Twitch Star Dedicates 37 Straight Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a One Branch

You might assume that two years post-launch since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have exhausted creative challenge runs that apply unique restrictions on a playthrough. However, although numerous gamers have attempted to complete the game using only a wooden stick, content creator PointCrow holds the record as the individual who aimed to beat the game with a one branch—meaning, the very same stick from start to finish.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of difficult playthroughs, such as the time he went through the game solely with bombs or the attempt where he aimed to beat the game with no stamina. A single stick playthrough, though, seems impossible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires 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 branch breaks, that's the end. It's over.

So, How?

So, how? The straightforward explanation is glitches. The complete story, believe it or not, is parallel universes. It turns out, you can manipulate Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So PointCrow creates a “setup” save where he progresses normally, and the real save, where he's restricted. The setup file has him going through the prologue and first starting area, and this Link gains full stamina and health. From here, he triggers a cinematic and halts partway through to tell the software to load an automatic save from the stick file. The game gets mixed up and generates a new save file that merges the conditions of the original two.

This causes fresh problems, though. The merged file has a Link that did not obtain the ability to enter sacred places. Luckily, this is something that the file exploit fixes readily, but executing it means depending on an buggy version of the game that refuses to load some areas. Like everything else, he has a clever solution for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the software partway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Other Challenges

Interestingly, the prologue version of the hero is programmed so that he cannot break any weapons he uses, presumably to prevent a situation where the user gets trapped at the start of the game. But that's also how the streamer gets around the durability issue, as the Link he transfers between dimensions is the version from the start of the story. It's a smart trick, but not one that eradicates all possible difficulty. The branch is nonetheless a weak item that renders battles onerous. But at that point, it's entirely a question of grit and perseverance. 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 healing spirits. He also employs a bug that enables Link to phase through the world. Some would find these methods reason to question the validity of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a inventive gamer who is ready to do whatever it takes to entertain his viewer. He also uses a safeguard of kinds stating that, for each spirit he employs, he'll remove one viewer from his live stream, creating an incentive to avoid depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Final Encounter

PointCrow manages to get through many of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the fights look grueling. The video version of his journey doesn't make the audience endure the whole fights, which is a blessing when some of them last several hours. One boss fight, Queen Gibdo, requires an astonishing twenty-three straight. The final villain battle, which erases Link's health as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable stick is still just a stick. He is unable to always duplicate objects midway the battle.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, he does overcome the beast form of the antagonist. But the game forces the user to wield the Master Sword as the final strike, so strictly speaking, it's not quite completely a stick-only run. But what fun is that?

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