Streaming Star Spends 37 Straight Attempting to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Branch

One could think that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have run out of creative challenge runs that impose unique restrictions on a playthrough. Yet, although numerous gamers have tried to finish the game using just a stick, content creator PointCrow holds the record as the player who endeavored to beat the game with a one stick—specifically, the very same stick throughout.

The streamer is famous for such difficult playthroughs, such as the instance he played the title solely with explosives or the attempt where he tried to defeat the game with zero energy. A one-branch playthrough, however, sounds unfeasible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which forces Link to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole weapon wear mechanic, which is particularly important when working with the weakest tool in the whole game. But if the stick shatters, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

So, how? The straightforward explanation is glitches. The complete story, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's saving mechanism to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So PointCrow creates a “preparation” save where he progresses normally, and the actual save, where he's limited. The setup save has him completing the intro and initial tutorial island, and this Link acquires maximum stamina and health. From here, he starts a cinematic and halts partway through to tell the game to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The system gets confused and creates a third save file that merges the conditions of the first two files.

This causes fresh problems, though. The merged file has a protagonist that never obtain the capability to enter sacred places. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit fixes readily, but pulling it off means relying on an unstable version of the game that fails to open some areas. Like everything else, he has a clever solution for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its early 1.0 build, and then patches the game partway through to ensure it begins functioning correctly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Other Challenges

Interestingly, the introductory form of the hero is coded so that he cannot break any tools he wields, likely to avoid a situation where the user gets stuck at the beginning of the adventure. But that's additionally how PointCrow gets around the durability problem, as the Link he transfers across dimensions is the version from the start of the story. It's a clever trick, but not a method that eradicates all possible friction. The branch is nonetheless a ineffective item that renders battles tedious. But at that point, it's all a matter of determination and perseverance. It further helps that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an abundant supply of consumables to boost his strength, or accumulate on healing spirits. He additionally employs a bug that enables Link to clip through the world. Some would find these means reason to question the validity of the run, but in my mind, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his viewer. He further implements a safeguard of sorts stating that, for each spirit he uses, he'll ban a fan from his live stream, establishing an incentive to avoid overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Last Showdown

The streamer manages to defeat many of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the fights appear painful. The YouTube version of his journey spares the audience endure the entire fights, which is a good thing when a few of them last several hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an incredible twenty-three hours. The Ganondorf battle, which erases Link's hearts as it unfolds, is a memorable tense moment. The unbreakable branch is after all only a stick. He can't necessarily clone items midway the battle.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow manages to overcome the dragon version of the antagonist. But the game forces the user to wield the legendary weapon as the last strike, so strictly speaking, it's not quite completely a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, PointCrow removed over 1,000 users in his Twitch chat. Rest in peace.