General information

Make sure you do the HDD Install (bottom option on the main menu) before doing any runs, it saves a TON of time on loads
Text is auto-skipped by holding R1+X
Despite being a Japanese game, select is X and not O. (Probably depends on system language)
Single sword seems to be the way to go for 99% of fighting.
Be careful when using the money sword, even if your attacks are blocked or countered it will still cost you
With clean gameplay, you can usually get away with 1 random encounter. Any more and you'll run out of money

Important location names

Tsuruya = the big building in the north
Tatsuya = kiryu's house
Kouetsu Mansion = where Florist lives, with the ninjas
Yoshioka Dojo = west of kouetsu mansion, where you do the ch6 boss

Prologue

Bottom option twice to the guy in your house
Dodge the man standing outside your house
Talk to the clerk in the close marked store
Talk to the clerk in the second marked store (tengu mask building, same side of the road)
Talk to the clerk at Ebisu Pawn (the far store in the top right*
Pick up the locker key at the shrine, go south and open the locker
Cross the street, talk to the marked lady, then go to the southwest corner for the tutorial
Tutorial 1: light attacks, grab attacks, weapon attacks (use the basin and the large stick), build heat, do heat actions
Return home for Tutorial 2: kill the 3 gourd enemies and take their gourds, block, R1 walk around, dodge rolls
Talk to the guy outside your house to continue

Chapter 1

Tutorial 3: Take out and put away your sword 5 times, light attacks, strong attacks (sq+tri), blocking, kicking (circle w/ sword out), charging (sq+tri, HOLD TRIANGLE after sliding past the wooden post)
Marume 1: Break his guard with a kick then combo him. Get rid of his yellow HP and he gets much more aggressive, then lose on purpose.
Go outside to Marume's house
Majima 1: full combos
Setpiece: All the intial enemies & the guys in the room are required, as are the guys in the second room
After the second room, go left and get the nameless katana. equip it and continue on to finish the setpiece

Chapter 2

Go outside, walk down the stairs, return and talk to Majima
Maruma 2: This fight sucks
Dual sword tutorial: block 10 times, then attack 10 times Do not hold R1 or the attacks probably won't count

Chapter 3

Bridge fight: You'll probably hit more enemies simultaneously if you stay on the bridge
Go inside the farmhouse and talk to the lady
Assassins: light attacks all day
Bounty hunters: kicks. Deal with the archers and the main guy first?

Chapter 4

Rainy fight: goooo
Grab the clothes before leaving the house
Hook left behind the house and jump off the ledge to go north to the city. Do not do this if an encounter has spawned nearby
2nd option to the guy in MEB, then return to your guide, then talk to the guy outside MEB and follow him north to Tsuruya
Tsuruya guy: kicks

Chapter 5

Ignore the first waypoint, go to the Tsuruya back door
Return home, tsuruya backdoor again, then go home (disregard the revelations tutor guy) and leave out the secret hatch (bottom option always)
Talk to marked guy blocking the gate. Walk back, 2nd to last option then last option to the info guy
Go to the southern of the 2 center streets (the crowded market street) and walk to the center of that for a fight
Go to the shogi place (top right corner of this area), top option to the guy sitting in the far corner and hand him your second item (it's a piece of paper)
Win the fight outside and top option to the marked guy guarding the gate to pass
Go to Kouetsu mansion, then start walking to Majima's cave
top option to the lady throwing water substory by the blacksmith to get 10k mon
Get stopped by the blacksmith. Dequip your greatsword slot (2nd menu option, 3rd weapon in the list) and equip the greatsword he gives you (2nd menu option, the now-empty third slot)
Greatsword tutorial: Block 5 shots with L1. Do not finish your combos (only swing twice) so enemies don't get knocked down.
Proceed to Majima's cave
Pick up all the items dropped by enemies in the first room, one of them is a silver plate (this sells for 10k)
break chains and barriers with the greatsword, otherwise move emptyhanded so you can run faster
After dropping down from the bridge, take the left path. Keep left and get the club (dont equip yet)
Proceed to Majima
Majima 2: do a full combo whenever he's in the process of standing up to hopefully keep him stunlocked (he will guard some stuff but you break it). His attacks are all blockable
Return to Kouetsu mansion

Chapter 6

Sell the silver plate at ebisu pawn for 10k, then go to the Tsuruya back door and return home
Taxi SE (down 1 option) and enter the marked house. Talk to the guy in the back for training
Taxi north (mash x) and to Kouetsu mansion. Bottom option twice to soup guy when he tells you about the police
After Kouetsu mansion take the Yoshioka Dojo taxi SW (down 1 option)
Talk to sword grandpa at the nearby intersection, top option twice (this substory unlocks another one later)
Walk south to the riverside tea shop, buy the dango (green balls), taxi back to yoshioka dojo (left two options) and give the danjo to florist
2nd option to florist to do his ninja training, then bottom option twice to leave
Do the substory with the crowd outside Kouetsu mansion to get the money sword (it's yellow, has 77 attack). Equip the money sword and the club now
Go to yoshioka dojo
First fight: Use kicks to break his guard between combos
Second fight: just attack

Chapter 7

Itou: First phase just attack, second and third phase he will block stuff. Stand back so he dodges in place, then punish the dodge with full combos.
Tsuruya back door, then Kouetsu mansion, then Tsuruya front door, then back home (some irrelevant things will happen along the way)
Go to Tsuruya, take this route to avoid the police:
Burning building setpiece: Ignore the first enemies and take the stairs
Fight the enemies in the two rooms on this floor, ignore the stash room pointed to in the cutscene and take the stairs
The route on the third floor can be a bit janky, check a vod
Armored guy, keep to the right of the pole right in front of you to avoid QTEs. Break armor with the greatsword then finish him with the single sword
Ninjas: They're ninjas

Chapter 8

Talk to the servant at Kamenoya (by the entrance to the Tsuruya back door area)
Go to Kouetsu mansion, then back to Kamenoya, then home
Taxi to the river tea house (left one option) and go south to Houzoin
Talk to the bald guy blocking the door then the old man on the left
Old man: fight him
Pass the bald guy, top option to glasses guy, SKIP THE MELONS (select, left, X, left, X), top option again
bottom option to desk guy to enter the tournament
Every tournament fight: Full combos stucklock

Chapter 9

Go home, exit out the front door and step forward for a cutscene
Yoshioka Dojo (taxi, left 2 options), Tsuruya front door, go home
Bottom option to the trap door at home to sleep, then taxi to yoshioka dojo and head west through the farm (note: you can walk off the path in the fields to avoid encounters)
Field boss: full combo stunlock
Field setpiece: Follow this map, ignoring all enemies:
Note that the last room enemies can't be ignored. Two enemies in here are "stunlock guys" who will do the sword unsheathing attack, it's quite annoying. Always prioritize them.
Walk across the entire map, take the east exit at the riverside tea shop to go to where the boss is. BEWARE the encounter on the bridge, it always spawns
Boss: Try to keep him on the elevated platform. If you get lucky you can skip all QTEs but he will typically at least summon his minions.

Chapter 10

Buy a dango at the yoshioka dojo tea house (bottom item)
Bottom option to skip playing dice, then do a fight
Hold right out of the fight after dice, there is almost always a random encounter standing right next to you and it is hard to avoid
Bottom option twice at the theater
Buy whatever you want at the restaurant
Bottom option at the shogi parlor, then quit shogi immediately, do the fight outside
If you run out of money, it will probably happen right here.
Take the rich guy to the main gate, go through your house to meet him on the other side, go to Tsuruya front door
The rich guy will now give you 40,000 mon
Go to Kiyomizu temple (taxi SE and walk south on the forest path)
Kiyomizu setpiece: Fight all the enemies in the initial area, stand by the stone wall and wait to get a bomb for it
Ignore all the enemies on the path leading behind the temple, just destroy the barriers with the club
After destroying the last barrier, backtrack a bit to the hut with the bombs. Get a bomb, then bring that to the back room and blow up the stone wall to skip the back room fight
Run up the stairs, take the flaming ball to the face (it does no damage), keep going
Majima 3: Don't let him stand close to the giant urns. If he gets on top of one, run far from it so he gets off it.

Chapter 11

Taxi SE, take the forest path to kiyomizu temple, leave out the marked door to go to Yagyu Village
Pupils: Deal with the high HP guy first, then take the armor off the armor guy who spawns and deal with him, then clean up (this fight sucks)
Marume 3: full combo stunlock. If you get knocked down and he starts charging / glowing red, let him do his attacks to burn the heat off

Chapter 12

Bottom option at Tsuruya front door, then taxi SE and go to the blacksmith to get the best weapon
Equip the new sword (it has 101 attack) and return home
Go to Kouetsu mansion, top option to florist
Yoshioka dojo taxi > riverside tea shop (left one option) and bottom option to the boat guy to start in the finale
Kojiro: full combo stunlock. He can charge up like Marume did last chapter
Soldiers: Ignore the armored guys until there are a bunch of them, then break all their armor at once with the club
First boss (club guy): start with the dual swords so he doesn't get away, then swap to single sword after one combo. This guy hits hard
Grab the item at the top of the stairs (it's a heat restorative)
Look at the stone wall on the left path, then go to the end of the right path for the bomb
Right after dropping down after the stone wall, step backwards for another heat restorative
Second boss (armor guy): Club light attacks to break his armor, then swap to normal sword. He has no armor bar but once he starts staggering his armor is broken
Break the next wall for the third boss
Third boss (sumo guy): Grab the wooden cart nearby, drink a heat item, do the cart heat action. Do this twice (the cart doesn't break)
Next room: Keep the camera pointed towards the back of the room so enemies don't spawn back there
Fourth boss (polevault guy): spam light attacks, do not finish your combo or he will probably pole vault away
break the chain in the next room with the club, keep going
Fifth boss (dojo guy): full combo stunlock works
Break another chain, keep going, kill the ninjas in the next room before advancing
Final boss: full combo stunlock, easy fight. Time stops as soon as the cutscene of him falling backwards off the cliff begins