Streaming Star Spends Thirty-Seven Hours Trying to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single 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 challenge runs that impose special restrictions on a gameplay session. However, although numerous players have tried to complete Tears of the Kingdom with just a stick, content creator PointCrow stands out as the player who aimed to beat the game with a single branch—meaning, the very same one throughout.

The streamer is famous for these kinds of difficult playthroughs, such as the time he played the game solely with explosives or the effort where he aimed to beat the game with zero stamina. A one-branch playthrough, though, sounds unfeasible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which forces Link to wield the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole durability mechanic, which is especially relevant when working with the weakest weapon in the entire world. But if the stick shatters, that's it. Game over.

So, How?

So, how? The simple explanation is glitches. The full answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can manipulate Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have distinct game sessions that affect one another. So PointCrow creates a “preparation” file where he advances normally, and the real save, where he's limited. The setup file has him going through the intro and first tutorial island, and this Link acquires full stamina and hearts. From here, he starts a cinematic and pauses midway through to instruct the software to open an auto-save from the branch-only file. The system gets confused and generates a third game file that merges the conditions of the original two.

That causes new problems, however. The fused save file has a protagonist that did not obtain the capability to enter shrines. Luckily, this is something that the file exploit addresses readily, but executing it means depending on an unstable build of the game that refuses to open some areas. As with other obstacles, he has a clever solution for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its early 1.0 build, and then patches the game partway through to ensure it starts working properly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Additional Challenges

Interestingly, the introductory form of the hero is coded so that he cannot damage any weapons he wields, likely to prevent a scenario where the player gets trapped at the beginning of the game. But that's also how the streamer gets around the wear problem, as the character he transfers across universes is the one from the beginning of the story. It's a smart trick, but not one that eradicates all potential friction. The stick is still a ineffective weapon that renders encounters tedious. But at that point, it's entirely a question of determination and perseverance. It also aids that there's a copying exploit that gives him an plentiful number of consumables to improve his strength, or stock up on revival fairies. He additionally employs a bug that enables him to phase through the world. Some would find these methods grounds to question the validity of the run, but to my view, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his audience. He also uses a penalty of sorts stating that, for every fairy he employs, he'll ban a fan from his live stream, establishing an motivation to avoid depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Last Showdown

The streamer succeeds to get through many of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles look painful. The video edit of his quest spares the audience endure the whole conflicts, which is a good thing when some of them take multiple hours. One enemy encounter, Queen Gibdo, requires an astonishing twenty-three straight. The final villain battle, which depletes Link's health as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The indestructible branch is after all just a stick. He can't always duplicate items midway the battle.

So, is it possible? Technically, he does overcome the beast form of the antagonist. But the software forces the player to use the Master Sword as the last strike, so strictly speaking, it's not fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, PointCrow banned over 1,000 people in his live stream. RIP.