Sequence breaking

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In computer and video games, sequence breaking is the act of performing actions or obtaining items out of the intended linear order, or of skipping “required” actions or items entirely. Sequence breaking is often used to beat a game unusually quickly, to beat it while only completing a few objectives or obtaining a few items, or to help push a game as far as possible in some other way.

[edit] History of the term

Though sequence breaking as a concept has existed almost since the inception of computer games complex enough to have sequential storylines, apparently the first documented action in a video game to be called a sequence break occurred in the Nintendo GameCube game Metroid Prime[verification needed], in a thread called “Gravity Suit and Ice Beam before Thardus”[1]. Note the logical “Y before X” notation common to sequence breaks. “Y without X” is also common.

The rock monster Thardus was designed to be a required boss before the gravity suit and the ice beam could be obtained, hence the novelty of bypassing the boss while still obtaining the items. This feat was first achieved on January 18, 2003 by a gamer named Steven Banks, who posted his discovery on the Metroid Prime message board on GameFAQs. The thread attracted a number of interested gamers, and the term sequence breaking was incidentally coined[2]. The term has since grown in popularity and is now often applied to unintended shortcuts in any game.

[edit] Examples

There are hundreds if not thousands of examples of sequence breaking in video games and computer games, including the following:

  • Jak 2 — In one level, you can swim to the island where you fight Juice Goons if you are fast enough.
  • Mega Man for NES — “zipping” through the ceiling to gain the Magnet Beam in Elecman's stage without either the Super Arm or Elec Beam.
  • Super Metroid for SNES — using the “mockball” technique to get super-missiles early.
  • Metroid for NES — using a frozen enemy from the next room as a platform and a damage boost over the lava to pass from Brinstar to Tourian without having beaten both Kraid and Ridley.
  • Maniac Mansion for NES — triggering a cutscene in the room with the purple tentacle so that you may freely walk past it.
  • Diablo II: Lord of Destruction for PC — completing the Eve of Destruction quest by proxy in a group to get a level 1 character into Hell despite not being a high enough level to enter the Worldstone Keep.
  • Castlevania: Circle of the Moon for Game Boy Advance — using a summon spell while simultaneously exiting a room by its upper exit, causing the game to scroll two rooms up instead of just one, even if a lower entrance to the next room up does not exist.
  • Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for Game Boy — pausing the game during a screen transition, causing the game to scroll two screens instead of one, even into areas that were impossible to reach otherwise. This bug was fixed in later ROM versions.
  • Pokemon Red and Blue for Game Boy — buying a pokedoll to be used instead of the Silph Scope, thus skipping all of the Game Corner.
  • Prince of Persia: Warrior Within - Buggy sand time portals allow the player to skip greatly ahead of the storyline.
  • Prince Of Persia - Luring a guard in the first level out of a narrow corridor and then going around him to the level's exit, essentially skipping most of the first level.
  • Little Big Adventure - Running through the museum on Proxima Island quickly enough (before being hit by the guard), enabling the player to open the sewer grate without the red access card.
  • The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - Able to get a level 1 character to the final boss using a backdoor method.
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