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Storage
──────── Description ────────
Explanation
Storage is a glitch that affects the next event that occurs.
The game uses a flag to know if Link is in a cutscene or in gameplay. That flag is called the "Storage flag". It is set to 1 when Link is in a cutscene, and to 0 when in gameplay. It is said that Link has Storage when Link has the storage flag set to 1 (in cutscene) while in gameplay. This will happen by triggering the end event function when Link is not in a cutscene anymore. This is possible to do by using a glitch with wind waker dives (called dry storage), forest water (forest water storage) or drinkable potions (soup storage).
When you have Storage and enter an event, the storage flag that is abnormaly set to 1 will change to 0. This allows Link to be in a gameplay state during cutscenes and we say that the event was "stored". Some of these events will give you storage back when they finish playing because they also call the end event function, but some will not. This glitch allows various tricks and glitches that are listed below, such as cancelling cutscenes, or moving with textboxes on screen for exemple.
The following tutorials explains the glitch and the most basic applications. In addition to these videos, this page also explains most of the important uses in text format.
Tutorial by TrogWW
───── Ways to get Storage ─────
Dry Storage
Discovered by ForgoneMoose and Abahbob
Perform a Wind Waker Dive above land. 3 frames before you touch the ground, put the Wind Waker away. The HUD for the Wind Waker will disappear, but you will still be holding out the Wind Waker. Put this glitched Wind Waker away and now storage is active. With Storage, you can perform many tricks and glitches (see below). Going into a loading zone, reloading the area or death-warping cancels the glitch.
Note: This method of obtaining Storage was patched in the HD version.
Spots and Ways to Get Dry Storage
There are almost countless ways and locations in which a Wind Waker dive can be performed and ultimately where you can get Storage. However depending on your location, it is important to know some of the most common ways to perform a Wind Waker dive quickly and efficiently with storage considerations.
1) Using Level Geometry
Discovered by GlitchesandStuff
By far the most common method of preforming a Wind Waker dive to activate storage is using a feature of the landscape the obstructs the camera's positioning. When Link is too close to a wall or another large object (such as some trees) and you try to pull out the wind waker, the camera will cause Link to turn 180 degrees to face the opposite direction. If you are then climbing up onto a ledge that has such an feature behind it, by pulling out the wind waker on the proper frame (mashing is typically used to eliminate variability) Link will immediately turn around upon climbing the ledge and fall. A list of common locations where this can be done can be found here.
2) Using Objects that Push Link (Push Method)
A somewhat less common, but not less vital, method of inducing a wind waker dive is to use something that when Link walks into it will push him back off of a ledge. The two most common objects used for this technique are smaller trees (the kind that can be cut down) or bombs. This method works by pressing against one of these objects near a ledge and while pressing, pulling out the Wind Waker. Once you stop pushing against the object, it will push you back off the ledge with Wind Waker in hand, allowing for a dive. One of the most common uses of small trees to activate storage is at Bird's Peak Rock.
3) Getting Storage off of Bombs (Bomb Push Method)
Discovered by Demon9
As bombs can be used practically anywhere (and as long as you have the tingle tuner, at practically any time) being able to quickly get storage off of a bomb when method 1 is either not viable or slower is invaluable. To do this, stand facing a ledge that you can jumpslash onto, and when you do you'll be right on the edge of it. Jumpslash onto that ledge (chests are a perfect example) and move a tiny bit forward (this is to prevent you from falling off when you try to pull out the Wind Waker). Now set down a bomb and pull out, then cancel the Wind Waker. Run towards the bomb and then quickly pull out the Wind Waker. You should dive off of the ledge.
4) By Climbing in a Corner (Corner Method)
A unique case when it comes to getting a Wind Waker dive for storage is the spring platform, most commonly encountered in the Wind Temple. To get a dive off of a spring platform, get a bit to the right of the from right corner and hold slightly left and up on the analog stick until Link climbs up onto the platform. Mash the Wind Waker and you should dive off of the platform. This also works on most ledge that have a corner on their right side, where climbing would make you fall immediately.
5) By Walking off a Slope (Slope Method)
Discovered by MrAlberto
It is possible to get storage on hammer pegs using the fact that they have slopes. Slopes near a place where Link can drop can be used for storage.
This also works for boulders:
Opened chests:
Discovered by Frotztbite
And also some more standard slopes.
Forest Water Storage
Discovered by Klydestorm
Pull out the Wind Waker on the same frame that your Forest Water expires. Trying to anticipate the exact frame, even with the Forest Water timer, can be very difficult. For this reason it is simpler to alternate between the button you have the Wind Waker on and the B button to increase your chances of getting the proper frame. That gives you storage.
This method can also be done by drinking a potion on the frame the forest water expires, instead of pulling out the wind waker. This allows getting storage inside buildings.
Note: This method of obtaining Storage was patched in the HD version.
Soup Storage
Just like Dry Storage works by landing on the same frame the Wind Waker is cancelled, it is possible to get storage by landing on the same frame an animation ends, such as with drinking soup. This is commonly referred to as "Soup Storage", eventhough it's possible with other bottle content than the soup. Due to this method requiring insane height for the very long dive, it is almost never used, spots where this is possible being very rare.
This only works with potions that Link drinks. Doing this with anything else in the bottle ends up freezing Link, as seen here:
Note: This method of obtaining Storage was patched in the HD version.
─────── Uses of Storage ───────
Camera Lock
After you activate Storage, if you use any item that changes the camera to a fixed position, it'll get stuck that way until you go into a warp point, or use another item that sets the camera to a fixed position. Locking the camera with the Wind Waker makes it easier to Superswim, as you only need to hold up on the control stick to make Link turn around each frame in the water.
Cutscene Storage
By activating a cutscene with Storage on, you can interrupt a cutscene. Depending on what kind of cutscene it is, you can walk around during the cutscene, or even erase the cutscene. This can be used to skip some minor cutscenes, such as the one that occurs in the main room of DRC, or for reaching the warp points that appear after you defeat a boss while the final cutscenes are playing.
In some cases though (such as the scene that loads as soon as you touch the entrance to the basement in Hyrule 2), a cutscene getting erased will render you trapped forever, with no way to progress.
Text Storage
When you talk to someone or something when you have Storage active, their text is stored, they freeze and are unable to be spoken to again, and the next thing you speak to reads off the stored text. Some characters will only say part of it, and either cut it off, or say their own text after a single box of the stored text. This can result in some humorous results, such as the King of Red Lions talking about how fine he looks, or the Tingle Tuner telling you not to touch it with filthy hands.
What makes text storage very useful is that: if you get storage, perform text storage and then exit that object's stored text box, you can simply interact with it again to re-store its text--meaning that you don't have to get storage again. This is because closing a textbox while having control over Link gives you Storage, making this another way to get Storage.
Using Text Storage to Interrupt Cutscenes
In addition to talking to another character, sign, etc. to bring up the stored text, you can also bring up the stored text by pulling out the Wind Waker. When you exit out of the stored text box at the same time as interacting with another animation (such as opening a chest or opening a door) that animation will be cut-off early.
The difference between this and simply interacting with a cutscene with storage is that with text storage you can chose when during the cutscene you want to get storage, instead of being forced to start the cutscene with storage. As an exemple, simply interacting with a door with storage on the overworld will setup a door teleport, while interrupting opening a door with text storage will cause door cancel.
Double Storage
Discovered by GlitchesandStuff
With the increased usage of superswimming to cross the overworld map due to the discovery of dry storage, special care has to be taken with some islands that have entry cutscenes (such as Forest Haven, Greatfish, and the 2nd visit to Outset to retrieve Nayru's Pearl). This is because if you enter these cutscenes with camera lock active, your game will softlock, as camera lock prevents the cutscene from executing correctly. However, there is a way to get around this by using text storage.
Get storage once, then store a textbox. Get storage again and make sure that textbox has popped back up while you're walking around. Now pull out the Wind Waker to lock the camera. From here it is fine to close the stored text. This gives you storage while in camera lock. Now when you hit the entry cutscene trigger, you will store the cutscene and avoid the soft lock.
Double Storage can also be used to superswim to an island with a chest, and use the storage to store opening the chest to get Chest Storage. You will still have camera lock so you will be able to superswim away with chest storage. This is useful for chests that don't have a nearby dry storage spot, such as Crescent Moon Island when you don't have bombs.
Note: Double Storage does NOT mean that you have two storages. It is a term used to indicate that you have storage while in the camera lock state.
Delayed Storage
Discovered by TrogWW
Some NPCs have the property that you can't progress through their texts if you don't have the camera looking at them. These NPCs can be used to delay activating Storage.
To do so, get storage and then store the NPC's dialogue, then pull out the wind waker to progress through the textboxes and close it. If you don't look at the NPCs when you close the textbox, you won't have storage, but will get storage as soon as you look at them.
This technique can be used for an easier method of Double Storage on crowded islands such as Windfall. This can also be used in order to start a superswim after fishing up a treasure in the ocean without having to sail back to the island to get dry storage.
Chest Storage
Chest Storage to alter Link's collision
By opening a chest with Storage active, you store the collection of the item. While you have the collection stored, you can clip partially into walls and walk up incredibly steep slopes, even trees. You can also use the hookshot through walls. This however makes you unable to grab higher ledges or climb ladders. You can still climb the ladder if you hookshot to it.
If you store a big chest that opens with a scene (Piece of Heart, dungeon item, etc), then leave the quadrant or go into a loading zone, the chest will remain closed, and can be reobtained (see Heart Piece Duplication). Opening such a chest will also make nearly everything pitch black, until you do one of the aforementioned things.
If you store a small brown chest, the world won't turn dark, but the chest will be opened after reloading the area, contrarely to big chests.
The item the chest contains will be obtained once you've gone through a loading zone or left the quadrant in the case of the overworld.
Heart Piece Duplication
Discovered by Jiano
Perform Storage, then get Chest Storage on a chest with a Heart Piece in it. Leave the quadrant, or go into a house. You'll have the Heart Piece, and the chest you opened will be closed, allowing you to re-obtain it for as many times as you want. Note that you cannot go over the limit of 20 Heart Containers.
Chest Storage without Fadeout
You can also use stored text to cancel the animation of opening chests. Normally, for most chests, this is unnecessary. However with chests with cutscenes (such as those containing heart pieces, treasure charts, or dungeon items) canceling this cutscene will prevent your screen from turning black.
First, store text off of a sign, KoRL, etc. Now open the chest and mash through the text. This will end the chest cutscene later than traditional text storage would, yet early enough so that you do not get the item from the chest--preventing your screen from turning black while still giving you chest storage. However, the chest will not remain closed after receiving the item like it would if Text Storage was not used. This is useful for skipping the Cabana Deed for exemple.
Note: If the text takes up many text boxes, you must use the wind waker to make the textbo appear before you open the chest, and go through the text a little.
Door Cancel
Description
Discovered by Abahbob
Using Text Storage to interrupt the door opening cutscene with swinging doors will allow you to regain control with altered collision. This collision is an intensified version of Chest Storage, where it is possible to climb steep slopes like with Chest Storage, but it is also possible to walk through most walls and objects. Some objects, such as the tree's on the path to Forest of Fairies on Outset, cannot be walked through though.
While in Door Cancel, the screen will usually fade out to either black or white. While pausing or opening the map, you regain visibility for a moment. The HUD still remains visible, so it is also possible to navigate with the mini-map. It's also possible to get door cancel while retaining vision, see Door Cance with Vision below.
The video below uses a wireframe hack to show what is happening while the screen is black:
The only known ways to cancel opening a door is to use either KoRL's text, Sturgeon's text during the intro, the pirate ship password text, or use Wind's Requiem Storage. Other texts usually don't work.
To superswim with door cancel, you can get dry storage after getting door cancel, but this means you need to get dry storage while blind. There are most oftentimes easier ways however: if you manage to go in front of a door with both camera lock and a textbox stored you then won't need to get storage blind.
You can climb ladders with door cancel by hookshotting to them.
Door Cancel with Vision
Discovered by minimini352
If Link is holding nothing in his hand, there is a single frame where closing the textbox during the door opening animation will grant Door Cancel will vision, and this is usually what should be aimed for.
Door Cancel without Fadeout
Discovered by jwiste
While it is best to do the frame perfect textbox closure to get Door Cancel with vision, there are also ways to remove the fadeout after obtaing the blind version of Door Cancel. You can remove the fadeout from door cancel by either:
- Starting or finishing the hide and seek minigame with the Killer Bees
- Doing the mapfish bow shooting minigame
Discovered by Hyxost
On the japanese version, you can dupe a fire arrow to gain a little bit of visibility.
Door Teleport
For both the swinging doors (for exemple on Winfall and Outset), or the big swinging doors (at Forsaken Fortress for instand), interesting things can occur if you store opening them.
- If you store opening a small door and then open any other small door on the same quadrant as the small door you stored, you will be teleported back to the door you stored and enter the loading zone. This is useful in order to quickly go back to a door you passed by.
- If you store KoRL's text, make it appear on screen and go to the last textbox, and then open a door with the same A press used to close the textbox, you will have a different kind of door teleport. In this version, simply pulling out the wind waker or talking to a npc will teleport you straight to the door in one frame.
- If you store opening a large door, then simply pulling out the wind waker will cause Link to quickly slide mid-air to the door you stored. This can be used to clip through walls for exemple.
This same door teleport can be obtained on dungeon doors by closing a textbox (from a song stone or from KoRL) and then opening the door frame perfectly so that it remains in a state where it's trying to open but stays closed.
In all 3 cases, the door you've used to setup door teleport on won't be able to be opened normally until you reload the area (this is usually not a problem if you can teleport directly into the loading zone or clip inside or behind the door however).
The difference between this and Door Cancel is that to setup a door teleport you just need to press A to open a door while you have storage, or cancel opening the door as you're trying to open it with a textbox. For Door Cancel you need to cancel the door opening animation in the middle of it, requiring some form of text storage.
Door Storage
Version 1
For doors that are not swinging doors, such as the doors inside dungeons, Door Cancel is not possible, and Door Teleport is frame perfect. However another trick known as Door Storage is possible. When you store opening such a door, the door freezes, and becomes unable to be opened. If you then open another door, one of two things will happen:
- Link walks to the middle point between the two doors. The room Link is standing in unloads, and both of the rooms that you opened are loaded.
- After storing a door and opening another, Link goes through the door like normal. When you go back through the door, the door you stored is gone, can be walked through, and can still be opened.
It is currently unknown how to force one of the two results, if it's even possible.
Version 2
You can also cancel opening such a door with Text Storage. Inside a dungeon this can be used to load 2 consecutive rooms at once.
Wind's Requiem Storage
First, get Text Storage. Perform a Dry Storage, but when you land, instead of pressing B to gain control of Link back, play the Wind's Requiem. As Link is playing the Wind's Requiem, close the textbox. You will now have control of Link while the "chose your wind" prompt is on screen. Selecting a Wind Direction will act just like closing a stored textbox. However, it also has the particularity that it can cancel almost anything, including opening a door, and so using this you can perform Door Cancel without KoRL.
You only have a split second to use items or perform A and B inputs before the wind prompt comes up. Closing the Wind Prompt with A will cancel almost every event in the game, but won't give you storage. Closing it with B will give you storage.
An interesting use of the Wind's Requiem Storage is that the cutscene can't end if Link isn't grounded. Thus it can be used in mid-air while using the leaf to make Link slowly glide with the wind, and this without using magic.
Death Storage
After you activate storage, you can delay, store, and mess up various cutscenes that you trigger. The death cutscene is an interesting one though. If you die with this effect, it will put you in a "fake death" cutscene. This cutscene will act exactly the same as the real death cutscene, however it will cancel if link is put into a falling animation. This cutscene also doesn't freeze any enemies or objects.
If you cancel the death cutscene by going into a falling animation and then healing, you will be in a Death Storage state. In this state, talking to NPCs will softlock the game, as textboxes cannot appear on screen. It is also not possible to open the pause menu. Dying again will cause the game to crash upon triggering a loading, and storing the death cutscene 10 times without reloads will crash instantly. A loading zone will cancel the death storage state.
There are no uses for Death Storage by itself, although by cancelling the death custcene a bit later, you can heal from zombie hovers. See Fake Death below.
Fake Death
Discovered by GlitchesandStuff
If you cancel the death cutscene halfway through, just as the "GAME OVER" text is supposed to start appearing, the game over animation will start despite you being able to zombie hover. The "would you like to continue" screen will then appear when that animation ends. As soon as the "save the game" prompt comes up, Link is instantly given 3 hearts. Pressing quit will give link 3 hearts and return him to the title screen, while continue will mean you can still play with the screen darkened. This can be used then for getting some height with a hover then healing in places where Tingle doesn't work.
Note: You must start the fall as soon as you see the first letter from "Game Over". If the cutscene is interrupted too early, you won't get the continue screen, too late and you won't have very much time to hover before it comes up.
There are several ways to make sure the death cutscene gets cancelled at the right moment for fake death. The first method is to manipulate an external force (such as an enemy) to push you off a ledge at the correct time (see below).
A second method is to first get Text Storage before staring the hover. Once above the ledge you want to heal at, pull out a bomb and land to die with the bomb in hand. This will make the stored text appear on screen. Close the textbox when you desire to get pushed off the ledge to get Storage and get the bomb to fall onto you and push you. This method allows fake death to be used in many places, as long as you have access to a textbox that appears upon death and that you can close while dead (ie textboxes from KoRL, song stones, stone tablets or wind emblems). The Wind's Requiem prompt from Wind's Requiem Storage can also be used in theory.
Note: You can use a textbox that doesn't appear upon death if you zombie hover with the Skull Hammer, since that doesn't involve pressing the A or B button.
Notes:
- After fake death, you will have death storage and talking to NPCs will softlock you.
- Fake Death does not work if Link is in the air upon triggering the game over. This includes slippery slopes for exemple. You must still be on ground on the frame after getting out of the death cutscene.
Small Key Transfer
You can transfer small keys from one dungeon to another using Storage. Simply store a chest containing a small key and without reloading the dungeon, either enter the boss room or leave the dungeon normally. You will be able to use the small key in the next dungeon you enter.
Text Cancel
Discovered by Otnert
Text Cancel is a state in which the next textbox Link interacts with will be unable to appear. It happens when the game thinks you have text stored, except you don't have one. This replaces the next textbox you interact with with nothing, cancelling the textbox alltogether.
There are multiple ways to trigger this glitch. The easiest and most useful way to trigger it is to store a sign (storing a sign will still make the sign text appear on screen immediately contrarely to storing any other text, and you still have control over your movement). Simply close the sign textbox while you have control over Link to get Text Cancel. There are however a few other ways to trigger it: you can cancel a song at the correct time so that the blue textbox saying "you've played x song" disappears, but the effect of the song doesn't activate; or you can interrupt pulling out the sail after the textbox appears. In short, closing any textbox that doesn't have the property of giving you Storage usually gives you Text Cancel instead.
Once you've cancelled a textbox with this glitch, Link goes back into a normal state.
There are several ways to cancel playing a song:
- You can play any song with storage and hit yourself with a Tingle Bomb (or any damage source) at the correct time to cancel the song. You will now have Text Cancel.
- You can play any song with storage and then call Tingle ("Heyyy!") at the correct time.
- You can use Wind's Requiem Storage to cancel the song. Get storage, store a textbox, then play the Wind's Requiem as you get storage from a wind waker dive. Close the textbox and then, after the song ends but before the Wind's Requiem prompt appears, pull out the wind waker and play any song. Choose a wind direction at the correct time around the end of the song to cancel the song playing with the wind's requiem prompt. You now have Text Cancel.
To cancel pulling out the sail, you can use wind's requiem storage as well. The sail text is a textbox that disappears on its own so it will also grant you Text Cancel.
Ballad of Gales Storage
Discovered by Legendoflinkk
There are several glitches that can be done by playing the ballad of gales with storage. While inside King of Red Lions, pull out the wind waker on the same frame forest water expires, and play the ballad of gales. After selecting a warp destination, you will be able to have control over Link during the warping animation. This normally doesn't do very much as the loading will still take place if you wait. However, you can prevent the loading from occuring by talking to KoRL before the loading starts. If you talk to KoRL at the correct time, KoRL will stop spinning and rise perpetually into the air.
After cancelling the Ballad of Gales warp once, playing the Ballad of Gales while on ground will cause the warp screen to appear (which is not normally the case on ground), and choosing a destination will cause Link to warp to KoRL instantly, even accross the entire ocean if necessary. This however softlocks the game. To avoid the softlock, you can perform a wind waker dive to get dry storage and playing the song when landing. This will allow you to warp to KoRL and keep control over Link.
By combining both methods, it is possible to do crazy things such as going infinitely high on the overworld, like showcased in the video below.
Menu Prompt Delay
While in death storage, any prompt bringing up the menu can't appear if they try to play, but instead get stored and will appear after the next loading zone. Because textboxes softlock death storage, this usually needs some way to get around them. There are 2 menu prompts that can be delayed with this.
- Use File Item Transfer to obtain the Triforce. The Triforce formation cutscene will play the next time you enter KoRL. Get text storage and death storage or get storage and death storage. Now enter KoRL. The triforce will form the next time you enter a loading zone.
- Play the Ballad of Gales with text cancel and death storage (you must get text cancel first). You will not be warped away, and the warp screen will appear when you next enter a loading zone, even if not on your boat, and even in cutscenes. However, the warp prompt doesn't do anything.
Map Glitch
Discovered by Otnert
Get both Death Storage and a stored textbox on screen at the same time. Instead of a stored textbox, Text Cancel works too. The order in which you get the state doesn't matter, but in order to do it without cheats you must get the text on screen first, then get death storage by healing with the tingle tuner. When you are in both states at the same time, loading zones can't activate and thus this causes map glitch.
You can make loading zones go back to working properly by closing the textbox or cancelling Text Cancel (ie by cancelling a textbox).
Schrodinger's Text
Discovered by Otnert
This glitch involves the bomb house door text or the Cabana door text, which has the property that it doesn't disappear and replaces any text that pops up on screen until you reload the quadrant.
Store the bomb house or cabana text, get storage, and die while it is on screen. Enter Death Storage and then close the textbox using the sail.
The game will enter a state where it tries to load the text but can't because of Death Storage. This makes the text unable to unload and as such, if you leave the quadrant, the island will unload but not its actors. Other islands also can't load anymore. If you try to go back to Windfall/Private Oasis, the island will be unloaded but not its actors.
