
Last year, we reported on the news that someone had 100 percent finished The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time whilst blindfolded - an impressive achievement which undoubtedly took a lot of determination and skill.
However, we'd argue that Terry Garrett has gone one better - he may not have collected every single item but he's totally blind and has never "seen" the game in action.
Garrett lost his left eye when he was 5 and his right eye when he was 10, and has to play based on sound alone. Using a special chair fitted with two speakers that split the left and right audio, Garrett began his quest to finish the N64 masterpiece way back in 2011. He used an emulated version of the game so that he could quick-save and reload whenever he became stuck.
This first video shows Garrett getting to grips with the game five years ago:
This is his most recent video, showing him finishing off Ganon:
We're sure you'll all agree that this is a truly incredible achievement, but then Garrett is used to confounding expectations - he found fame in 2011 when he finished Abe's Exoddus, he's a competent practitioner of karate, he can play the guitar and he's aiming to be the first blind person in space.
Given the challenge of completing the Water Temple without any visual aids, we wouldn't bet against him on that last one.
[source kotaku.co.uk]
Comments 61
Totally amazing! Well done to him. I still need to finish the game first time round and I have it SINCE 2011.
Incredible. Bravo, Terry.
That's amazing, great story.
I'm sad that technology hasn't been improved for the blind people to play games.
Kudos to this man. I'd give up gaming if I became blind (and hopefully, that doesn't happen).
That is immense
That's a completely mechanical way to "beat the game", not play it He will have to memorize all the steps to finish the level, it would be much better to just watch the walk-through for the story... Reminds me of these "look at AI beating Mario levels" videos
amazing!
@KomrathDE Perhaps the most ironic question ever: did you actually READ the article?
But anyway, this is awesome. I remember him completing Abe's Exoddus. Super Mario 64 next?
Well done
@Socar Now that you say this, I'm actually surprised that more games haven't been modded for this purpose. Especially simpler games like Mario where audio cues could be added, and the sound could be split into panning stereo.
Awesome. Way to go, dude!
@KomrathDE Yeah, why doesn't he just get a new pair of eyes and be done with it? Sheesh.
@KomrathDE and how would you suggest a blind man to 'play' and not just 'beat' the game I wonder?
Take a bow my man. That is an incredible feat.
That is amazing.
Now THAT's dedication. An amazing feat. Kudos, Terry!
@KomrathDE ...you saw the part where it says he is blind right?
He completed the Water Temple blind? Is he an X-Man or something?
Hats off to that guy, I find that inspirational on so many levels.
@KomrathDE How can he "watch the walk-through for the story" if he can't see, at all?
@KomrathDE
I hope you are trolling... if not, you really don't get it...
Anyone could watch a walkthrough instead of playing a game, if only interested in the story. So I guess everyone should stop playing games?
@rsanchez1 i assumed me meant a let's play where they read aloud the dialog and other text.
This is so much more impressive than the speedrunner that completed the same feat, since the speedrunner has seen the game and could sneak a peek at any time during practice... this guy has NEVER seen the on-screen visuals!
@Socar i think the technology exists already, there's a couple of videos online of people seeing for the first time (they even captured the moment a man sees his wife's face for the first time) wearing some visor but I'm not sure how they get their hands on the thing.
WOW. This...this is amazing! Bravo!
Very amazing
Love this. Love that the game paid so much attention to sound design, that he can use his sword like a walking stick of sorts (whack, that the chest!) and navi is actually helpful, too. Very cool and I think I'll use this video in my class about sound design in video games.
I sorta want to try this myself now. I'm heading down the path to full blindness and I look at my rows and rows of video games and wonder at the worlds I won't be able to visit eventually. The fact that a game with so much enemy conflict can be beaten blind is really a testament to both game design and the gamer's skill.
A heartwarming tale to kick off 2016. Way to go! I'll get giddy over this and ignore the "Nintendo absent from UK top 40" one instead.
My favourite thing is that in the first video he is wearing a Where's Waldo shirt. This guy clearly has a great sense of humour haha. Absolutely amazing!
So Navi DOES have a use!
Seriously though, this is awesome, kudos to him! This takes dedication and patience, and even then it's no easy feat, even with save states. The game wasn't designed to be played without visuals (what game is?) but he utilized audio cues that I'm certain the designers didn't even consider! Using his sword and Navi to feel his way through Hyrule... I wonder what the world looked like in his head? How did he imagine Gohma? What does he think Ganon looks like? What about Redeads, how terrifying is it facing those in the dark? I'd love to see into this guy's brain! He saw Hyrule in a way we never will.
Awesome!!
Amazing achievement very well done, I am glad that his disability hasn't stop him from playing games, truly amazing.
That's dedication to games!
This is amazing! I think it's depressing how gaming really isn't a very inclusive hobby (you need to be sighted/have motor control/have two hands/etc) and it's really great to see someone manage to overcome those obstacles anyway. If only there were ways to make the games more inclusive in the first places so those obstacles never existed to start!
This is friggin amazing! I wonder what he would be visualizing the game to look like, that would be so cool to see. PS kudos to his determination to make it through the water temple!
My dad can't play video games because his arthritis is so bad he can't hold a controller for any real length of time, for instance. There has to be a way around that.
That is amazing! Congratulations to him!!
1.000.000 Punches, achivement unlocked "Master-Blind".....
Congrats.
a very proud achievement! awesome job
This guy is amazing!
Very awesome! As someone with an eye disorder, I've always had a fear of going blind, & of course not being able to play games, though losing my sight altogether would be infinitely worse, overall. I've always been of the mindset games need to be more accommodating to ppl who are blind, &/or have other handicaps.
But again, bravo to him!
Wow, pretty amazing
@KomrathDE
One bright day in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys arose to fight.
Back to back they faced each other,
Drew their swords and shot each other.
A deaf policeman heard the noise,
Came and shot the two dead boys.
If you don't believe this tale so tall,
Ask the blind man. He saw it all.
There are so many versions...that's not the one my mute cousin told me when I was older.
I love this!! Reminds me that sometimes people are just amazing. I am unsure that I would "want" to play a video game if I were blind personally, but now I know that it could be a possibility. Great determination and perseverance.
How old is he? You certainly talked down to him in the article. You shouldn't do that to a disabled adult.
@KomrathDE He is BLIND, what you pointlessly said is stupid.
woot woot
No way! That's seriously incredible o.o
That's incredible. Well done my friend, God bless u.
This is pretty cool it would be nice of Aonuma notices this and maybe gets inspired for a Zelda U dungeon and makes it reliant on sound and noises instead of relying on seeing similar to the Shadow Temple in OoT relying on what you cannot see.
Amazing
what???? crazyyyyyyy cool! im blown away
Truly amazing. Congratulations! I hope he continues his quests with other Zelda games. ^^
"Garrett lost his left eye when he was 5 and his right eye when he was 10"
What happened?
This is quite possibly the most epic gaming feat ever! WELL DONE!
This dude deserves so much praise for this.
Wow!!! Now this is incredible and you sir are a master. Many find it challenging to complete this game (water temple) even with no disabilities whatsoever so it's really encouraging and inspirational to what you can do when you really put your MIND to it. Hats off to you sir,keep going!!!
Wow!!! Now this is incredible and you sir are a master. Many find it challenging to complete this game (water temple) even with no disabilities whatsoever so it's really encouraging and inspirational to what you can do when you really put your MIND to it. Hats off to you sir,keep going!!!
wow cool
It's pretty amazing that even blind people can enjoy gaming like this, and I have to say that OoT is an excellent choice for those without sight. Between the targeting system, the very precise rolls, sidehops, and backflips, and of course the stereo audio (among other things) there's a lot to assist blind gamers in playing OoT.
On an unrelated note, why do both videos say "Subscribe to Nintendo Life on Youtube" below them? Is that just how the website is set up by default to handle videos, or was it a mistake made by the article's author? After all, I'd imagine you'd want to promote Terry's own Youtube channel when he's done something this incredible
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