Streaming Star Spends Thirty-Seven Straight Attempting to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Branch

You might assume that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of novel self-imposed challenges that impose unique restrictions on a playthrough. However, although numerous gamers have tried to finish Tears of the Kingdom with only a wooden stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the individual who endeavored to beat the adventure with a single branch—specifically, the exact same stick throughout.

The streamer is famous for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the time he went through the title solely with bombs or the attempt where he tried to beat the game with no stamina. A one-branch playthrough, however, seems impossible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which forces Link to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the entire durability system, which is especially relevant when dealing with the most fragile weapon in the entire world. But if the branch breaks, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The simple explanation is exploits. The full answer, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's save file system to have distinct game sessions that impact one another. So the creator does a “setup” file where he advances standardly, and the actual file, where he's restricted. The preparatory save has him going through the prologue and initial tutorial island, and this character acquires maximum stamina and hearts. From this point, he starts a cinematic and pauses midway through to instruct the game to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The game gets mixed up and creates a third save file that merges the conditions of the original two.

That creates fresh problems, however. The fused save file has a Link that never acquired the ability to enter shrines. Fortunately, this is an issue that the file exploit addresses readily, but executing it means depending on an unstable build of the title that refuses to load certain areas. As with other obstacles, he has a clever workaround for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the software partway through to make sure it begins working properly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory version of the hero is programmed so that he cannot break any tools he uses, likely to prevent a scenario where the user gets stuck at the beginning of the adventure. But that's also how the streamer gets around the wear issue, as the character he pulls across dimensions is the one from the start of the story. It's a clever technique, but not one that eliminates all possible difficulty. The stick is nonetheless a ineffective item that makes encounters tedious. But at that stage, it's all a question of grit and dedication. It further aids that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an plentiful supply of consumables to improve his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He also makes use of a bug that enables Link to phase through the environment. A few would consider these means grounds to question the validity of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a inventive gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his audience. He further implements a penalty of sorts stating that, for each spirit he uses, he'll ban one viewer from his Twitch chat, creating an incentive to avoid depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Last Encounter

The streamer manages to get through several of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the fights look painful. The YouTube version of his journey spares the viewer endure the whole conflicts, which is a good thing when some of them take multiple hours. A particular enemy encounter, a powerful foe, takes an incredible 23 hours. The final villain battle, which erases Link's health as it unfolds, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable stick is after all only a stick. He is unable to necessarily clone items during 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 player to wield the Master Sword as the final strike, so strictly speaking, it's not completely a branch-exclusive playthrough. But what fun is that?

In the end, PointCrow banned over 1,000 people in his Twitch chat. RIP.