Streaming Personality Dedicates Thirty-Seven Hours Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a One Stick

One could think that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have run out of novel self-imposed challenges that impose special rules on a playthrough. Yet, while many gamers have tried to complete the game using just a wooden stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the player who aimed to clear the adventure with a single stick—meaning, the very same one from start to finish.

PointCrow is renowned for such difficult playthroughs, like the instance he played the game using only explosives or the effort where he aimed to beat the game with no energy. A single stick playthrough, though, seems impossible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which requires Link to use the Master Sword. Then, there's the entire weapon wear system, which is particularly relevant when working with the weakest tool in the whole game. But if the branch breaks, that's it. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The complete story, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can manipulate Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have distinct game sessions that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “preparation” file where he advances standardly, and the actual save, where he's limited. The preparatory save has him going through the prologue and initial starting area, and this Link gains full endurance and hearts. From here, he triggers a cutscene and halts partway through to tell the game to load an automatic save from the branch-only file. The system gets mixed up and generates a new game file that merges the conditions of the original two.

This creates new problems, though. The merged save file has a Link that never acquired the ability to access shrines. Fortunately, this is an issue that the save glitch addresses easily, but pulling it off means relying on an unstable build of the game that refuses to open some locations. Like other obstacles, he has a technical solution for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its early version 1.0, and then updates the software midway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Overcoming Durability and Other Challenges

Interestingly, the prologue version of the hero is programmed so that he cannot damage any weapons he wields, likely to prevent a scenario where the player gets stuck at the start of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the wear issue, as the Link he pulls between universes is the one from the start of the game. It's a clever technique, but not one that eliminates all potential friction. The stick is nonetheless a ineffective item that renders battles tedious. But at that stage, it's all a question 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 revival fairies. He additionally makes use of a bug that allows Link to clip through the world. Some would find these means reason to discredit the validity of the run, but in my mind, he's a inventive player who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his viewer. He further uses a safeguard of kinds stipulating that, for each spirit he uses, he'll remove one fan from his Twitch chat, establishing an motivation to not overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Encounter

PointCrow succeeds to defeat several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the fights appear painful. The YouTube edit of his quest spares the viewer endure the whole fights, which is a blessing when some of them last multiple hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an incredible twenty-three straight. The Ganondorf battle, which erases the hero's hearts as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable branch is after all just a piece of wood. He can't necessarily duplicate objects during the battle.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, he does defeat the dragon version of Ganon. But the game forces the player to use the Master Sword as the final strike, so technically, it's not completely a stick-only playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer banned more than a thousand people in his live stream. RIP.