Twitch Star Spends 37 Straight Attempting to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a Single Stick

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have exhausted creative self-imposed challenges that apply special restrictions on a playthrough. Yet, although numerous gamers have tried to finish the game using only a wooden stick, content creator the streamer holds the record as the player who aimed to beat the adventure with a single branch—meaning, the very same one from start to finish.

PointCrow is famous for such challenge runs, such as the instance he went through the title using only bombs or the attempt where he aimed to beat the game with no energy. A one-branch playthrough, though, seems impossible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which requires the hero to use the Master Sword. Then, there's the whole weapon wear system, which is especially important when working with the most fragile tool in the entire world. But if the branch breaks, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is glitches. The complete story, believe it or not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's saving mechanism to have distinct game sessions that affect one another. So the creator does a “preparation” file where he advances normally, and the real file, where he's limited. The preparatory file has him completing the prologue and first tutorial island, and this Link acquires maximum endurance and health. From here, he triggers a cutscene and halts midway through to tell the software to load an automatic save from the branch-only file. The system gets mixed up and creates a new game file that merges the conditions of the first two files.

That creates fresh problems, however. The merged file has a Link that never acquired the capability to enter sacred places. Fortunately, this is something that the save glitch addresses readily, but executing it means relying on an unstable build of the game that fails to load some locations. Like everything else, he has a technical solution for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its early 1.0 build, and then updates the software midway through to make sure it starts functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Challenges

Interestingly, the prologue form of the hero is programmed so that he cannot break any weapons he uses, presumably to prevent a scenario where the user gets stuck at the start of the game. But that's additionally how PointCrow gets around the durability problem, as the Link he transfers between universes is the one from the start of the game. It's a clever trick, but not a method that eradicates all potential friction. The stick is still a weak item that renders encounters onerous. But at that point, it's all a question of determination and dedication. It further helps that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an abundant supply of consumables to boost his attack, or stock up on revival fairies. He additionally employs a bug that enables Link to clip through the environment. Some would find these methods grounds to discredit the legitimacy of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a inventive player who is ready to do anything necessary to entertain his audience. He also implements a safeguard of sorts stating that, for each spirit he employs, he'll ban a viewer from his Twitch chat, establishing an incentive to not depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Last Encounter

The streamer succeeds to get through many of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles look painful. The video edit of his quest spares the audience endure the entire conflicts, which is a good thing when a few of them last several hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an incredible 23 straight. The Ganondorf battle, which erases Link's hearts as it unfolds, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible branch is still only a piece of wood. He is unable to always clone objects during the fight.

Did he succeed? Technically, PointCrow manages to overcome the beast form of Ganon. But the game forces the user to wield the legendary weapon as the final attack, so technically, it's not completely a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, the streamer banned over a thousand users in his live stream. Rest in peace.