Twitch Star Spends Thirty-Seven Hours Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a Single Stick

One could think that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have exhausted novel self-imposed challenges that apply unique restrictions on a playthrough. However, while numerous players have attempted to complete the game with only a stick, streamer PointCrow stands out as the individual who endeavored to clear the game with a single branch—meaning, the exact same one from start to finish.

PointCrow is renowned for such difficult playthroughs, such as the time he went through the game solely with bombs or the attempt where he aimed to defeat the game with no energy. A single stick run, though, seems impossible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which forces the hero to use the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the whole weapon wear mechanic, which is especially important when dealing with the weakest tool in the whole game. But if the stick breaks, that's the end. It's over.

So, How?

So, how? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The complete answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak the game's save file system to have distinct playthroughs that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “setup” save where he advances normally, and the actual file, where he's restricted. The setup save has him completing the prologue and first tutorial island, and this Link acquires maximum endurance and health. From here, he triggers a cinematic and halts partway through to instruct the game to load an automatic save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and creates a new game file that merges the states of the first two files.

This creates new issues, however. The fused save file has a protagonist that did not obtain the capability to access shrines. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit fixes easily, but executing it means depending on an unstable build of the title that refuses to open certain locations. Like everything else, he has a technical workaround for it: He starts the game on its pre-release 1.0 build, and then updates the software partway through to make sure it starts working properly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Other Challenges

Interestingly, the introductory version of the hero is programmed so that he is unable to damage any weapons he wields, likely to prevent a situation where the player gets trapped at the beginning of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the wear problem, as the Link he pulls across dimensions is the one from the beginning of the story. It's a clever trick, but not one that eliminates all possible friction. The stick is still a ineffective item that makes encounters onerous. But at that stage, it's all a question of determination and perseverance. It further helps that there's a copying exploit that grants him an abundant number of items to improve his strength, or accumulate on revival fairies. He also makes use of a glitch that enables him to clip through the world. Some would consider these methods reason to discredit the legitimacy of the run, but to my view, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to entertain his viewer. He further uses a safeguard of kinds stating that, for every spirit he employs, he'll ban one fan from his live stream, creating an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Final Showdown

PointCrow manages to get through many of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the fights appear grueling. The video version of his journey spares the viewer sit through the whole conflicts, which is a good thing when a few of them last multiple long hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an incredible 23 straight. The final villain showdown, which erases the hero's health as it unfolds, is a notable tense moment. The indestructible branch is still only a piece of wood. He is unable to necessarily clone items during the fight.

Did he succeed? Technically, he manages to defeat the dragon version of the antagonist. But the game forces the user to use the Master Sword as the final strike, so technically, it's not completely a branch-exclusive run. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, PointCrow banned more than a thousand users in his live stream. Rest in peace.