Streaming Personality Spends Thirty-Seven Hours Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Branch

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, fans would have run out of creative self-imposed challenges that apply unique restrictions on a playthrough. However, although numerous players have attempted to finish Tears of the Kingdom using only a stick, content creator the streamer stands out as the player who endeavored to clear the adventure with a one branch—meaning, the exact same one from start to finish.

The streamer is famous for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the time he went through the game using only bombs or the attempt where he tried to defeat the game with zero energy. A single stick playthrough, though, sounds impossible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which requires the hero to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the entire durability mechanic, which is particularly relevant when dealing with the most fragile tool in the entire game. Yet if the stick shatters, that's the end. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The full story, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have distinct game sessions that affect one another. So the creator does a “setup” save where he advances normally, and the actual save, where he's limited. The preparatory file has him completing the prologue and first tutorial island, and this character acquires full stamina and hearts. From this point, he starts a cinematic and halts partway through to instruct the software to load an automatic save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and generates a third game file that combines the conditions of the original two.

That causes fresh issues, however. The fused file has a Link that never obtain the capability to access sacred places. Fortunately, this is an issue that the file exploit addresses easily, but executing it means depending on an unstable version of the game that refuses to load certain locations. Like everything else, he has a clever workaround for it: He starts the game on its early version 1.0, and then patches the software midway through to ensure it starts functioning correctly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Additional Challenges

Curiously, the introductory form of the hero is coded so that he cannot break any tools he wields, presumably to prevent a situation where the user gets trapped at the start of the adventure. But that's also how the streamer bypasses the wear problem, as the Link he pulls between universes is the one from the start of the game. It's a smart trick, but not a method that eliminates all possible friction. The branch is still a weak weapon that renders battles onerous. But at that stage, it's all a question of determination and dedication. It also aids that there's a copying exploit that gives him an abundant supply of items to boost his strength, or accumulate on healing spirits. He also employs a bug that allows him to phase through the world. Some would find these methods grounds to discredit the validity of the run, but in my mind, he's a inventive gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his audience. He further uses a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for every fairy he employs, he'll remove a fan from his live stream, creating an incentive to not overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Showdown

PointCrow succeeds to defeat many of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the fights look painful. The video edit of his quest spares the viewer sit through the whole conflicts, which is a blessing when some of them take multiple hours. A particular enemy encounter, a powerful foe, takes an astonishing twenty-three hours. The Ganondorf showdown, which depletes Link's hearts as it progresses, is a memorable nail-biter. The unbreakable stick is still only a piece of wood. He can't always clone items during the fight.

Did he succeed? Technically, PointCrow manages to overcome the dragon version of Ganon. But the game compels the user to wield the Master Sword as the last strike, so strictly speaking, it's not completely a stick-only run. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer removed over a thousand users in his Twitch chat. RIP.