One could think that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of novel self-imposed challenges that impose unique restrictions on a playthrough. However, although many players have attempted to complete Tears of the Kingdom using only a stick, streamer the streamer holds the record as the individual who endeavored to beat the adventure with a one stick—specifically, the very same stick throughout.
The streamer is famous for such difficult playthroughs, like the time he played the title using only bombs or the attempt where he aimed to defeat the game with zero stamina. A single stick run, though, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to wield the legendary blade. Then, there's the whole durability system, which is especially important when dealing with the weakest weapon in the whole game. Yet if the branch shatters, that's the end. Game over.
How did he do it? The simple answer is glitches. The full answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. It turns out, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have distinct playthroughs that impact one another. So the creator creates a “preparation” file where he progresses standardly, and the actual file, where he's limited. The setup save has him completing the prologue and first tutorial island, and this character acquires full stamina and hearts. From here, he starts a cinematic and pauses midway through to tell the software to open an automatic save from the stick file. The game gets confused and creates a third save file that combines the states of the original two.
That causes fresh problems, however. The fused save file has a protagonist that never obtain the ability to access shrines. Luckily, this is an issue that the file exploit addresses readily, but pulling it off means depending on an buggy build of the title that refuses to load certain locations. Like everything else, he has a technical workaround for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the game midway through to ensure it begins working properly.
Curiously, the prologue form of the hero is coded so that he is unable to break any weapons he wields, likely to prevent a scenario where the player gets stuck at the start of the game. But that's additionally how PointCrow gets around the durability issue, as the Link he transfers across universes is the version from the start of the story. It's a smart trick, but not a method that eliminates all possible friction. The branch is still a weak item that makes battles tedious. But at that point, it's entirely a question of determination and perseverance. It also helps that there's a copying exploit that gives him an plentiful number of items to improve his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He also employs a glitch that enables Link to clip through the environment. A few would consider these methods reason to discredit the validity of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a resourceful gamer who is ready to do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. He further implements a safeguard of sorts stipulating that, for each spirit he employs, he'll ban one fan from his live stream, creating an motivation to not depend too much on them.
PointCrow manages to defeat several of the game's main enemies, but the fights look grueling. The video version of his journey doesn't make the viewer sit through the entire conflicts, which is a good thing when some of them take several long hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, takes an incredible twenty-three straight. The final villain showdown, which erases the hero's health as it progresses, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible stick is still just a stick. He is unable to necessarily clone items during the fight.
Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow manages to overcome the beast form of Ganon. But the game forces the player to use the Master Sword as the final attack, so technically, it's not quite completely a stick-only playthrough. But what fun is that?
When everything is said and done, PointCrow banned more than 1,000 users in his live stream. Rest in peace.
