Twilight Princess HD

Any% (Beginner)

This route is intended for beginners. The fastest route, which can be found here, is somewhere around 10 minutes faster. The fastest run on the beginner route can be found ⁠here, and it might be a useful visual reference for following along with this route. That said, that run does not do every possible strategy, and a few minor things in this route were discovered later on.


Runs should start with a blank file in slots 1, 2, and 3.


Ordon

  • Roll to Ordon Spring
  • Ride Epona to Ordon Ranch, getting random rupees from the grass (5 R)
  • Goats 1 (10 Goats)
  • Exit Link's house
    • Store forward and A to jump over the ladder
  • Roll to Ordon Village
  • Climb up the vines and talk to Jaggle
  • Roll across the platforms and grab the blue rupee (10 R)
  • Get the crib with the hawk and deliver it to Uli (Fishing Rod)
  • Jump onto the roof of Rusl's house using the mailbox
  • Grab two yellow rupees on the roof (30 R)
  • Roll to the dock (grab green rupees as needed to get to 30R)
  • Catch a fish
    • Try to aim towards where it looks like there are fish
  • Enter Sera's shop (Milk Bottle)
  • Buy the Slingshot (0 R)
  • Exit Sera's shop
  • Roll to Link's house and enter it
  • Grab the Wooden Sword from the chest
  • Exit Link's house
    • Store forward and A to jump over the ladder
  • Do the slingshot & sword tutorials

  • Ride Epona to Faron Woods
  • Ride Epona to Coro and talk to him (Lantern)
  • Roll to the cave at the northeast corner of the central area of Faron Woods
  • Grab the Small Key from the chest
  • Roll to North Faron
  • Save Talo
  • Goats 2 (20 Goats)
  • Roll to Link's house
  • Roll to Ordon Spring
  • Crawl through the tunnel

  • Dash through the Hyrule Castle sewers
  • Dash across the Hyrule Castle rooftops
  • Leave the tower after watching the Zelda cutscene
  • Dash to Ordon Village
  • Listen to Bo and Jaggle from the grass
  • Midna jump up to Hanch (the hawk guy)
  • Midna jump into the house
  • Bonk the wall to grab the Ordon Shield
  • Dash to Rusl's house
  • Grab the Ordon Sword from the couch
  • Dash to Ordon Spring
  • Kill the Shadow Beasts (Ordon Spring Warp Portal)
  • Dash to the twilight barrier
  • Enter Faron Twilight

Faron Province

  • Dash towards Faron Spring and kill the Shadow Beasts (South Faron Warp Portal)
  • Dash to Faron Spring
  • Talk to Farona (Faron Vessel)
  • Kill the first two bugs in the tunnel (2 tears)
  • Dash to Coro's house and Midna jump inside
  • Kill the two bugs in Coro's house (4 tears)
    • Turn off senses before releasing the Midna charge to skip the cutscene
  • Exit Coro's house
  • Dash to the locked gate and dig under it
  • Kill the bug before Faron Cave (5 tears)

  • Dig to skip most of Faron Cave
  • Kill the bug on the right wall at the start of the mist area (6 tears)
  • Midna jump into the main tree trunk in the middle of the mist area
  • Kill the two bugs in the main tree trunk (8 tears)
  • Midna jump to the southwest corner of the mist area
  • Dig up and kill the two burrowed bugs (10 tears)
  • Dash to North Faron
  • Kill the Shadow Beasts (North Faron Warp Portal)
  • Dash towards Forest Temple
  • Kill the two bugs in front of Forest Temple (12 tears, twilight cleared)

  • Store a backflip to skip some Midna text (hug the wall to walk around the trigger)
  • Roll to Coro and talk to him (Small Key)
  • Roll through Faron Cave
  • Go through the mist area with the monkey (10 R)
    • Push the monkey forward when possible, but not too much or she'll go backwards
    • Use the Slingshot to kill keese and deku babas along the way
  • Retrieve the Lantern and roll to North Faron
  • Roll towards Trill's Shop
  • Kill the bokoblin closest to Trill's shop
  • Refill the lantern (don't pay Trill for the lantern oil)
  • Roll to the Golden Wolf (Ending Blow)
  • Enter Forest Temple

Forest Temple

  • Roll towards the vines
  • Kill the walltulas with the slingshot
  • Climb the vines and enter the next room
  • Light the torches with the lantern to raise the stairs
    • Rollstab the skulltula to stun it, then do a jumpspin to kill it (if the rollstab fails, wait for it to start to attack, then do a jumpspin)
  • Exit to the north and watch the bridge cutscene in the next room
  • Go back into the torch room and use the east exit
  • Roll to the north door and go outside
  • Roll through the outdoor area and enter the room to the north
  • Grab the Small Key from the chest

  • Roll back to the room with a bunch of water
  • Go through the east exit (jump past the hanging Skulltula)
  • Roll across the bridge and bonk the totem pole twice
  • Kill the bokoblins to save the second monkey (check for dropped rupees)
  • Roll back to the torch room and use the west exit
  • Roll up the stairs and exit to the north
  • Early Boomerang
  • Ook (Gale Boomerang)
  • Savewarp


Getting to Eldin Vessel

  • Roll to Hyrule Field
  • Roll towards the Eldin twilight barrier (to the east)
  • Enter Eldin Twilight
  • Dash to the gorge and kill the Shadow Beasts (Kakariko Gorge Warp Portal)
    • Do not store a jump attack during the portal cutscene. This is HD, not SD.

  • Warp to South Faron (during the forced warp)
  • Dash to Hyrule Field
  • Dash towards the Lanayru gate (to the west)
  • Eponaless Gate Clip
  • Dash towards the bridge area
  • Climb onto the box and jump down to Lake Hylia

  • Dash to Fyer and talk to him
  • Dash towards the Kargarok and fight it
    • Dash into the corner to have the Kargarok start flying around earlier
    • After the first hit, backflip higher on the hill and jump attack again to skip a cycle
  • Faster Kargarok Flight

  • Store a jump attack after finishing the Kargarok flight to skip some Midna text
  • Dash to Zora's Domain
  • Climb the frozen waterfall
    • Wait for the icicles during the Midna jumps
    • Hold backwards after jumping past the second icicle to avoid slipping off the ledge
  • Enter the throne room at the top of the waterfall
  • Kill the Shadow Beasts (Zora's Domain Warp Portal)

  • Warp to North Faron
  • Warp the bridge to Kakariko Gorge
    • Store a jump attack to skip some Midna text after the cutscene
  • Dash to Kakariko Village
  • Kill the Shadow Beasts (Kakariko Village Warp Portal)

Eldin Province

  • Talk to Eldin (Eldin Vessel)
  • Midna jump up to the top of the sanctuary and enter it from the roof
  • Light the torches on the wall
  • Jump down into the basement
  • Kill the three bugs in the basement (3 tears)
  • Warp to Kakariko Village
  • Dash up the ramp and enter Elde Inn
  • Jump down and kill the Elde Inn bug (4 tears)

  • Exit Elde Inn and dash to the top of the abandoned house
  • Kill the bug in the abandoned house (5 tears)
  • Midna jump out of the abandoned house
  • Dash to Barnes' shop and enter through the window
  • Go upstairs and kill the bug (6 tears)
  • Exit Barnes' shop
  • Enter the bomb house, light the fireplace, and exit (bonk the wall for rupees)
  • Grab the three tears from the bomb house ruins (9 tears)

  • Dash to Death Mountain Trail (to the northeast)
  • Dash up Death Mountain Trail and kill the bug by the howling stone (10 tears)
    • Quick climb up one of the ledges on the way up
  • Dash to the top of Death Mountain Trail
  • Kill the Shadow Beasts (Death Mountain Warp Portal)
  • Kill the bug on the wall with a jump attack from the nearby ledge (11 tears)
    • Move quickly to make the first steam cycle
  • Dash to the hot spring area and kill the hot spring bug (12 tears, twilight cleared)
  • Roll to Death Mountain Trail (to the northeast)
  • Climb the grate and hit the Goron Trigger (Faster Goron)
  • Roll back to Kakariko Village
  • Roll towards Elde Inn to trigger the Epona cutscene
    • Having the Fishing Rod out here causes a fun audio glitch
  • Tame Epona

Lanayru Transition

  • Ride Epona to Eldin Field (to the north)
  • LJA to skip the Postman
  • Ride Epona to the other side of Eldin Bridge
  • Fyrus Skip
  • Store a jump attack to skip some Midna text (LJA off of the nearby Keese)
  • Warp to Death Mountain
  • Wait for the meteor to fall and warp it to Zora's Domain

  • Store a jump attack to skip some Midna Text
  • Dash towards the exit and watch the Rutela cutscene
  • Store another jump attack to skip the Midna Text again
  • Dash to the exit
  • Jump down the waterfall and swim into the loading zone

Lanayru Twilight

  • Enter Lanayru Spring and talk to Lanayru (Lanayru Vessel)
  • Exit Lanayru Spring and dash to the west
  • Kill the bug after the first bridge (1 tears)
  • Continue to dash to the west
  • Kill the Shadow Beasts (Lake Hylia Warp Portal)
  • Dash towards the ladder (to the west) and kill the nearby bug (2 tears)

  • Warp to Zora's Domain
  • Bonk the eastern wall and Midna charge the bug (3 tears)
  • Exit the throne room and drop down the waterfall
  • Swim to the lilypads and kill the lilypad bug (4 tears)
  • Swim to the east and dash up the ramp
  • Kill the bug on the cliff (5 tears)
  • Swim to Upper Zora's River (to the south)
  • Swim to Iza (to the east) and talk to her
  • Kill the bug that appears (6 tears)

  • Swim to North Hyrule Field (to the southwest, through tunnel with torches)
  • Swim to the stairs and dash to West Castle Town Field (to the southwest)
  • Dash towards Castle Town and kill the Shadow Beasts (Castle Town Warp Portal)
  • Dash to Castle Town
  • Dash cancel through Castle Town towards Telma's Bar (south, then east)
  • Kill the bug outside Telma's Bar (7 tears)

  • Warp to Lake Hylia
  • Dash to the howling grass and howl (UDUD)
  • Kill the three bugs during the Kargarok Flight (10 tears)
  • Bonk into the wall and say no to trying again
  • Kill the bug by where you respawn (11 tears)
  • Swim to the floating platforms (to the west)
    • Make sure not to have the camera in freecam when starting the cutscene (freecam messes up the start of the Boss Bug fight)
  • Boss Bug (12 tears, twilight cleared)

Zora Armor

  • Exit Lanayru Spring and roll to Fyer
    • Use the Boomerang to grab the red rupee above Fyer to get to 10R if necessary
  • Pay Fyer to use the cannon (0 R)
  • Exit Falbi's house (sidehop over the ladder)
  • Roll to the horse call grass and call Epona
  • Ride Epona to Castle Town
    • Do not skip the Postman because he'd talk to you later anyways
  • Roll through Castle Town to Telma's Bar (south, then east)

  • King Bulblin 2 Skip
  • Ride Epona to the first gate
  • Open the gate and kill the Bulblin Riders to the southeast
  • Catch back up to the wagon and kill the Kargarok with the Boomerang
  • Leave the wagon behind, ride Epona through Kakariko Gorge, and open the gate
  • LJA over the Midna (and KB1) triggers to enter Kakariko Village
  • Roll to the Graveyard (to the southeast)
  • Follow Rutela through the Graveyard
  • Crawl halfway through the tunnel, then start going backwards (Rutela tunnel warp)
  • Swim over to Rutela (Zora Armor)

  • Roll back to Kakariko Village and ride Epona out into Kakariko Gorge
    • Epona is chilling out near the southwest exit of Kakariko Village
  • Ride Epona back to Ordon Village (southwest to Faron, then south to Ordon Village)
  • Epona Slide into the Bo trigger (equip the Zora Armor while doing this)
  • Fight Bo and grab the Iron Boots from the chest
    • Slapping Bo from the initial position is optimal
    • Store a ZL-target after each round of sumo wrestling to save time

  • Exit Bo's house and ride Epona back to South Hyrule Field (to the north)
  • Ride Epona to Falbi's house via Bridge of Hylia (to the northwest) and enter it
    • Collect the Rare Chu Jelly on the bridge if a gold chu drops from the ceiling when riding Epona over Lake Hylia (RNG)
    • Epona Slide down the stairs to Falbi's house
  • Slash into the wall to clip out of bounds and fall down into Lake Hylia
  • Swim towards Lakebed Temple
  • Pillar clip with Zora Armor
    • Do not go too far back into the loading zone or the game will crash

Lakebed Temple



  • Go back to the central room (south, then west)
  • Clawshot the vines to the northwest to get to the staircase
  • Clawshot the second floor vines to the northeast from part of the way up the staircase
  • Exit through the second floor east exit
  • Roll through the next room and go through the door
    • Merely entering this room prepares Gate Unloading (for City in the Sky later)
  • Roll back to central room
  • LJA down to the chest in the central spire and open it
  • Boss Key Skip with Look Through Clip
  • Morpheel

Midna's Desperate Hour

  • Dash to Castle Town (southwest, then south, then east)
  • Dash Cancel through Castle Town to Telma's Bar (south, then east)
  • Enter Telma's Bar through the door
  • Dash back up the stairs to trigger the Louise cutscene
    • B attack into the cutscene to trigger Louise Glitch
  • Push the box towards Telma's Bar once and jump up to the window
  • Walk across the ropes and exit to the north
  • Kill the poe in front of Jovani

  • Drop through the chest into the Sewers
  • Open the gate and swim down to the skulltulas
  • Burn the webs with the stick
    • Light the torch and relight the stick along the way
    • Kill any keese that get too close (they prevent you from climbing the ledge)
  • Dig into the hole (to the northeast)
  • Hit the first Bulblin Archer into the water
    • He will snipe Link if he is not killed
  • Climb up the tower and go outside to the Hyrule Castle Rooftops
  • Early Wind Cycle
  • Dash to Zelda

Master Sword

  • Warp to North Faron
  • Dash to the north and kill the Puppets
  • Dash to enter Sacred Grove (call Midna to turn the bridge early)
  • Howl at the howling stone inside the grove (MUDMUD)
  • Chase Skull Kid (watch a video to see the path)
  • Defeat Skull Kid in the arena area
    • For each cycle, kill a Puppet, then wait for Skull Kid to blow his horn, then jump attack him
  • Dash to the Master Sword area and howl at the triforce symbol (MUDMUD)
  • Master Sword Puzzle (LDUUURRDDDLU)
  • Dash to the Master Sword and grab it

Desert Province


  • Warp to Lake Hylia
  • If doing Poe Gate Skip:
    • Howl at Lake Hylia Howling Stone (DMUDMDU)
  • Dash up the cliffs to Auru (to the west) and talk to him (Auru's Memo)
  • Dash to Fyer (to the northeast)
  • Show Fyer Auru's Memo and enter the cannon to go to Gerudo Desert
  • Dash to the west and kill some Bulblin Riders to steal a boar
  • Use the boar to break down the fences to the north
  • If doing Poe Gate Skip:
    • Learn Shield Attack from golden wolf
  • Enter Bulblin Camp

  • Bulblin Camp LJA
  • King Bulblin 3
  • Use the boar to break through the fences to Arbiter's Grounds
  • Transform into wolf and dash into Arbiter's Grounds
    • Entering as human is slightly faster, but the movement is harder

Arbiter's Grounds

  • Dash to the north and B attack through the sand to the chain
    • Alternatively, move through the room as human (harder, but faster)
  • Transform into human, clawshot the chain, and pull it
  • Roll to the chest and grab the Small Key (to the northwest)
  • Roll into the next room, light the torches, and enter the Poe Door room (to the north)

  • Watch the Poe cutscene

  • If doing Poe Gate Skip:

  • If not doing Poe Gate Skip:

    • Dash to the room to the west
    • Poe 1 Skip
      • If the moldorms are being annoying, they can be distracted with a bomb
      • If you are on critically low health, Poe 1 Skip is much harder. There is a heart in one of the skulls on the ledge.
    • LJA to the west door
    • Kill the Stalfos with a Bomb (use the Boomerang) and exit to the south
    • Light the front-middle and back-left torches, then enter the room to the west
    • Poe 4
    • Sniff Poe 4 to get the Poe Scent

    • Exit to the north and jump down to the north side of the room using the chandelier
    • Push the large metal box west 4 times
    • Dash back to the Poe Door room (to the east)
    • Dig up and pull the chain on the east side of the room
    • Go down the stairs that appear and enter the door
    • Turn the walls and kill the Redead with a Midna charge and one stab
    • Open the chest to grab a Small Key
    • Clawshot up to Poe 2 room (upstairs to the north)
    • Poe 2 (Midna charge the Poe, then spin attack the Bubbles, then jump attack the Poe)

    • Go back to the Poe Door Room (south, then west)
      • Manipulate the rat to get hit while spinning the walls
    • Dash to the room to the west
    • Go through the hallway to the north, then up the stairs and through the east door
    • Enter the Ghost Rat room to the east, then go south into Poe 3 Room
      • Don't grab the Small Key chest in the Ghost Rat room
    • Poe 3 Room backwards
    • Go back to the Poe Door room (north, then west) and exit through the Poe Door (to the north)

  • Boss Key Early
    • Get the blue rupee from one of the skulls to the west before to get to 5R if necessary (very rarely, if ever)
  • Transform into Wolf and dash through the Epic Spinner Room to the southeast exit
    • Alternatively, do human movement (harder, but faster)
  • Stalfos With Bombs Timesaver
  • Clawshot over the sand and roll to Death Sword's room (to the south)
  • Death Sword (Spinner)
  • If doing Poe Gate Skip:
    • DO NOT SAVEWARP
    • Exit Death Sword room
    • Use spinner to get to the boss door
  • If not doing Poe Gate Skip:
    • Savewarp
    • Use the spinner to cross the sand in the first room, then roll back to the Boss Key room (to the north)

  • Spin the wall, then use the spinner to get onto the middle platform, then raise the rail with the spinner
  • Ride the rail to the Boss Key door (upstairs to the north)
  • Stallord
  • Use the spinner to exit Arbiter's Grounds

Snowpeak Transition

  • Roll up the stairs and kill the Shadow Beasts (Mirror Chamber Warp Portal)
  • Raise Mirror with the spinner
  • Warp to Zora's Domain
  • Dash outside using the right pathway, jump down the waterfall towards the west, and enter Snowpeak (to the west)
  • Dash to Ashei and transform to human to watch the cutscene (Ashei's Sketch)

  • Warp to Kakariko Village
  • Dash to the Graveyard, crawl through the tunnel (to the north), and swim over to Ralis
  • Transform into human and talk to Ralis (Coral Earring)
  • Warp to Zora's Domain (go behind the tombstone to warp)
  • Dash outside using the left pathway, jump down the waterfall towards the east, and swim over to the ledge
  • Catch a Reekfish and sniff it (Reekfish Scent)
    • Try to aim towards where it looks like there are fish

  • Dash up Snowpeak Mountain and dig into the cave (towards the west)
    • Dash cancel across the ice platforms to cross the water
    • Roughly follow the Reekfish Scent (but you can cut a few corners)
    • Quick climb up several ledges on the way up
  • Clawshot up through the cave


Snowpeak Ruins


City in the Sky

  • Warp to Kakariko Village
  • Silver Rupee with Bombs (300 R)
  • Transform into human, enter the sanctuary, and drop down into the basement
  • Early City in the Sky
  • Dash to Fyer and have him fix the cannon (0 R)
    • If necessary to get to 300R, there is a red rupee above Fyer
  • Clawshot into the cannon to enter City in the Sky

  • Roll to the north exit in the first room
    • It is possible, but quite difficult, to Super Slide out of the water to speed up this room a bit
  • LJA across the voids and go towards the door to the north
  • Approach the door carefully and transform into wolf to open the door from far away
    • Going too far forward before opening the door will cause the fan to start up
  • Exit through the window to the west
  • Use the spinner to extend the bridge
  • Roll to the room to the west, grab the Small Key chest inside, then exit the room to the east
  • Argorok Cutscene Skip
  • Go back into the main room through the window (to the east)
  • Exit the room to the east, use the spinner to extend the bridge, then use the east exit

  • Roll through the fans' wind to exit the room to the east
  • LJA across the void down to Aeralfos's room
    • Because of Gate Unloading, the gate should not be here. If for whatever reason, the gate is there, go through the rooms the way Nintendo intended.
  • Aeralfos One-Cycle (Double Clawshots)
  • Savewarp (equip the Zora Armor)
    • Because of Argorok Cutscene Skip, this savewarp will put Link in the Small Key room on the east side of the dungeon

  • Exit back to the bridge, roll across (no cutscene to skip this time), clawshot to vines and enter window
  • Clawshot up through the fan, go outside, clawshot up to the vines, then LJA over to the door
    • Kai Clip is faster, but harder
    • If you failed to skip the fan trigger, go through the outdoor rooms as Nintendo intended, starting from the east side of the dungeon
  • Grab the Boss Key from the chest
  • Drop down through the fan and exit through the north door
  • Skip Turning On Fans
    • Alternatively, turn on the fans on the way down from the Boss Key (easier, but slower)
  • Fan Tower

  • Enter Argorok's Room and clawshot up the vines ("Robshot")
  • Argorok
  • Equip the Iron Boots and enter the cannon to exit City in the Sky

Palace of Twilight

  • Mash B to slash and land on the bridge
  • Warp to the Mirror Chamber
  • Watch the cutscene, transform into wolf, and enter the Palace of Twilight

  • Dash to the West Wing
  • Kill the Zant Head, grab the Small Key chest, and clawshot up to the northern door
    • Transform into wolf after dropping from the clawshot target with Iron Boots on
    • In general, kill Zant Heads as wolf by a running B attack followed by a Midna charge
  • Kill the Zant head and grab the Small Key chest
  • Jump attack onto the ledge using the chest, then enter the first Phantom Zant room (to the north)
  • Phantom Zant 1
  • Skip Midna Sol Text
  • Exit the first Phantom Zant room with the Sol
  • Staircase Timesaver 1
  • Exit the West Wing with the Sol

  • Put the first Sol into the pedestal outside
  • LJA to the East Wing
  • Kill the Zant head, grab the Small Key chest, and enter the northern door
  • Roll down, kill the Zant Heads, then clawshot up to the Small Key chest (to the southeast)
    • Let the twilight fog transform Link into wolf automatically
  • LJA to the second Phantom Zant room (to the north)
  • Phantom Zant 2
  • Exit the second Phantom Zant room with the Sol
    • Drop the Sol into the slot by pulling out the Master Sword, then immediately roll to skip part of the stairs
  • Staircase Timesaver 2
  • Exit the East Wing with the Sol
    • Store ZL and A to throw the Sol immediately upon exiting the East Wing, then clawshot it from the platform
  • Put the second Sol into the pedestal outside (Light Sword)


  • Boss Key Shortcut
    • Alternatively, waiting to go up to the Boss Key normally until after killing the Zant Head on the platform to the south is only a few seconds slower
  • Ride the floating platform to the Zant Head to the south, then kill it and void out
    • LJA from the floating platform to the Zant Head to save time
    • Make sure the Zant Head actually dies before voiding out
  • Kill the Zant Heads, grab the small key chest, and enter the northeast door

  • Early Platform
  • Kill the last Zant Head, grab the Small Key chest, and LJA to the northern door
  • Kill the Shadow Beasts and enter the Boss Key door
    • Spin attack as soon as you hear the previous Shadow Beasts die
  • Zant
  • Exit the Palace of Twilight
    • Turn wolf immediately upon spawning in after the save prompt to save time

Hyrule Castle

  • Warp to Castle Town
  • LJA to skip the Postman and enter Castle Town (to the east)
  • Head towards Hyrule Castle (east, then north) and watch the Squidna cutscene
  • Enter Hyrule Castle (to the north)


  • Go inside Hyrule Castle
  • Barrier 3 Skip
  • Clawshot across the chandeliers to enter the northern door upstairs
    • Climb onto the railing in the northeast part of the room upstairs to skip a chandelier
  • Darknut Room
  • Exit through the southeastern door
  • Lantern Puzzle
    • From the entrance: top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right, top-left
    • Although not intended, the following order is faster (the timing is also tighter): bottom-left, top-right, bottom-right, top-left
  • Dynalfos with Bombs

  • Aeralfos with B&C
  • Grab the Small Key chest, then roll to the Boss Key chest (to the west)
    • Rolling perfectly is faster, but transforming into wolf is only slightly slower and allows for easier equips
  • Grab the Boss Key chest after the cutscene
  • Enter Hyrule Castle Tower (to the north)
  • Block Room Shortcut
  • Skip the final Darknut

  • Enter the Boss Key door and roll up the stairs to the final boss fights
  • Ganondorf
    • Use Rare Chu Jelly to two cycle the horseback fight if available
    • Wearing Iron Boots during the finishing blow makes for a funnier credits sequence

Last updated September 26, 2025 by gymnast86