Breath of the Wild Completed By Zelda Player Using Feet, Not Hands
A Breath of the Wild streamer, having recently completed the game without taking any damage, returns to beat it by controlling Link with his feet.
A Twitch streamer playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has beaten the game using only his feet on the controller, complementing his recent 100% completion no-damage run. Streamer and speedrunner joedun is no stranger to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Back in January, he became the first person in the world to 100% the game without taking any damage. He didn't just defeat Ganon and complete the main storyline; he found all 900 Korok seeds, completed all 120 shrines, and defeated all 84 bosses without taking a single point of damage. The run took him almost 32 hours, not counting the many times he took damage during his previous attempts and had to start over again. He said in a tweet that he'd "never again" do such a thing. After achieving this incredible feat, where could he go from there?
This time around, joedun was looking to do something different. Upping a game's challenge level by playing it with a unique method of control is nothing new – players have been using Guitar Hero controllers on unrelated games for years. One player even managed to beat Halo 3 on Legendary difficulty while controlling Master Chief with a Guitar Hero guitar, cementing its status as a very weird way of playing some of the most beloved games of the past decade. When players tire of playing a game the "regular" way or are looking for something different to showcase on a stream, beating a game with a different method of control is one of the most popular ways to mix things up.
Twitch streamer joedun outdid himself in his most recent challenge, where he beat The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's main story while manipulating the controller with his feet. Unlike the no-damage run, he didn't attempt to complete the entire game; he just defeated each Divine Beast and Calamity Ganon, which constitute the game's main story. A speedrunner at heart, joedun kept track of the time it took to complete the run: 8 hours, 18 minutes, and 33 seconds, which is much shorter than the duration of the 100% no-damage run.
During the stream, joedun kept a camera pointed at his feet and the controller on the ground, showing off the fancy footwork (and ridiculous patience) required to beat a game with an input that was definitely not designed for feet. Despite the foot run being significantly shorter, joedun says he prefers the no-damage run: in an email to Polygon, he said, "When 100% was a test of skill and endurance, the feet run was a giant test of patience. I would take the test of skill any day honestly."
Both of joedun's runs are impressive displays of skill, endurance, and patience. While there are controllers that have been designed for feet – the Wii Fit Balance Board comes to mind – it's not a way that most players generally think to use in playing games. While we wait for news of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, which Nintendo has not yet put a release date on, players can get their Zelda fix by watching streamers like joedun tackle the game in new ways. It's a testament to the enduring and beloved nature of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that fans are still watching playthroughs of it – even (or especially) ones like joedun's unique take.
Source: joudun - Twitch (via Polygon)