History VideoGame / ALinkToThePastRandomizer

The randomizer is used as the basis for {{speedrun}}ning tournaments wherein players are given the same seed and face off against each other in races. These races are technically "fair" as far as [[RandomNumberGenerator RNG]] is concerned, but since neither player knows in advance where all the progressions are (or even ''which'' items are required to win), it boils down to working out the quickest route based on items encountered on the way. Winning requires both intimate knowledge of the game and a degree of {{luck|BasedMission}}. Although it's possible to "read" a seed to predict the most likely outcome, the seed may flip the script and place items in a place which is both unlikely ''and'' time-consuming to reach. (The worst outcomes are affectionately known as [[FakeLongevity "troll seeds."]]) For instance, a non-entrance randomizer seed might hide the [[WarpWhistle Mirror]] on [[FogOfDoom Kholdstare]], the IcePalace boss. Let's say the Mirror is required to enter the [[BubblegloopSwamp Swamp Palace]] and claim the item needed to climb Ganon's Tower; fighting Kholdstare as soon as possible is more likely to yield a progression and win the race, but it's a huge gamble which hinges on the quality of execution i.e. minimizing deaths.

The basic [[VideoGameRandomizer randomizer]] alters a) the locations of [[PlayerInventory inventory items]] and b) which dungeons hold [[GottaCatchThemAll the Crystals needed]] to reach Ganon. Not only are items found in different locations (and in a different sequence) in each "seed", but the tools [[AbilityRequiredToProceed needed to progress in the game]] also differ. To prevent the randomizer from generating a seed which renders the game [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable unwinnable]] (such as placing a item in a location which can only be reached [[TheKeyIsBehindTheLock with the help of said item]]), the code has a built-in logic containing various checks and failsafes to ensure that "progressions" can always be obtained in one way or another (unless the player chooses the "no logic" setting, though even then it almost never results in an unbeatable seed so long as the player knows the requisite glitches; the Japanese 1.0 release of ''ALTTP'' that the randomizer uses as its base is ''extremely'' broken).

* SparedByTheAdaptation: In ''SMZ3'', defeating Mother Brain before Ganon prevents Zebes from blowing up.

* DisconnectedSideArea: Pretty common in the door randomizer's cross-dungeon setting. Some rooms will be shared by two dungeons as there's no way to cross from one section to the other (i.e., Palace of Darkness' Big Chest ledge, Eastern Palace's cannonball room, Turtle Rock's lava room, etc.).

* TakeThatAudience: April Fools 2021's new festive mode adds dumb things under a category called Objectively Better Optional Extras, which were suggested by the community that the devs felt like would be too irritating in any seed, i.e. shuffling the Turtle Rock pegs or randomizing where Flute locations take you. The game is also displayed like its GBA counterpart due to constant wanting for that version to be randomized. The note at the end of the description of the page is also signed by "- The ALTTP Randomizer Discord #suggestions Channel" instead of the actual devs.

** "Blind Pedestal Pull." The Pedestal containing the Master Sword in the vanilla game contains a random item here. The odds are against it containing an important progression item, but it does happen sometimes (known as a “pedestal seed“). If the player has the Book of Mudora, they can translate the front of the pedestal in order to learn what it actually contains. However, if a player doesn’t have the Book, then they may make the incredibly rash decision to hunt down all three Pendants and “pull” the item within. This is known as a Blind Pedestal Pull. It may sound counter-intuitive, but it's a highly-anticipated moment for race-watchers, since a runner may attempt the pull as some sort of Hail Mary. Players can [[https://youtu.be/aKVPv2bKWV8?t=4815 go from being dead-last to being in the lead]] very quickly. You can also come up with some [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jar-Db_7LE8#t=140s&ab_channel=PsychedelicEyeball pretty evil scenarios.]] "Couch Cash" (20 rupees). Finding the Book inside the pedestal would be the absolute worst. Finding the Lamp in the pedestal would be incredibly frustrating if players don't know how to navigate all of the pitch-black rooms in the Crystal dungeons. There have also been races where two runners have agreed ahead of time to execute a Blind Pedestal Pull.

*** On the extreme side of things, one of the earliest "Customizer" games demonstrated that even with the simpler settings it is still logically possible to be required to travel to Turtle Rock (a dungeon that is in a remote location and that is arduous to traverse) a total of five separate times.
** Depending upon the extremity, entrance shuffle. The path to certain parts of Hyrule can be very convoluted until Link obtains all the tools needed to cross it normally. Insanity entrance shuffle will likely require a chain of doors to reach a remote area of Dark World Death Mountain or Misery Mire unless Link obtains the Titan's Mitts and/or Flute. If the Ice Palace entrance is "Bumper Cave Ledge" (or the Light World equivalent in inverted insanity shuffle), Link will probably need to go through several doors to reach those, even with a full inventory! Taking notes is practically mandatory for the more complex settings.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Can be invoked with the custom player sprites option, where even a CompleteMonster such as [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka]] can be a hero.

* ExactWords / ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The April Fools 2021 mode added an option to download the vanilla ROM of the game. [[spoiler:Turns out it's literally just a screen with the color vanilla.]]

''A Link to the Past: Randomizer'' is a popular [[GameMod ROM hack]] of the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] classic ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]''. It can be found [[https://alttpr.com/en/randomizer here]].

The basic [[VideoGameRandomizer "randomizer"]] alters a) the locations of [[PlayerInventory inventory items]] and b) which {{dungeon|Crawling}}s hold [[GottaCatchThemAll the crystals needed]] to reach the {{final boss}}, Ganon. Not only are items found in different locations (and in a different sequence) in each "seed", but the tools [[AbilityRequiredToProceed needed to progress in the game]] also differ. To prevent the randomizer from generating a seed which renders the game [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable unwinnable]] (such as placing a item in a location which can only be reached [[TheKeyIsBehindTheLock with the help of said item]]), the code has a built-in logic containing various checks and failsafes to ensure that "progressions" can always be obtained in one way or another (unless the player chooses the "no logic" setting - which ''still'' almost never results in an unbeatable seed, as long as the player knows the requisite glitches: the Japanese 1.0 release of ''A Link to the Past'' that the randomizer uses as its base is ''extremely'' broken).

* '''Enemizer''': shuffles enemy and {{boss|battle}} placement, [[NumericalHard the number of hits needed to vanquish them, and the strength of enemy attacks]]

* '''Swordless''': [[ChallengeRun one of the toughest seeds]]. Players must practice fighting bosses whilst under-equipped. Most of the time (emphasis on "most"), players can find ways to bypass the difficulty. For instance, the [[DropTheHammer Hammer]] hits as hard as [[EquipmentUpgrade the red]] [[InfinityMinusOneSword Tempered Sword]] Link normally gets.
* '''Keysanity''': shuffles [[InterchangeableAntimatterKeys keys,]] [[EnemyDetectingRadar compasses,]] [[LevelMapDisplay maps,]] and [[LockedDoor Big Keys]] throughout the game. A key needed to open the Palace of Darkness may be located in the Eastern Palace or even Kakariko Village. The inventory will helpfully list which keys work in what dungeon.
* '''Inverted Mode''': [[LevelInReverse swaps the Light World and the Dark World,]] along with tweaking the overworld a bit; otherwise Link would not be able to access some areas. This mode was not available in conjunction with the Entrance Randomizer until recently.
* '''Triforce Hunt''': there are a whopping ''30'' Triforce pieces scattered throughout the game, and the player must find 20 of them and bring them to an [[NonPlayercharacter NPC]] in Hyrule Castle's courtyard to win
* '''Pedestal''': sometimes shortened to "Ped", this mode requires collecting all 3 Pendants in order to pull the Triforce, not the Master Sword, from [[ExcaliburInTheStone the pedestal]] in {{the Lost Woods}}. It theoretically has the same upper limits as the Ganon goal (though that's far less likely), but on the other end of the spectrum, you can wind up having three quick dungeon seeds. It's convenient for casual gamers or spectators who don't have a lot of free time. This setting ''tends'' to be shorter on average, but it's not beginner-friendly at all. It still rewards quick decision making and routing choices, and might even make them more significant. The big reason we haven't seen a lot of Ped tournaments is that it's a much more volatile format for racing: if paths diverge early on, and one player happens upon a "progression" a few minutes before the other does because they flipped a coin on where to go, the race can [[UnstableEquilibrium end in a blowout]] very quickly. Ped Goal seeds are more fun to play in small groups of friends, where the stakes are lower.

* The latest version of the randomizer has combined popular settings into preset packages. The "Beginner" package is just that; the simplest logic, guaranteed swords, and Standard opening. The most popular setting is "Crosskeys", short for "Crossworld Keysanity", which combines the Crossworld entrance randomizer with Keysanity.

* A currently-unofficial [[http://bombch.us/C-ra "multiworld" randomizer]] for multiple players. The idea is to [[BagOfSharing shuffle items for each player between multiple games]]: player one's Hammer may be found in player four's Ice Palace, while player three's Bow may be found in player two's Sanctuary. This game mode has its own quirks and takes a while to set up, but once you've gone through the necessary steps, you don't have to repeat them.
* Also under development, and still very much a work in progress, is an semi-official [[https://github.com/aerinon/ALttPDoorRandomizer "door randomizer"]] which shuffles door transitions, either within or between dungeons (depending on the settings). This mode has a channel on the official randomizer Discord, but is not yet available from the main site. Barring a few bugs the algorithm, which are rare, this mode is beatable. But there are some caveats in the "cross-dungeon" mode: it's generally a bad idea to do certain {{Sequence Break}}s within dungeons (the default settings make it impossible to do so). Seeds still have a high "failure" rate, so it may take a while to generate a game. Players should know about a number of other quirks, hence the [[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bk-m-QRvH5iF60ndptKYgyaV7P93D3TiG8xmdxp_bdQ/edit?usp=sharing readme.]] If you want to completely microwave your brain, you can also combine this with entrance shuffle, keysanity, retro mode, inverted mode, and the enemizer, amongst other settings--even the pot shuffle! (Widely regarded as the only pot shuffle which isn't a total waste of time. At the moment, though, it only works when playing the "unstable" branch.) This mode is still under active development. [[https://github.com/aerinon/ALttPDoorRandomizer/tree/DoorDevUnstable All the latest settings (the "unstable" branch) can be found here,]] and a {{Website/YouTube}} demo can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekG2AWhRLVA here.]]

* An [[https://github.com/codemann8/ALttPDoorRandomizer overworld randomizer]] is currently in very early development. It uses the same mechanics that the door randomizer uses for non-door transitions to shuffle the overworld transitions. There are two major aspects that can be shuffled: overworld layout and overworld tiles. Layout shuffle has three possible settings: vanilla; parallel, in which overworld transitions are shuffled, but light and dark world keep the same layout; and full, in which overworld transitions are shuffled within each world separately. Similarly, there are three settings for tile swap: vanilla; mixed, in which overworld tiles are randomly chosen to become a part of the opposite world; and crossed, in which overworld tiles remain in their respective worlds, but transitions can now be cross-world (e.g., a screen transition can take you from light world to dark world, or vice versa). The readme on the Github contains a visual representation of these settings. There's also an option to keep "similar edges" together (e.g., all three transitions possible to the left of Link's House must go to the same screen) and a "flute shuffle" setting that is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Players should be aware of some major bugs that can render seeds impossible to complete. An example playthrough can be found [[https://youtu.be/uUqKBOYbI8Y here]].

* "Pseudo-swords" could be described as "Swordless-lite": Link can pick up a sword, but it only does 1 damage. (Note that the Fighter's Sword actually does ''2'' damage.) Ganon will be fought with the hammer, as in Swordless, and there will always be two bow upgrades in the item pool. Also available at the same site as bomb-only mode.
* [[https://github.com/StructuralMike/ALttPDoorRandomizer/tree/futuro Futuro mode]], which is the ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' to Retro mode's ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI''. Bombs and magic cannot be used until the player finds capacity upgrades for them. Bows are not progressive, and a second has been added to the pool; the second turns into an arrow capacity upgrade after the first is found, and silver arrows are a separate item. The Hyrule Castle Dark World portal is available from the start.

Having a location/item tracker is practically required to avoid [[NowWhereWasIGoingAgain getting lost]], particularly in the more complicated modes, unless you have an eidetic memory. Even then, the randomizer will seed new progressions that otherwise may not have occurred to you. [[https://emotracker.net/ EmoTracker]] is a popular one for Windows: it has packages for this and most other popular randomizers (it defaults to installing the ''Link to the Past'' package). A list of other trackers can be found [[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s8-pLnWt5KTis60GUFHz5hxmWy_evbe3_YrpjAY5uh4/edit#gid=1055183448 here]]. There is also a web-based tracker for the ''Super Metroid'' crossover randomizer [[http://smalttpr.mymm1.com/tracker/ here]]. For more convoluted entrance shuffle settings, it will probably also help to take notes on all the entrances either in a text file or a spreadsheet, just so you don't have to waste valuable time retracing how you got to Dark Death Mountain without the flute, hookshot, gloves, or mirror.

The randomizer is used as the basis for {{speedrun}}ning tournaments wherein players are given the same seed and face off against each other in races. These races are technically 'fair' as far as [[RandomNumberGenerator RNG]] is concerned, but since neither player knows in advance where all the progressions are (or even ''which'' items are required to win), it boils down to working out the quickest route based on items encountered on the way. Winning requires both intimate knowledge of the game and a degree of {{luck|BasedMission}}. Although it's possible to "read" a seed to predict the most likely outcome, the seed may flip the script and place items in a place which is both unlikely ''and'' time-consuming to reach. (The worst outcomes are affectionately known as [[FakeLongevity "troll seeds."]]) For instance, a non-entrance randomizer seed might hide the [[WarpWhistle Mirror]] on [[FogOfDoom Kholdstare]], the IcePalace boss. Let's say the Mirror is required to enter the [[BubblegloopSwamp Swamp Palace]] and claim the item needed to climb Ganon's Tower; fighting Kholdstare as soon as possible is more likely to yield a progression and win the race, but it's a huge gamble which hinges on the quality of execution i.e. minimizing deaths.

* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI Zelda I]]''. The first of these, created by Fred Coughlin, is available [[https://sites.google.com/site/zeldarandomizer/ here]], and has [[VideoGame/Zelda1Randomizer its own TV Tropes page]]. This is actually one of the oldest randomizers, dating back to 2015, meaning that it may even predate ''Link to the Past''[='=]s. Several other randomizers for ''Zelda I'' have since been created. [[https://bitbucket.org/Garmichael/infinite-hyrule/downloads/ Infinite Hyrule]] randomizes the ''Zelda I'' overworld and acts as a sort of complement to Fred's randomizer (it doesn't randomize dungeons, but it can be used on seeds that have already been randomized with Fred's randomizer). [[https://www.reloadedretro.com/games/zelda Zelda Reloaded]] is yet another ''Zelda I'' randomizer that can randomize item placement, dungeon layout, the overworld, enemy placement, and numerous other game aspects. A web-based [[http://z1r.tetra.ly/ item randomizer]] is also available; it doesn't yet have as many options as the others, but it's also the only one that isn't currently Windows-exclusive.

** The other, by [=CrystalSaver=][[note]]who is also known as one of the most accomplished runners of ''Zelda 1'' and especially its randomizer[[/note]], is [[https://sites.google.com/view/z4randomizer here]].

A separate ROM hack (found [[http://samus.link here]]) combines ''Link to the Past'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid''. Often referred to as [=SMZ3=] (''A Link to the Past'' is the third ''Zelda'' game by release date) or [=SMLttP=], it originally combined code from both this randomizer and the ''Super Metroid'' [[https://itemrando.supermetroid.run/ item randomizer]], although the code branches have since diverged substantially.[[note]][=SMZ3=] and [=ALttPR=] no longer even use the same programming language.[[/note]] Items from one game may appear in the other, and there are four gateways between the two games. Several of the features present in the ''Link to the Past'' randomizer (such as the entrance randomizer, the Enemizer, and Inverted mode) unfortunately aren't yet implemented in [=SMZ3=]; however, Keysanity was implemented in 2021, and developers are apparently working on entrance and enemy randomizers. In any case, many of the tropes native to [=ALttPR=] still apply to [=SMZ3=]. One particularly cool thing about [=SMZ3=] is that, due to a quirk in the games' memory allocation[[note]]Which is so unlikely to have happened coincidentally that it strongly suggests Nintendo at one point [[WhatCouldHaveBeen intended to sell]] a combination ''Link to the Past'' / ''Super Metroid'' cartridge (unfortunately, this never happened)[[/note]], it can be played on an actual SNES. It was later followed by a ''Zelda 1'' / ''VideoGame/Metroid1'' multiworld randomizer (which, unfortunately, doesn't work on an actual NES). Now all we need is a ''Breath of the Wild'' / ''Metroid Prime 4'' multiworld randomizer.

'''As the randomizer is based on ''The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past'', most tropes that apply to that game will naturally apply to the randomizer as well. To avoid redundancy, only tropes that differ in some way between the randomizer and the original game should be added here.'''

!! The randomizer provides examples of:

* AdaptationalBadass: Bosses being randomized is a good lesson on why Mothula's boss arena is the way it is; put any other boss in that arena and it becomes a nightmare...

* AdaptationalWimp: ...and put Mothula himself in any arena ''but'' his own and he becomes a total joke.

** The entrance to Ganon's Tower in Inverted Mode is just an ordinary door with no magical barrier protecting it. But for some reason, it still requires a certain number of crystals to open. It's especially irritating considering that once Link has the Crystals and attempts to open the door, it will swing wide open ''before'' the Crystal cutscene starts, but Link still has to sit through the long animation before he's permitted to enter. Happily this doesn't happen if the number of crystals required is 0.
** The original game showed Link playing the flute to call on the bird and chase after Ganon, who flees into the [[BuildLikeAnEgyptian Pyramid.]] This was already [[CutscenePowerToTheMax a bit dubious]] since the scene happens in the Dark World, and the bird only exists in the Light World. Nothing happens if Link selects the flute in the Dark World... outside of this scene. The Randomizer may exacerbate it: Link uses the flute to call on the bird ''even if he never found either of them in the first place!'' The probability of Link needing the flute to beat a randomized seed is low.[[note]]The most common way this can happen is if Misery Mire is a barren pendant dungeon.[[/note]]
** While the ultimate goal of defeating Ganon hasn't changed (assuming you're not playing one of the alternate goal game modes), [[RandomEventsPlot the path to get there is almost guaranteed to be weird]], even by video game standards. Why would the blacksmiths be forging Magic Powder? Why is the legendary Master Sword lying on top of a random bookshelf in the library? Why did this merchant just agree to sell Link 300 rupees for the price of 100?

* AlreadyDoneForYou: In Open Mode, Princess Zelda starts the game having already been rescued from Hyrule Castle's dungeon and is hanging out in the Sanctuary. In spite of this, if Link heads down to the dungeon, he'll find all the guards are still there, all the doors are still locked (including Zelda's cell), and the keys to said doors are still being carried by the guards who are now patrolling outside an empty cell block. The only hint that someone has made off with the Princess at all (aside from her absence) is that [[AbsurdlySpaciousSewer the entrance to the sewers]] in the back is unblocked.

** Typically, the game opens the same way as [=LttP=]. Which is to say, Link starts with nothing but the clothes on his back. The No Logic setting starts him off with the [[SprintShoes Pegasus Boots]], since that mode heavily relies on glitches, and the Boots make them easier to execute. Sword-Assured mode starts him off with a sword. The Customizer gives players the option of starting with any equipment of their choosing; "Casual Boots", i.e. Link starts his adventure with the Fighter Sword and Pegasus Boots, is a popular preset among racers.
** Ganon has a line just before his [[TurnsRed final phase]] in which he helpfully reveals the location of the [[LastDiscMagic Silver Arrows]] to Link if he haven't found them yet. If Link picked them up already, Ganon shouts, "''Oh no, silver, my one true weakness!''" instead. Note that unlike most other ''Zelda'' games, ''[=ALttP=]'' does ''not'' strictly require the player to possess the Silver Arrows to defeat Ganon; they merely shorten the fight. Without them, the player must strike Ganon with the Master Sword when he is vulnerable between [[TeleportSpam teleports.]] Accordingly, the Master Sword is ''absolutely'' required--except in swordless mode, which demands that the player find the Hammer, at least. The timing for swordless, silverless Ganon is extremely precise, so the Silver Arrows are almost obligatory. Even difficulty modes that normally remove Silver Arrows still allow them if set to swordless.
** As ironic as it may seem, the randomizer actually does away with some of the RNG reliant features of the original game to save players from wasting time repeating the same mindless tasks over and over again due to bad luck. The Chest Opening Game will hide a progression in one of the first two chests opened, and the Digging Game is guaranteed to yield one within the first 30 digs. In the original, both of these [[MiniGame mini-games]] were completely random.

** The door randomizer starts players with a "mirror scroll" item that they can use to warp back to the start of dungeons at any time, thus saving players from soft-locking and having to take intentional deaths (or worse, save and quit and then navigate back to the dungeon) when they reach a dead-end, which happens a lot more often in this mode. It does not work on the overworld, however, and will not perform the "mirror erase" block glitch; the player needs the real mirror for either of those.
** The randomizer lets Link [[WalletOfHolding carry up to 9,999 rupees instead of the paltry 999]]. This is handy for completionists, because purchasing all of the bomb and arrow upgrades alone will set Link back 1,400 rupees. (A fatter wallet allows Link to collect them all in one visit.) [[HelpfulMook Zora]] charges 500 rupees for a progression item; it costs 110 rupees to get into the Palace of Darkness (or whatever the entrance randomizer replaces it with); the (former) bottle merchant charges 100 rupees; and so on. This all adds up quickly. Players are liable to spend way more than 999 rupees (albeit way fewer than 9,999) to complete the game, and it's nice not to have to worry about Link opening a 300 rupee chest and then throwing the money away because [[{{Cap}} he can't carry any more.]]
** In entrance randomizer seeds where Link enters a Dark World dungeon (or Light World Dungeon in inverted mode) and doesn't have the [[TransformationTrinket Moon Pearl,]] dying in said dungeon will remove [[ForcedTransformation his bunny curse,]] thereby allowing him to clear it. This will never be required in a no glitches seed, but it's still advantageous, especially in races; however, all "glitches required" settings assume that players are familiar with this technique, and may require it.

*** On the extreme side of things, one of the earliest "Customizer" games demonstrated that even with the simpler settings it is still logically possible to be required to travel to the Turtle Rock dungeon (a dungeon that is in a remote location and that is arduous to traverse) a total of five separate times.
** Depending upon the extremity, entrance shuffle. The path to certain parts of Hyrule can be very convoluted until Link obtains all the tools needed to cross it normally. Insanity entrance shuffle will likely require a chain of doors to reach a remote area of Dark World Death Mountain or Misery Mire unless Link obtains the Titan's Mitts and/or flute. If the Ice Palace entrance is "Bumper Cave Ledge" (or the Light World equivalent in inverted insanity shuffle), Link will probably need to go through several doors to reach those, even with a full inventory! Taking notes is practically mandatory for the more complex settings.

* BadSanta: The 2018 Christmas Festive Mode features final boss Ganon dressed as Santa Claus and, [[TheGrinch Grinch-like]], attempting to steal Christmas from Hyrule.

* BlatantItemPlacement: The randomizer has no concern for in-universe logic in how it places its items, gleefully placing some couch cash in the ancient and legendary Master Sword pedestal or have a random sick kid hand Link a powerful and destructive magic medallion when shown him a bottle. The Customizer lets players invoke this trope intentionally, if so inclined.
* BoringButPractical: Finding rupees or bombs in chests certainly isn't as exciting as getting Link's hands on a flashy weapon or progression item, but in the early game, these 'junk' items can be disproportionately useful: they don't require spending money, and many others are locked behind bomb-able walls. Link will probably come across these before he has time stack up on [[ImpossibleItemDrop enemy drops]] or pot contents. This can apply to Heart Pieces and {{Heart Container}}s as well, since having a bit of extra health goes a long way if Link needs to dip into some of the harder Dark World dungeons.

* CarryingTheWeakness: Annoyingly, a boss may drop the weapon it's particularly weak to--''after'' being defeated. If said weapon is the ''only'' way to damage the boss, the game's logic wouldn't allow them to be carrying it, since that would render them invincible.

** The "insanity" setting of the Entrance Randomizer often results in physically impossible layouts, since with the exception of non-dungeon single-entrance locations, the interior and exterior entrances to a cave or building are usually completely decoupled. (There is a chance that they can still lead to the same location, but due to the number of locations in the game, this usually only happens about one to three times per seed.) This means that if Link enters through a door and then immediately turns around and exits through that same door, he may find himself in an entirely different area of the world than the one he entered from. Each entrance and exit will always lead to the same location when Link emerges from a given direction, though; it's just that each doorway is treated as two separate entrances when entered from opposite sides, rather than necessarily being connected to one another.
** As one might imagine, the door randomizer very seldom results in physically consistent layouts. If lobby shuffle is not enabled, then the entrances of dungeons will be the same rooms as they are in the vanilla game; apart from that, all bets are off. A couple of early demonstrations of this can be found [[https://www.twitch.tv/videos/526653090 here]] (door shuffle seed starts at around 38 minutes the into video after a roughly five-minute introduction, and ends just after the 3-hour mark) and [[https://www.twitch.tv/videos/524281531 here]] (door shuffle seed starts at around 3:20 into the video). A particularly amusing combination is when a door leads to another door on the opposite side of the same room, which can happen with any room that has a 2x2 "super-tile" (like the big chest room in Swamp Palace; the door randomizer currently only shuffles super-tiles); because a door can only lead to a door facing the opposite direction, these "wrap-around" doors happen fairly often. Staircases can also get shuffled in strange ways. Owing to the way the randomizer works, the map is also only useful as a tally of what rooms a player has visited (and not even as that for players who haven't already memorized the original dungeon layouts, or at least aren't willing to look them up); it is unable to tell you how those rooms actually fit together, which gives the door randomizer a larger puzzle-solving aspect than usual.

* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: It's sometimes advantageous to commit suicide during a (non-door randomizer) race if Link doesn't have EscapeRope i.e. the mirror, since death deposits Link at the door he used to enter the dungeon, which can be faster than backtracking. In the door randomizer, this is rarely necessary, since the Mirror Scroll performs the same function in dungeons before Link collects the mirror, in order to prevent soft locks. In some cases, it may still be advantageous to kill oneself in Dark World dungeons before Link collects the Moon Pearl, due to the "bunny revival" glitch (saving and continuing from a dungeon will restore Link to his normal form). Note that logic will never require this unless glitches are selected as part of the logic, and races rarely, if ever, use glitches as part of the logic; however, it can still be advantageous to find items out of logic.
* DifficultButAwesome: If Link doesn't find a sword in the early game, getting the Hammer is as good or better. The Hammer has an awkward delay, though, and [[HitboxDissonance the hitbox is strange,]] so players who never tried using it on enemies may need time to get used to it. Mastering it can be a huge help in the randomizer.
* DisconnectedSideArea: Pretty common in the door randomizer's cross-dungeon setting. Some rooms will be shared by two dungeons as there's no way to cross from one section to the other (i.e., Palace of Darkness's Big Chest ledge, Eastern Palace's cannonball room, Turtle Rock's lava room, etc.).

** There's nothing stopping the randomizer from placing multiple Sword upgrades, Bow + Silver Arrows, or other powerful late game weapons right at the start of the game, allowing the player to plow through early game mobs with ease. But they may find themselves in a situation where their weapon which is far from optimal, e.g. having to rely on carefully-timed bomb throws. A single miss means they won't have enough bombs to finish off the boss, forcing them to reload a save.

** In several game modes, players will be unable to complete some of the the easier dungeons in the game such as the Eastern Palace or the Palace of Darkness until they acquire the bow, which may not occur into relatively late in the game; this is virtually guaranteed in such cases. (The Enemizer may alter which dungeons, if any, will require the bow to complete.) Also, Inverted mode is created with the explicit intention of this: the player starts in the much harder Dark World and will not gain access to the Light World until much later, meaning that the player will need to explore the harder areas of the game first.
** Mechanically [[BlackoutBasement the dark rooms]] work the same as in the original, but unlike [=LttP=], the randomizer may allow the player to enter said dark rooms before finding the Lamp, which normally provides the player with a small cone of vision through the darkness. The logic is designed to never require the player to enter a dark room without the means to make the darkness visible, but a common method of sequence breaking, dubbed "Dark Room Navigation", is to memorize the layout of these rooms so that a player can get through them despite being essentially blind. This can be made easier by some [[MuzzleFlashlight items that emit visual effects that are visible through the dark]] (most notably a charged sword attack) that the player can make use of to keep track of their own character's position if nothing else. There are guides to the dark room layouts such as [[https://maplequeensaku.weebly.com/news/a-link-to-the-past-randomizer-dark-room-maps-guide this one]] that can also help a lot.

* EmptyRoomUntilTheTrap: The Enemy Randomizer may result in rooms that usually contain fully visible enemies having been replaced by enemies that are initially hidden and only show themselves when the player comes close. Of course, an experienced player will have memorized which rooms are supposed to contain enemies, so they are unlikely to be taken completely by surprise at hidden enemies suddenly popping up in a seemingly empty room.
* ExactWords / ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The April Fools 2021 mode added an option to download the vanilla rom of the game. [[spoiler:Turns out it's literally just a screen with the color vanilla.]]

* FetchQuest: Sometimes Link gets an item he can easily do without, but merely having it puts other locations "in logic", potentially forcing him to go "check" them. This is less of an issue when randomizing [=ALttP=] by itself; the seed judges what you do and don't need. But in tandem with ''Super Metroid'', a game which is full of items that Samus can skip, it's a huge problem. For instance, if players have the [[WaterIsAir Gravity Suit]] and [[NotQuiteFlight Space Jump]], then they won't be happy to see the Grapple Beam; Samus doesn't need it to win, but it places Shaktool in logic, and that's one of the longest checks in the game!
* FridgeLogic: Ganon may provide an InUniverse example in some seeds: "If we're not meant to have midnight snacks, then why is there a light in the fridge?" This may be meant as a reference to this exact trope.

** If he's lucky enough to find the Bow and Silver Arrows early in the seed, Link can kill most enemies and bosses with ease, and of the bosses that are immune to arrows (Moldorm, Mothula, Blind, Kholdstare), Moldorm and Blind don't pose a challenge to a seasoned player. Vitreous takes eleven Silver Arrows to kill: one for each small eye, and then two for the big one. Each [[WolfpackBoss Armos Knight]] dies to one silver arrow, as does each [[SandWorm Lanmola]] (though targeting Lanmolas is no mean feat). The Helmasaur King, [[DidntNeedThoseAnyway once his mask has been removed]], dies to a single silver arrow. So does [[{{Oculothorax}} Arrghus]] after all of the Arrgi (polyps) have been killed. They might die even quicker if it didn't take so long to enchant a Silver Arrow and fire one. Toss in the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Golden Sword]], and many bosses go down with little to no effort.
** "Blind Pedestal Pull." The Pedestal containing the Master Sword in the Vanilla version contains a random item here. The odds are against it containing an important progression item, but it does happen sometimes (known as a “pedestal seed“). If the player has the Book of Mudora, they can translate the front of the pedestal in order to learn what it actually contains. However, if a player doesn’t have the Book, then they may make the incredibly rash decision to hunt down all three Pendants and “pull” the item within. This is known as a Blind Pedestal Pull. It may sound counter-intuitive, but it's a highly-anticipated moment for race-watchers, since a runner may attempt the pull as some sort of Hail Mary. Players can [[https://youtu.be/aKVPv2bKWV8?t=4815 go from being dead-last to being in the lead]] very quickly. You can also come up with some [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jar-Db_7LE8#t=140s&ab_channel=PsychedelicEyeball pretty evil scenarios.]] "Couch Cash" (twenty rupees). Finding the Book inside the pedestal would be the absolute worst. Finding the Lamp in the pedestal would be incredibly frustrating if players don't know how to navigate all of the pitch-black rooms in the Crystal dungeons. There have also been races where two runners have agreed ahead of time to execute a Blind Pedestal Pull.

* HolidayMode: The developers have released multiple special holiday modes for the randomizer, available for limited times during holidays such as Christmas, Halloween, and Easter. These modes tend to contain many cosmetic changes such as custom holiday-themed sprites, different color palettes and season-appropriate music, along with some gameplay alterations.

* ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest: In the original game, the shovel mostly exists so the player can dig up the flute, and once you do so, you lose the shovel. In the randomizer, you still get the random check at the flute dig spot, but you also get to keep the shovel after digging up that item, so you can use the shovel for random digs at many spots throughout both worlds. Sometimes this will enable you to dig up magic, arrows, or bombs outside a difficult, remote dungeon (e.g., Ganon's Tower) if you take an unfortunate death and have run out of a needed item, thus saving you minutes' worth of backtracking.

* NowWhereWasIGoingAgain: With over 200 unique item locations to check and dozens of unique items to find, many of which unlock other locations, it's easy to lose track of Link's immediate destination. Keeping track of a) which locations he hasn't checked for and b) which locations they open open is essential for a good run, particularly in Keysanity and the Entrance Randomizer. Third-party item trackers are a godsend to help combat this, especially those that highlight locations Link currently has access to.
* OneSizeFitsAll: The [[ArmorOfInvincibility blue and red mails]] (and the starter green mail seen in Link's inventory) all have the same sprites as in the original game regardless of what character sprite you're using. In spite of this they all fit just fine on any one of the selectable player sprites, regardless of size, shape or number of limbs. Same goes for the Pegasus Boots, which apparently can be worn and used even by character sprites who ''lack feet''.
* PoisonMushroom: The Enemizer cam randomize enemy damage values so thoroughly, they may actually do ''more'' damage against the Blue or Red mails than the Green Mail. In such a case, collecting these "upgrades" is a disadvantage: there's no way of knowing without picking them up, and once they're picked up, they can't be dropped.

* {{Retraux}}: Retro Mode uses rupees as arrows, just like in the original [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] Zelda which the mode is based on.
* RewardFromNowhere: The somewhat logical context of some of the original game's item locations are often lost during randomization. For example: finding an old book on a bookshelf makes sense but finding the legendary Master Sword there makes less so. Finding a lonely Mushroom on the forest floor is nothing strange but finding the Big Key to Ganon's Tower in the same spot can make one question how responsible the dark lord really is with his stuff.

* SequenceBreaking: Aside from the fact that the randomizer inherently breaks the sequence of the original game, it's actually possible to sequence break the randomizer itself by circumventing the built-in logic it operates by. This is usually accomplished by exploiting glitches to get to areas Link normally can't reach without a tool. If Link glitches his way to an item before the game expects it (i.e. it's "not in logic"), experts will be able to deduce the locations of other items. If Link uses the glitch known as "fake flippers" to swim without the help of flippers, he may theoretically find the Hammer. The real flippers can't possibly be in a location which requires the hammer to reach, since according to the logic, he would've had to find the flippers before the hammer.
* {{Sidequest}}: Occasionally you will end up in a situation where you either already have all items needed to beat the game (commonly referred to as "Go-Mode") or at least know where all items you need are located, in which case checking any other remaining item location is unnecessary. But even then, sometimes it can be worth it to go slightly out of your way for the off chance of finding an extra item that, strictly speaking, isn't required, but would nonetheless be very helpful. This most commonly happens while in search of the Silver Arrows, which greatly speed up several boss fights, especially the fight against Ganon. It may also involve finding the 3rd or 4th Sword upgrade, 1/2 Magic (effectively doubling Link's [[ManaMeter Magic Meter]]), or maybe a defense buff like the Blue or Red Mail.

** The AprilFoolsDay 2021 holiday adds in a ton of extra silly things such as rendering Link '''upside down''' and to really wreak havoc on the music such as: altering where tracks play, their tempo and/or the segments of each song.

** Out of the two types of Boss Prizes, Crystals and Pendants, only the Crystals are guaranteed to be required to finish the game under normal rules. As such it's often the case that one or more of the three Pendant bosses are skippable. The Green Pendant may be required if Sahasrahla holds a required item, and if the Pedestal should happen to contain a required item then all three Pendants will be required. However, even if the Pendants themselves aren't required there's always the possibility that one or more of the Pendant bosses will drop a required item along with their Pendant, thus making them non-skippable anyway.

* TakeThatAudience: April Fools 2021's new festive mode adds dumb things under a category called Objectively Better Optional Extras, which were suggested by the community that the devs felt like would be too irritating in any seed, i.e. shuffling the turtle rock pegs or randomizing where flute locations take you. The game is also displayed like its GBA counterpart due to constant wanting for that version to be randomized. The note at the end of the description of the page is also signed by "- The ALTTP Randomizer Discord #suggestions Channel" instead of the actual devs.

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Crowd Control gives viewers a degree of control over your gameplay, most often in exchange for donations. They may be nice and help you, or ([[{{Griefer}} much more commonly]]) waste your time with [[InterfaceScrew inverted controls]], [[FeatheredFiend swarms of chickens]], [[SlippySlideyIceWorld ice physics]], [[CriticalAnnoyance critical health status]], or even sudden death. Usually timed at the least opportune moments, such as when fighting Kholdstare, Ganon, Vitreous, or some other irritating boss which [[MarathonLevel took an eternity to reach]]. Viewers will frequently [[VideoGameCaringPotential show mercy]] by sending a streamer Bombs when the seed demands them, if only because topping off your bomb supply is [[ItemFarming tedious.]]

** If the pedestal contains the lamp, the translation will read, "''[[{{Music/U2}} Baby, baby, baby. Light my way!]]''"

** The credits will replace "Venus, Queen of Fairies" with [[{{Music/Bananarama}} "Venus, I'm Your Fire".]]

** In entrance randomizer seeds where Link enters a Dark World dungeon (or Light World Dungeon in inverted mode) and doesn't have the [[TransformationTrinket Moon Pearl,]] dying in said dungeon will remove [[BalefulPolymorph his bunny curse,]] thereby allowing him to clear it. This will never be required in a no glitches seed, but it's still advantageous, especially in races; however, all "glitches required" settings assume that players are familiar with this technique, and may require it.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Can be invoked with the player character skin option, where even a CompleteMonster such as [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka]] can be a hero.

** The "basic" fill algorithm introduces logical requirements for a certain number of health upgrades and other safety items to be required to be available before Dark World bosses are required, meaning that if a beginning player runs into a prohibitively difficult boss fight, they can go do more checks and return to it better-equipped.

* A "Shopsanity" setting in the door randomizer adds shops to the item pool - shops can have any key item needed for progression, as long as this doesn't break logic. Most items are relatively inexpensive to purchase, in order to prevent rupees from being a barrier to progression; the most expensive items are in the 100-250 range. More info is available [[https://github.com/aerinon/ALttPDoorRandomizer/blob/DoorDevUnstable/RELEASENOTES.md here]]. Note that one needn't enable dungeon door shuffle to use shopsanity, but shopsanity has yet to be added to the main site.

The basic [[VideoGameRandomizer "randomizer"]] alters a) the locations of [[PlayerInventory inventory items]] and b) which {{dungeon|Crawling}}s hold [[GottaCatchThemAll the crystals needed]] to reach the {{final boss}}, Ganon. Not only are items found in different locations (and in a different sequence) in each "seed", but the tools [[AbilityRequiredToProceed needed to progress in the game]] also differ. To prevent the randomizer from generating a seed which renders the game {{unwinnable|ByMistake}} (such as placing a item in a location which can only be reached [[TheKeyIsBehindTheLock with the help of said item]]), the code has a built-in logic containing various checks and failsafes to ensure that "progressions" can always be obtained in one way or another (unless the player chooses the "no logic" setting - which ''still'' almost never results in an unbeatable seed, as long as the player knows the requisite glitches: the Japanese 1.0 release of ''A Link to the Past'' that the randomizer uses as its base is ''extremely'' broken).

* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI Zelda I]]'', available [[https://sites.google.com/site/zeldarandomizer/ here]]; has [[VideoGame/Zelda1Randomizer its own TV Tropes page]]. This is actually one of the oldest randomizers and may even predate ''Link to the Past''[='=]s.

** In very early versions of the randomizer, finding a sword overwrote Link's current sword. It was entirely possible to find the ultra-powerful Golden Sword in the first chest, only to have it irreversibly replaced by the weak [[StarterEquipment Fighter Sword]] in the second. Subsequent versions corrected this by making swords "progressive" items: the first sword Link finds will always be the Fighter Sword, the Master Sword comes next, and so on.[[note]]The "customizer" allows the player to place non-progressive swords (or non-progressive bows, non-progressive shields, non-progressive mail, etc.), and the door randomizer (and modes based on it) allow players to disable progressive items (or to randomize whether items are progressive for each set of items), but all such cases now patch the bug where the less powerful item overwrites the more powerful one. This is a problem with the vanilla game as well, by the way: for example, using major glitches, players can obtain the Titan's Mitt before the Power Glove, and should they then happen to pick up the Power Glove, the latter overwrites the former, making the game UnwinnableByInsanity.[[/note]]

** In very early versions of the randomizer, finding a sword overwrote Link's current sword. It was entirely possible to find the ultra-powerful Golden Sword in the first chest, only to have it irreversibly replaced by the weak [[StarterEquipment Fighter Sword]] in the second. Subsequent versions corrected this by making swords "progressive" items: the first sword Link finds will always be the Fighter Sword, the Master Sword comes next, and so on.[[note]]The "customizer" allows the player to place non-progressive swords (or non-progressive bows, non-progressive shields, non-progressive mail, etc.), and the door randomizer (and modes based on it) allow players to disable progressive items (or to randomize whether items are progressive for each set of items), but all such cases now patch the bug where the less powerful item overwrites the more powerful one. This is a problem with the vanilla game as well, by the way: for example, using major glitches, players can obtain the Titan's Mitt before the Power Glove, and should they then happen to pick up the Power Glove, the latter overwrites the former, making the game either UnwinnableByInsanity.[[/note]]

** In very early versions of the randomizer, finding a sword overwrote Link's current sword. It was entirely possible to find the ultra-powerful Golden Sword in the first chest, only to have it irreversibly replaced by the weak [[StarterEquipment Fighter Sword]] in the second. Subsequent versions corrected this by making swords "progressive" items: the first sword Link finds will always be the Fighter Sword, the Master Sword comes next, and so on.[[note]]The "customizer" allows the player to place non-progressive swords (or non-progressive bows, non-progressive shields, non-progressive mail, etc.), and the door randomizer (and modes based on it) allow players to disable progressive items (or to randomize whether items are progressive for each set of items), but all such cases now patch the bug where the less powerful item overwrites the more powerful one. This is a problem with the vanilla game as well, by the way: for example, using major glitches, players can obtain the Titan's Mitt before the Power Glove, and should they then happen to pick up the Power Glove, the latter overwrites the former, making the game either UnwinnableByInsanity or UnwinnableByMistake (most likely the former, as the glitches required to do this are probably too technical for unsuspecting players to execute).[[/note]]

** In very early versions of the randomizer, finding a sword overwrote Link's current sword. It was entirely possible to find the ultra-powerful Golden Sword in the first chest, only to have it irreversibly replaced by the weak [[StarterEquipment Fighter Sword]] in the second. This was corrected in subsequent versions by making swords "progressive" items: the first sword Link finds will always be the Fighter Sword, the Master Sword comes next, and so on.
%%** Certain game modes, such as the door randomizer, now allow progressive items to be disabled [or for this setting to be randomized for each set of items] but the player will keep the more powerful item after picking up the less powerful one.)

A separate ROM hack (found [[http://samus.link here]]) combines ''Link to the Past'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid''. Often referred to as [=SMZ3=] (''A Link to the Past'' is the third ''Zelda'' game by release date) or [=SMLttP=], it combines code from both this randomizer and the ''Super Metroid'' [[https://itemrando.supermetroid.run/ item randomizer]]. Items from one game may appear in the other, and there are four gateways between the two games. Several of the features present in the ''Link to the Past'' randomizer (such as the entrance randomizer, the Enemizer, and Inverted mode) unfortunately aren't yet implemented in the ''Super Metroid'' one; however, Keysanity was implemented in 2021, and developers are apparently working on entrance and enemy randomizers. In any case, many of the tropes native to [=ALttPR=] still apply to [=SMZ3=]. One particularly cool thing about [=SMZ3=] is that, due to a quirk in the games' memory allocation[[note]]Which is so unlikely to have happened coincidentally that it strongly suggests Nintendo at one point [[WhatCouldHaveBeen intended to sell]] a combination ''Link to the Past'' / ''Super Metroid'' cartridge (unfortunately, this never happened)[[/note]], it can be played on an actual SNES. It was later followed by a ''Zelda 1'' / ''VideoGame/Metroid1'' multiworld randomizer (which, unfortunately, doesn't work on an actual NES). Now all we need is a ''Breath of the Wild'' / ''Metroid Prime 4'' multiworld randomizer.

* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI Zelda I]]'', available [[https://sites.google.com/site/zeldarandomizer/ here]]; has [[VideoGame/Zelda1Randomizer its own TV Tropes page]] that Administrivia/NeedsWikiMagicLove. This is actually one of the oldest randomizers and may even predate ''Link to the Past''[='=]s.

The basic [[VideoGameRandomizer "randomizer"]] alters a) the locations of [[PlayerInventory inventory items]] and b) which {{dungeon|Crawling}}s hold [[GottaCatchThemAll the crystals needed]] to reach the {{final boss}}, Ganon. Not only are items found in different locations (and in a different sequence) in each "seed", but the tools [[AbilityRequiredToProceed needed to progress in the game]] also differ. To prevent the randomizer from generating a seed which renders the game {{unwinnable|ByMistake}} (such as placing a item in a location which can only be reached [[TheKeyIsBehindTheLock with the help of said item]]), the code has a built-in logic containing various checks and failsafes to ensure that "progressions" can always be obtained in one way or another.

** "Blind Pedestal Pull." The Pedestal containing the Master Sword in the Vanilla version contains a random item here. The odds are against it containing an important progression item, but it does happen sometimes (known as a “pedestal seed“). If the player has the Book of Mudora, they can translate the front of the pedestal in order to learn what it actually contains. However, if a player doesn’t have the Book, then they may make the incredibly rash decision to hunt down all three Pendants and “pull” the item within. This is known as a Blind Pedestal Pull. It may sound counter-intuitive, but it's a highly-anticipated moment for race-watchers, since a runner may attempt the pull as some sort of Hail Mary. Players can [[https://youtu.be/aKVPv2bKWV8?t=4806 go from being dead-last to being in the lead]] very quickly. You can also come up with some [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jar-Db_7LE8#t=140s&ab_channel=PsychedelicEyeball pretty evil scenarios.]] "Couch Cash" (twenty rupees). Finding the Book inside the pedestal would be the absolute worst. Finding the Lamp in the pedestal would be incredibly frustrating if players don't know how to navigate all of the pitch-black rooms in the Crystal dungeons. There have also been races where two runners have agreed ahead of time to execute a Blind Pedestal Pull.