Twitch Personality Spends Thirty-Seven Straight Trying to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Branch

One could think that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of creative self-imposed challenges that apply special restrictions on a gameplay session. Yet, while numerous players have tried to complete Tears of the Kingdom with only a stick, content creator the streamer stands out as the player who aimed to clear the game with a one branch—specifically, the very same stick throughout.

PointCrow is renowned for such challenge runs, such as the instance he went through the title using only bombs or the effort where he tried to beat the game with no stamina. A one-branch playthrough, however, sounds impossible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which forces the hero to wield the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the entire durability mechanic, which is especially relevant when dealing with the most fragile tool in the entire world. But if the stick breaks, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

So, how? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The complete story, believe it or not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's saving mechanism to have distinct playthroughs that impact one another. So PointCrow does a “setup” file where he progresses normally, and the actual save, where he's limited. The preparatory save has him completing the prologue and initial starting area, and this Link acquires maximum stamina and health. From here, he triggers a cutscene and pauses midway through to instruct the software to open an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets mixed up and creates a new save file that merges the states of the first two files.

That creates new problems, though. The fused file has a Link that never acquired the ability to enter sacred places. Luckily, this is an issue that the file exploit fixes easily, but pulling it off means relying on an buggy version of the title that refuses to load certain locations. Like other obstacles, he has a technical solution for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its early 1.0 build, and then updates the software midway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Hurdles

Curiously, the prologue form of Link is programmed so that he cannot damage any tools he uses, presumably to avoid a scenario where the player gets stuck at the beginning of the game. But that's additionally how PointCrow bypasses the wear issue, as the Link he transfers between universes is the version from the start of the game. It's a smart technique, but not one that eradicates all potential friction. The stick is nonetheless a ineffective item that renders battles tedious. But at that point, it's all a question of determination and dedication. It further aids that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an plentiful supply of items to boost his attack, or stock up on revival fairies. He also makes use of a glitch that allows Link to clip through the world. A few would consider these methods reason to question the legitimacy of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a inventive gamer who is willing to do anything necessary to engage his viewer. He further implements a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for every spirit he employs, he'll remove a fan from his live stream, creating an motivation to not overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Last Encounter

PointCrow manages to defeat several of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the battles look painful. The YouTube edit of his quest spares the audience endure the entire fights, which is a blessing when a few of them take multiple hours. A particular enemy encounter, a powerful foe, requires an incredible 23 straight. The final villain showdown, which depletes Link's health as it unfolds, is a memorable nail-biter. The indestructible branch is still just a stick. He can't necessarily clone items during the fight.

Did he succeed? Technically, PointCrow manages to defeat the beast form of Ganon. But the software forces the player to use the legendary weapon as the final attack, so technically, it's not completely a stick-only run. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, the streamer removed over 1,000 people in his Twitch chat. RIP.