Streaming Personality Spends Thirty-Seven Hours Attempting to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a One Branch

You might assume that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have exhausted creative challenge runs that apply unique restrictions on a playthrough. However, while numerous gamers have tried to finish Tears of the Kingdom with only a stick, content creator PointCrow holds the record as the individual who endeavored to beat the adventure with a one branch—meaning, the exact same one from start to finish.

PointCrow is famous for such difficult playthroughs, such as the instance he went through the title using only explosives or the attempt where he tried to beat the story with zero stamina. A one-branch playthrough, though, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires the hero to wield the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the entire weapon wear system, which is particularly important when dealing with the weakest tool in the whole game. Yet if the stick shatters, that's the end. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The full answer, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can manipulate Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So PointCrow creates a “preparation” file where he progresses normally, and the actual save, where he's restricted. The preparatory save has him completing the intro and initial starting area, and this character acquires full stamina and health. From here, he triggers a cinematic and pauses partway through to instruct the game to load an auto-save from the stick file. The game gets confused and creates a third save file that merges the conditions of the original two.

This causes fresh problems, however. The merged file has a Link that did not obtain the ability to enter sacred places. Luckily, this is something that the file exploit fixes readily, but pulling it off means relying on an unstable build of the game that refuses to load some locations. As with other obstacles, he has a technical solution for it: He begins the game on its early version 1.0, and then patches the game midway through to ensure it begins functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory version of Link is coded so that he cannot break any weapons he wields, presumably to prevent a scenario where the player gets trapped at the start of the game. But that's additionally how PointCrow gets around the durability issue, as the character he transfers between universes is the one from the start of the story. It's a smart trick, but not a method that eliminates all potential friction. The branch is still a ineffective item that renders encounters onerous. But at that stage, it's all a question of determination and perseverance. It further aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an plentiful supply of consumables to improve his strength, or stock up on healing spirits. He also makes use of a bug that allows him to clip through the world. A few would consider these methods grounds to question the legitimacy of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a inventive gamer who is willing to do anything necessary to engage his audience. He also implements a safeguard of sorts stating that, for each spirit he employs, he'll ban a fan from his live stream, creating an motivation to not overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Last Encounter

PointCrow succeeds to defeat several of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the battles appear grueling. The YouTube version of his quest spares the audience sit through the whole conflicts, which is a good thing when some of them take multiple long hours. A particular boss fight, Queen Gibdo, takes an astonishing 23 straight. The final villain showdown, which depletes Link's health as it unfolds, is a notable nail-biter. The indestructible branch is after all only a piece of wood. He can't always duplicate items midway the fight.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow manages to defeat the beast form of the antagonist. But the game compels the player to use the legendary weapon as the last attack, so technically, it's not fully a branch-exclusive run. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer removed more than a thousand people in his live stream. Rest in peace.