Twitch Star Dedicates 37 Hours Attempting to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Branch

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have exhausted creative challenge runs that apply special rules on a gameplay session. However, while numerous players have attempted to finish the game with just a stick, streamer the streamer holds the record as the individual who endeavored to beat the game with a one branch—meaning, the very same one from start to finish.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of challenge runs, like the time he played the title solely with explosives or the attempt where he tried to beat the game with no stamina. A single stick run, however, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which forces Link to use the legendary blade. Then, there's the entire durability system, which is especially relevant when dealing with the weakest weapon in the entire world. But if the branch shatters, that's the end. It's over.

So, How?

So, how? The simple answer is exploits. The complete story, I kid you not, is parallel universes. It turns out, you can tweak the game's save file system to have separate playthroughs that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “setup” file where he advances standardly, and the actual save, where he's restricted. The preparatory save has him going through the prologue and initial tutorial island, and this Link gains full endurance and hearts. From here, he starts a cutscene and pauses partway through to instruct the software to load an auto-save from the stick file. The game gets confused and creates a new game file that merges the conditions of the original two.

That creates fresh issues, though. The merged file has a protagonist that did not obtain the ability to enter sacred places. Luckily, this is something that the file exploit addresses easily, but executing it means depending on an buggy version of the game that refuses to open certain areas. Like 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 software partway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Additional Challenges

Interestingly, the prologue form of the hero is coded so that he cannot break any weapons he uses, likely to avoid a scenario where the user gets stuck at the start of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the wear issue, as the Link he pulls across universes is the version from the start of the story. It's a clever trick, but not one that eliminates all possible friction. The branch is still a weak weapon that makes battles tedious. But at that stage, it's all a matter of determination and perseverance. It also aids that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an plentiful number of items to improve his attack, or accumulate on healing spirits. He additionally makes use of a glitch that enables Link to phase through the world. Some would consider these methods grounds to discredit the legitimacy of the attempt, but to my view, he's a inventive player who is ready to do anything necessary to entertain his audience. He also uses a safeguard of kinds stipulating that, for each fairy he employs, he'll ban a fan from his live stream, creating an incentive to avoid overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Encounter

PointCrow manages to defeat several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles appear grueling. The video version of his journey doesn't make the viewer sit through the entire fights, which is a good thing when some of them take several long hours. A particular boss fight, Queen Gibdo, requires an incredible 23 hours. The final villain showdown, which depletes Link's hearts as it unfolds, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable branch is after all just a piece of wood. He can't necessarily clone objects midway the battle.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, he does overcome the dragon version of Ganon. But the software compels the player to use the Master Sword as the final attack, so technically, it's not fully a branch-exclusive run. But what fun is that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer banned more than 1,000 people in his live stream. Rest in peace.