Streaming Personality Dedicates Thirty-Seven Straight Attempting to Beat <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a One Stick

You might assume that two years post-launch since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have run out of novel self-imposed challenges that impose special restrictions on a playthrough. Yet, although numerous players have tried to finish the game with only a stick, content creator the streamer stands out as the player who aimed to beat the game with a single branch—specifically, the exact same one throughout.

PointCrow is famous for such difficult playthroughs, like the instance he went through the title using only explosives or the attempt where he tried to defeat the story with zero stamina. A single stick run, though, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to use the Master Sword. Then, there's the whole weapon wear system, which is particularly important when dealing with the most fragile tool in the entire world. But if the stick breaks, that's the end. It's over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The simple answer is exploits. The full answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can tweak the game's saving mechanism to have distinct game sessions that impact one another. So PointCrow does a “preparation” file where he advances standardly, and the real save, where he's restricted. The setup file has him completing the intro and first tutorial island, and this Link gains full stamina and hearts. From here, he starts a cutscene and pauses midway through to instruct the software to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and generates a third game file that merges the conditions of the first two files.

That creates fresh issues, though. The fused save file has a Link that did not acquired the ability to enter shrines. Luckily, this is something that the save glitch addresses easily, but executing it means depending on an unstable version of the title that fails to load certain locations. Like other obstacles, he has a technical solution for it: He begins the game on its early version 1.0, and then patches the game partway through to make sure it starts functioning correctly.

Bypassing Durability and Other Hurdles

Curiously, the prologue form of the hero is coded so that he is unable to break any weapons he wields, likely to avoid a situation where the user gets stuck at the beginning of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow bypasses the wear issue, as the character he pulls across universes is the one from the start of the story. It's a smart technique, but not a method that eliminates all possible friction. The branch is nonetheless a weak item that makes encounters onerous. But at that stage, it's all a question of determination and perseverance. It further aids that there's a copying exploit that gives him an plentiful supply of items to improve his strength, or stock up on healing spirits. He also employs a glitch that allows Link to clip through the environment. Some would find these methods reason to discredit the validity of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a inventive gamer who is willing to do anything necessary to entertain his audience. He further implements a safeguard of sorts stipulating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll remove a viewer from his live stream, establishing an incentive to not depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Final Showdown

PointCrow succeeds to get through many of the game's bosses, but the fights appear painful. The video edit of his quest spares the viewer sit through the entire fights, which is a blessing when a few of them take several long hours. A particular boss fight, Queen Gibdo, requires an astonishing 23 straight. The final villain battle, which erases Link's health as it unfolds, is a notable nail-biter. The indestructible branch is after all just a piece of wood. He is unable to always duplicate items during the fight.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow manages to defeat the dragon version of Ganon. But the game compels the player to wield the legendary weapon as the final strike, so strictly speaking, it's not fully a branch-exclusive run. But what fun is that?

In the end, PointCrow banned over a thousand users in his Twitch chat. RIP.