Streaming Star Dedicates 37 Hours Trying to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a One Branch

You might assume that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have exhausted creative challenge runs that impose special rules on a playthrough. However, while many gamers have tried to complete the game using only a wooden stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the individual who endeavored to clear the adventure with a single branch—specifically, the very same stick throughout.

The streamer is renowned for such difficult playthroughs, such as the time he played the game solely with bombs or the attempt where he tried to beat the game with zero stamina. A one-branch playthrough, however, seems impossible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which forces the hero to use the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the entire durability mechanic, which is particularly relevant when dealing with the most fragile weapon in the entire game. Yet if the branch breaks, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

So, how? The straightforward answer is exploits. The complete story, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have distinct game sessions that impact one another. So the creator creates a “setup” save where he progresses standardly, and the actual file, where he's limited. The setup file has him completing the prologue and first starting area, and this Link acquires maximum stamina and health. From this point, he starts a cinematic and pauses midway through to instruct the software to open an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets mixed up and creates a new game file that combines the conditions of the original two.

This causes new problems, though. The merged file has a protagonist that did not acquired the capability to access shrines. Luckily, this is something that the save glitch fixes easily, but pulling it off means relying on an unstable version of the title that fails to open certain locations. As with other obstacles, he has a technical solution for it: He starts the game on its pre-release version 1.0, and then updates the software midway through to ensure it begins functioning correctly.

Bypassing Durability and Other Hurdles

Curiously, the introductory version of the hero is coded so that he is unable to break any tools he uses, likely to prevent a situation where the user gets trapped at the beginning of the adventure. But that's additionally how PointCrow gets around the wear problem, as the character he transfers between universes is the one from the start of the story. It's a clever trick, but not a method that eradicates all possible friction. The stick is still a weak weapon that makes battles onerous. But at that stage, it's all a matter of determination and perseverance. It also helps that there's a copying exploit that gives him an plentiful number of items to boost his attack, or accumulate on revival fairies. He also employs a bug that enables Link to phase through the world. A few would find these means reason to question the validity of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a inventive gamer who is willing to do anything necessary to entertain his audience. He also implements a safeguard of kinds stipulating that, for each fairy he uses, he'll remove one viewer from his Twitch chat, creating an incentive to avoid overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Final Showdown

PointCrow manages to get through several of the game's bosses, but the fights appear grueling. The YouTube version of his journey doesn't make the viewer endure the entire fights, which is a good thing when some of them last several long hours. A particular enemy encounter, a powerful foe, requires an incredible twenty-three hours. The Ganondorf showdown, which depletes Link's health as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable stick is still just a stick. He is unable to necessarily clone objects midway the fight.

So, is it possible? Technically, PointCrow does overcome the dragon version of Ganon. But the game forces the user to use the Master Sword as the last strike, so technically, it's not quite fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, the streamer banned over a thousand people in his Twitch chat. Rest in peace.