Streaming Star Spends 37 Straight Trying to Beat <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Stick

You might assume that two years post-launch since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have run out of creative challenge runs that apply special rules on a gameplay session. Yet, while numerous players have attempted to complete Tears of the Kingdom using only a wooden stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the player who endeavored to beat the game with a one branch—specifically, the very same one from start to finish.

The streamer is famous for such difficult playthroughs, like the instance he played the game using only explosives or the effort where he aimed to beat the story with no stamina. A single stick run, however, seems unfeasible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which requires the hero to wield the legendary blade. Then, there's the whole weapon wear system, which is particularly relevant when dealing with the weakest tool in the entire world. But if the branch breaks, that's the end. It's over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The simple explanation is exploits. The full answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's saving mechanism to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So the creator does a “setup” file where he advances normally, and the real save, where he's limited. The setup save has him completing the prologue and first starting area, and this Link acquires maximum endurance and health. From this point, he triggers a cutscene and pauses midway through to instruct the game to load an auto-save from the stick file. The system gets confused and creates a new game file that combines the states of the first two files.

This causes new problems, however. The fused save file has a Link that did not acquired the ability to enter sacred places. Fortunately, this is an issue that the save glitch addresses readily, but pulling it off means depending on an unstable build of the game that refuses to load certain areas. Like everything else, he has a technical solution for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its early version 1.0, and then patches the game midway through to make sure it begins functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Other Hurdles

Interestingly, the prologue form of Link is coded so that he is unable to damage any weapons he uses, presumably to prevent a situation where the user gets stuck at the beginning of the game. But that's additionally how the streamer bypasses the durability issue, as the Link he transfers across universes is the version from the beginning of the game. It's a clever trick, but not one that eliminates all potential difficulty. The stick is nonetheless a weak item that renders encounters tedious. But at that stage, it's all a question of determination and dedication. It also helps that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an plentiful supply of items to boost his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally employs a glitch that enables Link to phase through the world. Some would consider these methods grounds to question the validity of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his viewer. He also uses a safeguard of kinds stating that, for each fairy he employs, he'll ban one viewer from his live stream, creating an incentive to avoid overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Showdown

PointCrow manages to defeat many of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the fights look grueling. The video version of his quest doesn't make the audience sit through the entire conflicts, which is a blessing when some of them last several long hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an astonishing 23 hours. The final villain battle, which depletes the hero's hearts as it progresses, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible branch is still just a piece of wood. He can't always duplicate items during the battle.

So, is it possible? Technically, he does overcome the dragon version of the antagonist. But the game compels the player to wield the Master Sword as the final strike, so technically, it's not completely a branch-exclusive run. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, PointCrow removed over a thousand people in his Twitch chat. Rest in peace.