Twilight Princess Glitches - Back In Time

This glitch can also be performed in The Wind Waker and Skyward Sword.

TP

Compatible Versions ? GCN Wii HD

Details Discovered: kirby93 Verified: Yes

Wii Instructions

1. Go to Arbiter Grounds and sink into the quicksand. Continue sinking until the cutscene of Link struggling in the quicksand begins.
2. When you can only see the fingers of Link's hand left above the sand (only a sliver of his glove should be visible), press the home menu button and choose to reset.
3. If done correctly, (see bottom for troubleshooting) you should end up on Eldin bridge with the Ordon sword, Hylian shield, and Hero's clothes equipped. Do not press any buttons on the Wii remote, doing so will almost certainly cause the game to crash, the nunchuck buttons can be safely used at this time.
4. Notice that the HUD (interface) isn't there. This is because you are in cutscene mode but have control of Link.
5. Jump off the bridge or any cliff once. When you respawn, the HUD will reappear and you will be able to press any button without crashing the game.

Gamecube Instructions

1. Go to Ordon Woods and head to the middle of the bridge to Faron Woods.
2. Jump off the bridge.
3. When Link begins to fall immediately press the reset button on your Gamecube.
4. If done correctly, you should end up on Eldin bridge with the Ordon sword, Hylian shield, and Hero's clothes equipped. It is safe to press any buttons but pressing A, or Start will make the Title Screen "Press Start" screen pop up.
5. Notice that the HUD (interface) isn't there. This is because you are in cutscene mode but have control of Link.
6. Jump off the bridge to your Death repeatedly until you run out of health.

Wolf Link Wii/Gamecube Instructions

1. Go to Arbiter Grounds and sink into the sandpit as a wolf.
2. As soon as the quicksand touch the bottom of wolf Link's metal prison shackle, go to the home menu and choose to reset.
3. If done correctly, you should end up on Eldin bridge with the Ordon sword, Hylian shield, and Hero's clothes equipped. Do not press any buttons on the Wii remote, doing so will almost certainly cause the game to crash, the nunchuck buttons can be safely used at this time.
4. Notice that the HUD (interface) isn't there. This is because you are in cutscene mode but have control of Link.
5. Jump off the bridge to your Death repeatedly until you run out of health.

Results

You will reappear during the event where you save Colin. Notice that you are equipped with weapons you didn't have! This is because how the equip and hex system works.

From this point the following actions can be taken to achieve some unusual results:

1. If you immediately save you will be in Faron woods and the game thinks it is at the beginning of the game. Though you cannot normally meet Midna because after your first horse ride the game will think it is after you met Minda because you are equipped with the Hero's clothes. To get through the game normally perform the Rock into a Gate.
2. If you save and appear in Faron woods, you can perform the Epona Through the Wall Glitch.
3. If you save Colin then you will be in the Twilight realm as a human with Epona.
4. If you do not skip the cutscene where Colin is being captured then you will not be on Epona and she will be on Eldin Bridge.
5. If you choose to save your file notice it will be automatically named "Link".

Explanation

Every time you boot up the game the code writes data to RAM(Random Access Memory).This data determines what time it is, where Link is, etc... Before you gain control of Link a cutscene is executed. However if you fall into the Sand or jump off a bridge and then reset at the right time the death sequence still runs, and while the game sequence for the title screen loads the death sequence cancels out the cutscene sequence, so therefore you gain control of Link. Since the data loaded was designed for the cutscene sequence the HUD (Interface) is off and pressing a button on the Wii Remote crash the game. The reason the game does not crash on the Gamecube version of the game is because the Gamecube version uses the start button to access the file menu in the cutscene and the Wii version uses A+B. The game appears to crash when attempting to access the "Press Start" screen.

Some people think this glitch takes your file and reverses it back in time but this is not true.

You end up in the Eldin Province, the Bridge of Eldin to be exact, simply because the title screen's setting is right next to the Bridge of Eldin. Since you died, the game spawns you at the nearest spawn point. During the first few seconds of the title screen cutscene is when you spawn. The nearest spawn point to where the title screen starts off, is exactly where you spawn on the Bridge of Eldin.

You start the King Bulblin battle after you get game over and retry because you died in the Twilight Eldin Province. Normally, when you first enter that Hyrule Field from Kakoriko Village at this time, you are instantly engaged in the fight with King Bulblin. Same principal applies to you dieing during the fight. You respawn at the fight with him.

The most probable reason for why it takes you to Faron Woods after you save and restart that save file is due to the game having the Eldin Province partially coated in Twilight during the Back in Time glitch. You are in the Twilight Eldin Province, but the game doesn't actually load the Twilight due to your death that was not done in the Twilight, so the game doesn't load the Twilight since you never died in it. Once you die during the Back in Time glitch and retry, you are in the Twilight Eldin Province because you had now died in the Twilight, so the Twilight is already loaded before you even die. It just doesn't show until you renter the area. Due to you being in the Twilight when you save and restart, you are placed at the nearest entry point. Since you never actually entered the Eldin Province in the Twilight, after restarting, the game is still programed to place you in the Twilight. But since you never entered the second twilight realm, being the Eldin Province, the game places you at the nearest entry point to the first twilight realm, being Faron Woods. However, you're not in the Twilight Faron Woods due to the fact that the Twilight back in the Eldin Province during this glitch not being fully loaded, so the Twilight that is programed to be in Faron Woods memory is replaced with non-twilight because you haven't yet entered Twilight Faron Woods.

Link most likely respawns on the Bridge of Eldin at the start of this glitch already equipped with the Ordon Sword, Hylian Shield, and the Hero's Clothes is due to you actually being in Faron Woods while you're in the Eldin Province. The only reason for you being in the Eldin Province and Faron Woods at the same time is because the setting that's behind the games title screen before pressing A+B the Eldin Province. The game doesn't load any of the Eldin Province because you've never entered it. And since you're in Faron Woods, the woods' loading points are loaded, but are in a different location than the loading points that are in the Eldin Province. However, if you mount Epona and ride her out of bounds around Hyrule Field and you go to where Faron Woods are shown on your map, you see that none of the woods are loaded. This is because they are not loaded during the title screen cutscene and you're on the title screen. Now since you're in the Eldin Province, the game is programed for you to have the Ordon Sword, Hylian Shield, and Hero's Clothes after you return Faron Woods out of its twilight, so even if you don't have the items, the game automatically gives you them, expecting you would already have them. Their not shown in your inventory because you have not actually obtained them yet.

Troubleshooting

The only real problem is timing the game reset. This glitch is VERY VERY HARD. It may take you as many as 40 to 90 times to get it right.

Notes

• This glitch can really be done anywhere you can die, you just have to figure out exactly when to reset.
• The Wolf Link method of this glitch comes easier for most people because it's much easier to see the correct time slot in which you must reset.
• This glitch cannot be performed on the HD Remake, as the Wii U has no reset function.

Sub-Glitches

• New Game+: Get Bombs and the Bow for use when you start up a Back in Time save file!

• Early Forest Temple (Bomb Method): Enter the Forest Temple in Faron Woods early without the complicated CD-Streaming!