Zombie Hover

Discovered by Cerpin & Klydestorm

Trick Description

A split second before Link dies, there is a small time window to perform an action such as a jumpslash, sidehop, or backflip. With each press of B while airborne, Link will perform a jumpslash, rising slightly higher into the air and moving slightly forward each time. Due to Link having 0 hearts, his jumpslash is immediately cancelled, and he returns to his normal falling stance, allowing you to jumpslash again. Providing the B button is mashed fast enough, Link may gain infinite height, assuming nothing knocks you down in the air. This allows you to get to heights not normally accessible, allowing new shortcuts and various item skips. Inter-island travel, allowing access to areas early. If you do get knocked down and land on the ground, you can start your hover back up from where you land, using the same process described above.

How To

  1. Reduce your health to 1/4 heart.
  2. Face a ledge that is far out of reach.
  3. Take knock-back damage (damage that knocks Link over). Bombs are most often preferred.
  4. Hold L and mash both A and B simultaneously.
  5. Once you have gotten off of the ground you can switch to just mashing B.

Notes

  • Unfortunately, due to Link having 0 hearts, as soon as you touch land or water, Link will die. There are three main ways to prevent this and successfully end your hover:

    • Landing in a loading zone †
    • Landing on hearts or a fairy.
    • Using the Tingle Tuner to buy Red/Blue Ting.
    • There is a fourth, more complicated way to land a hover, called Fake Death. It is explained on the Storage page.

† - Upon loading the next area, Link will instantly die, however this can be used when hovering into areas where a death will warp you to the same map (such as hovering into a dungeon)

  • If you have a bottled fairy, you cannot start a hover, as the fairy will revive you the moment you lose your last heart.
  • If you get knocked down during your hover, it is possible to resume hovering after hitting the ground by again holding L and mashing both A and B.
  • While it's possible to start a Zombie Hover off of any means of damage, damage that knocks you down gives the largest window to start the hover and is highly recommended. When taking knockback, you have 9 frames to press A and the first B press must be done within 4 frames of the A press. If you die from a jumpslash fall damage, you have 5 frames to press A. After fall damage without jumpslashing, or after getting sliding damage, the first A press is frame perfect. If you don't have the sword in your hand after dying, you can still zombie hover by performing a backflip lift-off (several frame perfect inputs). That can be useful after a death by voiding-out.
  • It is possible to start a hover with an enemy's weapon such as a boko-stick if you deplete your health using a large fall followed by a sidehop (jumpslashing from the ground isn't doable with an enemy's item, and nor are backflips). In Forsaken Fortress 1 this can be used to hover up to the hero's sword early, though this trick is very difficult. It is also possible to zombie hover with the Skull Hammer.
Last updated 03/15/2023 – EJ125