Twitch Star Dedicates Thirty-Seven Straight Attempting to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a Single Branch

You might assume that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have run out of creative self-imposed challenges that impose unique rules on a playthrough. However, although numerous players have attempted to finish Tears of the Kingdom using just a stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the individual who aimed to clear the game with a single stick—specifically, the very same stick from start to finish.

PointCrow is famous for such difficult playthroughs, such as the instance he played the title solely with bombs or the attempt where he tried to defeat the story with no stamina. A one-branch run, however, sounds impossible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to wield the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the entire weapon wear mechanic, which is particularly relevant when dealing with the weakest weapon in the whole game. But if the branch shatters, that's the end. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The full story, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak the game's save file system to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “preparation” file where he progresses standardly, and the actual file, where he's restricted. The setup save has him going through the prologue and first starting area, and this character gains maximum stamina and hearts. From here, he starts a cutscene and halts partway through to instruct the game to load an automatic save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and creates a new save file that merges the conditions of the original two.

This creates new issues, however. The merged file has a protagonist that did not acquired the ability to enter sacred places. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit fixes readily, but executing it means relying on an buggy version of the title that refuses to open some areas. As with everything else, he has a technical workaround for it: He starts the game on its pre-release version 1.0, and then updates the software midway through to make sure it starts working properly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Challenges

Interestingly, the introductory form of Link is coded so that he is unable to damage any weapons he uses, likely to prevent a scenario where the player gets stuck at the start of the game. But that's additionally how the streamer bypasses the durability issue, as the Link he transfers between universes is the one from the start of the game. It's a smart trick, but not one that eliminates all potential difficulty. The stick is nonetheless a weak item that renders encounters tedious. But at that stage, it's all a matter of determination and perseverance. It also helps that there's a copying exploit that grants him an plentiful number of items to boost his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally employs a glitch that enables Link to phase through the environment. A few would consider these means reason to discredit the legitimacy of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a inventive gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his audience. He further implements a safeguard of sorts stipulating that, for each spirit he employs, he'll ban a viewer from his live stream, creating an incentive to not overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Final Showdown

The streamer manages to defeat many of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the fights look painful. The video edit of his quest spares the audience endure the whole conflicts, which is a good thing when a few of them take several hours. One enemy encounter, a powerful foe, requires an incredible twenty-three straight. The final villain battle, which erases Link's health as it progresses, is a memorable nail-biter. The unbreakable stick is after all just a stick. He can't necessarily clone items midway the battle.

Did he succeed? Technically, PointCrow does overcome the beast form of Ganon. But the software compels the player to wield the Master Sword as the final attack, so strictly speaking, it's not fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, the streamer removed over 1,000 people in his live stream. Rest in peace.