Streaming Star Dedicates Thirty-Seven Hours Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Stick

You might assume that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have run out of novel challenge runs that apply special restrictions on a gameplay session. However, while many gamers have tried to finish the game using only a wooden stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the individual who endeavored to clear the adventure with a single stick—meaning, the very same one throughout.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of difficult playthroughs, such as the time he went through the title solely with bombs or the effort where he aimed to beat the game with zero stamina. A single stick playthrough, though, sounds impossible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which requires the hero to use the Master Sword. Then, there's the entire durability mechanic, which is especially relevant when working with the most fragile weapon in the whole game. Yet if the branch shatters, that's it. It's over.

So, How?

So, how? The straightforward explanation is glitches. The full answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “preparation” file where he progresses normally, and the actual file, where he's limited. The preparatory file has him completing the intro and first tutorial island, and this Link gains maximum stamina and hearts. From here, he starts a cinematic and halts partway through to instruct the software to load an automatic save from the branch-only file. The system gets confused and generates a new save file that combines the states of the first two files.

That creates fresh problems, however. The fused save file has a Link that never obtain the ability to access shrines. Luckily, this is something that the save glitch fixes easily, but executing it means depending on an buggy version of the game that refuses to open some areas. Like everything else, he has a clever solution for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its early version 1.0, and then updates the software partway through to ensure it starts working properly.

Bypassing Durability and Other Challenges

Curiously, the introductory form of the hero is programmed so that he is unable to damage any weapons he uses, likely to avoid a situation where the user gets trapped at the beginning of the adventure. But that's also how the streamer bypasses the wear problem, as the Link he pulls across universes is the version from the start of the game. It's a clever trick, but not a method that eliminates all possible difficulty. The branch is nonetheless a ineffective item that makes encounters tedious. But at that point, it's entirely a matter of grit and perseverance. It also aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an plentiful supply of items to improve his strength, or accumulate on healing spirits. He also makes use of a glitch that allows Link to clip through the world. Some would find these means grounds to question the legitimacy of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. He also uses a penalty of kinds stating that, for each fairy he employs, he'll remove a viewer from his Twitch chat, creating an incentive to avoid overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Encounter

PointCrow manages to get through several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles appear grueling. The video version of his journey doesn't make the viewer endure the entire fights, which is a blessing when some of them take several long hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an incredible twenty-three straight. The final villain battle, which depletes the hero's health as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The indestructible branch is after all only a piece of wood. He is unable to necessarily clone objects midway the battle.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, he does overcome the dragon version of Ganon. But the software forces the player to wield the Master Sword as the final strike, so technically, it's not fully a branch-exclusive run. But what fun is that?

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