Streaming Star Spends 37 Straight Trying to Beat <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Branch

One could think that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have run out of novel self-imposed challenges that apply unique rules on a gameplay session. However, while many gamers have tried to complete the game with only a stick, content creator the streamer holds the record as the player who aimed to clear the game with a one stick—specifically, the very same stick from start to finish.

The streamer is famous for such difficult playthroughs, like the instance he played the title solely with explosives or the attempt where he tried to beat the story with no stamina. A one-branch playthrough, though, sounds impossible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which requires the hero to wield the legendary blade. Then, there's the entire durability mechanic, which is especially important when dealing with the weakest weapon in the whole game. But if the branch shatters, that's it. It's over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The simple answer is exploits. The complete answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can tweak the game's save file system to have distinct game sessions that impact one another. So the creator does a “preparation” file where he advances standardly, and the real save, where he's restricted. The preparatory file has him completing the prologue and first starting area, and this Link acquires maximum endurance and health. From this point, he triggers a cinematic and halts partway through to tell the game to open an auto-save from the stick file. The system gets mixed up and creates a new game file that merges the conditions of the original two.

This creates new issues, however. The fused file has a protagonist that did not obtain the capability to enter shrines. Luckily, this is something that the save glitch addresses easily, but executing it means depending on an buggy build of the title that refuses to open certain areas. Like everything else, he has a clever solution for it: He starts the game on its early 1.0 build, and then patches the game midway through to ensure it starts working properly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory form of Link is coded so that he is unable to damage any weapons he uses, likely to avoid a scenario where the player gets stuck at the beginning of the game. But that's additionally how the streamer gets around the wear problem, as the character he transfers across universes is the one from the beginning of the story. It's a clever technique, but not a method that eradicates all possible difficulty. The stick is still a ineffective item that makes battles onerous. But at that point, it's entirely a matter of determination and dedication. It also aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an plentiful number of items to improve his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally employs a bug that allows Link to clip through the environment. A few would consider these methods reason to discredit the legitimacy of the run, but in my mind, he's a resourceful gamer who is ready to do whatever it takes to entertain his viewer. He further implements a penalty of sorts stating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll remove a viewer from his live stream, establishing an motivation to not overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Encounter

PointCrow manages to defeat several of the game's main enemies, but the battles look grueling. The video edit of his journey doesn't make the viewer endure the whole fights, which is a blessing when some of them take multiple hours. A particular boss fight, Queen Gibdo, requires an incredible twenty-three straight. The Ganondorf showdown, which erases the hero's hearts as it unfolds, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable stick is after all only a piece of wood. He can't necessarily clone items during the fight.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, he does defeat the dragon version of Ganon. But the software compels the user to wield the Master Sword as the last strike, so strictly speaking, it's not completely a stick-only run. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer banned over 1,000 users in his live stream. Rest in peace.