Streaming Star Spends Thirty-Seven Straight Attempting to Beat <em>The Legend of Zelda: 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 self-imposed challenges that apply unique restrictions on a playthrough. Yet, while numerous players have tried to finish the game using only a wooden stick, content creator the streamer holds the record as the player who endeavored to clear the game with a one branch—specifically, the very same one from start to finish.

The streamer is famous for these kinds of difficult playthroughs, such as the time he played the title using only bombs or the effort where he aimed to defeat the story with no stamina. A one-branch playthrough, though, seems unfeasible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which forces the hero to wield the Master Sword. Then, there's the whole durability mechanic, which is especially relevant when dealing with the most fragile tool in the entire world. Yet if the stick breaks, that's it. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The simple explanation is exploits. The complete answer, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can tweak the game's save file system to have separate game sessions that impact one another. So PointCrow does a “preparation” file where he advances normally, and the actual save, where he's limited. The preparatory save has him going through the intro and initial tutorial island, and this character gains full stamina and health. From this point, he triggers a cinematic and halts partway through to instruct the game to load an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets mixed up and creates a new game file that combines the states of the first two files.

That creates new problems, though. The merged save file has a Link that never acquired the ability to enter shrines. Luckily, this is something that the save glitch fixes easily, but pulling it off means relying on an buggy build of the title that refuses to load some areas. Like everything else, he has a technical workaround for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its early version 1.0, and then patches the software partway through to make sure it starts functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Other Hurdles

Curiously, the introductory form of Link is coded so that he cannot break any weapons he uses, presumably to prevent a situation where the user gets trapped at the beginning of the game. But that's also how the streamer bypasses the wear problem, as the Link he pulls between universes is the version from the beginning of the game. It's a clever trick, but not a method that eradicates all possible friction. The branch is still a ineffective weapon that renders encounters onerous. But at that point, it's all a question of determination and dedication. It also helps that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an abundant supply of consumables to boost his strength, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally employs a glitch that allows him to clip through the environment. Some would find these means reason to question the validity of the run, but in my mind, he's a resourceful player who is ready to do anything necessary to engage his viewer. He further implements a safeguard of kinds stipulating that, for every spirit he uses, he'll remove a fan from his live stream, creating an motivation to avoid overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Encounter

The streamer manages to get through several of the game's main enemies, but the battles appear grueling. The video edit of his quest spares the audience sit through the whole fights, which is a blessing when some of them take several long hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, takes an incredible twenty-three straight. The Ganondorf battle, which depletes Link's health as it unfolds, is a memorable nail-biter. The indestructible branch is still only a piece of wood. He is unable to necessarily duplicate items midway the fight.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow manages to defeat the dragon version of the antagonist. But the game forces the user to use the legendary weapon as the last strike, so technically, it's not quite completely a stick-only run. But what fun is that?

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