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

One could think that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have exhausted creative self-imposed challenges that apply special rules on a gameplay session. Yet, while numerous gamers have attempted to complete the game with only a stick, streamer PointCrow stands out as the player who endeavored to clear the adventure with a one stick—specifically, the very same one throughout.

The streamer is renowned for these kinds of difficult playthroughs, like the time he played the game solely with explosives or the attempt where he tried to beat the game with no stamina. A single stick playthrough, however, sounds unfeasible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which requires Link to wield the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole durability mechanic, which is especially relevant when dealing with the weakest tool in the entire game. Yet if the stick shatters, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

So, how? The simple answer is exploits. The complete answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So the creator does a “preparation” save where he progresses standardly, and the real save, where he's restricted. The setup file has him going through the prologue and first starting area, and this character acquires full endurance and health. From here, he triggers a cutscene and halts partway through to tell the game to load an auto-save from the stick file. The game gets mixed up and creates a third save file that combines the states of the original two.

This creates fresh issues, though. The merged file has a protagonist that never acquired the ability to access shrines. Luckily, this is something that the save glitch addresses easily, but executing it means depending on an buggy version of the game that fails to open certain locations. As with everything else, he has a technical solution for it: He starts the game on its pre-release 1.0 build, and then patches the software partway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Additional Hurdles

Curiously, the introductory form of Link is programmed so that he cannot break any tools he uses, presumably to avoid a scenario where the player gets trapped at the start of the adventure. But that's also how the streamer gets around the durability problem, as the character he pulls between dimensions is the one from the start of the story. It's a smart trick, but not one that eradicates all potential friction. The branch is nonetheless a ineffective weapon that renders battles tedious. But at that stage, it's all a question of determination and perseverance. It also aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an plentiful number of consumables to boost his strength, or stock up on healing spirits. He also employs a bug that allows him to clip through the world. Some would find these methods grounds to question the legitimacy of the run, but in my mind, he's a inventive gamer who is ready to do whatever it takes to engage his viewer. He further uses a safeguard of kinds stipulating that, for each spirit he employs, he'll remove one viewer from his Twitch chat, creating an incentive to avoid overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Last Showdown

PointCrow succeeds to defeat several of the game's main enemies, but the fights appear painful. The YouTube version of his quest doesn't make the audience endure the whole fights, which is a blessing when a few of them last several hours. One boss fight, Queen Gibdo, requires an incredible 23 straight. The Ganondorf battle, which depletes the hero's health as it progresses, is a memorable nail-biter. The indestructible branch is after all just a stick. He can't always duplicate items midway the fight.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, he manages to defeat the dragon version of Ganon. But the game compels the user to wield the legendary weapon as the final attack, so technically, it's not quite fully a branch-exclusive run. But what fun is that?

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