A grandson shared the news on Reddit today when his grandmother beat The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess after a total of 755 hours. Chris, known on Reddit as millerischris, posted the accomplishment and shared that his grandmother isn’t a hardcore gamer but loves the Zelda franchise. Via Twitter, he told us that her love runs all the way back to playing the game on the NES.
“As a kid I would come visit her and she would always have the system hooked up and ready to play,” Chris said. “The funny thing is that at one point she got stuck in the game, so she actually reached out to Nintendo on their site and they shipped her a physical print of the map so she could beat it.”
Inspired by that, Chris’ parents purchased his grandmother a Nintendo Wii with a copy of 2006’s Twilight Princess and she finished it 11 years later. She played on her own and would send text updates to Chris. When she’d visit on holidays, she’d even get a little bit of help with some parts. Website HowLongToBeat says The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will take roughly 44 hours for “all styles” of play but Chris’s Grandma, now GramieGreat on Reddit, had a lot to overcome.
“You know if there’s one thing I know about GramieGreat is that she’s incredibly determined,” Chris said when I asked if he believed she’d finish the game early on. “Every year for family vacation she brings a puzzle. Sometimes 500 pieces. Sometimes 1000. And somehow every year she manages to finish it. It’s incredible really. She’ll be up at midnight on the last day of vacation just to get it done.”
Chris was actually more concerned that she wouldn’t be interested in playing a newer Zelda with more advanced visuals than the NES game and Wii’s motion controls, but it became apparent over the years that she’d eventually finish.
“Seriously, she really is an incredible person and I’m very lucky to have her in my life,” he said. “So who knows, maybe Skyward Sword next? Or Breath of the Wild? If she’s fast enough she might even be able to do it in less than 755 hours!”
Chris says 82-year-old GramieGreat handled about 99% of the challenge of completing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and, learned via text messages he shared on Reddit, she definitely did her homework. She read walkthroughs, watched YouTube videos, and even purchased a book to help figure things out.
When she finished the game, she took a picture of the accomplishment and wondered if Nintendo offered any rewards for the longest time ever to finish a game. The story all around is charming and feel-good. If Nintendo catches wind of it, GramieGreat could be recognized for her diligence. Until then, we can all appreciate this cool journey.
