One of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's most infamous quest conditions has finally been defied. While it's not something most players can do, it's highly cathartic to see someone trample the flowerbed that collectively cost players millions of hearts.
One of the most striking innovations in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the transition from the series' traditional dungeons to shrines, dozens of mini-puzzles scattered throughout Hyrule. Link can access some shrines right away, while others require him to complete challenges outside the shrines first. While some of Breath of the Wild's shrine quests are hard, one is annoying to the point of infamy. Watch Out for the Flowers sees Link approach Hila Rao Shrine, only to face Magda, also known as the "Flower Lady." If Link steps on any of the flowers surrounding the shrine, Magda will attack Link and leave him nearly dead.
Reddit user Teh_Cactus_Plant found a way to hover over the flowers and destroy them. Amusingly, this takes place during Link's final boss fight against Dark Beast Ganon. As Zelda begs for Link to weaken and defeat Ganon during brief moments of weakness, Link instead races to the Hila Rao flowerbed and attacks the flowers. Calling on the powers of the deceased Champions, Link lays waste to the flowerbed once and for all.
In a later post, Teh_Cactus_Plant revealed the method for bypassing Magda's wrath. It relies on the game's "Moon Jump" glitch, which allows Link to jump indefinitely, as well as a glitch Teh_Cactus_Plant dubbed the "Moon Slide" glitch. The latter glitch enables Link to hover slightly above the ground, giving the impression his feet are planted on the ground. Amusingly, while glitches like the Bow of Light exploit are tied to Calamity Ganon, the flower glitch has nothing to do with him. The video simply incorporates Ganon in the background to make the flowers seem scarier.
After more than four years, fans have found a seemingly inexhaustible supply of glitches and exploits in Breath of the Wild. While the Moon Slide glitch allows Link to avoid seeing Magda where she would normally appear during the Ganon fight, another glitch causes Link to get an extra companion, for example. Nintendo may take steps to correct these glitches in the upcoming sequel, but players will still have the original game and its glitches to enjoy.
It's good that players are still finding ways to have fun in the original Breath of the Wild, as it doesn't seem like Nintendo is planning to reveal Breath of the Wild 2 any time soon. It will be worth the wait, however, if it provides as much room for creativity as the original. Hopefully Nintendo is working on something truly extraordinary to thrill series fans that won't include any well-protected flowerbeds.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is now available for the Nintendo Switch.
