The Legend of Zelda: Outlands is probably the best, and most famous Legend of Zelda 1 hack. I can recommend it to anyone who liked the original version. It even features two quests... one even harder than the other. This movie completes both quests.
The patch can be downloaded
here. You will need to patch "Legend of Zelda, The (U) (PRG0).nes".
A few people who watched it mentioned they would like to see a run which doesn't use any glitches. One of the reasons for this is that the run may be a little difficult to keep up with what's skipped, and what's happening without knowing the game. Of course, I would suggest to everyone to play the game themselves, as it is also a lot of fun... but that takes quite some time. I myself don't think a full run is a very good idea, since without glitches, the route will be very linear, and there are spots where you need to beat the same boss three times in a row and such. The main good thing about a glitchless run is that if shows of the entire game, which might give more appreciation and understanding for this movie. A walkthrough can do the job just as well, so I made both a walkthrough of the first, and second quest.
Walkthrough first quest
Walkthrough second quest
Do note that it are merely walkthroughs, which don't aim for speed and don't use any glitches. Useless items, and also maps and compasses are collected. It should however give a good image of what a full run would look like, and give a better understanding about this run.
- Aims for fastest time
- Takes damage to save time
- Uses a game restart sequence
- Abuses programming errors in the game
- Manipulates luck
- No predefined saves
- Completes both quests
- Genre: Action
- Genre: Adventure
Glitch
I discovered a glitch which allowed Link to go half a tile inside a solid block from the bottom and the top, while working on the regular Zelda run. Since then, the glitch has been expanded, and it's now possible too to do it sideways, which allows fast left/right movement too. A short history on how is was discovered step by step can be found here. I could write a long paragraph on how it is exactly performed, but I suggest just looking at the input, and you know it right away, since it's not hard to perform or understand. The glitching is a lot more useful in this game than in the regular game. So far, no items can be skipped at either the first or the second quest of the regular game. At this hack, it's possible to skip several items, and there are more spots, both in the overworld and underworld, where the glitch is very useful. I'd like to thank Sleepz, Hanzou and Catastrophe for the time they spent on the glitch.
First Quest
Entering my name took 25 frames longer than having "A" as a name. A small prize to pay for the message that appears at the end of the TAS ;). The game starts off all the way at the left of the overworld. Glitching to the left takes Link to the right of the overworld. The spot I get to can't normally be reached without a raft. I'm ending up in a big dark part at the right of the room. It is made out of entrances, which warp me to the middle of this room (these entrances can't be reached without glitching). Link goes down one screen, uses the glitch a few times to get through the rockformations, and the glitches again to the left, leading to being at the left of the overworld. I needed to go one room down, since the wall at the left side is one block thick here, which is needed if you want to walk through the wall. I go up again, and now you see I'm at the other side of the river (from where Link started). This place can't normally be reached without having the power bracelet and ladder. This is where 150 rupees are found, which are needed later in the run. Getting money in this game is generally pretty hard, since there is no gambling, and only one spot where you get 150 rupees at once. The maximum you can get at other places is 50 rupees. After getting the 150 rupees, I reset with up+A.
Onto level 1. The glitching was useful several times here. Notice how Link has to walk into the screen a little to do the glitch. The wooden sword it located in level 1, and it obviously can't be skipped, so I collect it here. I stay a little longer at level 1 to collect an extra key. Then a reset to exit the level.
The next thing that is needed it are the silver arrows. They are needed to kill 'Ganon' after all and can be found in level 5. Somewhere along the way bombs are collected. I glitch past the bridge. Normally a ladder would be required here. No power bracelet is needed to push the gravestone for entering level 5, luckily :). Inside the level, the glitch is used a few times to avoid killing all enemies in the room. After a while, I reach a room with 8 enemies, which look slightly different here, but are the same as bunnies in the first quest. All need to be hit 10 times, so 80 hits need to be dealt in this room! All of that for just another key. The dark rooms in this game are truly dark. You don't even see the walls at the side, so it's a little hard to see where exactly you are. The scrolling also looks weird, since the screen is just black, and you don't see it moving. After these dark rooms, there is a room with darknuts and bunnies. The main aim is to kill the bunnies as fast as possible, since they take the longest. I had some problems with making it in time to collect that bomb (which disappears after a while). In the end, I was just in time for it by a close margin. To kill the boss in the next room, the flute is normally needed, but luckily the solid blocks are arranged in a way that it can be bypassed. The corridor in the next room just appears after a while (which I can't remember happening in the regular game). The glitch is used to get right where the staircase appears. Finally, the silver arrows :) When I exit the level, you get to see what a triforce looks like in this game (it's a fairy). For this dungeon, it was located right next to the start.
Right after the dungeon, I glitch myself to an area which can only be reached with the raft normally. The bow is bought here (luckily Link has just enough money). Now with the silver arrows and bow, and sword, Link is ready to face Ganon.
After resetting, I do the same thing again as at the start of the run, and the spot where I get to happens to be right next to level 9.
'
At level 9, if you walk up, you will get to the seal, where all triforces (or fairies) are needed. To the right is a dead end. To the left normally too, but the blocks are diagonal, so Link can glitch through them. This successfully gets Link in a place that can only be reached with all triforce parts, and thus they are skipped. The thing I pick up next is the key which can be used many times... although I just pick it up because it's in the way, I don't open any locked doors with it. Next up is a room with 8 enemies that eat your shield. It was pretty hard to manipulate all 8 of them to move in the way I wanted. Then there is a long way with bombing, taking damage and glitching. There even is a room with 8 blue wizzrobes, thankfully I didn't need to kill them. I don't know if it's possible to reach the staircase I use to get to Ganon without glitching or not... either way, I used it. Right before Ganon there is a wizzrobe room. Ganon is pretty straightforward. First quest isn't completed after Ganon... two more rooms untill the end. One of them shows some nice use of the silver arrows. Then the first quest is completed.
Second Quest
For those who didn't like getting to places that you aren't supposed to... the second quest has a lot less of this. The levels in the second quest aren't numbered from 1 to 9, instead, they spell out OUTLANDSC (so U is the second dungeon, and C the ninth). C stands for "challenge". First off Link goes to level U to get some meat. The meat is obtained without any weapons, which wouldn't normally be possible. You would at least need either boomerang, bombs or candle. I think the intention of the creator was to visit level O first where you can get the boomerang. I also use the glitch to get a key. After getting the meat, there is a up+A reset with a save to start over again.
Now that we have meat, Link goes to level O. After getting some keys, the boomerang is obtained. There is even a room where you have to kill all 'bats' with the boomerang, which is pretty neat. It was actually pretty hard to get the room like that. Then meat is used, and Link can obtain the ladder. Enough of this level... back to level U!
With the ladder, Link can reach new places in level U, like the place where Zelda had hidden the flute. The glitch is used to get here faster. After getting the flute, RESET.
Note that since I saved, I switching weapons before the save wouldn't have made a difference. This is only possible the you 'continue' not when you 'save'. Glitching is used again to get somewhere at the right in the overworld, and even though the glitching passes areas that could normally not be reached... the part where I get in the end can be reached without glitching. Here the flute is used to get money. Note that it takes long for the creature to spawn (the one that gives me money), this cannot be avoided. After getting the money, I reset.
Now I walk to level T to finally get my sword. There are also bombs ready to pick up :). It is important to note that everything I did till now was in the right order of what the creator intended, so indeed the sword is in the third level. Flute was needed to get enter this level. After getting the sword, I exit the level to buy the bow again.
Since the silver arrows are in the last level this time, we are ready to head there. Level C is located near the spot where you get when you do the glitch at the start again, so that's convenient. This time the flute is needed to enter it. The seal is bypassed again, by doing the glitch in the second room. Link makes, and glitches, his way to the room where the infinite key is located (this would normally take quite a bit longer without the glitch). After it is obtained, Link moves on to a wizzrobe room. It was pretty hard, since I could only use two bombs. In the end, the entire second quest will be completed with only 4 bombs. After the wizzrobe room, Zelda wants to kill me, and after that, Link can pick up the silver arrow. Then RESET. Fully equiped, Link heads for Ganon, and kills him... game complete? Far from it. The hardest part is yet to come. Before reaching the end of the game, one of the hardest bosses of the game needs to be beats no less than three times! The last one was particularly hard, since there were bullets coming from the corners of the room too, which could cause lag. Most of it was avoided. It was also hard to know where you were, since everything was black in that room (there were quite some blocks blocking your way). In the end, Link saves the day once again.
Truncated: The hack is not accepted at this site. In my opinion it shouldn't be either since it is not well made. About a third of the votes for this submission was no, which comparatively is a large amount, and I agree that it's not very entertaining. For these reasons I am rejecting this submission.
mmbossman: This submission has been given another chance at publication. If you feel it should be published, instead of returning to the grue, please post WHY in the thread. Similarly, if you do NOT think this movie should be published, post WHY.
mmbossman: The prime issue I see with this submission is the feeling that because it's a hack, all the glitching is really just a product of the hack, and not the original game engine. This is not the case, as several of the same glitches can be seen in the
2nd quest movie. This is probably why Truncated described this hack as "sloppy" originally; There was not a published demonstration of these glitches to confirm that they were possible in the original game. Just like any other glitched movie here, the glitching only becomes more impressive after the viewer has played the game, and although I have never played this hack, I still found the movie mildly amusing. After looking through
Baxter's detailed explanation of the hack, and considering the positive tone of the people responding after this was revived, I believe that it should become part of our collection. I would also recommend that the description for the movie contain a link to the post linked above, to further inform the viewer about how much is really going on.
ShinyDoofy: Processed, about to publish.
