Streaming Personality Dedicates 37 Hours Attempting to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a One Stick

You might assume that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have exhausted novel challenge runs that impose special rules on a gameplay session. However, although numerous players have tried to complete Tears of the Kingdom using just a stick, streamer PointCrow stands out as the player who endeavored to beat the adventure with a single stick—specifically, the very same one from start to finish.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of difficult playthroughs, such as the time he played the title using only explosives or the effort where he tried to defeat the story with no stamina. A one-branch run, though, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which requires Link to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the entire durability system, which is especially important when working with the weakest tool in the entire world. But if the branch breaks, that's the end. It's over.

So, How?

So, how? The straightforward answer is glitches. The complete answer, believe it or not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can manipulate Tears of the Kingdom's saving mechanism to have distinct game sessions that impact one another. So the creator creates a “setup” file where he progresses normally, and the real save, where he's restricted. The setup file has him completing the prologue and first tutorial island, and this Link acquires full stamina and hearts. From this point, he triggers a cinematic and pauses midway through to instruct the software to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and creates a new save file that combines the states of the first two files.

This creates new issues, however. The merged file has a Link that did not obtain the ability to access shrines. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit fixes readily, but pulling it off means depending on an buggy version of the game that fails to open certain locations. As with everything else, he has a clever workaround for it: He starts the game on its early 1.0 build, and then updates the game midway through to make sure it begins functioning correctly.

Bypassing Durability and Other Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory form of the hero is coded so that he cannot damage any tools he uses, presumably to prevent a scenario where the player gets stuck at the start of the game. But that's also how the streamer gets around the durability problem, as the Link he transfers between universes is the one from the beginning of the game. It's a clever trick, but not a method that eliminates all potential difficulty. The branch is nonetheless a ineffective weapon that renders encounters onerous. But at that point, it's entirely a matter of determination and perseverance. It also aids that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an plentiful number of consumables to improve his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He also employs a glitch that enables Link to phase through the environment. Some would consider these means reason to discredit the legitimacy of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful player who is willing to do anything necessary to engage his viewer. He further uses a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for each fairy he uses, he'll ban one viewer from his live stream, establishing an motivation to avoid depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Showdown

PointCrow manages to get through many of the game's bosses, but the fights appear grueling. The YouTube version of his quest spares the audience endure the whole fights, which is a blessing when some of them take several long hours. One boss fight, Queen Gibdo, requires an astonishing 23 straight. The Ganondorf battle, which depletes the hero's health as it progresses, is a memorable tense moment. The unbreakable branch is after all only a stick. He can't necessarily duplicate items during the battle.

So, is it possible? Technically, he manages to defeat the beast form of the antagonist. But the game compels the player to use the legendary weapon as the last attack, so technically, it's not completely a branch-exclusive run. But what fun is that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer banned over 1,000 people in his Twitch chat. RIP.