Speedrunners have been combing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for any tricks that might help them finish the game as fast as possible, and they’ve found quite a few. However, it didn’t take long for gamers who played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to notice that Nintendo had removed a glitch that made speedrunning Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s predecessor much easier, and they aren’t happy about it. Here’s how Nintendo made speedrunning Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Nintendo Removes Whistle Sprinting From Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Within hours of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s 2017 release, speedrunners discovered a glitch that came to be known as “Whistle Sprinting.” By pressing down on the d-pad at the same time you’re pressing the B button to sprint, players found that they were able to keep running without spending valuable stamina. While whistle sprinting did force players to hold their Switch controllers in a less-than-comfortable position, many found the glitch extremely helpful in the opening hours of Zelda: Breath of the Wild when the player’s stamina wheel is at its lowest.
Having proven that it’s possible to finish Zelda: Breath of the Wild in less than half an hour, many players planned on attempting to beat The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom at a similar pace by whistle sprinting. Unfortunately, it was quickly discovered that Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom does not allow players to whistle sprint. To add insult to injury, players to attempted to perform a whistle sprint learned that Links now expends more stamina when he runs while whistling.
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As one might expect, many veteran speedrunners were distraught and outraged to discover that one of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s most exploitable speedrunning tactics is absent from its sequel. One Tiktok user, who goes by the alias “knightpohtaytoe” summed up the speedrunning community’s feelings about Nintendo’s decision to remove whistle sprinting from Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom perfectly in the video below.
While speedrunners can’t whistle sprint their way through Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the game’s new mechanics are full of speedrunning potential. Link’s Ultrahand ability alone has proven to be a speedrunner’s dream come true, with one user using Ultrahand to finish Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in less than two hours, and that record is only going to get shorter as players discover new ways to shave their total playtime down.
