Streaming Personality Spends Thirty-Seven Hours Attempting to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Stick

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have exhausted creative self-imposed challenges that apply special restrictions on a playthrough. However, while numerous gamers have attempted to finish the game using just a wooden stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the player who aimed to clear the game with a one branch—meaning, the exact same stick from start to finish.

The streamer is renowned for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the instance he played the title using only explosives or the effort where he tried to defeat the game with no energy. A one-branch run, though, sounds unfeasible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which forces the hero to use the Master Sword. Then, there's the whole durability mechanic, which is particularly relevant when dealing with the most fragile weapon in the whole game. But if the branch shatters, that's the end. It's over.

So, How?

So, how? The straightforward answer is exploits. The full answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can manipulate the game's save file system to have distinct playthroughs that impact one another. So the creator creates a “setup” file where he progresses normally, and the actual save, where he's limited. The preparatory file has him going through the prologue and first starting area, and this character acquires full stamina and hearts. From here, he triggers a cinematic and pauses midway through to tell the game to open an auto-save from the stick file. The system gets confused and generates a third save file that merges the conditions of the original two.

That causes fresh issues, however. The fused file has a Link that did not acquired the capability to enter shrines. Luckily, this is something that the save glitch addresses easily, but pulling it off means depending on an unstable version of the title that fails to load some locations. As with 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 make sure it begins functioning correctly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory version of the hero is coded so that he is unable to damage any weapons he wields, likely to prevent a scenario where the user gets trapped at the beginning of the adventure. But that's also how the streamer bypasses the durability issue, as the character he pulls between universes is the one from the start of the story. It's a clever technique, but not a method that eliminates all possible friction. The branch is still a ineffective item that makes battles onerous. But at that stage, it's all a matter of grit and perseverance. It further aids that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an abundant number of consumables to improve his attack, or stock up on revival fairies. He also makes use of a glitch that allows Link to clip through the environment. Some would find these methods reason to question the legitimacy of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do anything necessary to engage his viewer. He further implements a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for each spirit he uses, he'll ban a fan from his live stream, establishing an incentive to avoid depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Encounter

PointCrow succeeds to get through several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles look painful. The YouTube edit of his quest doesn't make the audience endure the entire fights, which is a good thing when some of them last several long hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, takes an astonishing 23 straight. The final villain showdown, which depletes Link's hearts as it unfolds, is a notable tense moment. The indestructible stick is still only a stick. He is unable to necessarily duplicate items during the fight.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, he manages to overcome the beast form of the antagonist. But the software compels the player to wield the legendary weapon as the last strike, so strictly speaking, it's not quite fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But what fun is that?

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