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 after two years since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have exhausted novel self-imposed challenges that impose unique rules on a gameplay session. However, although numerous players have attempted to finish the game using just a stick, streamer PointCrow stands out as the individual who aimed to clear the game with a one stick—specifically, the very same stick throughout.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the time he went through the game solely with explosives or the effort where he tried to defeat the story with zero stamina. A one-branch run, though, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires the hero to wield the legendary blade. Then, there's the whole durability system, which is especially important when working with the weakest tool in the entire game. But if the branch breaks, that's the end. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The simple answer is exploits. The full story, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's saving mechanism to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So PointCrow creates a “setup” save where he progresses normally, and the real file, where he's restricted. The preparatory save has him completing the prologue and initial starting area, and this Link gains maximum stamina and hearts. From this point, he starts a cinematic and halts partway through to tell the software to load an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets mixed up and generates a new game file that merges the states of the original two.

This causes new problems, however. The merged save file has a Link that never obtain the capability to access shrines. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit addresses easily, but pulling it off means depending on an unstable version of the game that refuses to load certain areas. Like everything else, he has a clever workaround for it: He begins the game on its early version 1.0, and then updates the software partway through to ensure it begins functioning correctly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Other Hurdles

Curiously, the introductory form of Link is programmed so that he is unable to break any tools he uses, presumably to avoid a scenario where the player gets stuck at the start of the adventure. But that's additionally how PointCrow bypasses the durability problem, as the character he transfers between universes is the one from the beginning of the game. It's a clever technique, but not a method that eliminates all potential friction. The branch is still a ineffective item that renders encounters tedious. But at that stage, it's entirely a question of determination and perseverance. It further helps that there's a copying exploit that gives him an plentiful supply of consumables to improve his strength, or accumulate on healing spirits. He additionally makes use of a glitch that allows Link to phase through the environment. Some would find these methods reason to question the legitimacy of the run, but in my mind, he's a inventive player who is willing to do anything necessary to entertain his viewer. He also uses a safeguard of kinds stating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll remove one fan from his Twitch chat, establishing an incentive to avoid depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Encounter

The streamer manages to get through several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles appear grueling. The video edit of his journey spares the audience sit through the whole fights, which is a blessing when some of them take multiple hours. One boss fight, Queen Gibdo, takes an astonishing twenty-three hours. The Ganondorf showdown, which depletes the hero's health as it unfolds, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible stick is still just a piece of wood. He is unable to necessarily duplicate items midway the fight.

Did he succeed? Technically, PointCrow does overcome the beast form of the antagonist. But the software compels the player to use the Master Sword as the last strike, so technically, it's not quite completely a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, PointCrow banned over 1,000 people in his live stream. RIP.