This Might Be The Best Way To Play Breath Of The Wild

Gamers are sometimes criticized for sitting around on their butts, staring at a screen. What happened to the good old days of getting outside for some exercise? Well now those crotchety complainers can keep it to themselves. The latest Nintendo technology has turned Link's adventures into a real workout. Yes, you can play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with a Ring-Con.

YouTuber and modder Super Louis 64 has found a way to connect the Ring-Con, an accessory usually only used for Nintendo's Ring Fit Adventure, to Breath of the Wild. The Ring-Con is a circular band that players squeeze and stretch in order to input commands. As Super Louis 64 describes it, "it's like the Wiimote, but buff," in that it actually takes a good amount of effort to use.

Super Louis 64 programmed the Ring-Con so that Link would only move if he was moving: getting anywhere or doing anything requires jogging in place at a decent pace. Attacking requires a good squeeze of the resistance band-like Ring-Con, and Louis has to squat in order to pause or sneak. Neat.

Link makes running around saving Hyrule look easy. When you actually have to run alongside him, you can seriously tire out, as shown by Super Louis 64's sweaty face. His mod isn't perfect — there are a good amount of glitches — but its applications for fitness are impressive. Climbing towers, fighting enemies, and even just skipping dialogue results in a fairly intensive workout.

"I feel like I'm actually climbing a tower right now," Super Louis 64 said in his video. "Woo, I'm beat." For context, getting to the first shrine on the Great Plateau took Louis about an hour. That's an hour of jogging in place and trying to keep the Ring-Con as steady as possible. It's no wonder he was tired. 

Outside of modding, Ring Fit Adventure is the only game compatible with Nintendo's Ring-Con. Maybe modders' efforts will inspire Nintendo to make more games, like Breath of the Wild, playable via Ring-Con.