Streaming Star Dedicates Thirty-Seven Hours Trying to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Stick

One could think that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have exhausted creative challenge runs that apply special rules on a gameplay session. However, although many gamers have attempted to finish Tears of the Kingdom with just a wooden stick, content creator the streamer holds the record as the individual who endeavored to beat the game with a single branch—specifically, the very same stick throughout.

The streamer is renowned for these kinds of challenge runs, like the time he went through the title using only explosives or the attempt where he aimed to beat the game with no stamina. A one-branch playthrough, however, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires the hero to use the Master Sword. Then, there's the entire weapon wear mechanic, which is especially relevant when dealing with the weakest tool in the whole world. Yet if the branch breaks, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is glitches. The complete answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak the game's save file system to have distinct game sessions that impact one another. So the creator creates a “preparation” save where he progresses standardly, and the actual save, where he's restricted. The preparatory save has him going through the prologue and first starting area, and this character gains maximum stamina and health. From this point, he triggers a cutscene and halts partway through to instruct the game to load an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets mixed up and generates a third save file that combines the states of the original two.

That creates new issues, however. The fused save file has a Link that never acquired the capability to enter shrines. Fortunately, this is an issue that the file exploit addresses easily, but executing it means relying on an unstable build of the title that fails to open some locations. Like everything else, he has a technical workaround for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its pre-release 1.0 build, and then updates the software partway through to make sure it starts functioning correctly.

Bypassing Durability and Other Challenges

Curiously, the introductory form of Link is coded so that he cannot damage any tools he wields, presumably to prevent a scenario where the user gets trapped at the start of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the wear issue, as the character he transfers between dimensions is the version from the beginning of the story. It's a smart trick, but not one that eradicates all possible difficulty. The branch is nonetheless a weak item that makes encounters tedious. But at that point, it's entirely a question of grit and dedication. It also aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an abundant number of consumables to improve his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He also employs a bug that enables him to phase through the environment. Some would find these methods grounds to discredit the legitimacy of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to entertain his viewer. He also implements a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for each fairy he uses, he'll remove one viewer from his Twitch chat, establishing an incentive to not overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Showdown

The streamer manages to get through many of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the fights appear grueling. The YouTube version of his journey spares the audience endure the whole fights, which is a blessing when some of them take multiple long hours. One enemy encounter, Queen Gibdo, requires an incredible 23 hours. The Ganondorf battle, which erases the hero's hearts as it unfolds, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible stick is still only a stick. He is unable to always clone objects during the fight.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow does defeat the dragon version of Ganon. But the software forces the user to wield the legendary weapon as the final attack, so technically, it's not completely a stick-only run. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, the streamer removed more than 1,000 users in his live stream. Rest in peace.