Twitch Star Dedicates Thirty-Seven Hours Attempting to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Branch

You might assume that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have exhausted novel self-imposed challenges that impose unique rules on a gameplay session. Yet, although many players have attempted to complete Tears of the Kingdom with just a stick, streamer PointCrow holds the record as the individual who aimed to beat the adventure with a single branch—specifically, the very same stick from start to finish.

PointCrow is renowned for such challenge runs, like the time he went through the title using only explosives or the attempt where he aimed to defeat the game with no stamina. A single stick run, though, seems unfeasible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which forces the hero to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole weapon wear mechanic, which is especially important when working with the most fragile tool in the whole world. But if the stick breaks, that's it. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The straightforward answer is exploits. The complete story, I kid you not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can tweak the game's save file system to have distinct 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 setup save has him completing the intro and initial starting area, and this character gains maximum endurance and hearts. From here, he triggers a cutscene and pauses midway through to tell the software to open an automatic save from the stick file. The game gets mixed up and creates a new save file that merges the conditions of the original two.

That causes fresh issues, however. The merged save file has a protagonist that did not acquired the ability to enter sacred places. Fortunately, this is an issue that the file exploit addresses easily, but executing it means depending on an buggy version of the title that refuses to open some areas. As with other obstacles, he has a clever solution for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its early version 1.0, and then patches the software partway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Other Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory form of Link is coded so that he is unable to break any tools he uses, presumably to prevent a situation where the user gets trapped at the start of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the wear issue, as the Link he pulls between dimensions is the version from the start of the game. It's a clever trick, but not one that eliminates all possible friction. The branch is nonetheless a ineffective item that renders encounters onerous. But at that stage, it's all a matter of grit and dedication. It further aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an abundant supply of consumables to improve his strength, or stock up on healing spirits. He also employs a bug that allows Link to clip through the world. Some would find these means grounds to discredit the validity of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful player who is ready to do anything necessary to entertain his viewer. He further implements a safeguard of kinds stating that, for each fairy he uses, he'll ban a fan from his Twitch chat, creating an incentive to not depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Showdown

PointCrow succeeds to get through many of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles look painful. The YouTube edit of his quest spares the viewer sit through the entire fights, which is a good thing when a few of them take multiple long hours. One enemy encounter, a powerful foe, takes an incredible twenty-three straight. The Ganondorf battle, which depletes the hero's hearts as it progresses, is a notable nail-biter. The unbreakable branch is after all just a stick. He can't necessarily duplicate objects midway the battle.

Did he succeed? Technically, PointCrow does overcome the dragon version of the antagonist. But the game forces the user to wield the Master Sword as the last strike, so technically, it's not quite fully a branch-exclusive run. But what fun is that?

In the end, the streamer removed over a thousand users in his Twitch chat. RIP.