Twitch Star Spends 37 Hours Attempting to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a One Stick

You might assume that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have exhausted creative self-imposed challenges that impose special restrictions on a playthrough. However, while many gamers have attempted to complete Tears of the Kingdom using just a wooden stick, content creator the streamer holds the record as the player who aimed to clear the game with a one stick—specifically, the exact same stick from start to finish.

The streamer is famous for such difficult playthroughs, such as the time he played the game using only bombs or the effort where he tried to defeat the game with zero energy. A one-branch playthrough, however, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which requires Link to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the entire durability mechanic, which is especially important when working with the weakest tool in the entire game. But if the stick shatters, that's it. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The simple explanation is exploits. The complete answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can manipulate the game's saving mechanism to have distinct playthroughs that affect one another. So the creator creates a “preparation” save where he advances normally, and the real save, where he's limited. The preparatory save has him going through the prologue and initial tutorial island, and this Link acquires maximum stamina and health. From this point, he triggers a cutscene and halts midway through to instruct the software to open an auto-save from the branch-only file. The system gets confused and generates a new save file that merges the states of the first two files.

This creates new problems, however. The merged file has a protagonist that did not acquired the ability to access shrines. Luckily, this is something that the save glitch addresses readily, but executing it means depending on an buggy version of the title that refuses to open certain locations. As with everything else, he has a clever workaround for it: He begins the game on its early 1.0 build, and then updates the software partway through to ensure it starts working properly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Additional Challenges

Interestingly, the prologue form of the hero is coded so that he is unable to break any tools he wields, presumably to avoid a situation where the player gets stuck at the start of the adventure. But that's additionally how the streamer bypasses the wear issue, as the character he pulls between universes is the version from the start of the game. It's a smart trick, but not a method that eradicates all potential friction. The branch is nonetheless a weak weapon that renders battles tedious. But at that stage, it's entirely a matter of determination and dedication. It also aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an plentiful number of consumables to boost his strength, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally employs a glitch that allows Link to phase through the environment. A few would consider these means grounds to discredit the legitimacy of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful player who is willing to do anything necessary to engage his viewer. He also implements a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for each fairy he uses, he'll remove one fan from his Twitch chat, establishing an motivation to avoid overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Final Showdown

PointCrow succeeds to defeat several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles look painful. The video version of his quest doesn't make the viewer sit through the entire fights, which is a good thing when some of them take several long hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an incredible twenty-three straight. The final villain battle, which depletes Link's health as it progresses, is a notable nail-biter. The indestructible branch is after all just a stick. He is unable to necessarily duplicate items during the battle.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, he manages to defeat the beast form of the antagonist. But the game compels the player to use the Master Sword as the last attack, so strictly speaking, it's not fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But what fun is that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer banned over 1,000 users in his Twitch chat. Rest in peace.