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

You might assume that two years post-launch since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have exhausted novel challenge runs that impose special rules on a gameplay session. However, while numerous gamers have attempted to finish the game with only a stick, content creator the streamer stands out as the player who aimed to beat the game with a single stick—specifically, the very same one throughout.

The streamer is famous for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the time he played the game using only explosives or the attempt where he aimed to defeat the story with no stamina. A one-branch run, however, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which forces the hero to use the Master Sword. Then, there's the entire weapon wear system, which is especially relevant when dealing with the most fragile tool in the entire game. But if the branch breaks, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

So, how? The simple answer is exploits. The full answer, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So the creator creates a “setup” file where he progresses standardly, and the actual save, where he's restricted. The preparatory save has him completing the intro and first tutorial island, and this character gains full stamina and hearts. From this point, he starts a cutscene and pauses midway through to tell the software to load an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets confused and creates a new game file that merges the states of the first two files.

That causes fresh problems, though. The fused save file has a protagonist that did not obtain the ability to access sacred places. Luckily, this is something that the file exploit addresses easily, but pulling it off means depending on an unstable build of the game that fails to load some areas. As with everything else, he has a clever workaround for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its early version 1.0, and then patches the software midway through to ensure it begins functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the prologue form of Link is programmed so that he cannot damage any tools he wields, presumably to avoid a scenario where the player gets trapped at the start of the adventure. But that's additionally how PointCrow gets around the durability issue, as the Link he pulls between universes is the one from the beginning of the story. It's a clever trick, but not a method that eliminates all possible friction. The stick is nonetheless a ineffective item that renders encounters onerous. But at that stage, it's entirely a matter of determination and dedication. It also aids that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an plentiful number of consumables to boost his attack, or accumulate on healing spirits. He also makes use of a glitch that allows Link to phase through the world. Some would find these methods grounds to discredit the legitimacy of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a resourceful player who is willing to do whatever it takes to entertain his viewer. He also implements a safeguard of sorts stipulating that, for each spirit he employs, he'll ban a fan from his Twitch chat, establishing an incentive to avoid depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Showdown

PointCrow succeeds to get through many of the game's bosses, but the fights appear grueling. The YouTube version of his journey spares the audience endure the entire fights, which is a good thing when some of them take several hours. One enemy encounter, a powerful foe, requires an incredible 23 hours. The final villain showdown, which depletes the hero's hearts as it progresses, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible branch is still only a stick. He is unable to always clone objects during the fight.

So, is it possible? Technically, he manages to defeat the dragon version of the antagonist. But the software compels the player to wield the legendary weapon as the final attack, so technically, it's not quite fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer removed more than 1,000 people in his live stream. Rest in peace.