Streaming Star Dedicates Thirty-Seven Straight Trying to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a Single Branch

You might assume that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, fans would have exhausted novel self-imposed challenges that impose special rules on a playthrough. However, while many players have attempted to finish Tears of the Kingdom using just a stick, streamer the streamer holds the record as the individual who endeavored to clear the game with a one stick—specifically, the exact same one from start to finish.

PointCrow is famous for these kinds of challenge runs, like the time he played the game solely with bombs or the attempt where he aimed to defeat the game with zero stamina. A single stick run, however, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which requires Link to use the Master Sword. Then, there's the entire weapon wear system, which is particularly important when dealing with the most fragile tool in the whole world. Yet if the stick breaks, that's the end. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The straightforward answer is exploits. The complete story, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can tweak the game's save file system to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So the creator does a “setup” file where he progresses standardly, and the real save, where he's restricted. The preparatory save has him completing the intro and first starting area, and this Link acquires maximum stamina and hearts. From this point, he triggers a cutscene and halts partway through to tell the game to open an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets mixed up and generates a new save file that merges the conditions of the original two.

This creates new problems, however. The fused save file has a Link that never acquired the capability to enter shrines. Fortunately, this is an issue that the save glitch addresses easily, but pulling it off means relying on an buggy version of the game that fails to open certain areas. As with other obstacles, he has a technical solution for it: He begins the game on its pre-release 1.0 build, and then patches the software midway through to make sure it starts functioning correctly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Additional Challenges

Curiously, the introductory version of the hero is coded so that he cannot damage any weapons he wields, likely to avoid a scenario where the player gets stuck at the beginning of the adventure. But that's additionally how PointCrow bypasses the wear problem, as the character he transfers between universes is the one from the beginning of the game. It's a smart technique, but not a method that eliminates all possible friction. The branch is still a ineffective weapon that renders encounters onerous. But at that stage, it's all a matter of determination and perseverance. It further helps that there's a copying exploit that gives him an abundant number of items to improve his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally employs a bug that allows him to clip through the environment. A few would consider these methods reason to discredit the validity of the attempt, but to my view, he's a inventive player who is willing to do anything necessary to engage his audience. He also implements a safeguard of kinds stipulating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll ban one fan from his Twitch chat, establishing an incentive to avoid overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Last Showdown

The streamer manages to defeat many of the game's main enemies, but the battles appear painful. The YouTube edit of his quest spares the audience sit through the entire fights, which is a blessing when a few of them take multiple hours. A particular boss fight, Queen Gibdo, requires an astonishing twenty-three straight. The final villain battle, which depletes the hero's health as it unfolds, is a notable nail-biter. The unbreakable stick is still just a stick. He can't always duplicate items during the fight.

So, is it possible? Technically, he manages to defeat the dragon version of Ganon. But the game forces the player to wield the legendary weapon as the last strike, so technically, it's not fully a stick-only run. But what fun is that?

In the end, PointCrow banned over a thousand users in his Twitch chat. RIP.