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Remote Hookshot
If Link drinks full milk (down to half milk) while targeting and aiming the hookshot and with an empty bottle on a c-button*, Link will no longer have the hookshot in his hand, but the hookshot instance will remain. This is called a remote hookshot state (RHS), and if the hookshot button is pressed again, this remote hookshot will fire from the place it was held at the place it was aimed at when Link drank the milk, even if Link has since moved elsewhere (hence the "remote"), bringing Link to the target (if it's hookshottable) from his position with a stuttering animation. This glitch has a variety of applications in speedruns, some of which stem from Link being able to use the real hookshot simultaneously with the remote hookshot.
*Pausing on the first possible frame after drinking milk and equipping an empty bottle will also work.
RHS will be canceled if Link rolls, shields, transforms, or puts the bottle in his hand away/takes out another item or sword. Running, backwalking, sidehopping, backflipping, entering first person, and putting on non-transformation masks do not remove RHS.
Technical explanation by Fig
This playlist contains videos of many applications of remote hookshot, some of which are useful for speedruns and some of which explore other possibilities for using the glitch. Applications used in speedruns are documented individually on the relevant ZSR pages.
Applications
Remote Hookshot Slash Hover
With RHS, pressing the hookshot button will normally bring Link to the remote hookshot's target, but interrupting the hookshot pull by equipping something over it shortly before it latches onto its target (see notes below) causes the remote hookshot to tug Link once and then put him in a hover state. This hover state is similar to when Link is being pulled by the hookshot normally: Gravity and wind do not affect him, he can't take damage or knockback, and he can't move around normally. However, he can still move with slashes, and this state is preserved over transformations, so Zora slashes are the most useful way to take advantage of this.
It is easiest to get into the hover state if the remote hookshot is very close to its target, as this just means pausing and equipping over the hookshot between pressing the hookshot button and Link fully pulling it out. If the remote hookshot is farther from its target, then the window for equipping over the hookshot to enter the hover state is the 6 frames prior to the hookshot latching onto its target.
Be careful, as softlocking is easy in the hover state. Sidehopping, backflipping, and jumpslashing will always cause Link to get stuck, and if Link isn't on the ground, then using cutscene items (transformation masks, bottles) and the bow also gets him stuck. Using the hookshot begins a hookslide. Targeting midair is like being targeted during a normal hover in that Link can no longer change directions, but targeting something else (such as a bombchu) will unlock the camera.
A speedrun application of this technique is Lullaby Skip (Zora slash hover method).
Hookslide
Pressing the hookshot button while in the remote hookshot hover state (see above) causes Link to begin the stuttering remote hookshot pull animation but without a destination, continuing indefinitely unless he hits a load zone or void plane. Because the stuttering animation can clip through walls easily, can be used with careful setups to skip boss keys and reach other hard-to-reach load zones. Hookslides go the same direction Link was tugged while entering the hover state unless the empty bottle is pulled near another hookshottable surface (more info needed).
One application of the hookslide in speedruns is to skip the ISTT boss key.
Remote Hookshot Jump
With RHS, aiming the real hookshot upwards and shooting it so that it latches onto a hookshottable target at the same time the remote hookshot reaches its destination (hookshottable or not) causes Link to jump very high. The details of this interaction are not well understood, but with precise setups, it can be made useful in speedruns.
Remote Hookshot Get Item Manipulation (GIM)
See this page for more information on GIM.
- Stand in front of the chest being used for GIM and target the chest
- Pull hookshot and drink full milk with an empty bottle on a c-button to get RHS
- Retarget the chest
- Press the hookshot button and then press A 4f later on the first frame Link's hand is back by his side (pause buffer for safety)
- Get into water and resurface to receive the GIM item
Multiple Hookshot Hover
With RHS and the remote hookshot aimed at a hookshottable target, shoot the real hookshot at a different hookshottable target such that the remote hookshot reaches its target first, and then the real hookshot reaches its target while the remote hookshot is still pulling Link to its target. This will make Link change direction midair and put him in a state where he can move around normally on the ground, but gravity is lessened in the air. This lasts until reaching a load zone or void plane or touching the remote hookshot's destination.
