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

You might assume that two years post-launch since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, fans would have exhausted creative self-imposed challenges that apply unique rules on a playthrough. However, while numerous players have attempted to finish the game using just a stick, content creator the streamer stands out as the individual who aimed to clear the adventure with a single branch—meaning, the very same stick from start to finish.

PointCrow is famous for these kinds of challenge runs, like the instance he went through the game using only bombs or the attempt where he tried to defeat the game with zero energy. A single stick playthrough, however, seems impossible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which forces Link to wield the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the entire durability mechanic, which is especially relevant when dealing with the most fragile tool in the whole game. But if the stick breaks, that's the end. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The simple explanation is exploits. The complete story, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's save file system to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So the creator creates a “setup” file where he progresses normally, and the real save, where he's restricted. The setup file has him going through the prologue and initial tutorial island, and this Link gains maximum endurance and health. From here, he starts a cinematic and pauses midway through to instruct the software to load an auto-save from the branch-only file. The system gets confused and creates a new save file that merges the conditions of the first two files.

This causes fresh issues, though. The merged file has a Link that never obtain the capability to enter sacred places. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit addresses easily, but executing it means depending on an unstable version of the title that refuses to load certain locations. As with other obstacles, he has a technical workaround for it: He begins the game on its pre-release 1.0 build, and then patches the game partway through to make sure it begins functioning correctly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Other Hurdles

Curiously, the introductory version of the hero is programmed so that he cannot break any tools he uses, likely to prevent a scenario where the user gets trapped at the beginning of the game. But that's also how the streamer bypasses the durability problem, as the Link he pulls across dimensions is the one from the start of the story. It's a clever trick, but not a method that eliminates all possible difficulty. The branch is nonetheless a ineffective weapon that renders battles onerous. But at that stage, it's entirely a matter of determination and dedication. It further aids that there's a copying exploit that gives him an abundant number of items to improve his attack, or stock up on revival fairies. He additionally makes use of a glitch that enables him to phase through the environment. A few would consider these means reason to discredit the validity of the run, but in my mind, he's a resourceful player who is ready to do whatever it takes to engage his audience. He also uses a safeguard of kinds stating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll ban a fan from his live stream, creating an motivation to not overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Showdown

PointCrow succeeds to defeat several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles appear painful. The video edit of his journey doesn't make the audience sit through the entire conflicts, which is a good thing when some of them take multiple hours. One enemy encounter, Queen Gibdo, requires an astonishing 23 straight. The final villain showdown, which depletes Link's health as it progresses, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible branch is after all just a stick. He can't always clone items midway the fight.

So, is it possible? Technically, PointCrow does defeat the beast form of the antagonist. But the game compels the user to use the legendary weapon as the last strike, so strictly speaking, it's not completely a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer banned over a thousand users in his Twitch chat. Rest in peace.