Twitch Star Spends 37 Straight Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Stick

One could think that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, fans would have exhausted novel challenge runs that impose special restrictions on a gameplay session. However, although numerous gamers have tried to complete Tears of the Kingdom using only a wooden stick, content creator PointCrow stands out as the individual who aimed to clear the adventure with a one stick—specifically, the exact same stick from start to finish.

The streamer is renowned for such challenge runs, such as the time he played the title solely with bombs or the effort where he tried to defeat the story with no energy. A single stick run, though, seems unfeasible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which requires the hero to wield the legendary blade. Then, there's the entire durability mechanic, which is particularly important when dealing with the most fragile weapon in the whole world. Yet if the stick shatters, that's it. It's over.

So, How?

So, how? The straightforward explanation is glitches. The full answer, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak the game's saving mechanism to have distinct playthroughs that impact one another. So PointCrow creates a “preparation” save where he advances standardly, and the actual file, where he's restricted. The setup save has him completing the intro and first starting area, and this character gains full endurance and hearts. From this point, he starts a cutscene and pauses midway through to instruct the software to open an automatic save from the stick file. The game gets mixed up and generates a third game file that merges the conditions of the original two.

That creates new issues, however. The fused save file has a protagonist that did not obtain the ability to access shrines. Luckily, this is something that the file exploit fixes easily, but pulling it off means relying on an unstable build of the title that refuses to load certain locations. As with other obstacles, he has a clever solution for it: He begins the game on its pre-release version 1.0, and then updates the software midway through to make sure it begins working properly.

Bypassing Durability and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the prologue form of the hero is programmed so that he cannot damage any weapons he uses, likely to avoid a situation where the user gets stuck at the start of the game. But that's also how the streamer gets around the wear issue, as the character he pulls across universes is the version from the start of the game. It's a smart technique, but not one that eliminates all potential friction. The branch is still a weak item that renders battles onerous. But at that point, it's all a matter of determination and dedication. It further aids that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an plentiful supply of consumables to improve his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He also employs a glitch that allows him to clip through the world. A few would consider these methods reason to question the legitimacy of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his audience. He further implements a penalty of kinds stating that, for every spirit he employs, he'll ban a fan from his live stream, creating an incentive to not overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Last Encounter

The streamer manages to defeat many of the game's main enemies, but the battles appear grueling. The YouTube version of his journey spares the audience sit through the entire conflicts, which is a blessing when a few of them last multiple hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an astonishing 23 straight. The final villain battle, which depletes Link's hearts as it unfolds, is a memorable nail-biter. The unbreakable branch is still just a piece of wood. He can't always clone items midway the battle.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, he does defeat the beast form of Ganon. But the game compels the user to wield the Master Sword as the final strike, so technically, it's not completely a branch-exclusive run. But what fun is that?

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