Basic Mechanics & Tips

Pause Buffering

Pause Buffering is a technique used to do specific inputs on exact frames. It is often very helpful to use it to perfectly time precise tricks.

While you unpause the game, there is some lag that happens between the pause menu disappearing and the game moving again. During this time, your inputs are not tracked by the game, so holding buttons during this period of time will execute the input on the first possible frame after the unpause.

For example, try running forward and pausing the game. Continue holding up, and start holding A. Unpause the game. Link will just continue running forward and not roll. The input was tracked during the pause menu, so it counted as holding the button instead of a new press when you unpaused.

Now try the same thing, except don't hold A until the unpause lag happens. This time, Link will roll on the first frame the game is unpaused. The game never tracked the A button as being held, so it sees the input happening on the first frame the game resumes play.

This is more relevant for button presses that wouldn't be executed by holding the button down. Shielding or moving the control stick are a continuous input so they do not need to be buffered.

For some reason, you cannot pause buffer speaking to an NPC or reading a sign. Instead, a roll will come out. One use of this is to pause after buying the shield, equipping it, and then rolling out of the shop to save a very small amount of time (rolling would normally be impossible in this situation because Attack will not appear on your A button).

In order to advance frames, you still must time exact pauses. Buffering a pause input will actually pause on the same frame the game was already paused on. This is the most difficult part of pause buffering.

Pause buffering is slightly different on the different console versions of the game, this is due to the amount of unpause-lag. Pause buffering is least laggy on VC thus the most direct, and hardest on N64 which has the most unpause-lag. With practice however, pause buffering consistently shouldn't be a problem on whatever your console of choice may be. Each pause on VC takes a little under 2 seconds.

Setups

Turning

Magic turns

Neutral roll

A Neutral Roll is a roll that is performed without touching the control stick. It is done by holding down Z until the action icon reads Attack, then pressing A.

It is unique in that the direction in which Link rolls depends on the the last action that was performed. If you release Z before rolling, you'll always roll forward. If you roll after a backflip, Link will roll sharply to the right at about an 80.2 degree angle off forward. If you sidehop to the left you'll roll at roughly a 40.5 degree angle to the left, and if you sidehop to the right you'll roll to the right with the same angle.

The neutral roll is useful for getting a precise angle for a many tricks.

Consistent sidehops

In setting up tricks, it's often crucial to input sidehops without accidentally moving Link between them. Though simple in theory, this can be challenging to execute, especially on slopes. ⁠Cadmic's documentation goes into what the challenges are and why they arise, and the practical solutions are given there as well as in this tutorial below.

Shield drop

Shield drop is one of the simplest techniques. With any grabbable object in Link's hand (bush, bomb, rock etc.), press R to bring out his shield and the object will fall straight to the ground. This is a much faster way to drop items than throwing or placing them with A and can be done in mid-air while pressing Z, but it also has some other uses.

Instant chu explosion

Backflip, pull out a bombchu and press R to shield drop it. It will instantly explode. This can be done with a sidehop too but the timing is much more strict. This is also an important part in Bomb Hovering.

Bombchu stab

Another way to make a bombchu explode instantly. While walking forward, hold Z and press R to shield drop it then quickly press B while still holding forward. Your sword should hit the chu making it explode. If you do this as adult you must let go of Z before pressing B because a simple forward thrust will go over the chu and not hit it.

Damage-boosted jumpslash

Get near a ledge and pull out a bomb or bombchu. If you are using a bomb, jump off the ledge when the fuse is almost up; for a bombchu you can jump any time. When you jump, quickly press R to shield drop then press B for a jumpslash. This gets slightly more height and distance than a normal damage-boosted jump which is required for some tricks such as Shadow Early.

Damage buffering

Discovered by Acryte

Using the Ocarina and an explosive, you can buffer damage in order to lower your health quickly anywhere. Buffering effectively multiplies the damage done by the explosion. This is very useful for setting up a cutscene skip or causing a death in order to deathwarp to the entrance of a dungeon.

1. Drop a Bomb/Bombchu near you.
2. Right as it is about to explode, push the Ocarina button.
3. Once the HUD fades out (except for the B button), press B to stop playing and then quickly re-press the Ocarina button (you will take 1/2 heart of damage).
4. Repeat until Link is at the desired number of hearts.

Inverted Camera

It is possible to offset your targeted camera angle from Link's facing angle using a special technique usually called "inverted cam".

• Press Z and release Z (2 frames to release)
• Wait 3 frames
• On the 4th frame after pressing Z start holding down (or another direction)
• On the next frame, (5th frame overall) press and hold Z

If you are running forward while getting inverted cam you have 1 less frame to release Z. Additionally, you must input down 1 frame earlier and hold it for at least 2 frames. If you release Z on the last frame possible (2nd frame after pressing Z) You can start holding down of 3rd or 4th frame.

It is also possible to turn the cam in other directions by inputting something other than down.

For getting inverted cam while standing still the frame data would be: (∅ = no input)

Z,∅,∅,∅,↓,Z or

Z,Z,∅,∅,↓,Z or

Z,Z,Z,∅,↓,Z or

Z,Z,Z,↓,↓,Z

For running forward at full speed while getting inverted cam: (you can stop holding up any time after Z)

Z+∅/↑, ∅/↑, ∅/↑, ↓, ↓, Z or

Z+∅/↑, Z+∅/↑, ∅/↑, ↓, ↓, Z or

Z+∅/↑, Z+∅/↑, ↓, ↓, ↓, Z

(∅/↑ = no input or control stick up)

While it is possible to get higher consistency using pause buffering, it is almost always done unbuffered by tapping the Z button, pushing the control stick in the opposite direction and then immediately repressing Z.

Inverting your camera angle is quite helpful for situations where facing forward would obstruct your view too much. It's used in a number of tricks including Tektite Hover to the fishing pond, and Tektite Hover to the Boss Door in the Water Temple as a child, as well as numerous other tricks where timing is crucial. The below video illustrates multiple camera angles that may be useful in a variety of situations.