story twice (bottom text option) to advance to Day 3
  • Go to WCT (via SCT south load zone)
  • Enter trading post and speak to scarecrow (bottom text option) to advance to Night 3
  • Backflip onto stump and break pot for 1r [13r]
  • Go to ECT (via SCT south load zone)
  • Use flower to catch stray fairy
  • Get 1r from near box [14r]
  • Go to NCT
  • Break all keaton grass for 9r [23r]
  • Get magic from fairy fountain
  • Return to NCT and break all keaton grass for 9r [32r]
  • Pop bomber balloon with bubble
  • Get both NCT bombers and break all keaton grass for 9r [41r]
  • Go to ECT
  • Chase cucco bomber down from upstairs
  • Scare inn bomber off roof and knock down with bubble
  • Break other box for 1r [42r]
  • Shoot bubbles at all three parts of Honey & Darling sign for 5-9r [47r+]
  • Go to SCT and gainer or twisted backflip to Clock Tower door
  • Shoot bubble at center of clock for 3r [50r+]
  • Go to WCT and buy bomb bag [0r]
    • Only talk to salesman once he reaches counter to spend IGT
  • WCT bomber to finish minigame
  • Learn bomber code (write this down)
  • Go to SCT and gainer or twisted backflip to Clock Tower door
  • HP #1 (3 1/4)
  • Enter Clock Tower after midnight cutscene

  • Shoot Skull Kid with a bubble
  • Pick up Ocarina of Time and learn SoT
    • || blank || blank
  • Play SoT in Clock Tower and console reset after pressing A to confirm (top text option)
  • Load file
  • Play ISoT to invert time
    • May want to delay this if you expect to play so quickly that you'll get back to Clock Town too early to set the midnight meeting (4:15pm)
  • Enter lower Clock Tower doors
  • Speak to Happy Mask Salesman to get Deku Mask (1/24) and learn SoH
    • || blank ||
  • Exit Clock Tower

─── Second cycle ───

Must get Garo Mask before Night 1 and later reach the ranch on time for Aliens. Ideally, invert time near the beginning of Cycle 2 and uninvert sometime before Aliens to get there just in time. Exact ISoT placement will be entirely dependent on your gameplay expectations and any mistakes you make. In-game time management is just as important as gameplay, as accounting for poorly managed in-game time by playing ISoT extra times or having to wait for Aliens can end up costing significant time.

Sonata of Awakening

  • Remember to play ISoT soon if you haven't already
  • Hit Clock Town owl statue
  • Backwalk to Laundry Pool for stray fairy
  • Exit to TF
  • Backwalk as Deku towards Swamp
    • Break grass along the way for RNG bomb drop (get any free rupees) [5b, 0r]
  • Swamp entrance cutscene
  • Backwalk to Southern Swamp
  • Hit Southern Swamp owl statue as human
  • Cross lilypads to WoM as Deku
  • Spin and backwalk through WoM (Day 1)
  • Talk to Koume as human and exit WoM
  • Enter potion shop and talk to Kotake for bottle with red potion
  • Return to Koume (still human)
    • || ||
  • Talk to Koume and give the red potion
  • Exit WoM and return to Swamp Tourist Center as Deku
  • Speak to Koume for Picto Box
  • Ride boat to Deku Palace
  • Enter Deku Palace

  • Backflip over guards as human
  • Enter West wing
  • Bomb boost fence and backflip twice onto moving platform [4b, 0r]
  • Jump over tall fence to HP #2 (3 2/4)
  • Head to doorframe, avoiding guards
    • Get blue rupees if guard pattern allows; want to be around 15r [4b, 15r]
    • Can bomb boost over low fence between leaf walls if final guard is in a bad position
  • Doorframe jump to Sonata
  • Learn Sonata of Awakening
    • ETA: 8:15am

Woodfall Temple 1

  • Exit Deku Palace
  • Ledge popup and learn Song of Soaring
  • Enter Woodfall
  • Cross platforms with deku flowers
  • Hit Woodfall owl statue as human
  • Break pots for nuts and stick
  • Play Sonata as Deku to raise WFT
  • Enter dungeon with deku flower

  • Kazooie flip and fly to central room
  • Break pots for bomb and fairy 1 and enter small key room [9b, 15r]
  • Deku flower to small key in chest
  • Go to block room (across central room)
    • Get bomb drop from pot again on the way if low - important to leave Woodfall 1 with at least 1 bomb remaining
  • Blockless strategy to get to compass room
    • || || after transforming human
  • Kill both dragonflies with a bomb and get compass [8b, 15r]
  • Bring flame upstairs and burn web to enter dark room
  • Light all 3 torches to open door
  • Kill all boes with sword/nuts for fairy 2 in chest
  • Go through door to upstairs dragonfly room
  • Jumpslash recoil to upper level of first floor [8b, 15r, 2h]
  • Enter upper level of small key room (door by floor switch)
  • Enter next door to dinofols
    • Preparing for deathwarp after map, so only get health before dinofols if necessary
  • Dinofols as human with deku stick for Hero's Bow
    • Can stun with deku nut
  • Return to small key room
    • || ||
  • [Jump to map room door] [7b, 15r, 2h]
  • Snappers with 1.5h damage [3b, 15r, 0.5h]
  • Dungeon map and fast deathwarp [2b, 15r, 0h]
    • Important to leave with at least 1 bomb remaining
    • If too low on bombs or high on health, soar to entrance instead of deathwarping
    • If you accidentally die between getting the bow and the map, get the map along with the boss key on the second trip to Woodfall Temple
  • Exit dungeon
    • ETA 10:00am

Getting to Snowhead Temple

  • Soar to CT
  • Go to NCT fairy fountain for Great Fairy Mask (2/24)
  • Exit to TF via NCT
    • If completely out of bombs, get a bomb drop from grass
  • Shoot down icicle
  • Traverse path to Mountain Village [1b, 15r]
  • Hit Mountain Village owl statue
  • Cross Twin Islands
    • If not confident in making hot springwater timer after Goron Mask, talk to the goron now to open Goron Shrine, enter and talk to the goron baby, and then come back out (costs ~15s)
  • Roll through small snowballs for bomb, stick, and arrow drops [6b, 15r]
  • Jump blindly to lens cave (Day 1)
  • Throw bomb to rock on Link's left
  • Break grass to fill bomb bag [20b, 15r]
  • Get Lens of Truth
  • Get purple rupee from chest [20b, 65r]

  • Soar to Mountain Village
    • || ||
  • Climb ladder to Goron Graveyard
    • 6 right, 1 left, 8 right (with good starting position)
    • Repeatedly turn Lens on and off to avoid spending magic
  • Play SoH as human with Lens on for Goron Mask (3/24)
    • || ||
    • ETA 11:30am
  • Transform Deku, then Goron
  • Pull headstone and bottle hot springwater
    • Making it to the goron elder before the hot springwater cools requires good movement; if you make significant mistakes prior to crossing Twin Islands and didn't talk to the goron baby earlier, use the hot springwater to open the Twin Islands hot spring grotto and refill on the way to Goron Village
  • Goron roll to Goron Village with wall bounce exiting graveyard
  • Pound to open shrine door, talk to goron baby, and exit shrine
  • Roll up icy slope to Twin Islands
  • Drop hot springwater at goron elder snowball, then punch right away to reveal and unfreeze elder
  • Talk twice to learn Lullaby Intro
  • Return to Goron Shrine
    • || ||
  • Roll through pots for magic and deku stick drops
  • Play Lullaby Intro for goron baby to learn Goron Lullaby
  • Use deku stick to light torch and start chandelier
    • || ||
  • Spike roll to knock sirloin down
    • Sirloin is always in the same pot, so you can always hit the right one with consistent movement and timing
  • Carry sirloin to hungry goron for Don Gero's Mask (4/24)
    • Out of shrine
    • Back around icy paths (not the steep one)
    • Jump down in Twin Islands instead of taking bridges
    • Across Mountain Village
  • Roll to path to Snowhead through small snowball for magic drop
  • Ascend to Snowhead (skip second ramp)
  • Play Goron Lullaby
  • Hit Snowhead owl statue
  • Enter Snowhead Temple
    • ETA 1:00pm

Snowhead Temple

Bomb refills are available if needed. The two pots just inside the pillar puzzle room have 50% chances of dropping bombs. The grass at the bottom of the bridge room and central room contains a guaranteed bomb drop; after getting either of these, transform Deku and void out in the lava to respawn at your latest entrance.

  • Break icicles with goron roll
    • Slow roll skips bouncing
  • Push block and enter right door
    • Sidehop between second block push and block falling to get a little closer to the door
  • Spike roll across bridge to central room
    • Roll or run before central room cutscene begins; don't fall off
  • Goron roll across to block stack room (gold door)
  • Pull blocks twice
  • Get small key as human
  • Push blocks to socket to spawn chest
    • || ||
  • Goron bomb boost to chest for fairy 1 [19b, 65r]
  • Cross to door to compass room
  • Get compass
  • [Press switch without melting ice]
  • Goron bomb boost to chest for fairy 2 [18b, 65r]
  • Put on GFM and blow up wall for fairy 3 [17b, 65r]
  • Ascend to snowball room
  • Blow up snowball [16b, 65r]
    • Snowball must be on screen when the bomb explodes to get blown up
  • Climb and jump past fake wall to fairy 4 in chest
  • Jump across platforms to small key
  • Take key door to pillar puzzle room
  • Goron bomb boost to skip puzzle [15b, 65r]
    • || ||
  • Put on GFM and shoot bubble through false ceiling for fairy 5
  • Goron roll to left ramp

got here


  • Goron roll to left ramp, melt ice with fire arrow, and goron roll to load zone
  • Goron roll along snow to eeno room
  • Melt ice with fire arrow
  • Cross dinofols room as human
  • Tunnel jump and enter stairs as Goron [14b, 0r]
    • If the bomb leaves 3 snowballs, spike roll through them; if it leaves 2, pound each
  • Goron roll down to second wizzrobe
  • Wizzrobe as goron for boss key
  • Tunnel jump (tunnel is on the left now) and enter stairs as Goron [13b, 0r]
  • Spike roll to boss door
  • Goht with arrows
    • || || after unfreezing Goht
  • Heart container recommended
  • Pick up remains and learn Oath to Order

Addenda

Beginner route variations

Most IGT-intensive portions of the route can be made easier by inverting time, but some may require more significant reroutes for beginners.

To make it easier to reach Garo Mask before Night 1 of Cycle 2:

  • Goron Race can be moved
    • (1) between depositing Kokiri Sword and Twin Islands underwater HP; this does not add a soar but requires having enough IGT before aliens
    • (2) between aliens and dog race; night-day transition during Goron Race avoids a day transition cutscene and playing SoDT
    • (3) between double magic and gilded sword; double magic makes Goron Race easier
  • A cycle can be added. SoT after hitting the Woodfall owl statue; invert immediately, obtain the CT stray fairy in the laundry pool, soar Woodfall, and proceed with the route. This necessitates saving Koume a second time before the witch archery minigame, which can be done between double magic and gilded sword. The path for Woods of Mystery day 2 is RLSLLR. If this reroute is planned, inverting and getting the CT stray fairy in the laundry pool can be skipped at the beginning of Cycle 2.
  • Peahat grotto can be moved to Day 2 of Cycle 2. This saves a small amount of IGT and costs a lot of real time, but it can be done if IGT is very tight right before reaching the ranch.
  • Horse race for Garo Mask can be moved to Day 2 of Cycle 2. It costs 10 rupees that would need to be made up.
  • Further reroutes are possible but require far more significant deviations from the fastest route.

To make Night 3 of Cycle 2 easier, Ikana Castle (HP, Elegy of Emptiness) can be moved to Night 1 of Cycle 3 between toilet hand and ascending Stone Tower. This requires farming rupees for a keg in Cycle 3 and obtaining bombs and arrows from Ikana grass before entering Ikana Castle. After Elegy, return to Ikana Castle main room, soar to Ikana Canyon, and proceed with the route. If this reroute is planned, buying the keg during Night 2 of Cycle 2 can be skipped.

Last updated 11/15/2024 – bewildebeest