Monday, November 3, 2008

Delightful Max in Rune Factory 2



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Although I still am playing the 1st Generation game and therefore have no business fancying a guy, I quickly have fallen under the spell of Max, heir apparent to the Sainte-Coquille fortune. Barrett may be attractive as the rather dark, unapproachable hero whose heart girls will desire to gladden, but Max has that open charm and devil-may-care attitude displayed in earlier Harvest Moon games by characters like Rock. He is amusing and winsome and extremely handsome. Of course, as I always tend to fancy boys with long hair, Max is a natural choice. I find my own male character in Rune Factory 2 very appealing, but falling in love with oneself really would be too bizarre.

In your first meeting with Max:
Max: Hey, I’m Max.
Me: Nice to meet you. My name’s Freyr.
Max: My name’s Max. I’m second in charge of the de Sainte-Coquille family.
Me: Uh, Okay.
Max: By the way, what’s your name?
Me: (Uh, I just told you, but…) My name is Freyr.
Max; Freyr, huh? Now that’s a name I can remember! My name’s Max. Don’t forget it, now!
Me: Okay.
Max: Here, I’ll tell you again, so you don’t foregt. I’m Max. Max de Sainte-Coquille, okay? One more time, so you don’t forget! MAX! SAINTE-COQUILLE!
Me: Yes, yes! I got it! Max!
Max: What are you so mad about?
Me: I’m not mad at all.. Sorry, but I’ve got to go…

For days afterwards, whenever I spoke to him, he continued to introduce himself again and again.

With each increase in his heart level, he has his own signature method of revealing details about himself.

Max: For some reason, I’ve been strangely captivated by PROOF OF WARRIOR since I was young. Well, just a little background knowledge you should remember.

Each time he tells you about an item he likes, he will tell you that it is 'just a little background knowledge you should remember.'

Max: FLUFFY SCARF is so enchanting the way it’s so fluffy. I just love this. Well, just a little background knowledge you should remember.

One of his requests is very amusing as well. He will ask you to bring him an Arrowhead so he can prove to his friends that he is a man of action, silencing the gossip describing him as a 'braggart who does nothing.'

At a higher heart level, he once again will tell you about items he likes, but this time, he employs a different method.

Max: I really like PROOF OF WARRIOR. I can’t really say why aloud. If you want to know, lend me your ear.
Me: Okay, go ahead. (I can’t wait to hear.)
Max: *whisper* The reason I like it is…
*whisper* a secret.

He will repeat this performance for awhile, each time he tells you about another item that appeals to him.

As you become a closer friend of his, he will begin to give you advice in different aspects of romance and life.

Max: If there’s a girl in this village that you like, you should actively make use of the bulletin board. There should be some concern or request from that girl among the postings there. Check the postings frequently and find a solution for them on your own. If you do, before you know it, you’ll have a romantic relationship started with the girl that you’re interested in.
Alright, you’ve got some choice information. I’ll let you borrow that advice, but you have to pay me back 1 million times!

Each tidbit of advice is followed by his declaration that you can 'borrow that advice, but you have to pay me back 1 million times!'

More recently, he confessed his dislike for Weeds in the following terms:

Max: I really hate WEEDS. They’re so persistent! And they get everywhere! And they’re so… so… ugly! Ugh, I find them deeply disturbing.

Am I the only one or will other girls find him as appealing as I do? Although some one rather contemptuously assumes that the only reason a girl would be interested in him would be for his money, I would find him equally attractive were he penniless. Perhaps, though, his light-hearted and sunny embrace of life is partly the result of never having to worry about the necessities of existence...

Later: Having virtually no experience in creating videos on my laptop, this is my first real effort. It is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to Max and the legacy of the De Sainte-Coquille family, including screenshots of the bequests they have made to the village of Alvarna as well as personal information about Max given BY Max. The music was chosen almost randomly but it is an old French pop song that I have a feeling would be the sort of music that Max himself might like. I think he would listen to a lot of classical music as well, especially very old operas by Handel and Henry Purcell. Please don't be too critical. If I become better at this, I'll try to create more useful videos about Harvest Moon...

8 comments:

Nathan O'Riley said...

Well, he certainly is someone fun to know. Hehe, him telling me his name ten times made me giggle.

I'm Max.
Hi.
I'm Max.
Uh... okay...
I am Max de Sainte-Coquille.
......

I can certainly relate to him on dislike for weeds. Ugh... I hate seeing my field littered with them in Island of Happiness but I didn't have too much time to pick them all. Argh.

Freyashawk said...

Nathan, I'd be really surprised to find that ANY player had enough time to clear the field of weeds in Island of Happiness on a regular basis. I simply planted trees there and retreated to the Greenhouse for most of my farming.
It was only on the very first day during the first tutorial that I cleared the field completely and shipped EVERY weed I collected! After that, it was all downhill where the weeds were concerned. Didn't seem to make any difference though, except in aesthetic terms.

Anonymous said...

That's pretty good. I've seen far worse quality on YouTube. Text's just a wee bit blurry to read here. And don't worry too much about criticism at this point - just take whatever sounds useful and ignore the inevitable flak.

Freyashawk said...

Thanks, Mar. I know the text is VERY blurry and indistinct. It may be this build, but the font is very light in-game. I darkened it as much as I could without destroying the picture completely. I'm not certain what else I can do...

Sherry said...

I've only been playing the game for three hours and already I'm finding Max cute and charming. It makes me wish "Kyle" has an option of having a same sex relationship because I'd totally be okay with that. Or allowing the players to be female because it still feels a bit odd being a girl myself romancing other girls to get them to marry me...

Anonymous said...

Haha you and I have a lot in common! I definitely fell for Max and my girl of choice is Yue.

DayDreamer95 said...

I understand how you feel. Romancing woman while being a woman always distured my mother. I just took as another part of the game. I would have sooo married Max if I could have. I tried to marry his sister instead, but due to reterdation on my part I just married my Wierd Girl Ceci. I just love it when he teases their child whenever events come around! XD

Anonymous said...

Ahaha! This is certainly true. And Max is really REALLY adorable repeating his name and the way he goes around stuffs and never admits stuff directly XD
This is the reason why I court Rosalind. To have Max's undivided attention. Ahaha!