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

One could think that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have run out of novel challenge runs that apply unique restrictions on a playthrough. However, while many players have tried to complete the game using just a stick, streamer PointCrow stands out as the individual who aimed to clear the game with a one branch—meaning, the exact same one throughout.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of challenge runs, like the time he played the game using only bombs or the effort where he tried to beat the story with no energy. A single stick playthrough, though, seems impossible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which forces Link to wield the legendary blade. Then, there's the entire durability system, which is particularly important when dealing with the weakest tool in the entire world. But if the stick breaks, that's it. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is glitches. The full story, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can manipulate Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have separate playthroughs that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “preparation” save where he progresses normally, and the actual file, where he's limited. The preparatory file has him going through the intro and initial tutorial island, and this character gains maximum stamina and health. From here, he triggers a cinematic and halts midway through to tell the game to open an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets mixed up and generates a new game file that combines the conditions of the original two.

That causes new issues, however. The merged file has a protagonist that did not acquired the ability to access sacred places. Fortunately, this is an issue that the file exploit addresses easily, but pulling it off means relying on an unstable version of the game that fails to load certain areas. As with everything else, he has a technical workaround for it: He begins the game on its early version 1.0, and then updates the game partway through to make sure it starts functioning correctly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Additional Challenges

Curiously, the prologue version of the hero is coded so that he cannot damage any weapons he uses, likely to prevent a scenario where the user gets stuck at the start of the game. But that's also how the streamer gets around the wear problem, as the character he pulls across universes is the version from the beginning of the game. It's a smart technique, but not a method that eradicates all possible friction. The branch is nonetheless a ineffective item that makes battles tedious. But at that stage, it's all a question of determination and dedication. It also aids that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an abundant number of items to boost his strength, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally employs a glitch that allows him to phase through the environment. A few would consider these methods reason to discredit the legitimacy of the run, but to my view, he's a inventive player who is willing to do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. He also implements a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for each spirit he uses, he'll remove a viewer from his Twitch chat, creating an motivation to avoid overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Final Encounter

The streamer manages to get through several of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the battles look painful. The YouTube edit of his quest spares the audience sit through the entire conflicts, which is a blessing when a few of them last several hours. One boss fight, Queen Gibdo, requires an astonishing 23 straight. The final villain battle, which erases Link's hearts as it progresses, is a memorable nail-biter. The indestructible stick is still just a stick. He is unable to always duplicate items during the battle.

So, is it possible? Technically, PointCrow does overcome the dragon version of the antagonist. But the game forces the player to wield the legendary weapon as the final attack, so technically, it's not completely a branch-exclusive run. But what fun is that?

In the end, the streamer removed more than a thousand users in his Twitch chat. RIP.