Crow Country: A Comprehensive Guide

A comprehensive guide to Crow Country, taken from my play notes. No YouTube videos, just text and screenshots.

Foreward

This guide exists because I want people to be able to actually look stuff up about this game without feeding impressions to YouTube guide vultures. Note that everything here is completely learnable in-game just by wandering around, reading notes, and using your head. But if you get stuck, maybe this will help.

Info for Translators: If you would like to translate this guide into another language, you have my full and free permission AS LONG AS you credit me / link this guide in the translated version.

S-rank Requirements

These are the S-rank requirements, as discovered through my experimentation:

• Survival Horror difficulty (you do not get ranked otherwise)
  
• 10 heals or less (Large Medikits count as 2 heals, Small and Antidotes count as 1)
  
• 0 hints
  
• All secrets found (15/15)
  
• 0 lives lost

Time spent and bonus items do not count towards your rank; the Crowbar and Crow Launcher can be helpful. That said, they aren't necessary; this game is very easy.

Note: Someone else on the forums did do a run with 0 heals and only 9 secrets found and got an S-rank, so it's possible that the less you heal, the more secrets you can ignore (at least the Mush Room secret, since it otherwise requires you heal).

Core Path Walkthrough (Key Items / Events)

All key items, in the order you get them, as well as a few key "game state" puzzles like elevator access. Most key items only requires the key item directly previous in the chain to get, with one exception. All of these solutions are directly told to you through notes, environmental clues, or both (usually both). Explore casually, use your head, and take notes, and you won't need to read a single spoiler.

Fairy Pool Access

Hint: Save a friend and save your game to find the solution.
Solution: You have to turn the Great Fairy with the keypad, and then give it the correct passphrase. The keypad code is underneath Arthur, and the passphrase is on a book in the first save room.
Codes: The code is 3184, and the phrase is "Hear me, oh Great Fairy of Fairest Forest!

Bronze Key

Hint: A worker dropped this key in the Fairy Pool on accident.
Solution: Turn the fairy pool clear by pulling the lever on the machine when the pressure is correct. After the water has turned clear, shoot the circular target above the waterline as indicated by the reflection. The Great Fairy rises up and gives you the key.

Crank

Hint: Now that you have a Bronze Key, you can access more areas of the park.
Solution: Go to Haunted Hill by opening the gate with the Bronze Key. You will have to solve the Crypt puzzle by pointing the graves in the correct direction based on the first letter of their names. After beating the boss, you will have access to the Utility Corridor, where there is a safe near the locked door you let Julie through. The code is the year Soulina (once of the graves in the Crypt) died.
Code: 1872

Gemstone

Hint: You wouldn't reach into a demon's mouth, would you?
Solution: It's in the demon painting in the Haunted Manor. To get access, ring the doorbell 5 times. Go to the clocks and tune them with the Crank; left clock to 10:20, right clock to 11:15.

Chain

Hint: Structurally important to a swan's neck.
Solution: On one of the boats in the swan pond. Use the Gemstone at the wheel to steer and motor in the boat. Bring it to the break in the fence and take the chain.

Woeful Mask

Hint: While you can get here with the Bronze Key, you'll need more than that to get your prize.
Solution: Before you can do this puzzle you need the Chain, Crank, and at least one pickup of Gasoline. Use the Bronze Key on the mailbox at the small house in the fairy area. Crawl inside. Put Gasoline in the tank, crank the resin pipe, and place the chain on the crane. Raise the crane and then burn away the resin to get the mask.

Trident

Hint: This Woeful mask seems awfully witchy.
Solution: Go to Witchwood and place the mask on the opposite side of the door. Progress through the maze (there's a simple block-switching puzzle) and use the cauldron at the center. After getting it, the room will spawn enemies and all blocks will retract, allowing you to leave (and get the room's secret).

Silver Key

Hint: Oh, to be a child serenaded by sea creatures.
Solution: Go to Neptune's Palace. Tap on all the dragons to get them to start singing. Stand in the center of the room, and if one isn't singing, go up and tap on it again. May require a little fiddling to get right. Once all four lights on the chest are green, it opens and gives you the key.

Underground Access

Hint: The backrooms isn't just a liminal space internet meme.
Solution: In the Staff Hallway behind the Arcade there is a door locked by the Silver Key that leads to Tolman's Office. You must play the correct four notes on the piano in the room to open up the power lever, and you learn the code via the TV puzzle. The tapes give you the letter (flashes on-screen) and the calendar arrangement on the left tells you the order.
Code: FACE

Data Disk

Hint: Nothing like a little minigame fun in a theme park full of monsters!
Solution: Go to the arcade and use the Silver Key to turn the power on. Earn the correct scores at each machine as designated by the note and the colors on the change machine. Disk will be in the change machine.
Code: Mermaid 1, Dolphin 2, Speedboat 4, Shooter 8

Acid Bottle

Hint: So many crimes against nature that must be locked away forever.
Solution: There is a computer under a bloody sheet in the Dungeon. Use the Data Disk to access it, then open the Mermaid's cell by putting in the correct number of body parts a Mermaid has. Collect the bottle from the cell.
Code: 0 legs, 2 arms, 1 head, 2 eyes

Gold Key

Hint: You must betray your closest friend to get this valuable key. Perhaps the theater?
Solution: There is another Great Fairy in the theater. You must shoot the head to expose the resin block with the key, then melt the block. You can melt it with acid (must be filled in the Underground, in Root FRI) in the sprinkler tank, or with the flamethrower as long as you have 30-ish ammo.

Gas Vents

Hint: Industrial run-off from somewhere below seems to be blocking the last ride in the park.
Solution: Go into the underground. In Root THU there is a computer that allows you to put in gas pressure for 4 gases. You need to exactly match 50 pressure.
Code: 9, 11, 10, 20

Battery

Hint: Perhaps putting a battery in a mermaid that is usually underwater isn't very smart.
Solution: Located at the end of Seven Seas To first access Seven Seas, you will need to turn off the gas in the Underground, unlock the control room with the Gold Key, and ask Julie to use the console for you. After the ride, there are two treasure chests with buttons on each side of the whale. The mermaid with the battery is third from the left. There's also a Shotgun ammo in the second mermaid.

Central Elevator Access

Hint: Two things block your way: an unpowered crow, and an unpowered elevator. Perhaps the owner's office holds a clue?
Solution: To get access to the central underground, you have to both move the crow and turn on the elevator. To turn on the animatronic, you must charge the battery in Root TUE, use the buttons on the shack to turn it around and put in the battery, and then turn it back around and start the walk cycle. To access the elevator, you must go to Crow's Office (unlocked with Gold Key + destroying charger in Root SUN) and solve a logic puzzle from a note using the numbers from the slide show. Putting the code into the keypad in the Control Room and pulling the lever starts a boss fight unless you use the incinerator first.
Code: 9218

Mining Lanterns

Hint: Simple numbers and plenty of lanterns. What could they mean?
Solution: The number on each gate is the number of lanterns that must be lit for that door to open. Shoot the lanterns according to your preferred path.

Weapons & Gear

Each weapon and how you get it. Two are considered normal weapons, two are "secrets", and two are post-game weapons.

• Handgun: You start with it.
  
• Shotgun: Solve the shooting minigame in the submarine save room. Get 21 score to open the cabinet on the left with the shotgun. The fastest method is Shark, Puffer, Puffer, Dolphin
  
• Magnum: (Secret) Requires Silver Key. Open the Gift Shop. Add together the prices of each of the three gifts in the wishlist at the front counter, and put the code in at the register. The code is 1975.
  
• Flamethrower: (Secret) Solve the Train Room puzzle. Requires Data Disk. You must put in the correct ABCD order at the computer, where the order is the four-car train. The car colors determine which letter to use The two-car trains you send across will show you the letters for three of the cars; one by similarity, two by difference, one by absence. The code is BDAC.
  
• Crow Launcher: Bonus Item for A-rank clear or higher. Infinite ammo grenade launcher. Activate at pause menu.
  
• Raygun: Potentially unlocked on playthroughs after beating the game once. Found in the Lounge once you shoot all crystal crows scattered around the park.

There's also three pieces of gear; two of them are post-game, and one is a secret.

• Running Shoes: Found in the trunk of the other car in the Staff Parking (requires Silver Key). Makes you run faster.
  
• CrowBar: Gives you a melee attack. Bonus item for B-rank clear or higher. Useful for crates.
  
• Crow Wings: Allows you to fast travel between save points. Bonus item for S-rank clear.

Secrets

There are 15 secrets. You must collect all of them for an S-rank. Direct requirements to access the secret or the room the secret is in (but not the area of the park) are denoted by (parenthesis). Mushroom Buddy upgrades require their weapon before you can get them; this is only really important for the flamethrower.

There is a secret map that will mark all of them on your map for easy tracking. After you've beaten the game and can shoot crystal crows, it shows them as well.

Secret Map

Located in the Lounge behind a keypad. The code can be found by solving the Neptune's Palace drink puzzle; look at the Fruits Are Friends statue for the solution (Purple Green Orange Red). The code is 8891.

• Running Boots: (Silver Key) Open the trunk of the other car in the parking lot and take what's inside.
  
• Small Medikit Healing: (Data Disk) Set the computer in the Dungeon to the number of Arms, Legs, Heads, and Eyes that a Human has (2, 2, 1, 2), then go to the crypt and access the now-unblocked tomb.
  
  
• Handgun Power: You'll need to open the front door of the Theater to make the Mush Room mouth open. Once it is, go inside, take down the barricade, eat every mushroom, and talk to the king afterward. Yes, all of them. Eating two poisonous mushrooms back to back without healing will kill you, so make sure to Large Medikit if it's poisonous. This healing is required for an S-rank run.
  
  
• Shotgun Capacity: (Silver Key) Cabinet in the Gift Shop, next to the register.
  
• Shotgun Laser: (Bronze Key) In a bucket at the back of the Dig Site.
  
  
• Flamethrower: (Data Disk) Solve the Train Room computer puzzle.
  
• Flamethrower Distance: Play the correct notes at the Haunted Manor piano, as indicated by the painting to the right of the Demon painting (CAGE)
  
  
• Magnum: (Silver Key) Solve the Gift Shop register puzzle.
  
• Magnum Power: (Flamethrower) Use the Flamethrower to burn the Storeroom door. Mushroom buddy is on the left.
  
• Magnum Laser: Behind a false wall in the back room area connected to the Fairy Pond, on a CyberCrow.
  
• Magnum Ammo: (Flamethrower) Use the Flamethrower to burn the Storeroom door. Find the weight of an Octopus by shooting one at the Submarine, and put the keycode (1825) in at the scale on the right of the Store Room.
  
• Magnum Ammo: (Flamethrower) There is another hooting bird in the Store Room that hoots a different number of times (8) than the one outside the Haunted House. Pull the bell outside the Haunted Manor that number of times.
  
• Magnum Ammo: (Woeful Mask) In the Witchwood maze. Only accessible after completing the maze, as it is behind one of the green switches.
  
• Magnum Ammo: (Acid Bottle) Use the acid on the bones in the Toilet, then flush.
  
• Magnum Ammo: Go through the iron maiden in the Dungeon; in an alcove on the right. Requires the shortcut door be closed.

Reference Maps (+ Secret Locations)

Full map of all crystal crows thanks to Aikaph!

[Lucius Caesar]

The spoiler free "choose your own hint" nature of this guide is brilliant! There for print it together, I bet it took a lot of effort. Also I hate those "guides" that are just an embedded YouTube video 😡

[punkuke]

Ah, I see. I must've missed that somehow, and I don't think it repeated it when interacting with the lever from that point on. Thank you!

[Tegiminis]

If you interact with the lever before attempting to change it or if it's not set to the correct value, the game tells you so.

[punkuke]

Thank you sooo much, this is super helpful!

Where are you supposed to see that you need to make the gas pressure equal 50? I haven't found any clue about that but I imagine I just missed it.

[Tegiminis]

Yes, it is how you get the code to the map in the Lounge.

[Dr. Germs]

is there anything with the soda machine in the Neptune's palace?

[Lyra Wren]

Hey! I just finished up an (attempted) S-Rank run, more on that later, and I wanted to say that this guide really, really helped me out, especially with finding all of the secrets. You did a really good job here, thanks!

I did want to mention some of the intricacies of the healing system as far as the game is concerned, for anyone in the comments. It might be part of an older version (I played on console), but just in case, for anyone reading:

The healing items you have to give as Natalie and Arthur do not count as healing for the purposes of your final score, BUT, Large Medkits seem to count as two heals. I can only assume it's one for the health restore, and one for the poison cure. This spoiled my S-Rank run, so please keep it in mind!

Once again, I wanted to thank you for the guide. It's helped a ton with a new favorite game of mine, and saved me from having to wade through a bunch of YouTube guides. So thanks a million!

[Iglum]

There is a another way solving the crypt Shoot the clock face to open the gate

[Ark]

If you wanted to be more specific, the gas puzzle is in Root Thursday

[Shuridood]

Ahhh if only this existed during my crow quest playthrough. Appreciate the text guide and how the hints are available!