Demon Slayer The Hinokami Chronicles: Exploration Guide, Icon Meanings, and How to Get S-Rank

While Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles is mainly a fighting game, a crucial element is exploring the open-world areas, like forests and towns.

So, to help you explore and find everything that you need to in Demon Slayer, this guide will give you tips for exploring the open-world of The Hinokami Chronicles, including what each icon means.

Use your map to find everything in The Hinokami Chronicles

Your map is the most critical thing for you in these settings. Luckily, unlike in other games, all of the unlockable items and interactive points are already located on the map for you.

To use the map, press Triangle/Y, using R2/RT to zoom in and L2/LT to zoom out. You can toggle the Map Key with R1/RB.

Understand what each icon on the map indicates

There will be several different icons on your map. Most notably, the gold stars represent Kimetsu Points (KP) – which are used for unlocking rewards – and the iridescent stone represents Memory Fragments for you to view. The latter offer much deeper context into the story should you want to revisit or experience it for the first time.

The blue exclamation points represent Reward Missions – which primarily involve just talking to people. These will unlock rewards should you speak to all of the people listed. The double orange exclamation points are storyline-advancing Destination points. Only hit these once you have collected everything else on the map, but you should keep in mind that you are able to replay chapters after completing them.

To interact with all of these icons, simply walk up to them and press X/A.

Look for lines of light to access different areas

At certain points while exploring, you may notice that a KP orb or Memory Fragment is seemingly inaccessible. Many times, to acquire these, you will need not only to take a circuitous route to claim it, but also may need to hop along rooftops and gates. As you cannot jump while in these settings, you’ll need to find the hidden path.

You will see a strand of light blue, nearly white light to access some of these areas. Usually, Tanjiro will use nearby crates and boxes to jump up to and down from rooftops. Many times, those pesky KP orbs and Memory Fragments will be at the other end of these paths.

Beyond collecting those, sometimes these lights actually guide you toward the necessary path for story progression, such as when chasing Yushiro. In any case, keep an eye out for these lines to collect everything on the map in The Hinokami Chronicles.

Utilize Tanjiro’s astounding scent and clear areas before progressing

In Chapter Two, “The Swamp Demon,” Tanjiro’s tasked with following a demon’s scent to find clues and their location. To trigger Tanjiro’s “Track Scent” ability, simply press R2/RT.

The screen will go grey for a few seconds as a red swirl of lines should appear, guiding you to your destination. If you don’t see any red lines and you know that you need to track a scent, backtrack until you find the red lines. When chasing Yushiro to meet with Tamayo, you will notice the scent lines acting strangely. This is all part of the story.

In Northwest Town, which you’re investigating, after hitting all three Destination (orange exclamation) points, the story progresses to another area immediately. So, this is why clearing the map before proceeding is key.

Expect battles when approaching key areas

Knowing when a battle may occur may be your signal to quit and to come back later or, as right after completing the battles, there’s a timely autosave, you could do a quick battle to finish your run for the time being.

While battles are not in real-time, you will still encounter demons when in these open-world settings. Usually, the easy way to distinguish when this will happen is if you come across an open, circular area on the map. A demon will appear, and the battle screen will ensue.

Sometimes, while exploring a town, you will encounter a demon on a long, narrow street. The only issue here is that most town-like areas in the game have these areas, so predicting which ones will have a demon encounter is more difficult.

Replay chapters and scenes to get to S-Rank

Particularly when trying to achieve S-rank, replaying chapters and scenes will become routine. If you are struggling in a certain area or battle, just complete it and come back to it later. If you are in a rush and want to progress the story, nab the collectibles when you replay.

For example, let’s say that you saw a nice shot and missed your chance to take a screenshot. Replaying those scenes will give you that chance, and as you have already watched the cut-scenes, you can skip until you hit the one that you want.

Lastly, when collecting all of the rewards on the map and completing all of the missions, you may also receive special missions when back on the Story Mode screen. Even though you don’t have to explore to engage in these battles, completing these special missions is also critical to obtaining all of the collectibles and S-ranks.

That’s your guide to exploring in The Hinokami Chronicles! Remember, above all else, the map is your best friend in these open areas.