Streaming Personality Dedicates 37 Hours Attempting to Beat <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Branch

One could think that two years post-launch since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have exhausted creative self-imposed challenges that impose special rules on a playthrough. However, while numerous players have attempted to finish Tears of the Kingdom using just a stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the individual who aimed to beat the adventure with a single branch—specifically, the exact same one from start to finish.

The streamer is renowned for such challenge runs, such as the instance he played the game solely with bombs or the effort where he aimed to defeat the game with no energy. A one-branch run, though, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which requires Link to wield the Master Sword. Then, there's the whole weapon wear system, which is especially important when working with the most fragile weapon in the whole world. But if the stick breaks, that's the end. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The simple answer is glitches. The complete story, believe it or not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's save file system to have separate game sessions that impact one another. So PointCrow creates a “setup” file where he advances standardly, and the real file, where he's restricted. The preparatory file has him completing the prologue and initial tutorial island, and this character gains maximum endurance and health. From this point, he starts a cinematic and pauses partway through to instruct the software to load an automatic save from the branch-only file. The system gets confused and creates a third save file that merges the states of the first two files.

That creates fresh problems, though. The merged file has a protagonist that did not obtain the ability to access sacred places. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit fixes readily, but executing it means depending on an buggy version of the game that fails to load some areas. Like everything else, he has a clever solution for it: He begins the game on its early 1.0 build, and then updates the software partway through to make sure it begins working properly.

Bypassing Durability and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory version of the hero is coded so that he cannot damage any weapons he wields, likely to avoid a situation where the user gets stuck at the start of the game. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the wear problem, as the Link he pulls between universes is the version from the beginning of the game. It's a smart technique, but not a method that eliminates all potential friction. The branch is nonetheless a weak weapon that renders battles tedious. But at that point, it's all a matter of determination and perseverance. It also aids that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an abundant supply of items to improve his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally makes use of a glitch that allows Link to phase through the world. Some would find these means grounds to question the legitimacy of the run, but in my mind, he's a resourceful gamer who is ready to do anything necessary to engage his audience. He also implements a safeguard of kinds stating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll remove one fan from his Twitch chat, creating an motivation to not overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Showdown

PointCrow succeeds to defeat many of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles appear grueling. The video version of his quest doesn't make the audience endure the entire conflicts, which is a good thing when a few of them last several long hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an incredible 23 hours. The final villain battle, which erases the hero's hearts as it unfolds, is a memorable nail-biter. The indestructible stick is after all only a piece of wood. He is unable to necessarily clone items during the battle.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, he manages to defeat the dragon version of the antagonist. But the software compels the user to wield the legendary weapon as the final strike, so technically, it's not quite completely a stick-only playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer banned over 1,000 users in his Twitch chat. Rest in peace.