There are many ways to challenge yourself in a Zelda game – the three hearts challenge, always wearing iron boots, using the worst swords, and so on, and I’m sure we’ve all tried at least one of them, done it, and considered ourselves masters of Zelda.
But those are just minor challenges, not even worthy of consideration next to the big one: completing a Zelda blindfolded. Or, in this case, just blind. Which is why I was utterly astounded to find out about Jordan, born blind, and yet still managing to complete Ocarina of Time.
“My name is Jordan and I have been blind since birth. I have always been a fan of Ocarina of Time, and here I will show videos of me playing through it (and other games such as Castlevania, pokemon and possibly other Zelda’s) to the best of my abilities. To navigate on my Computer I use a program called JAWS. It reads the words to me and allows me to navigate my pc with ease…To type I’ve memorized the keys. Just so you know, I have done all of these bosses MANY times.”
And for those of you who want to help, he’s looking for directions to some of the later parts of Ocarina of Time. If you think you know the game like the back of your hand, why not have a look?
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July 31st, 2009 at 1:40 pm
That's crazy ridiculous actually…wow.
July 31st, 2009 at 1:54 pm
THATS SO AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ocarina of Time is my favorite too. I would never be able to play that like that. Even if i do kno the game like the back of my hand. I watched my bro play it when i was little then i play it all the time so, anyways thats really COOL!!!!!!!!!!
July 31st, 2009 at 1:57 pm
This guy is the real Zelda master wow
July 31st, 2009 at 1:58 pm
This guy is my hero how awsome!!!!!
July 31st, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Wow its like Z targetting was ment for him
July 31st, 2009 at 2:50 pm
"An amazing sight" indeed. Who would of thought?
July 31st, 2009 at 3:28 pm
I guess the Legend of Zelda never ceases to amaze me.
First, Zelda songs with Lyrics.. Now, this!
July 31st, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Agreed.
But it seems Epona's song had lyrics from the beginning, but they kept it out of the game. Just her song though.
Back on topic, that guy's really determined. If I was born blind, I would've given up on anything video game/pc related a long time ago.
July 31st, 2009 at 4:35 pm
I tryed doing it blindfolded but I didnt go far. I couldnt find the hole to get the sword and only listened to the sounds for something . I kept going in the water so I was doomed.
Thats amazing. Im glad Jordan didnt give up hope being blind. Hes the type of people others should look up to. Im glad we have people like em. Never give up!
July 31st, 2009 at 4:37 pm
I did see a few videos about someone fighting multiple bosses, such as Barinade, blind. It's interesting because all he used was a stereo sound system and a bit of knowledge of the boss.
July 31st, 2009 at 5:33 pm
This guy is a Zelda master now, but I can't stop thinking how he could have done it when he was playing ocarina for the very first time…
July 31st, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Not to criticize, but I do have the question in my mind of… why? What pleasure can you wring from a controller and sound without the visuals? Imagining that I am playing it how he does, I don't understand what would motivate you to go on. Obviously he gets some enjoyment form it, but it doesn't make sense to me.
July 31st, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Zelda master indeed.
July 31st, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Well that just amazing! It must be very difficult to be able to do that. I probably couldn't handle it.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:14 pm
You've got to keep in mind that he's been blind since birth–seeing people use sight to recognize things, to know where to go, etc. Audio is a much bigger part of his perception of the world, so he probably enjoys getting around using memorization and audio cues in video games because that's how he gets around in the real world–enjoyment is about pleasurable stimulation of your senses, he just uses his senses in a different way from us seeing folk.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:58 pm
This is an amazing sight indeed!
July 31st, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Way to go, Jordan! Wow, I guess in some way, EVERYONE can be a Zelda fan!
August 1st, 2009 at 12:28 am
You didn't know Epona's song had lyrics?
Anyway I was skeptical at first when I heard it but this guy is quite obviously blind. No one but a blind guy could make some of those movements
August 1st, 2009 at 12:29 am
I feel sorry for this guy. Navi must have been twice as annoying.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Ok, now I'm going to have to play Ocarina of Time blindfolded. Splendid.
August 1st, 2009 at 4:14 am
holy crap!!i can beat a dongean blynfolded but he beat the holl game that dude is a tru zelda fan
August 1st, 2009 at 8:56 am
He is Zeldagod
August 1st, 2009 at 11:13 am
What does this say about zelda's difficulty though? :p
August 1st, 2009 at 11:25 am
That's awesome! I wonder how much practice it takes. Did he have help when he learnt it the first time?
August 1st, 2009 at 4:09 pm
It amazing how Zelda always gets fan… I really admire Jordan, and I'm glad he enjoys himself playing games.
August 1st, 2009 at 5:53 pm
holy hyrule…
that's all I can say…
August 1st, 2009 at 7:06 pm
All I can say is that is a truly amazing sight…I bet he could one of the returners!
August 1st, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Hahaha, that is so awesome.
I can't imagine what motivated him to play the game when just beginning, or how he derives pleasure from it, but still pretty cool!
August 1st, 2009 at 11:13 pm
Ha, I beat you to it!
August 1st, 2009 at 11:25 pm
That's amazing! Best player ever.
August 2nd, 2009 at 12:07 am
So what, big deal. It doesn't matter if he is blind and can do this. We can all do this too, but without the hassle of trying to get the directions. This man thinks that doing simple tasks while being blind is a praiseworthy feat. This man acknowledges his blindness as a weakness rather than thinking and using it as a blessing; he is contemptable…
August 2nd, 2009 at 3:59 am
Hes got to be a serious Zelda fanatic for sure
August 2nd, 2009 at 4:01 am
Thats a good one holy hyrule
August 2nd, 2009 at 4:04 am
Hmm you know i wonder how far i could get……. hmmmm im gonna try it, maybe ill try it with Majoras mask and phantom hourglass too.
August 2nd, 2009 at 8:02 am
awesome, he must have spent not only hours but weeks maybe months on the game. thats true zelda spirit
i once read an article about two siblings who were both blind kids, and who enjoyed playing mario bros on the NES. i imagine a jump n run being a lot easier because of the 2D design, it will just be harder to use "trial and error" in 3D.
August 2nd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
My friend's legally blind and he's beaten (I think) all the Zelda games. But he's only blind in one eye. He also knows another guy who's incredibly good at OoT and can only distinguish light and dark. They use the actual consoles though, so I don't know which is more impressive: that my friends play with people telling them what to do, or that this guy did it alone.
August 2nd, 2009 at 1:59 pm
This is utterly astonishing. It's like he's translated the game into braille. Hats off to Jordan, this is one of the cleverest things I have ever seen.
August 2nd, 2009 at 9:31 pm
So many things I want to say but can't put into words. Props to you man.
August 7th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
this guy is amazing! thats it i need to play more zelda now!
August 8th, 2009 at 12:51 am
Hahaha Twice as annoying Nari. lol
August 8th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Lol look at the name of who posted this : crab helmet and wwhen link jumps it sound like he says crab!
BTW if i have to explain that the green is NOT Zelda 1 more time i will explode.