Why Some Zelda Speedruns Use German And Others Use Japanese

There’s a reason Breath of the Wild is played in German. It’s just a heck of a lot faster. Speedruns use different languages and versions to cut down on time. Here’s how that works for The Legend of Zelda.

Making sure you get the best times is mostly a matter of skill but what language and version you are playing on can make a huge difference. When in doubt, Japanese is the fastest language. The characters hold much more information. You can communicate concepts faster than languages that use an alphabet. There are some exceptions to that rule and you might be surprised what the faster languages are. This list will give you a look at the various decisions that go into picking which version to speedrun in popular Zelda games.