Twitch 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 arrived, enthusiasts would have run out of creative self-imposed challenges that impose unique rules on a playthrough. Yet, while numerous players have tried to complete Tears of the Kingdom with only a wooden stick, content creator the streamer holds the record as the individual who endeavored to beat the game with a one stick—specifically, the very same stick throughout.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the time he played the game solely with bombs or the attempt where he tried to defeat the game with no energy. A single stick playthrough, though, sounds unfeasible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which requires the hero to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole durability system, which is particularly important when working with the most fragile weapon in the entire game. Yet if the branch shatters, that's it. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The straightforward answer is glitches. The full story, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can tweak the game's save file system to have separate game sessions that impact one another. So PointCrow creates a “preparation” file where he progresses normally, and the actual file, where he's limited. The preparatory save has him going through the prologue and initial starting area, and this Link acquires maximum endurance and hearts. From this point, he triggers a cutscene and halts partway through to tell the software to load 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 fresh problems, though. The merged file has a Link that never obtain the capability to access sacred places. Luckily, this is something that the file exploit fixes easily, but pulling it off means depending on an unstable version of the game that fails to load some areas. Like other obstacles, he has a technical workaround for it: He begins the game on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the software partway through to ensure it starts working properly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Other Hurdles

Curiously, the prologue form of the hero is programmed so that he cannot break any tools he wields, presumably to prevent a situation where the player gets stuck at the beginning of the game. But that's also how the streamer gets around the durability issue, as the character he pulls across dimensions is the version from the beginning of the story. It's a smart trick, but not one that eliminates all possible difficulty. The stick is still a ineffective item that makes battles tedious. But at that stage, it's all a question of determination and dedication. It also aids that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an plentiful supply of consumables to improve his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally makes use of a bug that allows Link to phase through the environment. Some would find these methods grounds to question the legitimacy of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a resourceful player who is ready to do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. He also implements a penalty of sorts stating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll ban one viewer from his Twitch chat, creating an incentive to not depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Final Showdown

The streamer succeeds to defeat many of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles appear grueling. The video version of his journey doesn't make the viewer sit through the entire conflicts, which is a blessing when some of them last multiple long hours. One enemy encounter, a powerful foe, takes an incredible 23 straight. The Ganondorf battle, which depletes Link's hearts as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The indestructible branch is after all only a piece of wood. He is unable to necessarily clone objects during the battle.

So, is it possible? Technically, he manages to overcome the dragon version of the antagonist. But the software compels the user to wield the Master Sword as the last attack, so technically, it's not fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But what fun is that?

In the end, PointCrow banned more than a thousand people in his Twitch chat. Rest in peace.