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

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of creative challenge runs that apply unique rules on a playthrough. However, although many gamers have tried to complete the game using only a stick, streamer PointCrow stands out as the individual who aimed to beat the adventure with a one stick—specifically, the exact same one from start to finish.

The streamer is famous for these kinds of difficult playthroughs, such as the time he played the game using only explosives or the attempt where he tried to beat the game with zero stamina. A one-branch run, though, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires the hero to use the legendary blade. Then, there's the entire weapon wear mechanic, which is particularly relevant when dealing with the weakest weapon in the entire game. Yet if the branch breaks, that's it. Game over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The simple explanation is glitches. The complete 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 creates a “preparation” file where he progresses normally, and the actual file, where he's limited. The preparatory file has him completing the intro and initial tutorial island, and this Link gains maximum stamina and health. From this point, he triggers a cinematic and halts partway through to tell the game to load an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets confused and generates a new save file that combines the states of the original two.

That causes new issues, however. The merged file has a protagonist that never acquired the capability to access shrines. Luckily, this is an issue that the save glitch fixes easily, but pulling it off means relying on an buggy build of the title that fails to open some areas. As with other obstacles, he has a technical workaround for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its early version 1.0, and then updates the software midway through to ensure it starts working properly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Other Challenges

Curiously, the prologue form of Link is programmed so that he is unable to damage any weapons he uses, likely to prevent a scenario where the user gets trapped at the beginning of the game. But that's additionally how PointCrow gets around the wear issue, as the character he pulls across dimensions is the one from the start of the game. It's a smart trick, but not a method that eliminates all possible difficulty. The stick is nonetheless a weak weapon that renders battles onerous. But at that point, it's entirely a question of determination and perseverance. It further aids that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an plentiful number of items to boost his attack, or stock up on revival fairies. He also employs a bug that allows him to clip through the environment. A few would find these methods grounds to discredit the legitimacy of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful player who is willing to do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. He also uses a penalty of kinds stipulating that, for every fairy he employs, he'll ban one viewer from his Twitch chat, establishing an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Encounter

PointCrow manages to defeat many of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the fights appear grueling. The YouTube version of his journey doesn't make the viewer endure the entire fights, which is a blessing when some of them take several hours. A particular enemy encounter, Queen Gibdo, requires an incredible twenty-three hours. The Ganondorf battle, which erases the hero's hearts as it unfolds, is a memorable nail-biter. The unbreakable stick is still just a stick. He is unable to necessarily clone items during the fight.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, he manages to defeat the beast form of Ganon. But the game forces the player to wield the Master Sword as the last strike, so technically, it's not fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

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