Streaming Star Spends 37 Hours Trying to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Branch

One could think that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have exhausted creative challenge runs that impose special rules on a playthrough. However, while numerous players have attempted to complete Tears of the Kingdom using only a stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the player who endeavored to clear the adventure with a one stick—specifically, the exact same stick from start to finish.

The streamer is famous for these kinds of challenge runs, like the time he went through the game using only explosives or the effort where he tried to defeat the story with zero stamina. A one-branch playthrough, however, sounds unfeasible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which requires Link to wield the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the entire durability system, which is especially relevant when dealing with the weakest tool in the whole world. But if the stick shatters, that's it. It's over.

So, How?

So, how? The simple answer is exploits. The complete story, believe it or not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can manipulate Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have distinct playthroughs that affect one another. So the creator does a “setup” file where he advances normally, and the real save, where he's restricted. The setup file has him completing the intro and initial tutorial island, and this Link gains maximum stamina and hearts. From this point, he starts a cutscene and pauses midway through to tell the software to load an auto-save from the stick file. The system gets mixed up and generates a third game file that merges the conditions of the original two.

That causes fresh issues, though. The fused file has a Link that never obtain the capability to access sacred places. Luckily, this is an issue that the save glitch fixes readily, but executing it means relying on an unstable version of the game that fails to open some areas. Like other obstacles, he has a clever workaround for it: He starts the game on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the software midway through to make sure it begins functioning correctly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Additional Challenges

Curiously, the prologue form of Link is coded so that he is unable to break any weapons he wields, presumably to prevent a situation where the player gets stuck at the start of the adventure. But that's additionally how PointCrow bypasses the wear problem, as the Link he transfers across universes is the one from the start of the story. It's a clever technique, but not a method that eradicates all possible difficulty. The branch is nonetheless a weak weapon that makes battles tedious. But at that point, it's entirely a question of determination and dedication. It further aids that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an plentiful number of items to improve his strength, or accumulate on revival fairies. He additionally employs a bug that enables him to clip through the world. Some would consider these methods reason to question the legitimacy of the run, but in my mind, he's a resourceful player who is ready to do whatever it takes to engage his viewer. He also implements a safeguard of kinds stipulating that, for every spirit he employs, he'll ban one viewer from his Twitch chat, creating an incentive to not depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Encounter

The streamer manages to defeat several of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the fights appear grueling. The YouTube version of his quest spares the audience sit through the entire conflicts, which is a blessing when a few of them last several hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an astonishing 23 straight. The Ganondorf battle, which erases the hero's health as it progresses, is a notable nail-biter. The unbreakable stick is after all just a stick. He can't always clone objects midway the battle.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow manages to overcome the dragon version of the antagonist. But the game forces the user to wield the legendary weapon as the last strike, so strictly speaking, it's not fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But what fun is that?

In the end, PointCrow removed over 1,000 people in his Twitch chat. Rest in peace.