Twitch Star Dedicates Thirty-Seven Straight Attempting to Beat <em>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, fans would have run out of creative challenge runs that apply special restrictions on a playthrough. However, although many players have attempted to complete Tears of the Kingdom using just a stick, content creator PointCrow holds the record as the player who endeavored to clear the game with a single branch—meaning, the exact same stick throughout.

PointCrow is famous for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the time he went through the title solely with explosives or the attempt where he tried to beat the story with no stamina. A single stick run, however, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which requires Link to use the Master Sword. Then, there's the entire weapon wear mechanic, which is particularly important when working with the most fragile tool in the whole world. But if the branch breaks, that's it. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The simple explanation is glitches. The full story, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak the game's save file system to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So PointCrow creates a “setup” file where he advances normally, and the actual file, where he's limited. The preparatory save has him going through the intro and initial starting area, and this Link acquires full stamina and health. From this point, he triggers a cinematic and pauses midway through to tell the software to load an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets mixed up and generates a new game file that combines the conditions of the first two files.

This creates new problems, however. The merged file has a Link that never acquired the ability to enter shrines. Luckily, this is something that the file exploit fixes easily, but pulling it off means depending on an buggy version of the title that refuses to open some areas. Like other obstacles, he has a clever workaround for it: He starts the game on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the software partway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Bypassing Durability and Additional Challenges

Interestingly, the prologue version of Link is coded so that he is unable to damage any tools he uses, presumably to prevent a scenario where the user gets trapped at the beginning of the game. But that's also how PointCrow bypasses the wear issue, as the character he transfers between dimensions is the version from the beginning of the story. It's a clever trick, but not one that eliminates all possible friction. The stick is nonetheless a ineffective weapon that renders battles onerous. But at that stage, it's all a matter of grit and dedication. It further helps that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an plentiful supply of items to boost his attack, or accumulate on healing spirits. He additionally makes use of a glitch that enables him to phase through the world. A few would find these means grounds to discredit the legitimacy of the run, but in my mind, he's a inventive gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his audience. He further implements a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for each fairy he employs, he'll remove a fan from his live stream, establishing an incentive to not overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Encounter

PointCrow manages to defeat several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the fights look grueling. The video edit of his quest spares the audience sit through the entire fights, which is a blessing when a few of them last multiple long hours. A particular boss fight, Queen Gibdo, requires an incredible twenty-three straight. The final villain battle, which depletes the hero's health as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The indestructible branch is after all only a piece of wood. He can't always clone objects midway the fight.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow manages to defeat the beast form of Ganon. But the game compels the player to use the legendary weapon as the final strike, so strictly speaking, it's not fully a stick-only run. But what fun is that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer banned over a thousand people in his Twitch chat. RIP.