A Japanese speedrunner has rolled credits on the Nintendo Switch 2 version of The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild — over a full month before its set to release.
Ikaboze, who has completed several runs for Breath Of The Wild, its sequel, and other games in the Legend Of Zelda series, according to his speedrun.com profile, attended a Switch 2 preview event in Tokyo, which featured a Breath Of The Wild demo kiosk. At this kiosk, attendees could play the game freely from various save points throughout the game, with total playtime capped at ten minutes.
In a video posted to his YouTube channel on April 27, Ikaboze detailed how he reached the end of the game, beginning with a save file at its final dungeon, Hyrule Castle. Due to the open nature of the game, this area can take upwards of an hour to finish. However, it took Ikaboze only minutes to reach the final boss through the use of speedrunning techniques and his in-depth knowledge of them.
Ikaboze mostly played the final boss of the game completely straight and reached the credits around seven minutes after loading the game. By this point, a large group of people had gathered to watch him play and applauded him upon completion of the challenge, including the staff member working the kiosk.
According to speedrun.com, the current world record speedrun for Breath Of The Wild is 22 minutes and 58 seconds, held by American runner Player5. While Ikaboze does not currently hold any world records, he has placed fourth for the spin-off title Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.
The Switch 2 version of Breath Of The Wild and its sequel, Tears Of The Kingdom, will launch alongside the system on June 5 this year. Upgrades will be available for purchase on all original Nintendo Switch copies, and the DLC expansion pack can be purchased separately.
Words by Ash Douglas
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