Twitch Star Spends Thirty-Seven Straight Trying to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Branch

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have exhausted novel self-imposed challenges that apply unique rules on a playthrough. Yet, although numerous gamers have tried to finish Tears of the Kingdom with just a stick, content creator the streamer holds the record as the individual who aimed to beat the adventure with a single branch—meaning, the exact same one from start to finish.

The streamer is renowned for such challenge runs, such as the instance he went through the game solely with explosives or the effort where he tried to beat the story with no energy. A one-branch run, however, seems impossible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which forces the hero to use the Master Sword. Then, there's the whole durability system, which is particularly important when working with the weakest tool in the entire world. But if the stick breaks, that's it. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is glitches. The full answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can manipulate Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have distinct playthroughs that affect one another. So PointCrow creates a “setup” file where he advances normally, and the actual save, where he's restricted. The preparatory save has him going through the intro and initial tutorial island, and this Link gains full endurance and hearts. From here, he starts a cutscene and halts midway through to instruct the software to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The system gets confused and creates a new save file that combines the conditions of the original two.

That causes new issues, though. The fused save file has a Link that never obtain the capability to access sacred places. Luckily, this is an issue that the file exploit fixes easily, but executing it means relying on an buggy build of the game that refuses to load some areas. As with other obstacles, he has a technical solution for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its pre-release 1.0 build, and then updates the game partway through to ensure it starts working properly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Additional Hurdles

Curiously, the introductory version of the hero is coded so that he cannot damage any tools he uses, presumably to avoid a situation where the user gets stuck at the beginning of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the wear issue, as the character he transfers between universes is the one from the start of the game. It's a smart trick, but not one that eradicates all possible friction. The branch is still a weak weapon that makes encounters onerous. But at that point, it's entirely a question of grit and dedication. It also aids that there's a copying exploit that gives him an abundant supply of consumables to boost his strength, or stock up on revival fairies. He additionally makes use of a glitch that enables Link to phase through the environment. Some would consider these methods grounds to question the validity of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful player who is ready to do anything necessary to engage his viewer. He also implements a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for each spirit he employs, he'll remove one fan from his Twitch chat, establishing an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Showdown

PointCrow manages to defeat many of the game's bosses, but the battles appear grueling. The YouTube edit of his quest doesn't make the audience endure the entire conflicts, which is a good thing when a few of them take several long hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an incredible 23 hours. The Ganondorf battle, which erases the hero's hearts as it unfolds, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable branch is after all only a piece of wood. He is unable to necessarily duplicate items midway the fight.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow does overcome the beast form of the antagonist. But the game compels the user to wield the Master Sword as the last attack, so technically, it's not fully a stick-only playthrough. But what fun is that?

In the end, PointCrow banned more than 1,000 people in his Twitch chat. Rest in peace.