Twitch Star Dedicates 37 Straight Trying to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a Single Branch

One could think that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of creative challenge runs that impose special restrictions on a gameplay session. However, while many gamers have tried to finish Tears of the Kingdom using just a wooden stick, streamer the streamer holds the record as the player who aimed to beat the game with a single branch—specifically, the very same stick from start to finish.

The streamer is famous for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the time he played the title using only bombs or the attempt where he aimed to defeat the game with no energy. A one-branch run, though, seems impossible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which requires the hero to wield the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole weapon wear system, which is especially relevant when working with the most fragile weapon in the entire game. But if the branch breaks, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is glitches. The complete answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So the creator does a “setup” save where he advances normally, and the real save, where he's limited. The setup save has him going through the intro and initial starting area, and this character gains maximum endurance and health. From this point, he starts a cinematic and halts partway through to instruct the software to open an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets confused and creates a third game file that combines the states of the first two files.

This creates fresh issues, however. The merged save file has a protagonist that never obtain the capability to enter shrines. Fortunately, this is something that the save glitch fixes easily, but executing it means relying on an buggy version of the game that fails to open some locations. Like other obstacles, he has a clever workaround for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its pre-release 1.0 build, and then patches the software midway through to ensure it starts functioning correctly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Other Challenges

Interestingly, the introductory version of the hero is programmed so that he cannot damage any tools he wields, likely to avoid a scenario where the user gets trapped at the beginning of the adventure. But that's additionally how the streamer bypasses the wear issue, as the Link he transfers across dimensions is the one from the start of the game. It's a smart trick, but not a method that eliminates all potential friction. The branch is nonetheless a ineffective item that makes encounters onerous. But at that stage, it's all a matter of grit and dedication. It further aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an abundant number of consumables to boost his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He also makes use of a glitch that allows him to clip through the environment. Some would consider these methods reason to question the validity of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful gamer who is ready to do whatever it takes to entertain his viewer. He also uses a safeguard of kinds stating that, for each spirit he employs, he'll ban a fan from his live stream, creating an incentive to avoid overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Last Showdown

The streamer succeeds to defeat several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles look painful. The video edit of his quest spares the viewer endure the whole conflicts, which is a good thing when some of them take several long hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, takes an incredible 23 hours. The final villain showdown, which depletes Link's health as it unfolds, is a notable tense moment. The indestructible branch is still only a piece of wood. He is unable to necessarily clone objects midway the battle.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow manages to defeat the beast form of Ganon. But the game forces the user to wield the Master Sword as the last attack, so strictly speaking, it's not quite completely a stick-only playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, the streamer banned more than a thousand people in his Twitch chat. RIP.