Streaming Star Spends Thirty-Seven Straight Trying to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a Single Branch

One could think that two years post-launch since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have run out of novel self-imposed challenges that impose unique rules on a playthrough. However, although many players have tried to finish the game using just a wooden stick, content creator the streamer stands out as the individual who endeavored to beat the game with a single branch—specifically, the very same stick from start to finish.

PointCrow is renowned for such difficult playthroughs, such as the time he went through the title solely with explosives or the effort where he tried to defeat the story with no stamina. A one-branch run, though, seems unfeasible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which requires the hero to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole durability system, which is especially relevant when dealing with the weakest tool in the entire game. But if the stick shatters, that's the end. It's over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The simple answer is glitches. The complete answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can tweak the game's save file system to have distinct playthroughs that affect one another. So the creator creates a “setup” save where he progresses standardly, and the real file, where he's limited. The setup save has him going through the intro and initial tutorial island, and this Link gains full stamina and hearts. From here, he starts a cutscene and pauses partway through to instruct the software to open an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and creates a new game file that merges the conditions of the original two.

That creates fresh issues, though. The merged save file has a Link that never acquired the capability to access shrines. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit fixes easily, but executing it means depending on an buggy build of the title that fails to load some areas. As with other obstacles, he has a technical solution for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the game partway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Additional Challenges

Curiously, the introductory version of Link is coded so that he cannot damage any weapons he uses, likely to prevent a scenario where the player gets trapped at the beginning of the adventure. But that's additionally how PointCrow bypasses the wear problem, as the Link he pulls across universes is the version from the start of the game. It's a smart technique, but not a method that eradicates all potential difficulty. The branch is still a weak weapon that makes battles onerous. But at that point, it's entirely a question of grit and dedication. It also helps that there's a copying exploit that gives him an plentiful supply of consumables to boost his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally makes use of a glitch that enables him to clip through the world. A few would find these means grounds to discredit the validity of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a inventive player who is ready to do anything necessary to engage his audience. He also implements a penalty of kinds stipulating that, for each spirit he uses, he'll ban a viewer from his live stream, creating an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Encounter

The streamer manages to defeat many of the game's main enemies, but the fights appear grueling. The video version of his journey doesn't make the viewer sit through the entire fights, which is a blessing when a few of them last multiple long hours. One enemy encounter, a powerful foe, requires an astonishing twenty-three straight. The final villain battle, which erases Link's hearts as it progresses, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible branch is after all only a stick. He is unable to always duplicate items midway the battle.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow does overcome the beast form of Ganon. But the software compels the user to wield the legendary weapon as the final attack, so technically, it's not quite fully a stick-only run. But what fun is that?

In the end, the streamer banned more than a thousand users in his live stream. RIP.