Sword & Shield Skip

Discovered by Nore 139

Description

Sword and Shield Skip skips getting the Ordon Sword, Ordon Shield, and Ordon Spring warp portal by luring a bulblin (sometimes referred to as Hugo) to the Faron Twilight barrier and LJAing with it over the Midna text trigger preventing normal access to that barrier. On a playthrough that begins with a Back in Time save, this trick is required to progress because the Ordon Sword and Ordon Shield are impossible to get.

How to

1. Find Hugo and lure him as close to the Faron Twilight barrier as possible along the wall on the same side as the Ordon Spring.

2. Backhop, target Hugo (continue targeting for the remainder of the trick), and push him farther until Link is just in front of the point where Midna will send him back. Starting by pushing Hugo along the wall can help prevent him from being pushed too far into the center of the path. Turning on senses makes visual cues easier to see here.

3. Nudge Hugo away from the wall slightly so that Link is facing towards the center of the twilight barrier while targeting Hugo.

4. When Hugo is in position, wait for it to attack, then backhop, then jump attack him with A. While Hugo is still in the air, jump attack again with A to do an LJA over Midna's text trigger.

If Hugo takes damage at any point, void to reload the area, as the trick cannot be attempted again immediately: Hitting Hugo with two jump attacks will kill him, and his death persists through reloading the area and saving & quitting. Retrying the trick after killing Hugo would require loading an earlier save from before Hugo was killed.

Visual Cues

The most commonly used visual cues are the circled black line and white splotch on the ground. These are more visible with senses on than without. See details on how to use these cues in the text and videos below.

Methods

While the steps above describe the only known way to do Sword & Shield Skip, there are a few variations that correspond to positioning Hugo in different ways. The tutorial videos below show examples of these methods.

• Slide Method: If Hugo is not very close to the ground trigger (closer to the black line than the white splotch), delay the second jump attack until after Link slides on the ground for a very short time. This will result in the the jump attack beginning closer to the text trigger, making it more possible to jump over it.

• No-Slide Method (control stick): If Hugo is very close to the text trigger or behind it (closer to the white splotch than the black line), hold back on the control stick while landing from the first jump attack, then release the control stick to perform the second jump attack. This will result in Link stopping instead of sliding when he lands from the first jump attack, preventing him from hitting the ground trigger.

• No-Slide Method (mashing): Mashing A for the second jump attack will cause it to begin as soon as possible and will also often prevent Link from sliding and hitting the text trigger. In most cases of the trick, Link will hit Hugo near the end of the first jump attack. meaning that mashing will cause the second jump attack to begin too early while Hugo is still very close by and high up, resulting in the second jump attack not getting enough distance. However, if Link hits Hugo near the middle of the first jump attack instead of near the end, then mashing can time the second jump attack well. This occurs when the first jump attack is from relatively close to Hugo, which happens when the backhop preceding the jump attack is blocked by the area's wall as a result of Link's angle.

Troubleshooting and Miscellaneous Tips

• It can be helpful to push Hugo along the wall as a guide until near the text trigger.
• Hugo has three states when not walking: attacking, standing passively, and standing actively. It is possible to push him regardless of his state, but it's easiest by far to push him when he's standing passively.
• If the camera is facing the wall with Hugo on the right and Link on the left, the control stick must be held left (toward's Link's back) to backhop.
• While targeting, pressing A and left on the same frame will still result in a jump attack; the stick must be held in the backhop direction for at least one frame before the A press to get a backhop.
• If Link hits the text trigger before it's possible to initiate the second jump attack, try positioning Hugo farther from the Twilight barrier or try switching to a No-Slide Method.
• Jump attacking too early in Hugo's attack animation will result in a quick jump attack that does not allow for a second jump attack to extend over the text trigger.

Tutorials

by Skyreon (basics, pushing Hugo)

by SwiftIke (no-slide method, slide method)

by Mofat (basics, slide method)