Zfg

Zfg (stylised as ZFG and zfg, previously known as ZeldaFreakGlitcha) is an American speedrunner and streamer known for his The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time gameplay. He has held various records in speedrunning the game and its alternative version Master Quest, most notably the 100% completion category for the original game, for which he had held the record since mid-2015. He was the first person to complete Ocarina of Time to 100% in under four hours. He currently holds the record in the 100% SRM category with a time of 3 hours, 0 minutes, and 39 seconds, as of December 2022.[2]

Zfg
Personal information
Born (1994-08-18) August 18, 1994
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Speedrunner, streamer
OrganizationCounter Logic Gaming (former member)[1]
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2009–present
GenreGaming
GamesThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Followers208,479
(July 28, 2023)

Career

In 2012, Zfg (then-known as ZeldaFreakGlitcha) was the first to use the "Ganondoor" exploit to set a world record in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time under any completion percent.[3][4] The exploit allows players to teleport from the first dungeon to the last, skipping most of the game.[5] His record was timed at 34:59 (mm:ss), cutting almost 12 minutes off from the previous record.[4] He and other runners (including Narcissa Wright) continued to lower the record time with constant improvements to the Ganondoor route.[4]

In 2017, Zfg was one of the first players to record a successful attempt at a glitch in Ocarina of Time that would allow players to equip items they normally could not use.[6] That same year, he also co-commentated on the first "All Dungeon, No Doors" run of Ocarina of Time; beating the game and its dungeons without opening any doors. Another runner, TaylorTotFTW created the run using tool-assisted speedrun (TAS) software. It debuted live on Zfg's Twitch channel.[7]

In 2018, Zfg helped construct a list of lesser-known secrets in Ocarina of Time for IGN. It was put together to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the game and featured techniques and mechanics known to speedrunners of the game.[8] That same year, he also completed randomised 100% runs Ocarina of Time using a modified version of the original game that unpredictably adjusts variables and create special world-states. Randomised runs can change where doors and exits lead and where items are located.[9][10]

In 2019, Zfg produced and released a TAS of Ocarina of Time which showcased what a humanly-perfect run of the 100% completion category would be. On its live debut, the run finished nearly 15 minutes faster than his then-current record of 3:53:33.[11]

In 2020, after a break from running the 100% category, Zfg took back the world record for it with a time of 3:43:44, fourteen seconds faster than the previous record.[12][13] At the end of 2020, he completed a run of Ocarina of Time in the 100% (SRM) category with a time of 3 hours, 12 minutes and 55 seconds.[14]

Zfg has run Ocarina of Time at Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) several times.[15][16][17]

In October 2021, Zfg's comments about the inclusion of Nintendo 64 games under the Nintendo Switch Online service garnered attention. Writing about Ocarina of Time's emulation and input lag, he stated that the game "on Switch is so bad it might be worse than [Wii U Virtual Console's version]."[18][19] Statements made by Zfg, alongside Kentucky-based speedrunner Toufool, were notable as both were renowned within Ocarina of Time's speedrunning community.[18][19]

Sub-four hour speedrun

In 2018, Zfg accomplished the first 100% speedrun of Ocarina of Time under four hours.[20] His record was recorded at 3:58:45.[21] It had been more than five years since the last hour barrier was crossed.[21] At the time, Zfg had held the 100% record since March 2015.[21] He was able to lower the time to under four hours with newly discovered glitches and shortcuts discovered within a month of the record. In total, Zfg stated that the discovered glitches and exploits lowered five minutes off of the run.[22] Zfg posted a video on YouTube explaining the discovered breakthroughs in further detail. In an interview with Kotaku, Zfg wrote that before the shortcuts, achieving a run under four hours was "the dream but was just barely out of reach" and breaking that barrier "was going to be a big deal". Zfg went on further to explain that the optimal route is continually changing.[22]

Arbitrary code execution
Zfg interacting with Arwings he spawned in using arbitrary code execution

In January 2020, Zfg showcased an example of arbitrary code execution (ACE) in Ocarina of Time by spawning in Arwings from Star Fox 64 into the game.[23] The Arwings were used by the game developers to test the Z-targeting mechanics and flight patterns of the Fire Temple boss Volvagia.[24][25] The developers subsequently left the Arwings in the game code, only being able to be spawned back in with cheat devices such as a Gameshark.[26][24] Zfg spawned in the Arwings without the use of mods or cheating devices;[23] he used an unedited ROM cartridge of the game, playing on a standard Nintendo 64 console.[27]

Arbitrary code execution allows speedrunners to force the game to load filenames as game code.[25] Runners also used ACE to complete the game in under 13 minutes by warping to the end credits,[26][28] load items into treasure chests, or change their physical positions.[27] Zfg explained that by performing ACE three times, each with different specific filenames, runners can remove the character limit of the file name.[27] Without it, they can type in any payload; allowing them to do practically anything. This method is known as "Total Control".[26] Zfg used it to turn all doors in Kakariko Village into Arwings, which swarm and attack the player.[29]

Reputation

Zfg is one of the most well-known speedrunners.[30][9][7] Writing for GQ, David Levesley noted him as "one of the big names in [speedrunning]" and as a "[speedrun] titan."[9] While covering his Human Theory TAS, Kotaku's Heather Alexandra stated that he was "one of the most accomplished Ocarina of Time speedrunners."[11] Adam Newell of Dot Esports included Zfg in his list of the ten best speedrunners on Twitch, noting him as a "technical streamer" who often gives viewers insight into how he thinks and what is going on in a speedrun.[30] Shacknews called him "an absolute madman at Ocarina of Time."[17]

References
  1. Šimić, Ivan. "CLG acquired by North American esports organisation NRG". Esports Insider. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  2. "100% in 3h 00m 39s by zfg - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - speedrun.com".
  3. "Beating Ocarina of Time in under 25 minutes and other crazy speed runs". VentureBeat. 2012-04-17. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  4. Ray, Jeremy (November 23, 2018). "The Heartbreaking History of Speedrunning in 'Ocarina of Time'". Fandom. Archived from the original on October 19, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  5. "After 14 Years, Ocarina of Time Can Now be Beaten in Under 25 Minutes". Kotaku. 16 April 2012. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  6. Frank, Allegra (August 15, 2017). "A new Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time glitch is a speedrun game-changer". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 26, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  7. Alexandra, Heather (September 26, 2017). "New Ocarina Of Time Speedrun Beats All Dungeons Without Opening Any Doors". Kotaku. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  8. Stewart, Sam (November 22, 2018). "10 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Secrets You've Probably Never Heard Of - IGN". IGN. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  9. Levesley, David (November 22, 2018). "The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time is 20 and people are still trying to find all its secrets". GQ. Archived from the original on July 25, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  10. Alexandra, Heather (February 11, 2019). "The Pleasure Of Playing A Randomised Version Of The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time". Kotaku Australia. Archived from the original on March 18, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  11. Alexandra, Heather (May 8, 2019). "Speedrunner Shows Off What A 'Perfect' Ocarina Of Time Run Looks Like". Kotaku. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  12. Maher, Cian (May 13, 2020). "The Ocarina of Time speedruning world record was smashed this week". VG247. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  13. Trinske, Connor (May 14, 2020). "Legend Of Zelda Speedrunner Sets New World Record With A Massive Lead". ScreenRant. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  14. "100% in 3h 12m 55s by zfg - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - speedrun.com". www.speedrun.com. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  15. Yin-Poole, Wesley (January 5, 2015). "Supersonic speedruns streamed at Awesome Games Done Quick 2015". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  16. Hall, Charlie (January 5, 2018). "Awesome Games Done Quick 2018 schedule and where to stream". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  17. Mejia, Ozzie (January 8, 2020). "Awesome Games Done Quick 2020: Day 4 schedule and runs to watch". Shacknews. Archived from the original on January 8, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  18. Kadirogullari, Samed (October 26, 2021). "N64 Switch Game Lag Shown By Zelda & Mario Kart Players". ScreenRant. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  19. Purslow, Matt (October 26, 2021). "Players Report Nintendo Switch Online N64 Games Suffering from Input Lag, Frame Rate Issues". IGN India. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  20. Littlechild, Chris (August 6, 2018). "Speedrunner zfg111 Just 100%'d Ocarina Of Time In Under 4 Hours". TheGamer. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  21. Good, Owen S. (August 3, 2018). "Ocarina of Time speedrunner breaks four-hour barrier for a 100% run (Corrected)". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  22. Gach, Ethan (August 25, 2018). "It's Been A Groundbreaking Month For Ocarina Of Time Speedrunning". Kotaku. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  23. Good, Owen S. (January 24, 2020). "Ocarina of Time's weirdest new speedrun trick summons Arwings from Star Fox". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 25, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  24. "Ocarina Of Time Speedrunners Have Found A Way To Summon A Star Fox Arwing Into The Game". TheGamer. 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  25. Rochlin, Jason (January 24, 2020). "Zelda Player Spawns Star Fox Arwings Without Using Cheats". Game Rant. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  26. Kerr, Chris (January 24, 2020). "A fleet of Arwings were just spawned in vanilla Ocarina of Time for the first time ever". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  27. Orland, Kyle (January 24, 2020). "This amazing glitch puts Star Fox 64 ships in an unmodified Zelda cartridge". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  28. Skopp, Sam (January 16, 2020). "Ocarina Of Time Can Now Be Beaten In Under 13 Minutes Thanks To New Speedrunning Trick". TheGamer. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  29. Mayersen, Isaiah (January 26, 2020). "Star Fox 64 ships can be spawned into Zelda: Ocarina of Time without mods". TechSpot. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  30. Newell, Adam (June 11, 2017). "Here are the 10 best speedrunners on Twitch". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
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