Streaming Star Spends 37 Hours Attempting to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a Single Stick

One could think that two years post-launch since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, fans would have exhausted creative challenge runs that apply unique restrictions on a playthrough. Yet, while numerous players have tried to finish the game with just a wooden stick, streamer the streamer holds the record as the player who aimed to beat the adventure with a one branch—meaning, the very same one throughout.

The streamer is renowned for these kinds of difficult playthroughs, like the time he played the game using only bombs or the effort where he tried to defeat the game with no energy. A one-branch playthrough, though, sounds unfeasible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which requires the hero to wield the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole weapon wear system, which is particularly relevant when dealing with the weakest tool in the whole world. But if the stick breaks, that's it. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The simple explanation is glitches. The complete story, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's save file system to have distinct game sessions that affect one another. So PointCrow creates a “setup” file where he advances normally, and the real save, where he's restricted. The setup save has him completing the prologue and initial starting area, and this Link acquires maximum endurance and health. From this point, he triggers a cutscene and pauses midway through to tell the software to load an automatic save from the stick file. The game gets mixed up and generates a third game file that combines the conditions of the original two.

That causes fresh issues, though. The merged file has a protagonist that never acquired the capability to enter sacred places. Luckily, this is an issue that the file exploit fixes readily, but executing it means relying on an unstable version of the title that fails to open certain locations. Like everything else, he has a clever workaround for it: He starts the game on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the software partway through to ensure it begins functioning correctly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Other Hurdles

Curiously, the introductory form of the hero is coded so that he cannot break any tools he wields, likely to avoid a scenario where the player gets stuck at the beginning of the game. But that's also how the streamer gets around the durability issue, as the character he transfers across dimensions is the one from the beginning of the game. It's a clever trick, but not one that eliminates all potential friction. The stick is still a weak weapon that renders encounters onerous. But at that stage, it's entirely a question of grit and dedication. It also aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an plentiful supply of items to improve his attack, or stock up on revival fairies. He also employs a bug that allows Link to clip through the environment. A few would consider these methods reason to question the legitimacy of the run, but in my mind, he's a resourceful gamer who is ready to do whatever it takes to entertain his viewer. He further uses a safeguard of sorts stipulating that, for each fairy he uses, he'll remove a fan from his Twitch chat, establishing an incentive to avoid overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Showdown

The streamer succeeds to defeat many of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles look grueling. The YouTube edit of his journey spares the viewer sit through the whole conflicts, which is a blessing when a few of them take several long hours. A particular enemy encounter, a powerful foe, requires an incredible 23 hours. The final villain showdown, which erases the hero's hearts as it unfolds, is a notable nail-biter. The indestructible stick is still only a stick. He is unable to necessarily duplicate objects midway the fight.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow does overcome the dragon version of Ganon. But the software compels the player to wield the Master Sword as the last attack, so strictly speaking, it's not quite fully a stick-only run. But what fun is that?

When everything is said and done, PointCrow banned over 1,000 users in his live stream. Rest in peace.