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

One could think that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, fans would have exhausted creative self-imposed challenges that impose special rules on a gameplay session. Yet, although numerous players have tried to complete Tears of the Kingdom with just a stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the individual who aimed to beat the game with a single branch—specifically, the very same one from start to finish.

The streamer is renowned for such challenge runs, such as the instance he went through the title solely with bombs or the effort where he tried to defeat the story with zero stamina. A single stick run, however, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which forces the hero to wield the legendary blade. Then, there's the whole durability system, which is particularly relevant when working with the most fragile tool in the entire world. Yet if the stick breaks, that's it. It's over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The simple answer is exploits. The complete answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can manipulate Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have distinct game sessions that impact one another. So the creator creates a “setup” save where he progresses normally, and the real save, where he's limited. The setup save has him completing the prologue and first starting area, and this Link gains full endurance and hearts. From this point, he triggers a cinematic and pauses partway through to tell the software to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and generates a third save file that merges the conditions of the original two.

That creates new issues, though. The merged save file has a Link that did not acquired the ability to enter sacred places. Fortunately, this is an issue that the save glitch addresses easily, but executing it means depending on an unstable build of the game that fails to load some areas. As with everything else, he has a technical workaround for it: He begins the game on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the game partway through to ensure it begins functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the prologue version of Link is programmed so that he is unable to break any weapons he wields, presumably to avoid a scenario where the user gets trapped at the beginning of the adventure. But that's additionally how the streamer gets around the durability problem, as the character he pulls between dimensions is the one from the beginning of the game. It's a smart trick, but not a method that eliminates all potential friction. The stick is nonetheless a ineffective item that makes battles tedious. But at that stage, it's all a question of grit and dedication. It also aids that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an abundant supply of consumables to boost his strength, or accumulate on revival fairies. He also employs a bug that enables him to clip through the environment. Some would find these means grounds to discredit the legitimacy of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a resourceful player who is willing to do whatever it takes to entertain his viewer. He further uses a penalty of kinds stating that, for each fairy he employs, he'll remove a fan from his Twitch chat, establishing an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Final Encounter

The streamer succeeds to defeat many of the game's bosses, but the fights appear grueling. The YouTube edit of his quest spares the audience endure the whole conflicts, which is a good thing when a few of them take several hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, takes an astonishing 23 straight. The final villain battle, which depletes Link's health as it unfolds, is a memorable tense moment. The unbreakable branch is after all only a stick. He is unable to necessarily duplicate objects during the fight.

Did he succeed? Technically, he manages to overcome the beast form of Ganon. But the software compels the player to use the legendary weapon as the last attack, so technically, it's not quite completely a stick-only run. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, PointCrow removed over 1,000 people in his live stream. Rest in peace.