Twitch Personality Spends 37 Hours Trying 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 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, fans would have exhausted creative self-imposed challenges that apply unique restrictions on a gameplay session. However, although many players have tried to complete Tears of the Kingdom using just a wooden stick, streamer the streamer holds the record as the individual who endeavored to clear the game with a one stick—meaning, the exact same one throughout.

The streamer is famous for these kinds of challenge runs, like the time he went through the game using only bombs or the effort where he aimed to defeat the game with zero stamina. A single stick run, however, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which forces Link to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the entire weapon wear mechanic, which is particularly important when working with the weakest weapon in the entire game. Yet if the branch breaks, that's it. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The simple explanation is exploits. The complete story, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's save file system to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “setup” save where he progresses normally, and the actual save, where he's restricted. The preparatory file has him completing the intro and initial starting area, and this character gains maximum endurance and hearts. From this point, he triggers a cinematic and halts midway through to tell the software to load an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets confused and creates a new game file that merges the states of the first two files.

This creates fresh problems, though. The fused file has a protagonist that did not obtain the capability to enter sacred places. Luckily, this is an issue that the file exploit fixes readily, but executing it means relying on an buggy version of the title that refuses to open certain areas. As with everything else, he has a clever solution for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its early version 1.0, and then updates the game partway through to make sure it starts functioning correctly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Additional Hurdles

Curiously, the prologue form of Link is programmed so that he cannot damage any tools he wields, likely to prevent a situation where the user gets trapped at the start of the game. But that's additionally how the streamer gets around the durability problem, as the character he transfers across universes is the one from the beginning of the story. It's a smart technique, but not a method that eradicates all possible friction. The branch is still a ineffective item that renders encounters tedious. But at that stage, it's entirely a question of determination and dedication. It further aids that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an plentiful supply of consumables to boost his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally employs a bug that allows him to phase through the environment. A few would find these means grounds to discredit the validity of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a inventive player who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his audience. He further uses a penalty of kinds stating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll ban a viewer from his live stream, establishing an motivation to not overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Showdown

PointCrow succeeds to defeat many of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles look painful. The YouTube edit of his quest doesn't make the viewer endure the whole conflicts, which is a blessing when a few of them take several long hours. A particular enemy encounter, a powerful foe, requires an astonishing twenty-three straight. The Ganondorf showdown, which depletes the hero's health as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The indestructible branch is still just a piece of wood. He can't always clone objects during the fight.

Did he succeed? Technically, he manages to defeat the beast form of the antagonist. But the game compels the player to wield the legendary weapon as the final attack, so strictly speaking, it's not completely a branch-exclusive playthrough. But what fun is that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer removed more than 1,000 users in his live stream. RIP.