Streaming Personality Dedicates Thirty-Seven Hours Attempting to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a Single Stick

One could think that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have run out of novel challenge runs that apply special rules on a gameplay session. Yet, while numerous players have tried to finish the game using just a stick, content creator PointCrow stands out as the player who aimed to beat the adventure with a single branch—meaning, the very same one throughout.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the time he played the title using only bombs or the effort where he tried to beat the game with no energy. A single stick playthrough, though, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which requires the hero to use the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the entire durability system, which is especially relevant when dealing with the weakest tool in the entire world. Yet if the stick shatters, that's the end. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The simple answer is glitches. The complete answer, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can manipulate Tears of the Kingdom's saving mechanism to have separate playthroughs that affect one another. So the creator does a “setup” file where he progresses normally, and the real file, where he's restricted. The setup file has him going through the intro and initial starting area, and this character acquires maximum stamina and hearts. From here, he triggers a cinematic and pauses partway through to tell the software to load an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets mixed up and creates a new save file that merges the conditions of the original two.

This creates new problems, though. The merged save file has a Link that never obtain the ability to access sacred places. Fortunately, this is an issue that the file exploit addresses readily, but executing it means relying on an unstable build of the game that refuses to open some locations. As with everything else, he has a clever solution for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its early 1.0 build, and then patches the software partway through to make sure it starts functioning correctly.

Bypassing Durability and Additional Challenges

Curiously, the introductory version of the hero is programmed so that he is unable to damage any tools he wields, likely to prevent a scenario where the player gets trapped at the beginning of the game. But that's also how PointCrow bypasses the wear issue, as the Link he transfers across dimensions is the one from the start of the game. It's a clever trick, but not one that eradicates all possible friction. The stick is nonetheless a ineffective weapon that makes battles tedious. But at that stage, it's all a question of determination and perseverance. It further helps that there's a copying exploit that gives him an plentiful number of consumables to improve his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally makes use of a glitch that allows Link to phase through the world. Some would consider these means grounds to discredit the validity of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to entertain his viewer. He further implements a penalty of kinds stating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll remove one fan from his Twitch chat, creating an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Showdown

The streamer manages to get through several of the game's main enemies, but the fights look painful. The YouTube edit of his journey doesn't make the audience sit through the whole fights, which is a blessing when some of them last multiple long hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, takes an incredible 23 straight. The final villain battle, which depletes the hero's health as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable stick is still only a stick. He is unable to necessarily duplicate objects midway the fight.

So, is it possible? Technically, PointCrow manages to overcome the dragon version of Ganon. But the game compels the user to use the Master Sword as the final attack, so strictly speaking, it's not completely a branch-exclusive run. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, PointCrow removed over 1,000 users in his Twitch chat. Rest in peace.