Streaming Star Dedicates 37 Straight Attempting to Beat <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Stick

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 impose unique rules on a gameplay session. However, while numerous players have attempted to finish Tears of the Kingdom with only a stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the individual who endeavored to beat the adventure with a single branch—meaning, the exact same one from start to finish.

The streamer is famous for such challenge runs, like the instance he went through the title using only bombs or the attempt where he tried to defeat the story with no stamina. A single stick playthrough, though, seems impossible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which forces the hero to wield the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the whole durability system, which is especially relevant when working with the weakest tool in the whole world. Yet if the stick shatters, that's it. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The straightforward answer is glitches. The complete answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's save file system to have distinct game sessions that impact one another. So the creator does a “preparation” file where he advances standardly, and the real save, where he's limited. The setup save has him going through the prologue and first starting area, and this Link acquires full endurance and health. From here, he starts a cinematic and halts midway through to tell the game to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The system gets mixed up and creates a third game file that combines the conditions of the first two files.

That creates fresh issues, however. The merged file has a Link that did not obtain the capability to enter shrines. Luckily, this is something that the save glitch fixes readily, but pulling it off means relying on an buggy build of the title that fails to load certain areas. As with other obstacles, he has a technical workaround for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the software partway through to make sure it starts working properly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Challenges

Curiously, the introductory form of Link is programmed so that he is unable to damage any weapons he uses, likely to prevent a scenario where the player gets trapped at the start of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the durability problem, as the Link he pulls between dimensions is the version from the beginning of the story. It's a clever trick, but not a method that eliminates all potential friction. The stick is nonetheless a ineffective item that makes battles onerous. But at that point, it's all a question of determination and dedication. It further helps that there's a copying exploit that grants him an abundant supply of consumables to improve his attack, or stock up on revival fairies. He also employs a glitch that enables him to clip through the world. A few would consider these means grounds to discredit the validity of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a inventive player who is willing to do anything necessary to engage his viewer. He also uses a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for every spirit he employs, he'll ban a fan from his live stream, creating an incentive to avoid depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Encounter

The streamer succeeds to defeat several of the game's main enemies, but the fights appear painful. The video version of his quest spares the viewer endure the whole fights, which is a blessing when a few of them last several long hours. A particular enemy encounter, a powerful foe, takes an astonishing 23 hours. The final villain battle, which depletes the hero's health as it progresses, is a memorable nail-biter. The unbreakable stick is after all just a stick. He can't always duplicate objects during the fight.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, he does overcome the beast form of the antagonist. But the game compels the user to use the Master Sword as the final 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 removed more than 1,000 users in his live stream. RIP.