Streaming Star Dedicates Thirty-Seven Straight Attempting to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Stick

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of creative challenge runs that apply unique rules on a gameplay session. However, although many gamers have attempted to complete the game using only a stick, streamer PointCrow stands out as the individual who endeavored to clear the game with a single stick—specifically, the very same one from start to finish.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the time he went through the title solely with explosives or the attempt where he tried to beat the story with no stamina. A single stick playthrough, though, seems impossible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to wield the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole durability mechanic, which is particularly relevant when dealing with the most fragile weapon in the entire world. But if the branch breaks, that's it. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The straightforward answer is exploits. The full story, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So PointCrow does a “setup” save where he progresses standardly, and the real save, where he's restricted. The setup file has him going through the intro and initial starting area, and this Link acquires full stamina and hearts. From here, he triggers a cutscene and halts partway through to instruct the game to open an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets mixed up and generates a new save file that combines the states of the first two files.

That creates new problems, though. The fused file has a Link that did not obtain the ability to enter shrines. Luckily, this is an issue that the save glitch fixes easily, but executing it means depending on an buggy version of the title that refuses to load some areas. Like everything else, he has a technical solution for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its pre-release version 1.0, and then updates the software partway through to make sure it starts working properly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory form of the hero is programmed so that he cannot damage any tools he uses, likely to avoid a scenario where the user gets trapped at the start of the game. But that's also how PointCrow bypasses the wear issue, as the character he transfers between universes is the version from the beginning of the story. It's a clever trick, but not one that eradicates all possible friction. The branch is nonetheless a weak weapon that makes encounters tedious. But at that point, it's all a matter of grit and perseverance. It also helps 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 phase through the environment. Some would consider these methods grounds to discredit the legitimacy of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful player who is ready to do anything necessary to engage his audience. He further implements a penalty of kinds stating that, for every spirit he employs, he'll remove a fan from his live stream, establishing an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Last Encounter

The streamer manages to get through several of the game's main enemies, but the battles look painful. The YouTube edit of his journey doesn't make the audience endure the entire conflicts, which is a blessing when a few of them take multiple long hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an astonishing twenty-three straight. The Ganondorf battle, which depletes the hero's hearts as it progresses, is a memorable tense moment. The unbreakable branch is still only a piece of wood. He is unable to always duplicate items midway the battle.

Did he succeed? Technically, he does overcome the beast form of Ganon. But the game forces the user to wield the Master Sword as the last strike, so strictly speaking, it's not completely a stick-only run. But what fun is that?

When everything is said and done, PointCrow removed more than 1,000 people in his Twitch chat. RIP.