Twitch Star Dedicates 37 Straight Attempting to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Stick

You might assume that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have run out of novel challenge runs that apply unique rules on a playthrough. However, although many players have tried to finish Tears of the Kingdom with only a stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the player who aimed to beat the adventure with a single stick—meaning, the very same stick from start to finish.

PointCrow is famous for such difficult playthroughs, like the time he went through the game using only bombs or the attempt where he tried to beat the game with zero energy. A single stick run, however, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which requires the hero to wield the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the entire weapon wear mechanic, which is especially relevant when working with the weakest weapon in the entire game. But if the branch breaks, that's the end. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The simple answer is exploits. The complete answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak the game's saving mechanism to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So PointCrow creates a “setup” file where he progresses normally, and the actual save, where he's restricted. The preparatory save has him going through the intro and initial starting area, and this Link acquires maximum stamina and hearts. From this point, he starts a cinematic and halts midway through to tell the software to open an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets confused and generates a new game file that combines the states of the original two.

That causes new problems, however. The merged file has a Link that never acquired the ability to enter sacred places. Luckily, this is an issue that the save glitch addresses easily, but pulling it off means relying on an unstable version of the game that refuses to load certain areas. As with other obstacles, he has a clever workaround for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its early version 1.0, and then updates the software midway through to ensure it starts working properly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Other Challenges

Interestingly, the introductory version of the hero is programmed so that he cannot break any tools he uses, presumably to avoid a situation where the user gets trapped at the start of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow bypasses the durability issue, as the character he transfers between dimensions is the version from the start of the story. It's a smart trick, but not one that eliminates all possible friction. The stick is still a weak weapon that renders encounters tedious. But at that stage, it's all a question of grit and perseverance. It also aids that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an abundant number of items to boost his strength, or stock up on revival fairies. He additionally makes use of a bug that enables him to phase through the world. A few would find these methods grounds to question the legitimacy of the run, but in my mind, he's a resourceful gamer who is ready to do anything necessary to entertain his audience. He also uses a safeguard of sorts stating that, for each fairy he uses, he'll remove a viewer from his Twitch chat, creating an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Final Showdown

PointCrow manages to defeat many of the game's main enemies, but the fights look painful. The YouTube version of his quest doesn't make the audience sit through the entire conflicts, which is a good thing when a few of them take several long hours. A particular enemy encounter, Queen Gibdo, takes an astonishing 23 hours. The final villain showdown, which erases Link's health as it progresses, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible stick is still just a stick. He is unable to always clone objects midway the fight.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, he manages to overcome the beast form of Ganon. But the software compels the user to wield the Master Sword as the last attack, so technically, it's not completely a branch-exclusive run. But what fun is that?

In the end, PointCrow banned over 1,000 users in his Twitch chat. RIP.