Twitch Personality Dedicates 37 Straight Trying to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Branch

One could think that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of creative challenge runs that impose special restrictions on a gameplay session. However, while numerous gamers have attempted to finish Tears of the Kingdom using only a stick, streamer PointCrow stands out as the player who endeavored to beat the game with a one branch—meaning, the exact same stick throughout.

The streamer is famous for such challenge runs, like the time he went through the title using only explosives or the effort where he aimed to beat the story with no stamina. A one-branch run, however, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which forces Link to wield the legendary blade. Then, there's the entire weapon wear mechanic, which is especially relevant when dealing with the weakest weapon in the entire game. Yet if the stick breaks, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The straightforward answer is glitches. The full answer, believe it or not, is parallel universes. It turns out, you can manipulate the game's save file system to have distinct game sessions that affect one another. So PointCrow creates a “setup” save where he progresses normally, and the actual file, where he's restricted. The preparatory file has him completing the prologue and initial starting area, and this Link gains maximum endurance and health. From here, he starts a cutscene and pauses partway through to instruct the software to open an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets confused and generates a third save file that combines the conditions of the first two files.

This creates new issues, though. The fused file has a protagonist that never obtain the capability to enter sacred places. Luckily, this is something that the file exploit fixes easily, but executing it means relying on an unstable build of the title that refuses to open certain areas. As with everything else, he has a clever workaround for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its pre-release 1.0 build, and then updates the game partway through to make sure it begins working properly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Additional Hurdles

Curiously, the prologue version of the hero is coded so that he cannot damage any weapons he wields, presumably to prevent a scenario where the user gets trapped at the beginning of the game. But that's also how PointCrow bypasses the wear issue, as the character he pulls between universes is the one from the start of the story. It's a clever trick, but not one that eliminates all possible difficulty. The stick is still a ineffective weapon that renders battles onerous. But at that stage, it's entirely a question of grit and dedication. It further helps that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an abundant number of items to boost his strength, or stock up on revival fairies. He also employs a glitch that allows Link to clip through the environment. Some would consider these means grounds to discredit the legitimacy of the run, but to my view, he's a inventive player who is ready to do whatever it takes to entertain his viewer. He further implements a safeguard of kinds stipulating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll remove one fan from his Twitch chat, establishing an incentive to avoid overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Final Encounter

PointCrow manages to defeat many of the game's main enemies, but the battles appear grueling. The YouTube edit of his quest doesn't make the viewer endure the entire fights, which is a good thing when some of them take several hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, takes an incredible 23 straight. The final villain showdown, which erases the hero's hearts as it unfolds, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable stick is after all just a stick. He is unable to always clone items during the fight.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow manages to defeat the beast form of Ganon. But the game compels the user to use the legendary weapon as the final strike, so strictly speaking, it's not fully a stick-only playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, PointCrow banned more than a thousand users in his Twitch chat. Rest in peace.