Streaming Star Dedicates Thirty-Seven Straight Attempting to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Branch

You might assume that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have exhausted novel self-imposed challenges that impose special restrictions on a gameplay session. Yet, while many players have attempted to complete the game with only a stick, streamer the streamer holds the record as the individual who aimed to beat the game with a one branch—specifically, the very same stick throughout.

PointCrow is renowned for such difficult playthroughs, like the time he went through the game using only explosives or the effort where he tried to beat the game with zero energy. A one-branch run, though, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to wield the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the entire weapon wear system, which is especially relevant when working with the weakest weapon in the entire world. Yet if the stick shatters, that's the end. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The complete story, believe it or not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's saving mechanism to have distinct game sessions that impact one another. So PointCrow does a “setup” file where he progresses standardly, and the actual file, where he's restricted. The setup file has him completing the intro and first tutorial island, and this character acquires full stamina and health. From here, he starts a cinematic and pauses midway through to tell the software to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The game gets mixed up and creates a third game file that merges the conditions of the original two.

That causes new issues, though. The fused file has a protagonist that did not acquired the capability to enter shrines. Luckily, this is something that the save glitch addresses readily, but pulling it off means depending on an buggy build of the game that fails to open certain locations. As with everything else, he has a technical workaround for it: He starts the game on its pre-release version 1.0, and then updates the software partway through to make sure it starts working properly.

Bypassing Durability and Additional Hurdles

Curiously, the introductory version of the hero is programmed so that he is unable to damage any tools he uses, presumably to prevent a situation where the player gets stuck at the beginning of the game. But that's additionally how PointCrow bypasses the wear issue, as the Link he transfers across universes is the one from the start of the story. It's a clever trick, but not one that eradicates all potential friction. The stick is nonetheless a weak weapon that renders battles tedious. But at that point, it's entirely a matter of grit and dedication. It also helps that there's a copying exploit that gives him an abundant supply of items to boost his strength, or accumulate on revival fairies. He additionally makes use of a bug that allows him to clip through the world. A few would find these methods reason to discredit the legitimacy of the attempt, but to my view, he's a inventive gamer who is ready to do anything necessary to entertain his viewer. He also implements a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for every fairy he employs, he'll remove a viewer from his Twitch chat, establishing an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Encounter

The streamer manages to defeat several of the game's bosses, but the battles appear grueling. The YouTube version of his journey spares the viewer endure the entire fights, which is a blessing when some of them last multiple long hours. One boss fight, Queen Gibdo, takes an astonishing twenty-three hours. The final villain battle, which depletes Link's hearts as it unfolds, is a memorable nail-biter. The unbreakable branch is after all just a stick. He is unable to necessarily duplicate objects midway the fight.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, he does defeat the dragon version of Ganon. But the game forces the player to use the legendary weapon as the final attack, so strictly speaking, it's not fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But what fun is that?

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