Streaming Star Dedicates 37 Straight Attempting to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a One Branch

You might assume 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 playthrough. However, although many gamers have tried to finish the game with just a stick, streamer PointCrow holds the record as the individual who aimed to beat the game with a one branch—meaning, the very same one throughout.

The streamer is famous for these kinds of difficult playthroughs, such as the instance he went through the title solely with bombs or the effort where he tried to defeat the game with zero stamina. A single stick playthrough, however, sounds unfeasible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to wield the Master Sword. Then, there's the whole weapon wear mechanic, which is especially important when dealing with the most fragile tool in the whole game. But if the branch shatters, that's the end. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The straightforward answer is exploits. The full story, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's saving mechanism to have distinct game sessions that impact one another. So the creator does a “preparation” file where he progresses standardly, and the actual file, where he's limited. The preparatory save has him completing the intro and initial tutorial island, and this character acquires maximum stamina and hearts. From here, he triggers a cinematic and pauses partway through to tell the software to open an auto-save from the stick file. The game gets confused and generates a new game file that combines the states of the first two files.

This causes new problems, however. The fused save file has a Link that did not acquired the ability to access shrines. Luckily, this is something that the save glitch addresses easily, but executing it means relying on an unstable build of the game that refuses to open some areas. As with 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 midway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Other Hurdles

Interestingly, the prologue version of the hero is coded so that he cannot break any tools he uses, presumably to prevent a situation where the player gets stuck at the beginning of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow bypasses the durability problem, as the character he transfers between universes is the version from the beginning of the game. It's a clever technique, but not one that eliminates all potential friction. The stick is nonetheless a weak item that makes encounters tedious. But at that point, it's entirely a matter of determination and perseverance. It also aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an plentiful supply of consumables to boost his attack, or accumulate on revival fairies. He additionally employs a glitch that enables him to phase through the world. A few would consider these methods reason 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 entertain his viewer. He further implements a penalty of sorts stating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll remove one viewer from his live stream, establishing an incentive to not depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Showdown

PointCrow succeeds to defeat many of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the fights look grueling. The video version of his journey doesn't make the viewer sit through the whole conflicts, which is a blessing when some of them take multiple long hours. One boss fight, Queen Gibdo, takes an incredible twenty-three straight. The final villain battle, which depletes the hero's hearts as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The indestructible stick is after all just a stick. He can't always clone items midway the fight.

Did he succeed? Technically, PointCrow does overcome the beast form of Ganon. But the software compels the player to wield the Master Sword as the final strike, so strictly speaking, it's not completely a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, the streamer banned more than 1,000 people in his live stream. RIP.