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OoT Triforce Model
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This article is about the ability used without any Items. For other uses of jumping, see Jump (Disambiguation).

Autojump is a recurring ability in The Legend of Zelda series.[1][name reference needed]

Overview[]

Link can perform an Autojump when he runs off the edge of a platform. This can be done in order for him to leap over a gap to another surface, but the distance he can jump is limited. How far Link leaps is dependent on his momentum when he reaches an edge to jump from.[1] When leaping from a high place to a considerably lower area, Link may roll upon landing to avoid taking fall damage, though he will not do this if the fall is too great.[2] In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, Link would sometimes perform a dive when Autojumping into waters below him.

If a ledge is low enough for him to interact with it, Link will also Autojump when moving against an elevated platform. He will grab onto its edge and climb onto its surface, or if the elevation is low enough, he will simply hop onto the platform.[3] The Dash ability used in Skyward Sword allows Link to jump to even higher ledges than he could without it.[4] In Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, Link’s Autojump is limited to leaping from ledges; he cannot jump to climb onto higher platforms.

Because the Autojump only caters to the farthest possible distance Link can comfortably jump under normal conditions, distances further than what can be reached with the Autojump must be reached using a certain item, such as a Hookshot, that extends Link's jump distance. Moving a block or hitting a switch to form another platform are techniques that often bridge the gap between a distance way out of Link's Autojump range.

In regards to a strangely universal habit: rolling before a ledge into the Autojump, in its first appearance in Ocarina of Time, does not increase the range of the jump. However, in the following Majora's Mask, rolling into a jump does marginally increase the distance cleared. This is evident in the east wall of East Clock Town, where the leaps from the roof of the Bar to a hidden Silver Rupee chest can be cleared by these rolling Autojumps.[verification needed]

Trivia[]

  • The Autojump was created in order to streamline gameplay. As The Legend of Zelda is not a platform game, Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of The Legend of Zelda, wanted to remove the need for pressing a button to jump.[5] Early in Ocarina of Time's development, pressing a button was required for Link to jump, but making jumping automatic simplified the controls and shifted focus to other gameplay elements.[6] For this reason, while being ridden, Epona can also Autojump; when she is moving toward them quickly enough, she will leap over certain obstacles.[7]

Nomenclature[]

TMC Forest Minish Artwork Names in Other Regions TMC Jabber Nut Sprite
Language Name
Canada FrenchCA Saut automatique
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States SpanishLA Salto automático

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "You can jump a short distance like this just by moving toward it. I like to call it the autojump. Ahh, yes, the autojump... It just has a nice ring to it." — Horwell (Skyward Sword)
  2. "When you jump off a high cliff, if you hold forward, you will roll on the ground when you land and won't get hurt from the fall. I can't guarantee it will work, though, if the cliff is really, really high, heh heh!" — Deku Scrub (Ocarina of Time)
  3. "Jump: To jump gaps or climb uneven ground, move the Control Stick in that direction and Link will automatically jump (or climb). Link may not be able to jump or climb if the distance is too great." (Ocarina of Time manual, pg. 16)
  4. "Hold A while moving to dash. This also allows you to scurry up walls." — N/A (Skyward Sword)
  5. "I thought of autojump on one of my days off. […] I gathered everyone on Monday morning and said, "We're gonna do something called autojump!" Everyone's response was, "Say what?!" The team that had made Mario games was going to give up the jump button. […] An added benefit was that we could program the pose Link would assume after jumping." — Shigeru Miyamoto, [1], .
  6. "…You had to press a button to jump when we first started making The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. […] As we were making Super Mario 64, we were thinking about The Legend of Zelda the whole time, and started talking about decreasing the action element in The Legend of Zelda and increasing the puzzle elements." — Yoshiaki Koizumi, [2], .
  7. "…When [Epona] jumped over a barrier, she jumped on her own. […] The reason the horse jumps automatically is Miyamoto-san said that a Zelda game doesn't need any difficult actions." — Toru Osawa, [3], .
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