Warning: This guide has a lot of pictures.

If the pictures are too small at first glance, click on it with the mouse, Steam should zoom the picture.

If the zoomed picture is still too small, (particularly that large Cinder Chambers map),
click on the URL that you see in zoom mode,
this leads to a 2nd zoom that will display the original size of the picture.

The main aim of this guide is for a path that involves minimal backtracking, getting items along the way, opening up paths as soon as possible, etc. Basically you can call it sequence-breaking for the first half of the game. You do not have to follow this guide exactly if you want to explore in your own style.

This guide is meant for the more experienced players who are already familiar with the enemy attack patterns and able to pull off a minimal or no player damage run.

If you are playing this game for the first time while referencing this guide, some areas may be hard, this is to be expected. Read the manual about the basic gameplay,
the developer did post it to the store page.

For this guide, I will only be covering through text and pictures:
- missable map areas
- all 17 health upgrades
- all 20 Ivory bug locations (another player has made a guide only about this)
- best money farming location
- important factor about the endings

Not covering, especially through GIFs and videos:
- differences between difficulties
- differences between New Game+ of different difficulties
- full Steam achievement list
- strategy for each boss

fun fact: all bosses with a health bar drop an item if you win the fight without taking damage

Take note if you are aiming for these Game Clear acheivements:

• No deaths game
  Every time you die, reload from a save file, do not hit Retry.
  
  
• Pacifist game
  You can only kill all the bosses with a healthbar, the knight miniboss in Karst City, the other miniboss in the final area of the game, and the enemy dogs that the Subterranean Grave boss summons. Actively killing any other enemy in the game disables the achievement progress.
  A bit more info on what you can do can be found in this discussion thread.
  
  
• Insane difficulty
  Health upgrades are almost useless for a large part of the game, so your best option is to be extremely good at dodging enemy attacks, while relying on your passive items for a better damage output.

You're in the Starting Forest, just head a bit left to check out the scenery.
This is a dead end, but necessary for 100% map completion. Now progress to the right.
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Missable room if you didn't look properly.

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You can't do anything for now with that narrow path, just head down on the elevator.
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Hit the wall with the Maple Leaf to reveal a hidden path. This should be your first health upgrade (the game calls it Vitality Fragment).

Vitality Fragment No.1

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At the branching path take the left path and continue to a huge enemy.

Arrow attacks will do consistent damage but only the Maple Leaf deals occasional stunned effect.

There is also the option to roll past it, but you may suffer damage.

The item behind this enemy is the Astral Charm,
which occasionally doubles the money you get from enemies.
(long term usefulness outside boss battles)

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Ivory Bug No.1
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I chose not to kill this spider since its mostly harmless, but walking into it will still damage you.

Killing this one will prevent the spider shopkeeper from appearing in the Cinder Chambers

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The 2nd health upgrade, again you need to whack the wall with the Maple Leaf.

Vitality Fragment No.2

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At a branching path, there will be an imp NPC at one end.

You cannot do anything for now, but remember this imp, there is a Steam achievement here.

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Missable area if you weren't observant enough.

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Ivory Bug No.2

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Minor trivia.

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Remember this location, it is important but you can only access it later.

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Ivory Bug No.3

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This should be the first blocked door you encounter in the game,
you can't do anything yet, so progress upwards.

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This is an important location which you cannot access for now,
you need all 4 crests to enter that place,
and which begins the second half the game.

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3rd health upgrade.
Be careful of a hidden dog near the boxes and barrels.

Vitality Fragment No.3

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Drop down and get money from the chest,
but don't continue downwards, just continue to the right as before.

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There is a Bellflower item there,
watch out for an ambush by the nearby spirit.

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Unlock the door,
(and save at the nearest bell if you wish)
then go for the boss fight.

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After the boss fight, head left to enjoy the scenery.
(Another dead end, but for map completion thing)
Now progress to the right.

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Near the knight after the cutscene,
there are actually 3 branching paths.

Take the middle path and head to the end to acquire the Magnet Stone,
which auto-attracts all money dropped by defeated enemies.

Combining Magnet Stone & Astral Charm will increase your money collection at a steady rate.

Now take the lower path into an underwater area.
This is the main sequence-break of this guide.

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After the cutscene with the woman,
just take the ladder & climb up one screen (for map completion),
then drop back down and continue deeper into the area.

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Find the shopkeeper and buy the Clarity Shard.
That item temporarily lightens up the area.
The blockade beside him cannot be removed from your side, so take note of what you need to do when you end up on the other side.

Exit the shopkeeper room and progress downwards.

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This room is a dead end,
and the chest has money but also spawns an enemy, so be careful.

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Take the upper right path, shoot an arrow at the orb to free the NPC you met earlier in the forest.
Nothing can be done to save the other NPC that is still in the cage.
(There is an Ivory bug beside the orb, but you only return for it later)

Exit the room and head left.

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Ignore the right path and head left for now.

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Go downwards first, and you will find the Garden Key at the end.

Backtrack out and continue deeper into the area.
Take note of the sparkling item near the bell for later.


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Vitality Fragment No.4

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Remember that blockade?
Get rid of it by luring the bomber,
head into the shopkeeper room and save your game.

Return to the bomber room, head upwards,
and get rid of the scythe enemy before meeting the boss.If it spawns and you just run to meet the boss instead, it will pose as an extra hazard during the boss fight.



PACIFIST MODE: You can avoid that enemy from spawning by immediately using double-jump across her supposed appearance right after entering this room.

If that doesn't work, the longer, alternative solution is to delay the boss fight for later. Once you get the Garden Key, open the blockade beside the shopkeeper, then head for the Cat Sphere in Memorial Garden to unlock warping. Get the air-dash ability from the Cinder Chambers boss, then warp back to this area to face the boss.

The devs have mentioned that killing the dog enemies this boss summons will not affect the Pacifist acheivement.
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Beating the boss here and entering the room after it leads to your first Crest Fragment.

This Crest Fragment increases your arrow charging speed.

Backtrack to the path you ignored earlier,
with the Garden Key, you can continue without problems into Memorial Park.

Whack the wall with the Maple Leaf to continue.

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Remember that item for later,
it is of significant importance.

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Personally, I would not take the left path down the ladder, its more trouble than its worth.

For the sake of map completion,
just slide one screen down the ladder,
climb back up and then proceed to the right for the next room.

Ignore the ladder to the upper path,
take the lower one for now.

At the bottom of that ladder, proceed to the left one screen, then back out towards the right.

This is the area down the ladder you ignored earlier, and if you check the map system,
it will be counted as explored.

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The path to the right of this ladder leads to a Bellflower.
If you think the path is dangerous, head down the ladder and save at the bell there.

The room after the bell is another boss fight.
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After beating the boss, inspect to the left for an item.

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Head up and ignore the uppermost path.

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Ivory Bug No.4
(ignore the ingame numbering, the numbering I'm writing here is according to the guide)

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Ivory Bug No.5.

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There is a hidden room down there which you can only enter as a cat.

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You will end up at the area I told you to remember earlier, pick up the item and it turns out to be the Cat Sphere.

Go to inventory screen and equip it to active slot.

Keyboard players just need to hit W to alternate between human form & cat form.

While you're still in this Memorial Park area,
backtrack towards the boss room.

Along the way, as a cat, get Ivory Bug No.6

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At the boss room head a bit to the right for map completion.

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Once done at the boss room, head for the upper path you ignored earlier.

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The NPC you rescued earlier will be here in this room, re-enter the room again and he will have disappeared.

Take the elevator ride.

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Hit the switch on your way up.
This removes an important blockade.
Ignore that path and continue upwards.

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You will reappear in Karst City, the door opens since you have the Garden Key.
For now, head right all the way into the Monastery and save there.

Ignore the rest of the Monastery area for now,
Return to the Karst City room with the Garden Key door and now head upwards.

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From this point onwards make sure to conserve your HP while you head to the left.

Remember this important area for later,
what you do or don't do here will have an effect for the game's ending.

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Drop down for a health upgrade.
( Vitality Fragment No.5 )

Whatever HP you have with you now is what you have for the upcoming miniboss.
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Once you beat the miniboss, ignore the lower path, (your map shows completion)
now head to the left and upwards all the way back to the forest area.
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Extra note: Ivory Bug No.7

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Your target destination is the bell area near a tunnel,
which you can currently access since you now have the Cat Sphere.

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At the branching path,
heading right leads to a health upgrade.
(Vitality Fragment No.6)

Once you're done, backtrack to the left.

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Kaho's human form usually has a hard time reaching the 2nd wooden platform.

Switch to Cat form.
Double jump from the first platform and you will reach the 2nd platform with ease.

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Proceed upwards and you will find the 2nd Crest Fragment.

This Crest Fragment enables you to warp between the bells of areas you've already visited.
(Only one bell per area, not every bell)

Basically you can teleport FROM ANY BELL,
but you can only teleport TO CERTAIN BELLS.

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On your way out to the nearest bell,
get the Ivory Bug along the way.

Ivory Bug No.8

From the nearest bell, warp to the Forlorn Monastery. Head left, then down past the Ivory Bug bunny, then right to the unexplored section you ignored earlier.

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At the branching path,
heading right leads to a health upgrade.
( Vitality Fragment No.7)

Go down the ladder when you're done.

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You will be entering the Cinder Chambers area.

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The path is pretty linear for now other than a locked door, so proceed.

Ignore the upper right path that exits the area, take the ladder down.
Drop down to the jelly, then ignore the lower path, climb back up and take the middle path.

You will eventually drop down to some branching paths.

Right leads to a shopkeeper. Buy what you find useful.

Left leads to a dead end, but you should go there once for map completion. Down the ladder to proceed.

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Just follow pictures.

Get the items from the spider shopkeeper if you think its worth it, and you have enough money.

Save at the bell and continue to the right.

Once you drop down at the end of the rightmost room and continue further, you will meet a boss fight.

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The room behind the boss leads to your 3rd Crest Fragment.

This Crest Fragment allows mid-air dodging / dashing.

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While you are still in the area, do not warp out yet.
Explore for map completion.
Backtrack out to the left.

With some luck, you can get an arrow to hit the explosive barrels which opens the path.
Be careful of the spikes, then get the health upgrade and the Cinder Key.
Whack the wall with the Maple Leaf and get the Ivory Bug.
(Vitality Fragment No.8 + Ivory Bug No.9)

Climb the ladder to leave this floor.
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Look for this room and head all the way to the left, ignore the ladder in the middle.
Get the health upgrade and hit the switch to disable the spiked balls.
(Vitality Fragment No.9)
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Exit this floor by climbing the ladder.

Extra Note: Ivory Bug No.10

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Look for this path and go all the way to the right.
Get the Ivory Bug along the way

Ivory Bug No.11

You will finally leave the Cinder Chambers by climbing the ladder, which leads to the Forlorn Monastery area.

You can't enter the room beside the ladder yet, so climb to the top.
You will emerge at a crossroads, since you can go in 4 directions.

Save at the nearby bell, then head all the way to the right.

The woman dressed in black here has some interesting dialogue since you defeated the witch and her demons first, and haven't met the monastery sister dressed in white yet.

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Welcome to the best money farming spot in the whole game, or at least I think it is.

Equip Astral Charm + Magnet Stone, run across the bridge to a safe spot and watch the projectiles destroy themselves on the spikes below, but don't exit the room in a hurry, make sure the magnet does its job first.

For those doing Pacifist Mode or Insane Difficulty, this is your best place to gather money. (Devs said that enemies destroying themselves doesn't affect Pacifist Mode.)

Get the amount you need and buy whatever is useful from the shopkeeper.
Head right from the bell when done.

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My favourite room in the whole game,
since I like cats.

Backtrack to the bell after getting the Monastery Key.

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Head upwards from the bell and proceed to the left.

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Health upgrade at the end of the path.
(Vitality Fragment No.10)

Now backtrack to the crossroads.
(Room with 4 directions.)

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At the crossroads room, head up,
ride the elevator, and at the branching path,
explore to the left all the way to the end.

There is a strong enemy along the way,
but you can choose to kill it or just avoid it.
There is an item near it too.

The final room on this path has a large bell,
whack it with the Maple Leaf for some money.

Backtrack to the branching path near the elevator when done.
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From the branching path near the elevator,
head right.

Whack the block near the bell with the Maple Leaf to reveal a hidden path, then explore it.
Ivory Bug No.12

Save at the bell then proceed to the right for a tough boss fight.

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Extra note: Ivory Bug No.13

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After you beat the boss, the room behind her has your 4th Crest Fragment.

This Crest Fragment grants a new bow charge level.
( You now have all 4 of them !! )
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While you are still in the Monastery area, use the nearest bell to teleport to Monastery itself.
You will arrive near the woman dressed in black, she is the sister of the boss you just killed.

Give her the Soft Tissue, exit the room by going left (not teleport out), then reenter.
Now that you have 4 Crest Fragments, the woman dressed in black should have disappeared.

She can be found at the room beside the ladder, but beware, she is now a boss fight.

If you followed this guide, beating this boss gets you a Steam achievement.

After defeating the 2nd Monastery sister,
warp to the Subterranean Grave aka the underwater area, you will appear next to the shopkeeper.

Head back to the jailed NPC area, and as a cat, get the Ivory Bug.

Ivory Bug No.14

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Go deeper in the underwater area and as a cat, get that sparkling item. (MUSHROOM)
Then use the bell and warp to Sacred Ordalia Grove aka Forest Area.

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When you arrive at the bell in the forest, head right and enter the narrow path as a cat.
Once down, take the elevator down and continue through the area.
Vitality Fragment No.11

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Extra Note: Ivory Bug No.15

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Remember that Imp?
Give the mushroom you found to her.

*Steam achievement*

That's all the possible exploration you can do for now,
your map status should show up as 67% map completion, with two untouched areas.

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A & B refer to these areas respectively.
Both of them are in Karst City.
Your next destination, aka the 2nd half of the game, is head to A.

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With the 4 Crest Fragments,
head for the new area to explore.
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Vitality Fragment No.12

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Head down left for map exploration.
Door is locked, enter by using the tunnel as a cat.
Hit a wall with the Maple Leaf to reveal a secret room.

The theme the music box plays is probably one of the themes from the earlier Momodora games, if I remember correctly. Then backtrack out and climb upwards.

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You can only ignore the room on the left for now, its a one way route.

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Vitality Fragment No.13

Buy what you may need, save your game too.
The nearby door is blocked for now, so head upwards.

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Vitality Fragment No.14

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Ivory Bug No.16

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Ivory Bug No.17

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Ivory Bug No.18

Activate all 3 orbs and enter the path that opens at the top.

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Not sure what you can do with that mysterious skull, your only option is going down the ladder.
You will reach the one way room earlier where you saw the sparkling item you could not get.

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Backtrack to the orbs area and head right.
Avoid the falling platform and head upwards for an important item.

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This item lets you enter the other blocked path in Karst City, (labelled B earlier).

That place in Karst City determines the ending you will get for this game.

For now, after getting the item, drop down the falling platform you avoided moments ago.
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Exploration is linear, you can only go southwest.

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Once you drop down here, unlock the door on the left, save, then continue by going down the ladder.

The path to the right is ignored due to another blocked door.
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Hit switch to continue.

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Head to the left for map completion, unlock the door, save at the bell if you want, then head all the way right from here. Get ready for a boss fight.

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Beyond the boss room is the final area of the game, Karst Castle

Save at the bell, do not teleport away yet,
or you will have to re-explore Royal Pinacotheca to reach this place again.

Heading to the right is a dead end because you can't jump high enough over the bridge,
so go down the ladder.
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The path onwards from the ladder is pretty linear, so once you reach level ground again,
head left for map exploration, and hit the switch for the bridge.


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At the branching path, head to the right first.
There is a bell there which is the teleport destination for this area.

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With this teleport destination in reach, you can choose between what ending to get for the game,
see section on The Maple Leaf for more info.

You can do it now or later (when you reach the other side of the blockade).

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Head back to the branching path and climb upwards.

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Ivory Bug No.19

As a cat, double jump then air-dash to get the bug and land safely on a platform.

Head upwards when done.
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The path is linear, soon you will reach the blockade again.

Hit the switch to remove it, save, then progress to the right.

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Missable area if you are not observant enough.
Continue east in this area.

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Vitality Fragment No. 15

Backtrack to the large spike pit, and use the double jump + air dash technique again.

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At the branching path, head right first.

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You will reach another branch, to the left is a Bellflower, to the right leads to a health upgrade.

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Don't walk across all platforms at once,
jump or dash between some platforms,
so you can travel to the health upgrade and leave safely.

Vitatiliy Fragment No.16

Head back to the upper path you skipped earlier.

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Head left for map completion, head upwards for progress.

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Missable area, whack that block with the leaf.

Vitality Fragment No.17

You should be getting the Steam achievement for all health upgrades now.

That odd number is strange though, I hope I remembered things correctly.
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Ivory Bug No.20, the last one.

You're not getting the achievement yet, you have to return to the rabbit.

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This is your final save point in the game.
Don't teleport yet, but slowly move to the right.

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Slowly move to just before that imaginary line,
and you should get the Steam achievement for 100% map exploration.


You can fight the boss right now for the ending,see section on Maple Leaf for more info.

I would go for a final backtrack through earlier areas though.

Use the bell and teleport to the Forlorn Monastery.
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From the Forlorn Monastery destination bell, head all the way to the right.
At 100% map exploration, an interesting room has opened up, this is the Developer Commentary area.

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Use the bell near the dev room and teleport again to the Forlorn Monastery.
Look for the Garden Door in Karst City and enter there, go for the rabbit.

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Turn in all 20 Ivory Bugs and you get the Steam achievement.

You will also receive a Hazel Badge from the rabbit.

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Hazel Badge doesn't look useful?

Teleport to Karst City,
backtrack to the left and meet the woman again in the forest.

She will trade it for something much better;
the Blessing Charm.

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The only thing left for you to do now is teleport to Karst Castle and backtrack all the way to the final boss.

- You get an achievement for getting the True End.

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- You get another achievement after the final boss, if for every time you die, you reloaded from a save instead of retry. Since that counts as finishing a playthrough without dying.

After getting The Sealed Wind item from Royal Pinacotheca area, teleport to the Forlorn Monastery.

Make your way to this small hut.

Equip Sealed Wind in Active Slot,
use it near the hut.

As a cat, you can enter the room below.


PACIFIST MODE:
Save your game before coming here, then attack the witch beside the hut with the Maple Leaf once ( or twice ?) for the knockback effect, obviously, do not kill her. Then use the Sealed Wind item so that the area of effect only covers the hut but doesn't affect the witch.

Optionally, you can still get the Pacifist achievement even if you get the Bad End of the game.

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Game ending criteria:

If you beat the final boss in Karst Castle without upgrading the leaf, you will get an Alternate End.

You need to beat the final boss with the upgraded Maple Leaf to get the True End.
(The upgraded name is Fresh Spring Leaf).

All bosses with a health bar drop a bonus item if you win the fight without taking damage.
- Literally avoid change in player HP; eg no poison status, no tainted missives, no healing, etc
- If you leave the boss area without picking up the item, the item will disappear.

Active Slot Items (aka limited inventory stock)


Passive Slot Items (aka will always be in your inventory once you have it)


* Edea's Pearl is useful to earn, but you can buy an alternative from the shopkeeper.

** Pocket Incensory works two ways:
- if you get it from the boss, the shopkeeper will never sell it.
- if you buy it from the shopkeeper, the boss will never drop it.

*** Heavy Arrows is worth getting.

Key Item
True End Final boss drops Birthstone if you win the fight without damage,
you can only see this in your inventory on New Game +.
Likely a trophy item.