Streaming Personality Dedicates 37 Straight Attempting to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a One Branch

You might assume that two years post-launch since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of creative self-imposed challenges that apply unique rules on a playthrough. However, although many players have attempted to complete the game using just a wooden stick, streamer PointCrow stands out as the player who endeavored to clear the game with a one branch—meaning, the very same stick throughout.

The streamer is famous for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the instance he went through the title solely with explosives or the effort where he aimed to beat the story with zero stamina. A single stick run, though, seems impossible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires the hero to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole weapon wear mechanic, which is especially important when working with the most fragile weapon in the whole world. Yet if the branch shatters, that's the end. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The straightforward explanation is glitches. The complete answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can tweak the game's save file system to have distinct playthroughs that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “setup” save where he progresses normally, and the actual file, where he's restricted. The preparatory file has him going through the intro and initial tutorial island, and this Link gains full endurance and health. From here, he triggers a cinematic and halts partway through to tell the software to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The system gets mixed up and generates a new game file that merges the conditions of the first two files.

This causes new problems, though. The merged file has a protagonist that never acquired the capability to enter sacred places. Fortunately, this is an issue that the save glitch addresses readily, but pulling it off means relying on an buggy version of the title that fails to load some areas. As with other obstacles, he has a clever solution for it: He starts the game on its early 1.0 build, and then patches the software partway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Overcoming Durability and Other Challenges

Curiously, the prologue form of Link is programmed so that he is unable to damage any tools he uses, presumably to avoid a situation where the player gets stuck at the start of the game. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the wear problem, as the character he transfers between dimensions is the version from the beginning of the game. It's a smart technique, but not one that eradicates all possible difficulty. The branch is nonetheless a weak item that makes encounters tedious. But at that point, it's all a matter of determination and dedication. It also helps that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an abundant supply of items to improve his attack, or accumulate on revival fairies. He also employs a glitch that enables Link to phase through the environment. Some would consider these means reason to question the legitimacy of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a resourceful player who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his viewer. He also implements a safeguard of sorts stipulating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll remove one fan from his Twitch chat, establishing an incentive to avoid overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Encounter

The streamer manages to get through several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles appear grueling. The video edit of his quest spares the audience sit through the whole fights, which is a good thing when a few of them take several long hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an astonishing twenty-three straight. The final villain showdown, which depletes Link's health as it unfolds, is a memorable nail-biter. The unbreakable stick is after all only a piece of wood. He is unable to always duplicate items during the fight.

So, is it possible? Technically, he manages to overcome the dragon version of the antagonist. But the game compels the player to use the legendary weapon as the final attack, so technically, it's not quite completely a branch-exclusive run. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, PointCrow removed more than a thousand users in his Twitch chat. RIP.