Ocarina of Time Randomizer

[lbourdages]

I love playing OOT randos. Not only is it a new puzzle every time, there are a lot of quality-of-life improvements (e.g. pushing blocks is faster, cutscenes are skipped) that make it much more enjoyable for someone who already knows the game well.

[echelon]

What platform or emulator do you play them on?

I suppose these will work on Analogue 3D when it gets released?

[LelouBil]

Here's a related software that I like : https://archipelago.gg/

This is a multi-game randomizer, where items will be scattered accross all games in the multiworld, and so players will have to find items in their own games, but for eachother.

It's really fun, and I am just amazed by the fact that it works so well for a ton of games.

[GardenLetter27]

It's so awesome! I want to finish adding the Ultima 6 one sometime - https://arya-iwakura.github.io/Ultima6Randomizer/

[maxvu]

There's another that combines Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask into one game, joined by a portal connecting the Happy Mask Shop and Clock Town. It's possible to scatter every bush and box and pot from both games across both worlds.

What I like most about it is the "Container Appearance Matches Content" option, which specifically colors every randomizable element and makes the run-throughs feel very dynamic. The last time I tried Ship of Harkanian, I was disappointed to see it missing.

https://ootmm.com/

[proteal]

How does one ensure that every seed can be completed without glitches? The website says this is the case, so I wonder how they do it because it seems nontrivial to generate valid seeds efficiently.

[skyyler]

This is referred to by OoT runners as "Logic" and you can get an overview here: https://wiki.ootrandomizer.com/index.php?title=Logic

There are people that do "No Logic" randomizers. That's a very different kind of game than the original base game.

[shhsshs]

The project has data about every location (doors, chests, etc.) and the conditions that must be met to allow access to those locations - for example [1]. From there the randomizer shuffles various entrances/exits and item locations around using rules that are mostly guaranteed to keep the game beatable.

[1] https://github.com/OoTRandomizer/OoT-Randomizer/blob/d1bb6c2...

[Graziano_M]

Think of every location in the game as accessible only after certain events or items are acquired. You can create a directed acyclic graph (how build systems figure out dependencies!). You can randomize all the locations of items, as long there is still a way to get from the starting node to the ending node.

[yuriks]

The rules for what locations/checks can be reached in what situations and with what items are painstakingly encoded in a machine readable format: https://github.com/OoTRandomizer/OoT-Randomizer/tree/Dev/dat...

I don't know the specifics of the OoTR algorithm but in general they work by considering a set of items which are currently "available", and then progressively picking a random item to place only in locations which are reachable with that current set of available items (which is expanded with each placement).

[pimeys]

One of my favorite things to watch on Twitch are the Dark Souls randomizer runs.

E.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y8R0JWQdeo

[hbn]

Randomizers are a fantastic innovation of the past decade. They can breathe so much new life into a game you've gotten comfortable with, where subsequent playthroughs are becoming stale.

I played through a Dark Souls randomizer a few years ago and it really made me explore a lot more like I haven't really done since my first playthrough, since I eventually learned where to get all the equipment I like and which areas aren't worth going to.

[Panziewanzer]

Wow! I never expected to see Barb talked about on hacker News.

[squigz]

What timing - I just started playing Wind Waker HD randomizer runs. It really adds a lot to the experience, especially after having played through the vanilla game several times. It manages to re-capture some of the feeling of exploring the world for the first time.

[favorited]

I'm glad to hear that Wind Waker HD has fan support like this. It was always a bummer to me that the best versions of Wind Waker and Skyward Sword were trapped on the Wii U, given the incredible preservation that Dolphin provides for their original versions.

Edit: I own a Wii U, I'm not trying to be a hater. For years, it really was the ultimate Zelda box.

[tinco]

I can't wait until my daughter is old enough to play the Wind Waker. It's so amazing that only one generation after OoT they released a Zelda that not only is arguably as good or even better than OoT, but it holds up over 20 years later. You can play Wind Waker today and not realize it's not a new game, the graphics and the gameplay are just perfect.

[orthoxerox]

There's a ROM that combines Super Metroid and A Link to the Past into a single randomized game. It's a crazy experience, especially if you don't remember every powerup/pot location by heart.

[bevr1337]

I couldn't find an easy answer on the wiki or site, but I am using my phone instead of a desktop.

Do users still need to obtain (an obviously legal, Nintendo approved) ROM of classic OOT to use the randomizer?

[whaleofatw2022]

Yes. Typically randomizers take the input rom (or data from a CD in the case of something like SOTN) and use that as a starting point.

[minimaxir]

For Twitch streamers who play OoT randomizer, I strongly recommend Zfg's stream (one of the best OoT players out there), who is coincidentally streaming it now: https://www.twitch.tv/zfg1

An example No Logic run he did at Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 (which required shenanigans): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-lBi4_g6HQ

[cheeze]

Not randomizer but I miss the days of Clint vs Zfg so much.

Happy to see Clint streaming a bit again.

[sylens]

Maybe it's because I love Ocarina of Time but this is one randomizer I really enjoy playing/watching. I think it's because there is already a little bit of sequence breaking built into the game (you can swap the orders of the Spirit and Shadow Temples if you want - in fact, their medallions are already swapped in the Quest Status screen) but there's also a ton of items available to you to solve the same puzzle in different ways. As Adult Link, the hookshot/longshot or hover boots can often be used to solve the same puzzles; ditto for bombs and the hammer.

[2OEH8eoCRo0]

Good Old Days Gaming is great and does a ton of randomizer runs.

https://www.youtube.com/@GoodOldDaysGaming

[GardenLetter27]

Is it not easier to do this directly in Ship of Harkinian nowadays?

And then it runs perfectly on the Steam Deck for example.

[minimaxir]

The Ship of Harkinian randomizer isn't strictly feature comparable to the original randomizer, but it's pretty close.