Twitch Star Spends 37 Hours Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a One Stick

You might assume that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of novel challenge runs that apply special rules on a playthrough. Yet, although numerous players have attempted to complete the game with only a wooden stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the individual who aimed to clear the game with a one stick—meaning, the very same one from start to finish.

The streamer is renowned for such difficult playthroughs, such as the time he played the game solely with bombs or the effort where he tried to beat the game with zero energy. A single stick run, however, sounds unfeasible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which requires Link to wield the legendary blade. Then, there's the entire durability mechanic, which is particularly important when dealing with the weakest tool in the entire game. But if the branch breaks, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The simple explanation is exploits. The complete answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can manipulate Tears of the Kingdom's saving mechanism to have separate playthroughs that affect one another. So PointCrow creates a “preparation” file where he advances normally, and the real file, where he's restricted. The preparatory file has him completing the prologue and initial starting area, and this character acquires maximum stamina and health. From this point, he starts a cinematic and halts midway through to instruct the software to open an automatic save from the stick file. The game gets mixed up and creates a third game file that combines the states of the original two.

That causes new problems, however. The fused file has a Link that did not obtain the ability to access shrines. Fortunately, this is an issue that the save glitch addresses readily, but pulling it off means relying on an buggy version of the title that refuses to open certain areas. Like everything else, he has a technical solution for it: He begins the game on its early 1.0 build, and then updates the game partway through to ensure it begins functioning correctly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Other Challenges

Interestingly, the prologue version of Link is coded so that he cannot damage any weapons he uses, likely to prevent a situation where the player gets trapped at the beginning of the adventure. But that's additionally how the streamer bypasses the wear issue, as the Link he transfers between dimensions is the one from the beginning of the story. It's a smart trick, but not one that eliminates all possible difficulty. The branch is nonetheless a weak item that renders battles tedious. But at that stage, it's entirely a question of grit and perseverance. It further aids that there's a copying exploit that gives him an plentiful number of items to boost his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He also employs a glitch that enables him to phase through the environment. A few would consider these means reason to discredit the validity of the run, but in my mind, he's a inventive gamer who is willing to do anything necessary to entertain his audience. He further uses a safeguard of sorts stating that, for every fairy he employs, he'll ban one viewer from his live stream, creating an incentive to not overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Encounter

PointCrow manages to defeat several of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the battles look grueling. The YouTube version of his quest spares the audience sit through the entire fights, which is a good thing when a few of them take multiple long hours. One enemy encounter, a powerful foe, requires an incredible 23 straight. The Ganondorf showdown, which erases the hero's health as it unfolds, is a memorable tense moment. The unbreakable stick is still only a stick. He can't necessarily clone objects during the battle.

So, is it possible? Technically, he does defeat the beast form of Ganon. But the game forces the player to use the Master Sword as the final strike, so technically, it's not quite fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, PointCrow banned more than 1,000 users in his live stream. Rest in peace.