Ocarina of Time Remake Speedrunners Discover Gravity-Defying Glitches in First Days

Speedrunning communities have rapidly identified several significant glitches in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake following its launch on November 5. Within days of the title becoming available for the Nintendo Switch 2, players have discovered methods to manipulate the game’s physics and code, resulting in exploits that allow the protagonist, Link, to bypass intended progression. These discoveries range from altering movement speeds to launching the character into the air with extreme force, potentially reducing the time required to complete the game from hours to minutes.

The most prominent exploit involves the game’s physics engine, which appears to malfunction under specific conditions. Speedrunner Zfg1 was among the first to document a technique that sends Link hurtling into the sky at high velocity. This effect, described by players as making the character behave like a firework, can be replicated in various locations with careful positioning. Another widely shared method involves standing inside an open chest; sudden movements or the use of a bomb in this position can launch the player upward, effectively turning the container into a trampoline. Additionally, players have found that rapidly switching items in the inventory while airborne causes Link to float, a phenomenon one user described as a bug that should not exist but allows for endless mid-air jumping once mastered.

Background

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was originally released in 1998 and has since become a staple of the speedrunning community, known for its complex glitches and sequence-breaking strategies. The 2026 remake introduces several new mechanics, most notably a dedicated jump button, which aligns with the movement style of later titles like Breath of the Wild. This addition, along with a new sprint feature intended to streamline traversal, has provided speedrunners with new variables to exploit. Historically, the series has been prone to unusual physics behaviors, such as the boomerang rewriting item placement in the original Ocarina of Time or the camera controls in Wind Waker enabling high-speed traversal. The remake’s return to the classic setting, combined with updated code, has created a fertile environment for discovering new technical exploits.

Why it matters

These discoveries are significant for the competitive speedrunning scene, as they may lead to drastically faster world records. The ability to skip items, temples, or plot points through sequence breaking could fundamentally change the optimal route for completing the game. For example, runners have already found a method to beat Shadow Temple as child Link, which automatically transitions the character to adult form, potentially bypassing a major portion of the game’s structure. While some glitches, such as texture errors where Link’s model distorts when cutscenes are triggered incorrectly, appear to be temporary visual bugs, others offer tangible gameplay advantages. The community is actively testing these exploits to determine their reliability and applicability in official runs. The presence of these bugs also highlights the ongoing challenge game developers face in balancing new mechanics with the need to prevent unintended shortcuts.

What happens next

As the initial excitement subsides, the speedrunning community is expected to continue refining these techniques. Players are currently investigating whether the discovered glitches can be chained together to create more efficient routes. Specific focus is being placed on whether the new movement options, such as hopping and rolling, offer faster traversal than the new sprint feature. While some exploits, like the inventory-switching float, are already being shared widely, others require further testing to confirm their consistency. The developers have not yet issued a patch to address these issues, and it remains to be seen whether Nintendo will fix these glitches or leave them in place, as has been the case with some previous titles in the series.