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

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of novel self-imposed challenges that impose special restrictions on a playthrough. Yet, while many gamers have tried to complete Tears of the Kingdom using only a stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the player who endeavored to clear the game with a one stick—specifically, the exact same one throughout.

The streamer is renowned for such difficult playthroughs, like the time he went through the game solely with bombs or the attempt where he aimed to defeat the game with zero energy. A one-branch run, though, seems impossible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to wield the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the whole weapon wear system, which is especially relevant when dealing with the weakest tool in the entire world. Yet if the stick breaks, that's it. Game over.

So, How?

So, how? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The complete story, I kid you 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 the creator creates a “setup” file where he advances normally, and the actual save, where he's restricted. The setup file has him completing the intro and initial starting area, and this character gains maximum endurance and hearts. From this point, he triggers a cinematic and halts midway through to instruct the software to load an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and generates a new game file that merges the states of the first two files.

That causes new problems, though. The fused file has a protagonist that never acquired the capability to access sacred places. Fortunately, this is an issue that the save glitch fixes readily, but pulling it off means relying on an buggy version of the title that fails to open certain locations. As with other obstacles, he has a clever solution for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its early 1.0 build, and then updates the software partway through to make sure it starts working properly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Additional Hurdles

Curiously, the introductory form of Link is programmed so that he is unable to break any weapons he uses, presumably to avoid a scenario where the player gets trapped at the beginning of the adventure. But that's additionally how the streamer bypasses the durability issue, as the character he pulls between universes is the version from the beginning of the story. It's a clever trick, but not a method that eliminates all potential friction. The stick is still a ineffective weapon that renders battles tedious. But at that point, it's all a matter of determination and perseverance. It further helps that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an plentiful number of items to boost his strength, or stock up on revival fairies. He also employs a bug that enables Link to clip through the world. A few would consider these means reason to discredit the legitimacy of the run, but in my mind, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his audience. He further uses a safeguard of sorts stating that, for every spirit he employs, he'll remove a viewer from his live stream, establishing an incentive to not depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Encounter

The streamer succeeds to defeat several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles look grueling. The video edit of his quest spares the viewer endure the whole conflicts, which is a blessing when some of them take several long hours. A particular enemy encounter, a powerful foe, requires an incredible 23 hours. The Ganondorf showdown, which erases Link's hearts as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The indestructible stick is after all only a piece of wood. He can't always duplicate objects midway the fight.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow manages to defeat the dragon version of Ganon. But the software forces the user to use the legendary weapon as the last strike, so strictly speaking, it's not completely a stick-only run. But what fun is that?

In the end, PointCrow removed more than 1,000 users in his live stream. Rest in peace.