Trying to “break” games by testing their limits is a bit of a hobby of mine, especially when it involves venturing outside of a game’s established borders. In most cases, a successful attempt at this can cause glitches that, while amusing, are clearly not intended by developers. Sometimes, however, developers can prove to have excellent foresight.
The developers of Grand Theft Auto III left a secret message for their fans in what is presented as an inaccessible area of the game, while The Stanley Parable even goes as far as featuring commentary on your supposedly “secret” discovery. Now, Cadence of Hyrule is the latest contributor of this trend.
Please note: If you have not yet finished Cadence of Hyrule and would like to discover the game’s secrets for yourself, stop here to avoid unwanted spoilers. If you’d like to just see how to go out of bounds without seeing the secret itself, stop at the first video.
Due to the way the map is randomly generated, it’s possible to go outside the bounds of the overworld with a bit of effort. Surprisingly, doing so does not cause any glitches — instead, the player is sent to a new screen which doesn’t appear anywhere on the game’s map.
YouTube user 11001001110100 presents a method of using this, without spoiling what’s inside the house. Again, stop after the following video if you want to discover the secret for yourself.
YouTube user BLAINES demonstrates an alternative method of doing this, while also providing footage of the secret area. Final spoiler warning!
Inside the house, you’ll find a new item for sale, the Boots of Speed. When equipped, these will allow your character to move faster than the game’s beat would normally allow.
The game not only rewards players for their curiosity, it also respects long-term fans by sharing two references to past Zelda games. When you talk to the NPC in the house, he will exclaim, “I AM ERROR,” a nod to the beloved character from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (and arguably the star of the recent Nintendo Treehouse Live stream).
Talk to Error again and he will reveal his full name as Error Houlihan. “Houlihan” refers to the Chris Houlihan Room from A Link to the Past, which was also a secret area in the SNES classic.
As for his final piece of dialogue? “Do you have any hot dogs? I’m trying to build a chandelier out of them.” Your guess is as good as mine.
