My love for deductive games has been quite well explained in other issues of Ludology Now!, but I’ve had a new experience with deduction and gaming recently unlike anything I’ve done before. Recently I was turned on to the idea of N64 decompilations, a sort of reverse-engineered version of a game’s code that uses a legal ROM to allow N64 games to be played natively on a PC. One thing led to another, and in a few hours I was playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on my computer at 60FPS on a PS5 controller. What?
This specific Ocarina of Time decompilation (called Ship of Harkinian, for those curious) also came with a randomizer. Now, I’ve watched randomizer runs on various streams and at GDQ over the years, but I’ve never played one myself. I’ve never had the opportunity, because I’d never cared enough to look into it. But here I am, with a randomizer already in front of me, and it’s hooked up to the game I arguably may know the MOST about, more than any other videogame. I had to try it out.
The first couple of attempts were a bit wonky, and it took some settings-plundering to figure out how to generate a seed that was both A) seemed like it would be fun to finish, and B) actually possible to finish. The amount of options at a player’s disposal are overwhelming at first, but with a bit of trial and error I finally found a combination that felt right.
For anyone who hasn’t played an Ocarina of Time randomizer (or, indeed, any randomizer at all) let me explain a bit about what that actually means. When you start a new game, Link will – probably – not start in his home. You may start the game in Hyrule Field, or in Zora’s Domain, or, as I did, in Lon Lon Ranch. You will begin with no items that you did not specifically ask for, and if you’re me, that means you’re without both a sword and a shield. Drops (rewards from killing enemies or completing quests or opening chests) are completely mixed around. For instance, after I brought Talon and Malon back to the ranch, I played the cuccoo hunt game and quickly won, but did not get a bottle of Lon Lon Milk. Instead, I got a heart container.
Deku Scrubs don’t sell useless garbage you can find in the grass anymore, either. Now, there’s a chance that the scrub you are ignoring may be holding a song you need, or an upgrade that allows you to have infinite bombs, or maybe even that one last small key you need to finish a dungeon.
That’s the biggest change a randomizer makes to Zelda – the progression. Ocarina of Time is a methodically paced, curated experience that, when you know what you are doing, flows perfectly from one section to another. That isn’t possible with a randomizer. Let me give an example.
Imagine it’s early on in the run we started earlier. We left Lon Lon Ranch and hurried to Castle Town, not quite making it before nightfall and thus being subjected to the horror that is clicking the “randomize enemies” and also “randomize enemy sizes” buttons. After surviving by hiding in the Hyrule Market moat, we wait for daylight and enter. In the market a shopkeeper is selling Saria’s Song, a deku stick bag, a Deku Shield, an, for 80 rupees, the Bomb Bag. Excellent. I buy the bomb bag and make my way to Kakariko and Death Mountain Trail. I blow open Dondongo’s Cavern and step inside. Link is then transported to the Forest Temple, which is guarded by a Like-Like and an Iron Knuckle. I still don’t have a sword.
Now, a few days out from those early attempts, I am deeply invested and very possibly nearly finished. I have all three tunics, all the shields, all the boots, all the arrows, unlimited deku sticks, unlimited bombchus, a hookshot AND a longshot, three medallions, two spiritual stones, and all but two of the songs. If I could find the Megaton Hammer, we’d be golden.
I’ve thought about it a good bit and the best analogy I can come up with is putting together a jigsaw puzzle without looking at the final image, just using your memory of seeing the image in the past. Being in the Shadow Temple and picking up the Iron Boots and realizing how much more of the Water Temple you get to explore now, being at the Desert Colossus and finding, finally, the last small key for Gerudo Training Grounds. Stepping into the Ice Cavern and being transported to Ganon’s Castle, guarded by an anubis and the Star Fox fighter plane I remember seeing at GDC a few years ago.
It’s so neat. It’s such a fun new way to play around in a world I have spent so much time in already. I love The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time more than nearly any other videogame, but I thought I had found every way to squeeze fun out of it over the years. I was wrong, and honestly that makes me excited for the future. I don’t know how I’ll enjoy playing Zelda next, but I’m rather glad I got to experience it this way at least once.
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