Ocarina of Time
Console Setup
Nintendo 64
Cartridges
If you're playing on a Nintendo 64 and are buying a game cartridge, see Version Differences for how to identify the different versions of the game based on online listings or through playing the game. The TL;DR is this: the topright of the label on the cartridge's back contains a faint marking in the form of: XX, XXA, XXB—XX here being any two numbers. If there is no letter, the cart is 1.0, A means 1.1, and B means 1.2—the example pictured below is a 1.1 cart. Some cartridges will have replacement labels that do not have this marking, which makes it impossible to know the version just from looking at pictures. Also, the original NTSC gold cartridges are almost always version 1.0.
Region-free console mod
Note that if you own a PAL N64, it is cheaper and easier to simply buy a Japanese/American N64 rather than trying to region-free the console.
Once you have an NTSC Nintendo 64 console and an Ocarina of Time cartridge, the only thing you need to worry about is the physical region-lock. The only thing that prevents Japanese and American consoles from playing the other's games is a bit of plastic that stops the cartridge from fitting. The dust tray can easily be removed (or replaced with a region-free version, either 3D-printed or cheaply purchased from AliExpress) with a Gamebit screwdriver.
Instead of modifying the console, you can instead unscrew the back of the game cartridge and replace it with the back of a cartridge from the correct region (for example, a Japanese cartridge of Pokemon Stadium or Pokemon Snap because they are cheap).
Flash carts
You can use a flash cart (most commonly an Everdrive or a SummerCart) and an SD card to load games, which is important for practicing on a gz rom. Everdrives can be purchased from krikzz's store, while SummerCart is an open source
If doing vanilla runs using a flash cart, submissions are allowed unless your time is within 10% of the current world record, tracked here.
Nintendo Wii
Wii Homebrew setup
For the vast majority of runners, the only way to play Ocarina of Time on the Wii Virtual Console is to install the game using homebrew software, as the Wii Shop is no longer active. The setup process for playing on Wii usually consists of:
- Soft-modding the Wii
- Recommend having an SD card, but a USB drive can also work if you have internet access on your Wii
- Installing Homebrew Channel + Bootmii
- Strongly recommended to back up your system NAND after installing Bootmii, which can help you recover if you ever brick your Wii!
- Installing Priiloader
- Using a WAD manager app to install Ocarina of Time and (optionally) the practice ROM (gz)
- Using a WAD manager app to install IOS9 v1034
- Modifying some region settings if needed
The whole process will probably take about 1-2 hours if you have never done it before. Please ask in the Ocarina of Time Discord if you need help.
Soft-modding the console
For the soft-modding process, the Ocarina of Time community recommends this Wii Hacks Guide by the Nintendo Homebrew community (specifically the ModMii setup, but you can use Wilbrand Web if you don't have a Windows computer, or str2hax if you don't have an SD card). That website has many good resources related to Wii modding if you should need them.
When in doubt, follow this guide closely and you should not run into any issues, but note their warning about bricking your Wii (emphasis ours):
When following the guide or using specific kinds of homebrew, there is always a risk that you may brick your console. A brick is a damaged device that can no longer function; in other words, something that becomes "as useful as a brick".
Bricks are rare and preventable on Nintendo Wii consoles. They typically do not happen unless you make a mistake or deliberately edit something that you shouldn't. Therefore, please ensure that you read the content of this guide CAREFULLY, and follow instructions EXACTLY while performing them to protect your console.
Bricking your Wii, as mentioned, is rare and should not happen when following a proper guide, like the one we recommend. If you have any questions about the modding process or about installing Ocarina of Time, please feel free to ask in the OoT Discord.
After your Wii is homebrewed, you can install apps to your USB or SD card and launch them through the Homebrew Channel on the Wii. The remaining setup will use a few of these homebrew apps, including YAWM ModMii Edition and Any Region Changer: ModMii Edition. We will assume that, at this point, you have installed the Homebrew Channel, Bootmii, and Priiloader (and made a NAND backup!).
Installing WADs
Once your Wii is homebrewed, you can install WADs, which are packages used for installing channels and software on the Nintendo Wii. To do this, we recommend using YAWM ModMii Edition.
Using a WAD manager you can simply install an official WAD of vanilla Ocarina of Time and/or a WAD that has been patched with the practice ROM (gz). These games will then show up on your System Menu as Virtual Console Channels. ZSR is unable to distribute the copyrighted Ocarina of Time WAD — we recommend asking in the Ocarina of Time Discord if you have questions about this.
Installing IOS9 v1034
Important to note for leaderboard submissions: some (especially older) methods of homebrewing can install custom IOS that overwrites the IOS9 version used by Ocarina of Time. These unofficial IOS have been known to cause faster resets in Ocarina of Time than legitimate versions of IOS9.
It is required that all speedrun.com submissions use an official version of IOS9 — you will of course want to use the fastest (and latest) official version, which is v1034. In most cases, if you have recently soft-modded your Wii with a modern method, and have an updated Wii System Menu, you will already have this IOS9 version, but it's safe to install it anyway just in case.
- Download IOS9 v1034 here and install it like any other WAD (yawmME recommended)
- Video tutorial for installing the correct IOS9 version
Region-free VC/discs
Usually for speedrunning we want to use Japanese versions of the game, but most people are not running on a Japanese Wii. This will unlock region-locked GameCube discs, Wii discs, and Wii channels including VC games.
- Load the Priiloader app
- Either through the Homebrew Channel or by holding RESET while the Wii is powering on
- Select
system menu hacks - Enable
region free everything save settings
If you are on a PAL Wii, you will notice that the game boots but still runs in 50hz instead of 60hz. You will need to change your console's video mode to NTSC, which can be done with Wii Mod Lite (see Change video mode (PAL Wiis)) and while you are there you may also want to set the language and region to Japanese (see JP region settings).
Language & region settings
Change video mode (PAL Wiis)
If you are using a PAL Wii (usually from Europe, Australia, and certain parts of South America) you will usually want to change the video mode to NTSC, so that the Japanese game runs in full 60hz speed. First, you should make sure that your display supports the NTSC video mode. Often on PAL CRTs, when playing in NTSC mode you will have a black-and-white video signal, which is perfectly normal and playable.
To change your Wii's video mode to NTSC, use the Any Region Changer: ModMii Edition homebrew app.
- Launch Any Region Changer: ModMii Edition on your Homebrew Channel
- Read the brick warning and continue
- Move up to
Console Video Mode - Change it to
NTSC Save Settings- Press the
HOMEorSTARTbutton to exit
After changing this setting, you may not be able to play PAL GameCube discs when booting from the disc channel on the System Menu. Just switch your video mode back to PAL the same way if you run into this issue.
JP region settings (optional)
If you have followed the setup, and are launching the Ocarina of Time Japanese VC version, you will most likely see a message full of garbled text. This is the text that in English says "You will need the Classic Controller." You can play the game as normal. However, properly setting the Japanese game region actually saves a small amount of time (between 200 and 300 milliseconds, usually) every time the text displays.
To do this, we recommend the Any Region Changer: ModMii Edition homebrew app. You can use it to change the Console Area and Game Region Settings to Japan (both need to be changed for the Classic Controller text).
- Launch Any Region Changer: ModMii Edition on your Homebrew Channel
- Read the brick warning and continue
- Move up to
Game Region setting - Change it to
Japan - Move up to
Console Area Setting - Change it to
Japan- A banner of
WARNING: AREA/SysMenu MISMATCH!will display unless you installed a Japanese System Menu—this is due to the semi-brick mentioned in the disclaimer above, but is otherwise safe to continue
- A banner of
Save Settings- Press the
HOMEorSTARTbutton to exit
Your games from other regions will still work as normal due to the Priiloader region free everything hack. The only downside is your System Menu text will now be in Japanese!