Streaming Star Dedicates 37 Straight Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Branch

You might assume that two years post-launch since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have exhausted creative self-imposed challenges that impose unique restrictions on a gameplay session. Yet, while many gamers have tried to complete Tears of the Kingdom using just a wooden stick, streamer PointCrow holds the record as the individual who endeavored to clear the game with a one branch—meaning, the very same stick from start to finish.

PointCrow is famous for such difficult playthroughs, like the time he went through the title using only bombs or the attempt where he aimed to defeat the story with zero stamina. A single stick playthrough, however, sounds unfeasible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which forces the hero to wield the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the entire weapon wear mechanic, which is especially relevant when working with the most fragile tool in the whole world. But if the stick breaks, that's it. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The simple answer is exploits. The complete answer, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can manipulate the game's save file system to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “preparation” file where he progresses normally, and the real save, where he's restricted. The setup save has him going through the prologue and first tutorial island, and this character acquires maximum endurance and hearts. From this point, he triggers a cinematic and halts midway through to instruct the game to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The system gets mixed up and creates a third save file that combines the conditions of the original two.

That creates new problems, though. The fused save file has a Link that never acquired the capability to access shrines. Fortunately, this is an issue that the save glitch fixes readily, but executing it means depending on an buggy build of the game that refuses to open certain locations. Like everything else, he has a technical workaround for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its early 1.0 build, and then updates the software partway through to make sure it begins functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Other Challenges

Curiously, the prologue form of the hero is coded so that he cannot break any tools he uses, likely to avoid a scenario where the user gets stuck at the start of the adventure. But that's also how the streamer gets around the wear problem, as the Link he pulls across universes is the version from the start of the story. It's a smart trick, but not a method that eliminates all potential difficulty. The branch is still a ineffective weapon that makes encounters tedious. But at that stage, it's all a question of determination and perseverance. It further helps that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an abundant number of consumables to boost his attack, or accumulate on healing spirits. He also employs a bug that allows Link to clip through the environment. Some would consider these methods grounds to discredit the validity of the run, but to my view, he's a inventive gamer who is willing to do anything necessary to entertain his viewer. He also implements a penalty of sorts stating that, for each spirit he uses, he'll remove one fan from his Twitch chat, establishing an incentive to not overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Encounter

PointCrow succeeds to defeat many of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the fights look painful. The YouTube version of his journey spares the audience endure the entire fights, which is a blessing when a few of them last several hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an incredible 23 hours. The final villain showdown, which depletes the hero's hearts as it progresses, is a notable nail-biter. The unbreakable stick is still just a stick. He is unable to necessarily duplicate items during the fight.

So, is it possible? Technically, PointCrow does defeat the beast form of Ganon. But the game compels the player to wield the legendary weapon as the last attack, so technically, it's not quite completely a stick-only playthrough. But what fun is that?

In the end, PointCrow banned more than 1,000 users in his live stream. Rest in peace.