Streaming Star Dedicates Thirty-Seven Hours Attempting to Beat <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, fans would have exhausted novel self-imposed challenges that impose unique rules on a playthrough. Yet, while numerous gamers have attempted to complete Tears of the Kingdom with only a wooden stick, streamer the streamer holds the record as the player who endeavored to beat the adventure with a single branch—meaning, the exact same one throughout.

PointCrow is renowned for such challenge runs, such as the instance he went through the title solely with bombs or the attempt where he tried to beat the story with zero stamina. A single stick playthrough, though, seems impossible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the entire durability mechanic, which is particularly important when dealing with the most fragile tool in the whole world. But if the branch breaks, that's it. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The complete answer, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can manipulate the game's saving mechanism to have separate playthroughs that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “setup” file where he progresses standardly, and the actual file, where he's restricted. The setup file has him completing the prologue and first starting area, and this character gains full stamina and hearts. From this point, he starts a cutscene and pauses midway through to instruct the game to load an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets mixed up and creates a new save file that combines the states of the original two.

This creates new problems, however. The fused save file has a Link that did not obtain the capability to access shrines. Fortunately, this is an issue that the file exploit addresses easily, but pulling it off means depending on an buggy build of the game that fails to open certain locations. Like everything else, he has a technical workaround for it: He begins the game on its early version 1.0, and then updates the software partway through to ensure it starts functioning correctly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Other Hurdles

Interestingly, the prologue form of Link is coded so that he is unable to damage any tools he wields, likely to prevent a scenario where the player gets trapped at the beginning of the game. But that's additionally how PointCrow bypasses the durability issue, as the Link he pulls between dimensions is the one from the start of the story. It's a smart trick, but not one that eradicates all possible friction. The stick is nonetheless a weak weapon that makes battles onerous. But at that point, it's all a matter of determination and dedication. It further helps that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an plentiful supply of items to improve his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally employs a glitch that allows Link to phase through the environment. A few would consider these methods grounds to question the legitimacy of the run, but to my view, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do anything necessary to entertain his audience. He further uses a safeguard of kinds stating that, for each spirit he employs, he'll remove one viewer from his Twitch chat, establishing an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Showdown

PointCrow manages to get through several of the game's bosses, but the fights look grueling. The YouTube edit of his quest doesn't make the audience sit through the whole conflicts, which is a blessing when some of them last several hours. One enemy encounter, Queen Gibdo, requires an incredible 23 straight. The final villain showdown, which depletes Link's health as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable branch is still just a stick. He is unable to always clone items during the battle.

So, is it possible? Technically, PointCrow does overcome the beast form of the antagonist. But the software forces the user to use the legendary weapon as the final strike, so technically, it's not fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, PointCrow removed over a thousand users in his live stream. RIP.