Current Version: 7

About the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Randomizer (or ALttPRandomizer)

This is a simple program that moves around items in the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (ALttP). It is used for racing the game.

When racing the game, it is suggested that each player play the same seed to ensure a level playing field.

This was created by Dessyreqt, Karkat, ChristosOwen, and Smallhacker, with input from the SRL ALttP community.

Using the Randomizer

Select a location to save your randomized rom, then select Create.

There are two difficulties, "Casual" and "Glitched". If you don't know which one to pick, select "Casual". You can also create a non-randomized ROM, to play the classic game with the changes to the rom file we've added.

You can slow down the low-health warning or turn it off using the "Heart Beep Speed" dropdown box.

Enabling the "SRAM Trace" option will allow the rom's SRM file to automatically populate Zarby89's HUD, which can be found at https://zarby89.github.io/ZeldaHud/

"Show complexity" will display the number of steps to collect all of the items in the generated rom (explained more clearly in the spoiler log.)

"Check for Updates on Startup" will disable update checking. I'd recommend you leave this on, but if it's problematic to check due to your network situation, I understand.

Think You're Stuck? (A FAQ of sorts)

Randomizing the game definitely tests how well you know it. Here's a few places where people commonly get stuck.

Unable get all three pendants and can't get the Master Sword to enter Hyrule Castle Tower?

Try using the cape to enter the tower instead of the Master Sword.

No Book of Mudora to enter Desert Palace?

If you have the Ocarina and Titan's Mitt, you can use that instead.

No Fire Rod for use in the Ice Palace?

Try the Bombos Medallion instead. It makes lots of fire.

Need the Hookshot to enter Misery Mire?

Try using the Pegasus Boots to charge into the block, jumping the gap with the recoil.

I just got the shovel and my flute is now gone!

Go over to the shovel and press "Y". You can also toggle the Mushroom/Powder, Normal/Silver Arrows, and all the bottles in this way.

I beat the Eastern Palace, but Sahasrahla is holding out on me!

Sahasrahla is expecting the Pendant of Courage (the green one). It may be located in a different dungeon (check your map.)

How do I get the Super Bomb for the Great Faerie in the Pyramid?

You need to collect crystals 5 and 6, which may not be in the Ice Palace and Misery Mire anymore (check your map to see where.)

How do I see which crystals I have?

Press select on the inventory screen.

This boss just gave me a map/compass!

Yep, their hearts can be found elsewhere now. Good luck!

Differences from the normal game

There are a number of differences from a randomized game to the normal game. Here's a short list:

The game text is in Japanese (this obviously isn't different if you are used to playing in Japanese. See below for why.)
Chest items, heart pieces, boss hearts, medallions, pendants, crystals, capacity upgrades, the Book of Mudora, and items given to you by NPCs are randomized. Note that this doesn't include chests in the various chest games throughout Hyrule.
The rupee maximum is now 9999.
You can't turn the tree kid to wood. This is to prevent being unable to get his item.
Escaping the castle at the beginning of the game no longer requires the lamp.
In the light world, you don't need the Lamp to see in the dark.
In the dark world, the crystals will display on your inventory screen even if you haven't defeated Agahnim.
The 70 Arrow and 50 bomb upgrades are now items you can find, along with the 1/2 and (previously unused) 1/4 Magic upgrades.

Some bugs that wouldn't crop up in normal play have been fixed:

If you die in a Dark World dungeon and haven't defeated Agahnim, you will end up in what's known as "fake Dark World." This will sometimes cause the Crystal at the end of the dungeon to not spawn, causing a softlock. You cannot spawn in "fake Dark World" in randomizer.
If you collect Power Gloves after collecting Titan's Mitt, your gloves will downgrade and you will be stuck without a way to lift dark rocks. This will not happen in randomizer.
If you collect the key in the big chest room in the Swamp Palace (due to having hookshot earlier than normal), then use that key on the top left door of that room, you can cause a soft lock due to being unable to access that key. In randomizer, moving one screen on the overworld away from the entrance to Swamp Palace will reset the water both around Swamp Palace, and the water that would cover those keys.
If you defeat Agahnim and never found the Magic Mirror, you will be stuck in the Dark World with no way to return to the light world. In randomizer, saving and quitting will cause you to load up in the Light World.
Occasionally Agahnim will attack you with particles that can't be reflected back at him. In randomizer, this doesn't happen.
If you take damage while using the "fake flippers" glitch, the game may enter a locked state where all input is ignored. In randomizer, you will instead die and have all faeries removed from your inventory, allowing you to continue with the game.
If you flute from the Master Sword grove or save & quit, it may be possible to have an invisible follower following you. This would prevent you from entering the Dark Palace as Kiki won't follow you if you already have a follower. In randomizer, this has been fixed.

Why is the game in Japanese?

There isn't much text left in the game, but some of what you will find is in Japanese.

This randomizer uses the 1.0 JP version of the base rom because it is what is primarily used in speedrunning ALttP. Here are some of the features of this version compared to the English version:

Faster text speed. This is very noticeable during the introduction.
After getting the Pegasus Boots, pressing Y + A will allow you to use an item and dash at the same time. For a clear example of this working, try hammer dashing at the bridge leading from Dark Palace to Swamp Palace.
You can jump down from a wall of which you are partially inside. This is most useful above the section of Turtle Rock that leads to the Mirror Shield.
In an area where you can't use the Magic Mirror, you can make pushed blocks disappear by trying to use it while pushing the blocks.
You can enter the Exploration Glitch in Tower of Hera by falling down the rightmost hole on the 3F, then jumping right from the wall.

What's new in Randomizer?

Added Glitched difficulty. This is a mode for experienced runners of the game to test their skills using glitches to bypass obstacles they wouldn't normally be able to pass!
Reworked casual logic (again). Softlocks should be much more rare.
Added the ability to create a non-randomized rom.
Creating roms will no longer freeze the UI.
Changed special locations' names for spoiler log sorting.
Some hints will appear in the UI if you create a Casual difficulty seed.
Pendants, Crystals, Swords, and Capacity upgrades are now included in the randomization.
Added Bulk Seed creation, which allows you to create up to 100 seeds in one click!
Added complexity analysis to the spoiler log. You can also have the complexity of a seed appear when you create it. You can also put this in the file name by using the <complexity> token.
Increased compatibility with some external tools.
Added option to set Heart Beep speed: Normal, Half, Quarter, and Off
Added option to not check for updates
GUI Update! Buttons now have icons and the layout has been changed to accomodate the extra options in a neat manner.
Lots of text in-game has been removed.

SRAM Trace checkbox now available. Check out Zarby89's HUD at https://zarby89.github.io/ZeldaHud/ to learn how to use this.
The third phase of Ganon has no additional warps.
Removed a key door in Ganon’s Tower (1F) and Misery Mire (B2) for better key randomization.
Adjustments to Desert Palace, Misery Mire, and Ganon's Tower key logic.
Pegasus Boots will now only show up in places where Titan's Mitt is not needed.
The Magic Bat now has a 1/3 chance to give 1/4 Magic instead of 1/2 Magic.
The Chest Game is limited to 2 chests per session to prevent crashes.
The cursed dwarf is removed when you die or s+q with him following you.
The sanctuary priest is now immortal and also refills your magic.
The old man on Death Mountain also refills your magic.
The 3 pots in Link’s house have been changed from hearts to a full magic jar and 2 faeries.
Defeating Agahnim removes followers and keeps the doors to Hyrule Castle open.
Removed the opening psychic message and invisible follower.
Removed all Pyramid text after defeating Agahnim.
Graphical bug fixes (shadow pendant, big key icons, wide sprites, faerie fountains, toggle items, arrow HUD icon.)
Other minor logic changes

Added capability for Mushroom/Powder and Shovel/Ocarina to be carried simultaneously.
Mushroom, Powder, and Ocarina added to randomization pool.
Massive overhaul of a lot of the item locations, generally making things more permissive and removing softlocks.
Randomized Misery Mire and Turtle Rock medallion requirements.
Digging in random places will now give you pickups.
The Treasure Chest game will guaranteed give you its item on the second chest.
The Digging Game will guaranteed give you its item on the 15th dig.
Treasure Chest game and Digging Game added to randomization locations.
Bottles may now be found prefilled with items.
Bottle submenu now opens with X; use Y to change between bottles without opening submenu.
Credits updated to reflect what King Zora sold you.
Update checking logic updated.
Will no longer spawn in Dark World if you die in Dark World pre-Aga.
Fixed bottles not showing in inventory if gotten early.
Fixed HUD not updating for Silver Arrows.
Fixed Ganon warping more than once in teleport phase.

Heart Pieces are now randomized into the mix!
Ether, Bombos, and the Book of Mudora are now randomized into the mix!
300 rupee NPCs are now randomized into the mix!
Randomization will now try to distribute items more evenly. As a result, necessary items should show up toward the end of the game more often than before.
NPCs are no longer forced to give you unique items.
The max rupee count is now 9999.
Reworked key generating algorithm. This should remove softlocks while keeping key locations interesting (for most dungeons.)
Keys will no longer spawn in big chests.
Removed 2 copies of the Lamp from the item pool.
Removed 3 red rupees from the item pool.
Added 5 instances of 100 rupees to the item pool.
Can no longer softlock by turning shovel kid into a tree.
Mantle door at beginning of the game no longer requires a lamp.
Removed invisible follower from getting Master Sword.
Will show crystals in Dark World even if Agahnim not defeated.
Taking damage during fake flippers will no longer softlock the game. Instead, you'll die, but at least you get to continue.
Added the ability to save the current item state to the SRAM every 4.267 seconds. This is not enabled in the UI at this point, as doing so will cause some unintended graphical glitches. This is in support of Zarby89's automatic inventory display (for streamers.)

Added "Random Spoiler" button. This allows you to see a random seed's spoiler without creating the rom.
Added Red Shield to the list of available items, replacing an instance of 20 rupees.
Fixed the requirements to enter the graves near the Sanctuary.
Fixed Swamp Palace locations that require the Hammer.
Fixed where saving and quitting will take you in the Dark World if you haven't defeated Agahnim 1 yet.
Fixed the "fake Light World" condition if you save and quit in a Dark World dungeon.
Fixed boomerang and shield downgrades.
Fixed Fire Rod requirement for certain Turtle Rock chests.
Fixed some rare crashes in rom generation.
Fixed item generation involving Book of Mudora.
Made keys in Thieves' Town and Turtle Rock more lenient in where they spawn.
Changed output font to a fixed-width font.

Fixed a bug that didn't allow you to create the seed entered.
Accounted for the fact that hookshot can be used to access lower Dark World.

Chest items and items given to you by the bottle vendor, Sahasrahla, the flute boy, the sick kid, the purple chest, the hobo under the bridge, the catfish, King Zora, and the old mountain man are randomized. Note that this doesn't include chests in the various chest games throughout Hyrule.
Fake Dark World is fixed.
Titan's Mitt won't downgrade to Power Gloves.
Swamp Palace softlock is fixed.
"No mirror" softlock is fixed.
0bb patch for Agahnim applied.

Dessyreqt / alttprandomizer

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