Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin/Chapter 1

Dragon's Tunnel -Hidden Cove-
New gameplay mechanics:
 * Pause menu: You can now access the pause screen, that allows you to wear equipment, see your inventory, etc.
 * Fighting skill: You can equip fighting skills in the pause menu. You should have Frontal Smash already unlocked but not equipped. So equip it to make your life easier.

Before going anywhere, you may want to equip your Treasured Traveling Hat and your Frontal Smash skill.

To the left is a bush that you can strike for goodies. Then head right.

Dragon's Tunnel -Part 1-
Keep heading right, jumping over the boulders. There is a bush between the rocks with goodies inside. Keep going right and kill the first of many hare enemies. Kill it and move to the right.

Note: Enemies will drop green stones called amber when you kill them and other items. At first they are just going to drop on the floor, but if you kill all enemies on the screen, they will be automatically attracted to you, so there's no need to manually walk over them to grab them unless you don't plan on killing everything.

You will meet another hare, but this time friends will come and help it. Just make sure to keep all the enemies on the same side to avoid being flanked. You can use the raiment to easily move from one side to the other. Kill them, get the bush (if you didn't grab it while fighting) and go right. Use the raiment to get past the gap, nab that bush and climb up. You should see a humanoid pig with a shield. Just use the raiment and backstab him, but be aware of the hare ready to ambush.

Dragon's Tunnel -Part 2-
Keep going right, you will see hares before long and a bush. Kill them. Between the rocks ahead will be another bush and another demon pig, this time with a club. Use the same strategy and get behind him and stab it to death. Just be aware of the demon hare archer on the right, you may want to go for it first since they are annoying.

At the gap, you can go down for a bush and a locked door (you'll get the key later). Head back up and go right. Use your raiment to climb and face more demon hares with reinforcements. Kill or run away from them to the next area.

Dragon's Tunnel -Rear Exit-
At this point I won't mention the bushes anymore. They are fairly obvious with the shimmering. I will only mention those that are out of the way. Keep heading right and you will stumble upon your first boss fight.

Boss: Ashigumo

This enemy will be a bit more tricky than the stupid hares or pigs you've fought until now. He will jump around throwing needles or will try hitting you with its weapon if you get close. Needles can be reflected by striking them with your weapon mid-flight. I suggest using normal attacks in the beginning. Don't mindlessly spam combos since Sakuna will be slow to get away if you need to. You can use the raiment to catch up to him if he's keeping his distance. After a little bit, he will start glowing purple and jump pretty fast all around you. Just keep moving because at the end of that he will try to attack you from above. After that, he's left very open, so you can whack him with heavy attacks and hope you can nail him into a combo. If you can stagger him, you can also grapple him with the raiment to keep your attacks going.

Eventually something will happen and he will run away, just pursue him. You will finally hit the world map.

World Map
Just go to the Mountain Pass. There's nowhere else you can go right now.

Mountain Pass
New gameplay mechanics:
 * Day/night cycle: From now on, time will pass whenever you're not in the pause screen, in cutscenes or on the world map. This will be important when growing rice later obviously, but the important thing is that demons grow stronger at night and you can't see well at night, making stage hazards more dangerous and enemy attacks harder to read. You can check the time of day with the icon on the upper right, which will show the sun and moon rotation.
 * Seasons and date: Every time the moon reaches the mid point in the day/night cycle (midnight), the date changes. Each season consists of three days, after that the season will change. Important for growing rice but it can also affect things you can gather from stages.
 * Temperature: Meter in the top shows how warm and cold it is, self-explanatory. One of the mechanics for rice growing.
 * Weather: Meter in the top right shows whether it is cloudy, rainy/snowing or if the sky is clear. One of the mechanics for rice growing. It also affects visibility somewhat in stages.
 * Home foraging: ! marks will appear around the mountain pass. You can collect items from them, as well as critters like frogs or spiders that will be useful for growing rice.
 * Hunger: While Sakuna can fight on an empty stomach, you won't regenerate health if you're hungry.
 * Dinner: Eating allows Sakuna to sate her hunger. However you won't be cooking meals just yet. Eating dinner immediately skips to night, so keep that in mind. To eat dinner just get inside the house and talk to the lady.
 * Resting: Can be used to skip time. Do that if you've got nothing else to do.

Just run up and an event will happen. A day will pass and you will be asked to go forage for food. One of the NPCs will be running the farm for now, so you don't have to worry about that. You can be proactive and collect food around the home, as well as bugs and other creepy crawlies (they will be useful later even if you're not aware of it). In the storehouse, there is a broom two-handed weapon that you can pick up. There is also a small cave right before the exit, inside is the training area and a chest with a bunch of scrolls. Once you're done, you can go straight to the world map from the pause menu.

Cylindric Caverns
New gameplay mechanics:
 * Main Quest: Accomplish the objective to advance the storyline.
 * Exploration objectives: Most of the places you can explore have exploration objectives. Fulfilling them will increase your exploration level, increasing the amount of areas you can explore.

On the first screen keep going right. There will be a box (chest) with a scroll inside. Further right under the cliff there will be your first mining node. You will probably get clay, or bronze ore or maybe iron if you're lucky. Just hit it with your weapon to mine it (they give 2 items and then they are empty and refill every season). Then climb up and to the right. You will fight a couple of demon hares then keep going.

More rabbit hares and this time there will be one archer. Take out the archer first if you want, kill the rest. More will appear with another archer on the left side. Proceed right and you will fight a dozen demon sparrows. They will nose dive at you and can be annoying if they spread out, so try to stagger them into a group if possible. More will appear after you kill the first group, kill those too. A cutscene will happen when you're done and you will complete an exploration objective. While you're there, hit the mining nodes on the right to complete another one, then leave using the pause screen.

Depending on how long it took you to complete everything, you may have the time to go through this area again to kill more enemies for amber, meats and other goodies. However, if it gets dark, go back home because the demons will become much stronger and kill you easily.

Home / Mountain Pass
Note: From now, the Mountain Pass is the "Home". That's what the world map calls it now.

Immediately you should get a cutscene. Then walk up to Tauemon for another cutscene. A day should pass and you will be able to start growing rice.

New gameplay mechanics:
 * Rice planting: You will be able to plant rice now and control the water level using the two gates.
 * Fertilizer: Although not formally introduced yet, you can now make fertilizer using poop from the latrines and dumping it into the fertilizer bassin. Read a farming guide for details.
 * Weeding: Weeds will be sprouting in your field. You should remove them as you spot them.
 * Sub Quests: Your followers might have tasks for you. Completing them unlocks things usually.

Once the cutscene ends, start planting rice. It's a little difficult at first with no farming skills, but there isn't that many to plant this time around. Rice farming is not really optional, although Tauemon can do the work for you but it will always be terrible. It's worth noting that growing rice is the only way to increase Sakuna's statistics and quality directly relates to her growth. Kinta should have a sub quest for you, which will unlock his tool workshop. Myrtle will also have a sub quest (in the house), it should be done so you can actually cook decent meals unless you love emergency rations and charcoal. Leave when you're done doing whatever you like.

World Map
If you haven't unlocked the next area yet, go back to Cylindric Caverns and complete more exploration objectives. Once you're ready, go to Skipping Stone Hill.

At this point, the date and seasons may differ from the walkthrough. Feel free to take your time and enjoy the game.

Skipping Stone Hill
Note: Equip the Frontal Smash skill if you haven't. It is required to progress in this area.

Head right for a small cutscene. You will find a small rock in front of wall. Use Frontal Smash to send the rock flying toward the wall, revealing a path forward. Go down and then left, to find hares. You can kill them easily by smashing rocks at them with Frontal Smash. There will be a handful of reinforcements, deal with them. Go down and then right. You should see a demon hare archer on the other side, grapple yourself to it or fling a rock at it. Behind it is a chest with a scroll and a mining node. Next go down and then right again to find more hares and a bipedal pig. You can smash the hares into the pig to weaken it and then finish it off with regular attacks from behind. Be mindful of reinforcements.

After the fight, you can fling a rock on the wall to the right for a hidden mining node. Go up and you will notice three rocks on a ledge, you can fling these toward the right up the hill to dispatch hares and also to gain access to a chest through a breakable wall. The chest contains a Health Boost spirit bough. I suggest you equip it to your Autumnal Hunter's Garment for the time being.

New Mechanic:
 * Spirit Bough: Some spirit boughs can be found pre-equipped on equipment and cannot be removed. You can also find loose spirit boughs in the world that can be equipped in free slots on your equipment. Spirit boughs can be upgraded if conditions are met.

After getting the spirit bough, climb up at the end of the left platform, you will see a large empty area. On the other side is another chest, you will need to grapple up and then grapple to the left as you fall to reach it. Inside is a Powder of Transformation, a rare item that lets you instantly prepare fertilizer. Normally fertilizer requires many hours before it matures enough to be used. Go back to the right side once you're done and then go up and left.

You will get into a fight with hares, then swallows and pigs. Once again use the rocks to your advantage but be wary of rebounding rocks. Once you've killed everything, you should have completed one exploration objective. Leave the area.

World Map
Den of Fangs should unlock if you completed enough exploration objectives.

Den of Fangs
Be wary of the jagged rocks on surfaces. These will hurt you on contact. If you fling enemies into them, sometimes they will break and yield a rock (material).

Jump over the rock spikes while heading right. Hit the chest for a scroll and then climb up. You will fight hares with spikes on the sides, just fling them into the spikes to kill them easily.

Go right and then down. This time there will be archer hares and a pig and be careful of new hares joining the fight. Go right and then up. To the upper right is a chest with a Kitsune Mask. Equip it now to get the ability to detect nearby treasures.

Go back to the left. Smash the hares into the pig and archer hare and continue.

Go up and then right for another fight with spikes. Be careful of hares that toss small red bombs, although the bombs can do friendly fire, so use that to your advantage. Once the flag appears, leave the level.

World Map
Bounteous Earth Grotto will probably unlock. It's not a combat area but it has many bushes to fish for items and you can also forage there. There is a chest with a scroll and another with Salt x5.

New gameplay mechanics:
 * Foraging: In exchange for a lot of time, you can forage specific locations for items. The items you can get are random from a pre-established list. Some items are rarer than others.

Head to Eggplant Hollow next.

Eggplant Hollow
Note: This area can be a little big. It is suggested to go there in the morning if you want to clear it in one go. Otherwise you might have to cut it in two days.

Eggplant Hollow -Entrance-
Toward the right is a chest with another scroll. Keep going and jump over the rock pillars. Kill the hares and then the sparrows, then go right and drop down.

Eggplant Hollow -Interior-
You will notice a door. You will need two key parts to open it. There is also a chest, open it for another scroll. Go left and kill two hares then go down. Kill the axe wielding pig and the hare archer. You can also break the wood structure for a piece of wood (material). Keep going down, defeating pigs, hare archers on the way. Once you reach a large room, you will have a melee with more of them including reinforcements. Some sparrows will also join the fun. After the fight, there will be a chest with a Waning Crescent Stone (one of the keys).

Climb all the way up and go right past the door. Go down and kill the hares, archer hares and pigs. Climb up and go left, killing more along the way. You will find a chest with a Waxing Crescent Stone (the second key). You will find a room full of enemies right after. Kill them all and go left to find the door again. With the keys, open it.

Eggplant Hollow -Depths-
A cutscene will play and you will have a new boss to kill.

Boss: Red Belly

A big pig with a red chestplate. He acts similar to the other pigs. He is not alone though, there is plenty of other pigs and hares too (including archers) which will reinforce endlessly. Red Belly likes to jump in the air, trying to crush you underneath. Make sure to move or grapple away when that happens. You can smash other enemies at him to deal some damage.

If you have trouble with the boss, you can die and the game will reload before you opened the door. Go home and grow your rice, grow more powerful in the process and come back. Make sure to unlock Kinta's workshop to upgrade your weapons too. You can also use your skills and increase their proficiency level. The Copper Sickle should make short work of all the lesser enemies and releasing its power will boost its damage against the boss.

Once the boss is defeated, a cutscene plays. You will get the very useful spirit bough Tycoon for your troubles. You will also complete the Main Quest "Warm Up". Leave the level.

Home
Return home and have dinner to progress to the next chapter. You will also unlock a new location called Hare's Nest Knoll.