The Wind Waker Changes on Nintendo Switch 2 Are Big for Speedrunners

The Nintendo Switch 2 version of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker makes some subtle changes with big implications for speedrunners. Speedrunning has been a mainstay of the Zelda fandom for years, but some entries in the long-running series are notably easier to rush through than others. While The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker may still pose a challenge, it just got more approachable, thanks to some Switch 2 updates.

Nintendo revealed The Wind Waker would come to Switch 2 during its April 2 Direct about the console. As with other classic titles on Nintendo Switch Online, the Switch 2 version of the game isn’t a full remake or remaster but does come with a few improvements and changes through the emulator. Fans have now discovered that some of those updates make speedrunning Wind Waker a more accessible feat.

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Veteran Wind Waker fans are already familiar with its best practices, but its Nintendo Switch Online port has added a couple more.

YouTuber and speedrunner Linkus7 highlighted the speedrunning-friendly changes in a June 25 YouTube video. The first of the two major updates revolves around a glitch that allows players to fall through out-of-bounds areas of the map and land on a chest to skip portions of some dungeons. In the original version, the rest of the level wouldn’t load after landing on the chest, and playing the Song of Passing to force it to load would crash the game. Now, that crash no longer happens, making it possible to use the out-of-bounds glitch and the Song of Passing to breeze through dungeons. It may not be as impressive as Ocarina of Time’s massive speedrunning skip, but it can save a lot of time.

The Switch 2 Version of The Wind Waker Makes Speedrunning Easier

The other update Linkus7 points out involves a speedrunning mechanic called manual super-swimming, where players make Link swim back and forth quickly to build negative speed and slingshot across the map. On the GameCube, manual super-swimming is remarkably difficult, but the Switch 2 version’s button remapping makes it easier. The Switch 2 allows Wind Waker players to easily change the game’s controls, including mapping an analog stick direction onto the A button, which makes changing directions quickly enough to super-swim a much more accessible task.

While The Wind Waker remains one of the hardest Zelda games to 100% complete, these two changes make it possible to rush through, even for less experienced speedrunners. It’s unclear how exactly the updates will affect the Zelda speedrunning community going forward, but the Switch 2 may usher in a new era for Wind Waker runs.