Boomerang

The boomerang is a Y-item in ALttP. It has two forms: the boomerang and the magic boomerang. When there's a need to differentiate them, these are typically called the blue and red boomerangs respectively.

Location

The blue boomerang can be found in two places:

• A chest in the basement of Hyrule Castle.
• A chest in the chicken house in Kakariko Village.

The upgraded red boomerang can also be obtained in two places:

• Throw the blue boomerang into the fairy pond behind the waterfall of wishing. The fairy will surface and give Link the red boomerang.
• If Link does not have a boomerang, the red boomerang can be found in the chest in the brewery in Village of Outcasts. If Link does have a boomerang, then this chest will hold 300 rupees instead.

Description

The boomerang is a multipurpose item in ALttP speedrunning.

It can collect drops such as rupees, arrows, bombs, fairies, keys, etc. and pull them to Link. Small keys which require the Pegasus boots to knock down (such as the torch keys in Desert Palace or Ganon's Tower) are unable to be fetched with the boomerang.

In combat, the boomerang will stun most enemies for a few seconds. Some enemies can be defeated by it, such as keese and chasupa. Other enemies may be unaffected or experience a shorter stun effect. Enemies who are defeated after having been stunned by the boomerang will not use their default prize pack. Instead, they will always drop a single green rupee.

In boss fights, the boomerang is only damaging against the Armos Knights. Each knight will take 48 boomerang hits to defeat though.

The boomerang is the only projectile weapon in the game that can be used in a direction Link is not facing. This is done by pressing the desired direction and Y on the same frame, which is commonly known as a swag boom. The boomerang is also the only projectile weapon that can be used diagonally.

The boomerang can be used in item dashes. Doing so, Link will throw the boomerang as soon as the dash is started after the charging animation. Unlike any other weapon in the game, the player has full control over the direction of the throw during a boomerang dash. However, if the player wishes to throw the boomerang in a direction that Link is not facing, the direction of the throw must be pressed on the same frame that the item dash is started on. So for example, if the player wants to dash right and throw the boomerang downwards, they would face right and hit all of Y and A and on the same frame. If you're throwing the boomerang in any direction except the cardinal direction Link is facing in for the dash, you'll need to let go of the d-pad or else the dash will be canceled as soon as it starts.

Differences in the red and blue boomerangs

The red and blue boomerangs are identical in all of their functions, including how they're used and how they deal damage to enemies. The only differences are:

• The blue boomerang has a more limited range, traveling up to 64 pixels from Link before returning. The red boomerang can travel as far as 300 pixels, but usually will hit the edge of the screen and come back to Link before that distance can be covered.
• The blue boomerang travels an average of 2 pixels per frame, while the red boomerang travels an average of 3 pixels per frame.
• The red boomerang spawns 6 sparkle ancillae around it. This has a couple notable effects:
  • In busy rooms with a lot going on, adding 6 sparkle effects can generate extra lag. In such situations, you likely want to avoid using the red boomerang.
  • Using this one item spawns 7 total ancillae (the red boomerang + the 6 sparkles). If the red boomerang hits a wall, a wall tink ancilla will spawn. This makes the red boomerang a powerful tool in ancilla misslot and ancilla overload setups.