Zelda 3 Low% Route

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | Low% (No Major Glitches, No Save & Quit) Route & Info

[Low% Definition & Requirements]

Beat the game using the minimal items required to finish the game. This means no extra items or hearts that the game already does not force you to obtain. That means, yes, if you grab the Magic Mushroom, you have to reset (or get rid of it at the Witch's Hut). It is possible to defeat Ganon with only the Master Sword but requires a beefy 52 spins (Master Sword slashes do not damage Ganon).

[Route Overview]

I will not get into the very fine details here since I'm going to assume you are at least familiar with the Any% (NMG, NS&Q) route. If you aren't familiar with it, I suggest checking out a full Low% run. I am going to post the major differences as well some clips or videos that might help. Rupee Route is another notable difference in this category. You need a total of 610 Rupees. Optimal route would be getting:

Sahasrahla Rupees (100)
1st Rupee Tree (20)
2nd Rupee Tree (80)
3rd Rupee Tree (80)
East Village of Outcast House (300)

This leaves a grand total of 580 rupees. That leaves 30 in drops you will need before Flippers. Here are some extra spots if you feel like you will be tight on rupees:

Desert Palace pot room before the Big Chest (5)
Agahnim's Tower Suicide Pot (5)
Agahnim's Tower Circle of Pots (6)
2nd Tree one screen south of Palace of Darkness, bonk from the top (5)
Tree above Bottle Salesman in Kakariko (20)

Chances are you'll get the drops you need along the way. Another option is the 300 Rupees from cave south of the Bomb Shop in the Dark World in combination with the 300 you get from the east Village of Outcast House (this is slower, but safer). The south Rupee Hut contains the Red Boomerang in this category (because you never got the Blue Boomerang) which means, you will invalidate your run if you get this chest. Stay Away!

{UPDATE}

You can get the Houlihan Rupees right before eastern! Thanks Brahmin! This is a bit faster as well:

https://puu.sh/wnLnG/1d308e3f2a.mp4
https://puu.sh/wzmko/e53f58a3be.mp4

Safer alternative if you want to completely avoid the Blue Guard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTdy-rRYf0Q

[Route Differences]

+ Escape +

- Do NOT collect the Boomerang; Strat variation here: https://youtu.be/Hm_4BVd_YFw
- Remember that you do not have the Boomerang, otherwise enjoy your "No Magic" message when you press Y

+ Eastern Palace +

- Do NOT collect the Sanctuary Heart Container
- For the Armos in front of Eastern you normally stun, walk behind hold your sword and slash past him
- Eastern is exactly the same, just take note of Heart pickups as you do not get the normal refill if you get the Sanctuary Heart

+ Desert Palace +

- Collect the 3 chests in Sahasrahla's Hut; Bombs are needed later for a strat in Ice Palace
* If you get Houlihan Rupees, grab an extra bomb in PoD and Thieves for the Ice Palace strat

+ Tower of Hera +

- After the 1st key, you will not have the Boomerang for this room; do this https://youtu.be/UDl4Z83KI7I
- Slash the switch in the Mini Moldorm Room before the Big Key
- Hera Bomb Jump has 1 less menu move

+ Agahnim's Tower +

- Grab the 1st Rupee Tree (collect all if needed)
- Grab the 2nd Rupee Tree (all)
- Grab the 3rd Rupee Tree (all); video for this tree here: https://youtu.be/b9kvHa4rcR8
- No Boomerang for Circle of Pots Room

+ Palace of Darkness +

- No difference outside menus
- 1 less Heart for those who regularly grab the Sanctuary Heart.

+ Thieves' Town +

* If you aren't comfortable with optimal Rupee route, grab the 300 from the cave south of the Bomb Shop
- Do NOT grab safeties (just a reminder)
- No differences outside of that

+ Skull Woods +

- Dash RIGHT outside of Thieves'; if you nudge the hedge, you can do a swaggy door dash into the Rupee House
- DO NOT GO TO THE SOUTH RUPEE HUT OR YOUR RUN WILL DIE!!!!! (Read above)
- Do NOT get the Tempered Sword (another reminder)
- Skull overworld screens can be a bit sketchy since your dashes will not kill the Ropas, be mindful on where and how you dash
- Mummies are dicks, they take an eternity to kill with the Master Sword, keep this in mind
- On the way to the final section of Skull, do this for safety: https://youtu.be/ExgR3Bpp6Uc
- Mothula will require 8 Master Sword slashes as opposed to the normal 4; Video for reference: https://youtu.be/zk5t69DLKpU
 > Always start the fight with a spin into the top block (sometimes you can get a double spin)
 > Spins are a bit risky, but seem reliable in most cases
 > Use the Fire Rod sparely if you need to

+ Ice Palace +

- Ropas lottery is the same but he will not die from your dash
- Penguins 1 can be a bit more laggy since not all the Penguins will die from your spin
- Do not switch to hammer at the Bomb Jump
- Penguins 2 Low% strat: https://youtu.be/ppEvkiTJFSQ
- Kholdstare is hard, very hard; Here is Xelna's video for the optimal strat: https://youtu.be/1FgYJxOy6Jc
 > Obviously optimal is not for everyone so I suggest practice chasing/running from Kholdstare (not joking)
 > Hammer does Tempered damage, it would help if you can get comfortable using it
 > Standing at the top of the room will cause the falling ice not to break, which can be used for safety
 > Study the puff movements closely and get a feel how to react accordingly

+ Swamp Palace +

- Remember you have Master Sword here and  some enemies will not die from your normal dashes
- One in particular to look out for is the Water Strider after Big Key
- Arrghus puffs take 2 slashes to kill and 3 Fire Rods + a spin for the quick kill; for tryhards see this: https://youtu.be/as-SpK4_Be4

+ Misery Mire +

- Health management is very important in Low% Mire
- If you aren't comfortable with getting Ether/Ice Rod before Mire, consider getting them before Swamp (mind your Bomb counts)
- Skipping spark gamble is recommended here to save a heart
- The only damage you should take is from the Spike Floor Key (3 hearts)
- You can get a Heart Pot right before the basement (as well as farm one from the Wizzrobe)
- Menus are different in the basement
- Vitreous can be defeated in a similar way as Any% (NMG) but with 4-5 spins instead; video here: https://youtu.be/AA73cYeP_xg
 > Just watch your health carefully for this fight, keep arrows stocked in case you need to bail on spins
 > Safety Corner is on the very right side of the room (you can walk all the way up into the goo if you're all the way right)

+ Turtle Rock +

- Magic is needed much more in this segment since you'll be using the Fire Rod on Pokeys (less prize drops as well)
- I recommend Mirroring at the 1st key if you want to conserve health as well as regain magic
- Fire Rod Pokey before Chomps; you can use a menu buffer to Cane in Chomps room to read RNG
- Fire Rod Pokey before Big Key
- Fire Rod the Double Pokeys (watch for flying balls)
- Grab the Magic refill before Trinexx
- Trinexx can be a bit scary if you run low on magic or if the boss room turns into NHL '94; video here: https://youtu.be/zk8epJcGfHA
 > Practice dealing with the Ice Head since his movement is very unpredictable
 > You can Hammer the heads from the front, but back door lessens the chance of ice filling the room
 > Don't get too hasty one shooting your Rods, be patient and aim carefully

+ Ganon's Tower +

- Almost forgot to mention the Lynels (hehe); they cannot be harmed by the Master Sword, so carefully avoid them
- The 3rd Lynel is tough to avoid, the best way to handle it is to Hammerdash and stop precisely in front of him
 > Alternatively, you can use the mirror and use i-frames to walk past the Lynels if you fear taking damage.
- Crystal switch rooms are handled a bit differently with no Boomerang; video here: https://youtu.be/yUszetcs4o0
- Gauntlet is about the same up until the Red Horseheads, try to knock them into spikes
- You will need 6 Fire Rod shots for Lanmolas 2
- Moldorm 2 will need 3 spins

+ Ganon +

- The Grand Finale; video here by Xelna: https://youtu.be/lTIkhn9ZI30
- You will want to be a bit more careful than Xelna was here, learn how to dodge the trident as well as the bats
- Practice all the patterns, but focus more on survival
- 24 spins are needed for phase 4, so watch your magic if you want to use the Fire Rod
- Good Luck! If I missed anything, let me know and I'll update this paste.

[Last Words]

Well I got a bit more into detail than I wanted. More people signed up than I imagined so I thought it was proper to have a decent guide. If you signed up, thanks! This challenge will test you patience and your skill as a Link to the Past speedrunner. If you guys needed more videos added, let me know. Here are a few runs to checkout:

1:24:44 by Xelna (Current WR): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/157641379
1:27:10 by wqqqqwrt (solid run): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/81499110
1:28:26 by BluntBunny (if you like bad): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/81296990
1:29:23 by timmon_ (if you like blue balls): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/81794141

Also consider checking out Kryssstal's Low% (No Damage) Run (still highly regarded as the best completed run of this game ever): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/45868874