Streaming Star Dedicates 37 Straight Attempting to Beat <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Stick

One could think that two years post-launch since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have run out of novel self-imposed challenges that apply unique restrictions on a gameplay session. However, while many gamers have attempted to finish the game with only a stick, content creator PointCrow stands out as the player who endeavored to beat the adventure with a one branch—meaning, the exact same one throughout.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of difficult playthroughs, like the instance he went through the game solely with bombs or the effort where he tried to defeat the story with zero energy. A one-branch playthrough, though, sounds unfeasible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to wield the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the entire durability system, which is especially important when working with the most fragile weapon in the entire world. Yet if the branch shatters, that's the end. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The simple answer is exploits. The full answer, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak the game's save file system to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So the creator does a “setup” save where he progresses standardly, and the real file, where he's restricted. The preparatory file has him completing the prologue and first starting area, and this Link acquires full endurance and health. From this point, he triggers a cinematic and halts partway through to instruct the game to load an auto-save from the stick file. The game gets mixed up and creates a new save file that combines the states of the original two.

That causes new problems, however. The merged file has a Link that did not acquired the ability to access sacred places. Luckily, this is something that the file exploit fixes readily, but executing it means relying on an buggy build of the game that fails to open certain locations. As with other obstacles, he has a technical workaround for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its early version 1.0, and then updates the software partway through to make sure it starts functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Challenges

Curiously, the introductory version of Link is programmed so that he is unable to break any tools he uses, presumably to prevent a situation where the user gets trapped at the start of the game. But that's also how the streamer gets around the wear issue, as the character he pulls between dimensions is the one from the start of the game. It's a clever technique, but not one that eradicates all possible difficulty. The stick is still a weak item that makes encounters onerous. But at that stage, it's entirely a question of grit and perseverance. It further aids that there's a copying exploit that gives him an abundant supply of items to improve his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally employs a bug that enables Link to clip through the world. A few would find these means grounds to question the validity of the attempt, but to my view, he's a inventive player who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his audience. He also uses a safeguard of sorts stipulating that, for each fairy he employs, he'll ban one fan from his live stream, establishing an motivation to not overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Final Showdown

The streamer succeeds to get through several of the game's bosses, but the fights appear grueling. The video edit of his quest doesn't make the audience endure the whole conflicts, which is a blessing when some of them last multiple long hours. One boss fight, Queen Gibdo, takes an incredible twenty-three straight. The final villain showdown, which erases the hero's hearts as it unfolds, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible branch is after all just a stick. He can't necessarily clone items during the battle.

Did he succeed? Technically, he manages to overcome the beast form of the antagonist. But the software compels the user to use the Master Sword as the last attack, so technically, it's not completely a branch-exclusive run. But what fun is that?

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