Small channel, big video · Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Garter

@garterzelda

11.1K subscribers · 507 videos · data from October 23, 2026

Legend of Zelda timing videos and dungeon rankings

An 11.1K-subscriber Zelda channel whose 'How Long Does It Take to Walk Across EVERY Zelda Map?' reached 737K views, about 66 times its subscriber count. Garter times and ranks Legend of Zelda games and dungeons, and the thumbnails usually split the frame into three dungeon panels with coloured labels and a big gold serif caption, while the breakout uses a single map, a red route and two giant words.

View channel on YouTube (opens YouTube in a new tab)Zelda: Ocarina of Time thumbnail ideas
Standout videos

The videos that beat Garter's usual views

Compared with the median of the last 30 uploads: 23K views.

  1. 01
    32×the channel's usual views

    How Long Does It Take to Walk Across EVERY Zelda Map? (watch on YouTube, new tab)

    This video reached 737K views, about 32 times the channel's median of 23K and about 66 times its 11.1K subscribers. Its thumbnail drops the usual three-panel layout and serif caption: it shows one full map (it looks like the Breath of the Wild map of Hyrule), a red dashed route between two red map pins, Link running in the corner, and only two words, 'HOW LONG?', in huge white and yellow letters. The subject is different too: instead of the dungeons of one game, the title asks a question about every Zelda map, which any Zelda player can understand without knowing the dungeons, and the route line shows the challenge at a glance. A likely part of the result is that this question is simple and broad enough to interest casual fans, not only the channel's dungeon fans, but that is a hypothesis. Note that the channel is listed under Ocarina of Time on this site while this video covers the whole series.

    Watch on YouTube
  2. 02
    14.7×the channel's usual views

    Which 3D Zelda Game Actually Takes the Longest to Beat? (watch on YouTube, new tab)

    With 338K views, about 14.7 times the median, this was the first video in the sample after the channel moved from walkthrough parts to timing videos. The thumbnail lines up seven Links, one per 3D Zelda game, as tall strips with an hour count above each and the last three numbers pixelated, so the viewer has to watch to see the answer. Like the breakout, it asks a simple 'which one takes longest' question about the whole series.

    Watch on YouTube
  3. 03
    5.3×the channel's usual views

    Ranking EVERY Forest Dungeon in Zelda from Worst to Best (watch on YouTube, new tab)

    At 121K views, about 5.3 times the median, this ranking video uses the 'WORST / MID / BEST' version of the three-panel layout, with three forest dungeons under red, yellow and green labels and 'FOREST' in green inside the gold caption. The best panel shows a vine-covered stone courtyard that looks like Ocarina of Time's Forest Temple, a dungeon many fans remember. A ranking invites people to check if they agree, which may help, but that is a hypothesis.

    Watch on YouTube
Thumbnail style

What Garter's thumbnails have in common

  • Three panels with a scale on top

    The most common layout splits the image into three vertical panels, each showing a dungeon, with a label above each: 'SHORT / ??? / LONG' in green, yellow and red, or 'WORST / MID / BEST' on the newer ranking videos. The middle panel is often a '???', which leaves the answer for the video.

  • Gold serif caption at the bottom

    Most dungeon videos carry a caption in a decorative serif font close to the Zelda logo style, in gold or yellow with a dark shadow: 'LONGEST DUNGEON?', 'HOW LONG TO REACH EVERY DUNGEON', 'RANKING EVERY FOREST DUNGEON'. One word is often coloured differently (green 'FOREST', orange 'FIRE', blue 'DUNGEON').

  • Official art and bright, saturated colours

    Garter uses official character art and cleaned-up game scenes rather than raw gameplay: Link from different games, Zelda holding a clock, Majora's Mask in the centre. Colours are pushed hard, with glowing greens, purples and teals, so even dark dungeons read as bright.

  • Time is shown, not just said

    Because the channel is about how long things take, the thumbnails put time on screen: hour counts above each game ('38+ HOURS', '55+ HOURS'), minute counts ('7+ MIN', '33+ MIN'), timers ('SEED 1 00:00:00'), clocks and pocket watches. Some numbers are pixelated to hide the result.

  • Newer videos try big modern words

    The most recent uploads mix in a different look: huge bold sans-serif words in white and yellow, slightly slanted, next to one character ('HOW LONG?', 'THIS TOOK FOREVER', 'SO MANY TASKS'). The breakout video uses this style.

  • Old walkthroughs use a separate template

    The 8 oldest videos in the sample are parts 213 to 220 of a Tears of the Kingdom 100% walkthrough. They use a teal frame and a big part number in a Zonai-style circle, and each got between 188 and 1.1K views, far below the newer timing and ranking videos.

What you can borrow

Ideas to take to your own channel

  1. Ask one question that any fan of your game can understand without background, like 'how long to walk across every map?'. Broad, simple questions can reach people far beyond your subscribers.
  2. Draw the promise. A red dashed route between two map pins explains the video before anyone reads the title. Look for a simple graphic (a line, a timer, a scale) that shows your idea.
  3. Cut the words to two or three and make them huge. 'HOW LONG?' is readable on a phone; a long serif caption is not always.
  4. Hide the answer on purpose. Pixelated numbers and a '???' panel give the viewer a reason to click without lying about what is inside.
  5. When one video breaks out, study what changed (topic width, layout, amount of text) and test that change again rather than assuming the whole channel should copy it.
Latest uploads

30 recent videos, newest first

The numbers

Garter in three numbers

Subscribers
11.1K
Median views, last 30 uploads
23K
Best multiple
×32
How Long Does It Take to Walk Across EVERY Zelda Map?

YouTube rounds public counts (118K, 1.2M…), so every number here is approximate. The multiple is a video's views divided by the median of the channel's recent uploads: ×3 means three times the usual audience. A high multiple is a lead worth studying, not proof that the thumbnail caused it: the topic, the timing and YouTube's recommendations play a part too. Click-through rate and impressions are private; only the channel owner can see them.

FAQ

Questions about Garter

How did Garter get so many views on 'How Long Does It Take to Walk Across Every Zelda Map?'
As of 23 October 2026 the video has about 737K views, around 66 times the channel's 11.1K subscribers. Its thumbnail is unusually simple for the channel: a map, a red route between two pins and the words 'HOW LONG?'. The question covers every Zelda game, so it may appeal to casual fans too. These are likely reasons, not proven ones.
How many subscribers does Garter have?
As of 23 October 2026, Garter has about 11.1K subscribers and 507 public videos. In the latest 30 uploads the median is about 23K views, much more than the subscriber count, because the timing and ranking videos are recommended widely. The older walkthrough parts in that sample get only a few hundred views each.
What does Garter make videos about?
Garter makes videos about The Legend of Zelda that measure and rank things: which dungeon takes longest to beat or to reach in each game, which 3D or 2D Zelda is longest, rankings of fire and forest dungeons and of all 21 games. Before that, the channel posted a long 100% walkthrough of Tears of the Kingdom.
What do Garter's thumbnails look like?
Most use three dungeon panels side by side with labels like 'SHORT / ??? / LONG' or 'WORST / MID / BEST' and a gold serif caption at the bottom. Time is often shown with hour counts, timers or clocks. Recent ones, including the most viewed, use huge white and yellow sans-serif words next to one image of Link.
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