Streaming Star Dedicates 37 Hours Attempting to Beat <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Stick

You might assume that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, fans would have exhausted creative challenge runs that impose special restrictions on a playthrough. However, although numerous players have attempted to complete the game with just a wooden stick, content creator the streamer holds the record as the individual who aimed to clear the game with a one branch—meaning, the very same stick throughout.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of difficult playthroughs, such as the instance he went through the game using only bombs or the effort where he aimed to defeat the game with zero energy. A one-branch run, though, seems impossible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which forces Link to wield the legendary blade. Then, there's the whole durability mechanic, which is particularly important when dealing with the most fragile tool in the whole world. Yet if the branch shatters, that's it. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is glitches. The full answer, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can manipulate the game's saving mechanism to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So the creator does a “preparation” file where he advances standardly, and the real file, where he's restricted. The preparatory file has him going through the prologue and initial tutorial island, and this character gains maximum stamina and hearts. From this point, he starts a cutscene and pauses partway through to tell the software to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The system gets mixed up and creates a third game file that merges the conditions of the original two.

That causes new issues, however. The merged save file has a Link that never obtain the capability to enter shrines. Luckily, this is something that the file exploit fixes easily, but executing it means relying on an buggy build of the title that fails to load some areas. Like everything else, he has a technical solution for it: He starts the game on its early 1.0 build, and then updates the software midway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Other Challenges

Curiously, the prologue form of Link is programmed so that he cannot damage any weapons 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 Link he transfers between dimensions is the one from the beginning of the game. It's a clever technique, but not one that eradicates all possible friction. The branch is nonetheless a weak weapon that makes encounters tedious. But at that stage, it's entirely a question of determination and dedication. It further aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an plentiful supply of items to boost his strength, or stock up on revival fairies. He also makes use of a glitch that allows him to clip through the environment. Some would consider these methods reason to discredit the validity of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a inventive player who is ready to do anything necessary to engage his viewer. He further implements a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for each spirit he uses, he'll remove one fan from his Twitch chat, creating an incentive to avoid depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Final Encounter

PointCrow manages to get through several of the game's bosses, but the fights appear grueling. The video edit of his quest doesn't make the viewer endure the entire fights, which is a good thing when a few of them last multiple hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an astonishing twenty-three hours. The Ganondorf showdown, which erases the hero's health as it unfolds, is a notable tense moment. The indestructible stick is after all just a stick. He can't always clone objects during the battle.

Did he succeed? Technically, PointCrow does overcome the dragon version of Ganon. But the software compels the user to use the legendary weapon as the last attack, so technically, it's not completely a stick-only playthrough. But what fun is that?

When everything is said and done, PointCrow removed more than a thousand people in his live stream. Rest in peace.