Streaming Star Spends 37 Hours Attempting to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Branch

One could think that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have exhausted creative challenge runs that apply unique rules on a playthrough. However, although numerous gamers have attempted to complete the game with only a stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the individual who aimed to clear the game with a single branch—specifically, the exact same one from start to finish.

PointCrow is renowned for such difficult playthroughs, like the time he played the game solely with bombs or the effort where he tried to beat the story with no stamina. A one-branch run, though, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which forces the hero to wield the Master Sword. Then, there's the entire weapon wear mechanic, which is especially important when dealing with the weakest tool in the entire world. Yet if the stick shatters, that's it. It's over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The full answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can tweak the game's saving mechanism to have distinct playthroughs that affect one another. So PointCrow creates a “setup” file where he advances normally, and the actual save, where he's restricted. The setup save has him going through the prologue and first starting area, and this Link acquires maximum endurance and health. From this point, he starts a cutscene and pauses partway through to instruct the game to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The system gets mixed up and creates a new save file that merges the states of the original two.

That creates fresh issues, however. The fused save file has a Link that never obtain the ability to access shrines. Fortunately, this is an issue that the file exploit fixes readily, but pulling it off means depending on an unstable version of the title that refuses to open some locations. As with other obstacles, he has a technical solution for it: He begins the game on its early version 1.0, and then patches the software midway through to make sure it starts functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Other Hurdles

Curiously, the prologue form of Link is programmed so that he is unable to break any tools he wields, presumably to prevent a situation where the user gets stuck at the start of the game. But that's additionally how PointCrow bypasses the wear issue, as the Link he transfers between universes is the version from the start of the story. It's a clever technique, but not one that eradicates all potential friction. The stick is nonetheless a weak weapon that renders encounters onerous. But at that stage, it's all a question of determination and perseverance. It further aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an plentiful number of items to boost his attack, or accumulate on healing spirits. He additionally employs a bug that allows Link to phase through the environment. A few would find these methods reason to question the validity of the run, but in my mind, he's a inventive player who is ready to do anything necessary to entertain his audience. He also uses a safeguard of kinds stating that, for every spirit he employs, he'll remove a fan from his live stream, creating an incentive to not depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Encounter

PointCrow manages to get through several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the fights appear grueling. The video edit of his quest spares the viewer endure the entire fights, which is a blessing when a few of them take multiple hours. A particular enemy encounter, Queen Gibdo, requires an incredible 23 hours. The final villain showdown, which depletes Link's health as it unfolds, is a memorable nail-biter. The indestructible branch is still just a piece of wood. He is unable to necessarily duplicate objects midway the battle.

Did he succeed? Technically, PointCrow manages to defeat the dragon version of Ganon. But the software compels the user to use the legendary weapon as the final attack, so strictly speaking, it's not quite fully a branch-exclusive run. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer banned over 1,000 users in his live stream. RIP.