Twitch Star Spends Thirty-Seven Hours Attempting to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Branch

You might assume that two years post-launch since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have run out of novel self-imposed challenges that apply special restrictions on a gameplay session. Yet, while numerous players have tried to complete Tears of the Kingdom with only a stick, content creator the streamer holds the record as the individual who aimed to clear the adventure with a one stick—specifically, the very same stick from start to finish.

The streamer is renowned for these kinds of challenge runs, like the time he went through the game using only bombs or the effort where he aimed to defeat the game with zero stamina. A one-branch run, however, sounds impossible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to wield the legendary blade. Then, there's the entire durability system, which is especially relevant when dealing with the most fragile tool in the entire game. But if the branch shatters, that's the end. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The simple answer is exploits. The full answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's saving mechanism to have distinct playthroughs that affect one another. So PointCrow creates a “setup” save where he advances normally, and the real file, where he's limited. The setup file has him going through the prologue and first starting area, and this character gains full stamina and hearts. From here, he starts a cinematic and pauses partway through to tell the game to load an automatic save from the stick file. The game gets confused and creates a third save file that combines the states of the original two.

This creates new issues, however. The fused save file has a protagonist that never acquired the capability to enter sacred places. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit fixes readily, but pulling it off means relying on an unstable version of the title that refuses to open certain areas. As with everything else, he has a clever workaround for it: He begins the game on its pre-release 1.0 build, and then updates the game midway through to make sure it begins functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Challenges

Interestingly, the prologue form of the hero is coded so that he cannot break any tools he uses, presumably to avoid a situation where the player gets trapped at the start of the game. But that's additionally how PointCrow gets around the wear issue, as the Link he transfers between universes is the version from the beginning of the story. It's a smart technique, but not one that eradicates all possible friction. The branch is nonetheless a weak weapon that renders battles tedious. But at that stage, it's entirely a question of determination and dedication. It also aids that there's a copying exploit that gives him an plentiful supply of items to boost his attack, or stock up on revival fairies. He also employs a glitch that enables Link to phase through the environment. A few would find these methods grounds to question the legitimacy of the run, but to my view, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do anything necessary to entertain his audience. He also implements a safeguard of sorts stipulating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll ban a fan from his live stream, establishing an motivation to not overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Last Encounter

PointCrow succeeds to defeat many of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the fights appear painful. The YouTube version of his quest spares the viewer endure the entire conflicts, which is a good thing when some of them take several long hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an astonishing 23 hours. The final villain showdown, which erases Link's health as it unfolds, is a notable nail-biter. The indestructible stick is after all just a stick. He can't necessarily duplicate objects midway the battle.

So, is it possible? Technically, PointCrow manages to overcome the dragon version of the antagonist. But the software forces the player to wield the Master Sword as the last attack, so strictly speaking, it's not quite fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, PointCrow removed more than a thousand people in his Twitch chat. RIP.