Twitch Star Dedicates Thirty-Seven Straight Attempting to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a One Branch

You might assume that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have exhausted creative self-imposed challenges that apply unique restrictions on a playthrough. Yet, while many players have attempted to finish Tears of the Kingdom using just a wooden stick, content creator the streamer holds the record as the player who aimed to clear the game with a one branch—specifically, the very same stick throughout.

The streamer is famous for these kinds of difficult playthroughs, like the time he went through the game solely with bombs or the effort where he tried to beat the game with no energy. A one-branch run, however, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole durability system, which is particularly relevant when working with the most fragile tool in the whole world. Yet if the branch shatters, that's it. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The simple explanation is exploits. The complete answer, believe it or not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's saving mechanism to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So the creator does a “preparation” save where he advances normally, and the real file, where he's restricted. The preparatory file has him going through the prologue and initial starting area, and this Link gains full stamina and health. From here, he starts a cinematic and halts midway through to tell the software to open an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets confused and generates a third save file that combines the states of the original two.

That causes new issues, however. The merged file has a Link that did not acquired the capability to enter sacred places. Luckily, this is something that the file exploit addresses readily, but pulling it off means depending on an unstable build of the game that fails to open some areas. Like other obstacles, he has a clever solution for it: He starts the game on its early version 1.0, and then patches the game partway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Other Challenges

Curiously, the introductory form of the hero is programmed so that he is unable to damage any tools he wields, likely to prevent a situation where the player gets trapped at the beginning of the game. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the wear issue, as the Link he transfers between universes is the one from the beginning of the game. It's a smart technique, but not one that eliminates all possible friction. The stick is nonetheless a weak item that renders encounters tedious. But at that point, it's all a question of grit and dedication. It also aids that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an plentiful number of items to boost his strength, or accumulate on healing spirits. He additionally makes use of a glitch that enables Link to phase through the world. Some would find these means reason to question the validity of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do anything necessary to entertain his audience. He further uses a safeguard of kinds stating that, for each fairy he employs, he'll remove a viewer from his live stream, establishing an motivation to avoid overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Encounter

PointCrow manages to get through several of the game's main enemies, but the fights look painful. The video edit of his journey spares the viewer sit through the whole conflicts, which is a blessing when some of them last multiple hours. A particular enemy encounter, a powerful foe, takes an incredible 23 straight. The Ganondorf showdown, which erases Link's hearts as it progresses, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible branch is still just a stick. He is unable to always clone objects midway the fight.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, he does defeat the dragon version of Ganon. But the software forces the player to use the Master Sword as the last attack, so strictly speaking, it's not fully a stick-only playthrough. But what fun is that?

In the end, the streamer banned over 1,000 people in his live stream. RIP.