Streaming Star Dedicates Thirty-Seven Straight Attempting to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Stick

One could think that two years post-launch since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of novel challenge runs that impose special rules on a gameplay session. However, while many players have tried to finish the game using just a stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the player who endeavored to beat the adventure with a one stick—meaning, the very same one throughout.

The streamer is famous for these kinds of challenge runs, like the instance he played the game solely with explosives or the attempt where he tried to defeat the game with zero stamina. A one-branch playthrough, however, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole weapon wear system, which is particularly important when working with the most fragile tool in the entire world. But if the stick shatters, that's it. Game over.

So, How?

So, how? The simple explanation is glitches. The full story, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have distinct playthroughs that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “setup” save where he progresses normally, and the real file, where he's restricted. The preparatory file has him going through the prologue and first starting area, and this Link acquires full endurance and health. From here, he triggers a cutscene and halts midway through to instruct the game to open an auto-save from the stick file. The system gets mixed up and creates a third save file that merges the conditions of the original two.

That causes fresh issues, however. The fused file has a protagonist that never acquired the ability to access sacred places. Luckily, this is an issue that the file exploit fixes easily, but executing it means depending on an unstable version of the title that fails to open some areas. Like other obstacles, he has a technical workaround for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its early 1.0 build, and then updates the software partway through to make sure it starts working properly.

Overcoming Durability and Other Challenges

Interestingly, the prologue version of Link is coded so that he cannot damage any tools he wields, presumably to avoid a situation where the user gets trapped at the start of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the durability issue, as the character he pulls across universes is the version from the beginning of the game. It's a clever technique, but not one that eradicates all possible friction. The stick is nonetheless a ineffective weapon that makes battles onerous. But at that point, it's all a question of grit and dedication. It further helps that there's a copying exploit that grants him an abundant number of items to improve his strength, or stock up on healing spirits. He also employs a bug that enables Link to phase through the environment. Some would find these methods grounds to question the legitimacy of the attempt, but to my view, he's a inventive player who is ready to do anything necessary to engage his audience. He also uses a penalty of kinds stating that, for each spirit he uses, he'll remove one viewer from his Twitch chat, creating an motivation to avoid depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Final Encounter

The streamer manages to defeat many of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the battles appear painful. The YouTube edit of his quest spares the audience endure the entire conflicts, which is a good thing when some of them last several long hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an astonishing 23 straight. The Ganondorf showdown, which erases the hero's hearts as it progresses, is a memorable nail-biter. The indestructible branch is still just a piece of wood. He is unable to always clone objects during the battle.

Did he succeed? Technically, he does defeat the beast form of the antagonist. But the game forces 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, the streamer removed more than 1,000 people in his live stream. RIP.