Streaming Personality Dedicates 37 Hours Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a Single Branch

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have exhausted creative self-imposed challenges that impose special rules on a gameplay session. Yet, although numerous players have attempted to complete the game using just a wooden stick, streamer PointCrow stands out as the player who endeavored to clear the game with a one branch—specifically, the exact same one throughout.

PointCrow is renowned for such difficult playthroughs, like the instance he went through the title using only explosives or the effort where he tried to beat the story with zero stamina. A one-branch run, however, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which forces the hero to use the legendary blade. Then, there's the entire durability system, which is particularly important when working with the most fragile weapon in the whole world. Yet if the stick shatters, that's the end. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The simple answer is exploits. The complete story, believe it or not, is parallel universes. It turns out, you can manipulate the game's save file system to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “setup” file where he progresses standardly, and the real file, where he's limited. The preparatory file has him completing the intro and first tutorial island, and this character acquires maximum stamina and hearts. From this point, he starts a cinematic and pauses partway through to tell the software to load an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets mixed up and generates a third save file that combines the states of the original two.

This creates fresh problems, though. The merged file has a protagonist that did not acquired the capability to access shrines. Luckily, this is an issue that the file exploit addresses easily, but executing it means relying on an unstable build of the title that refuses to open certain locations. Like other obstacles, he has a clever workaround for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its early 1.0 build, and then patches the software midway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Other Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory version of Link is programmed so that he is unable to damage any tools he wields, presumably to avoid a scenario where the user gets stuck at the beginning of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the wear problem, as the character he pulls across dimensions is the one from the beginning of the story. It's a smart technique, but not one that eliminates all potential difficulty. The branch is nonetheless a weak item that renders battles onerous. But at that point, it's entirely a matter of determination and perseverance. It also aids that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an plentiful supply of consumables to improve his attack, or accumulate on healing spirits. He also employs a bug that allows him to clip through the world. Some would consider these methods grounds to question the validity of the attempt, but to my view, he's a inventive gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. He further uses a safeguard of sorts stating that, for each spirit he uses, he'll remove a fan from his live stream, creating an motivation to avoid overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Last Encounter

The streamer succeeds to defeat many of the game's bosses, but the fights look grueling. The YouTube edit of his quest doesn't make the audience endure the entire fights, which is a blessing when a few of them take several long hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an incredible twenty-three straight. The Ganondorf showdown, which erases the hero's hearts as it unfolds, is a memorable nail-biter. The indestructible branch is after all just a stick. He is unable to always duplicate objects midway the fight.

So, is it possible? Technically, he manages to overcome the beast form of the antagonist. But the software compels the user to use the Master Sword as the final strike, so strictly speaking, it's not quite completely a stick-only run. But what fun is that?

In the end, the streamer banned over 1,000 people in his Twitch chat. RIP.