Twitch Star Spends Thirty-Seven Hours Attempting to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Stick

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of novel challenge runs that impose special restrictions on a playthrough. Yet, while numerous gamers have tried to complete the game with just a stick, content creator PointCrow stands out as the individual who endeavored to clear the adventure with a one branch—meaning, the exact same stick from start to finish.

PointCrow is renowned for such difficult playthroughs, like the instance he played the title solely with bombs or the attempt where he tried to beat the game with no stamina. A single stick playthrough, however, seems impossible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which forces Link to wield the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole weapon wear mechanic, which is particularly important when dealing with the weakest weapon in the whole game. But if the stick breaks, that's the end. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The simple explanation is glitches. The complete story, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So the creator does a “setup” save where he progresses normally, and the real save, where he's limited. The setup save has him going through the intro and initial tutorial island, and this character acquires maximum stamina and health. From here, he triggers a cinematic and halts partway through to instruct the software to load an automatic save from the stick file. The game gets mixed up and creates a third game file that combines the states of the first two files.

This causes new problems, though. The merged file has a protagonist that never obtain the ability to access shrines. Luckily, this is something that the save glitch fixes easily, but pulling it off means depending on an unstable version of the game that refuses to load certain areas. As with everything else, he has a technical solution for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its early 1.0 build, and then updates the software midway through to ensure it starts working properly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Additional Hurdles

Curiously, the introductory form of Link is coded so that he is unable to break any weapons he wields, presumably to avoid a scenario where the user gets stuck at the beginning of the game. But that's additionally how PointCrow gets around the wear issue, as the character he transfers between dimensions is the one from the start of the game. It's a smart technique, but not one that eradicates all possible friction. The branch is still a weak item that makes encounters onerous. But at that stage, it's entirely a matter of determination and dedication. It further helps that there's a copying exploit that grants him an abundant number of items to boost his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally employs a bug that enables him to phase through the world. Some would consider these means reason to question the legitimacy of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful player who is ready to do whatever it takes to engage his audience. He further implements a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for every fairy he employs, he'll ban one viewer from his live stream, creating an incentive to avoid overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Encounter

PointCrow succeeds to defeat several of the game's main enemies, but the battles appear grueling. The YouTube version of his journey doesn't make the viewer sit through the entire fights, which is a good thing when some of them last multiple long hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an incredible 23 straight. The final villain showdown, which depletes Link's hearts as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The indestructible stick is still just a stick. He can't always duplicate objects midway the fight.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, he manages to overcome the dragon version of the antagonist. But the software compels the player to use the Master Sword as the final attack, so technically, it's not fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, the streamer removed more than a thousand people in his Twitch chat. Rest in peace.