Twitch Star Spends 37 Straight Trying to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Branch

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of novel self-imposed challenges that apply special restrictions on a gameplay session. Yet, while numerous players have tried to finish Tears of the Kingdom with only a stick, streamer PointCrow stands out as the individual who endeavored to clear the game with a single stick—specifically, the exact same stick throughout.

The streamer is renowned for such challenge runs, such as the instance he went through the game using only explosives or the attempt where he aimed to beat the story with zero stamina. A single stick playthrough, however, seems impossible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to use the Master Sword. Then, there's the entire weapon wear mechanic, which is particularly important when dealing with the most fragile weapon in the entire world. But if the stick shatters, that's the end. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The complete story, believe it or not, is parallel universes. It turns out, you can manipulate the game's saving mechanism to have distinct playthroughs that affect one another. So the creator does a “setup” save where he progresses normally, and the actual file, where he's restricted. The setup save has him going through the prologue and initial tutorial island, and this Link gains full stamina and health. From this point, he starts a cutscene and halts partway through to tell the software to load an automatic save from the branch-only file. The system gets mixed up and generates a new save file that combines the states of the original two.

This causes fresh issues, however. The merged file has a Link that never obtain the ability to access shrines. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit fixes readily, but pulling it off means relying on an buggy build of the game that refuses to load certain locations. As with everything else, he has a technical solution for it: He begins the game on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the game midway through to make sure it begins functioning correctly.

Bypassing Durability and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the prologue form of Link is coded so that he is unable to break any tools he uses, likely to avoid a scenario where the user gets trapped at the beginning of the game. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the wear issue, as the character he transfers between dimensions is the version from the beginning of the game. It's a clever technique, but not a method that eradicates all potential friction. The branch is still a ineffective weapon that makes battles onerous. But at that point, it's entirely a matter of grit and perseverance. It further aids that there's a copying exploit that gives him an plentiful supply of items to boost his attack, or accumulate on revival fairies. He additionally employs a bug that allows him to clip through the environment. Some would consider these means grounds to question the legitimacy of the run, but in my mind, he's a resourceful player who is willing to do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. He also uses a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for each fairy he employs, he'll remove a viewer from his live stream, creating an motivation to avoid overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Final Encounter

The streamer succeeds to get through several of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the fights look grueling. The YouTube edit of his journey doesn't make the audience sit through the entire conflicts, which is a good thing when a few of them last multiple long hours. One enemy encounter, a powerful foe, requires an incredible twenty-three straight. The final villain battle, which depletes the hero's hearts as it unfolds, is a notable tense moment. The indestructible stick is still only a stick. He is unable to necessarily duplicate objects midway the fight.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow does overcome the beast form of the antagonist. But the software compels the player to wield the Master Sword as the last strike, so strictly speaking, it's not quite completely a branch-exclusive run. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, PointCrow removed over 1,000 users in his Twitch chat. RIP.