Rivals actually react to others in Rune Factory 2

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In most Harvest Moon games, your relationship with any eligible girl or bachelor has no effect on other eligible partners. Jealousy, except in a few exceptional instances, is not a factor. One exception to this is Ann from Mineral Town in Harvest Moon DS, who will react to Muffy's interest in your character in no uncertain terms. On the whole, though, eligible girls/bachelors tend to ignore the very existence of any rivals in most Harvest Moon games.

In Rune Factory 2, however, you will find yourself in an uncomfortable situation if you invite one girl to a Festival but then speak to other eligible girls afterwards. They will express their disappointment. At the Flower Festival, you actually can invite a second girl to gaze at the flowers with you after taking some one to the cherry trees, but if you do, beware her ire!

Even on other days, there are three girls who tend to tease one another and make references to their rivals' romantic interest in you. These girls are Mana, Alicia and Cecilia. If you go to Mana's bedroom on the day prior to the Dance Festival after 6.00 p.m., you will experience more than one embarrassing conversation!

On the morning of the Dance Festival on 19 Summer, the three girls collect in their usual Festival location outside your Monster Barn.

It is difficult to choose a partner for the Dance, to be honest. Each girl has such an emotional investment in the occasion. If you do not save your game afterwards, you can experience the charming dance with each of the girls. The result, however, of experiencing the Event is to raise a girl's Heart Level in terms of Love by 1 point. Your final choice therefore does matter.

I will post some of the dialogues here to give you an idea of how each girl responds to an invitation. Some are more poignant than others.

Girls tend to be found in the same locations on the day of any Festival. Mana, Alicia and Cecilia gather together outside the Monster Barn. Yue will be found alone next to the Pool 'to another world' that allows Wi-Fi connection. Rosalind will be found at the West End of Alvarna on the main street.

Barrett and Dorothy stand on the Falling Star Path near the crossroads. My hope that Dorothy could have fun at the Festival with Barrett if I chose some one else was dashed when I spoke to Barrett.

He declared quite plainly:
Barrett: Today’s the Dance Festival. I don’t want any part of it… Why don’t you go enjoy yourself?

Max and Julia can be found side by side at the port near the ship that sails to Blessia Island. One has no doubt whatsoever that Max will be more than happy to squire his companion to the Dance should you fail to ask her and that he is a fabulous dancer himself.

Max: Is that what you’re wearing to the dance, Freyr? Well, to each his own, I suppose.
Still, I hope you’re prepared to impress the ladies with some fancy footwork. Nothing impresses a woman like a man who can dance!

The responses each girl will make are very different, but the actual dance is the same in every Event. Alicia's responses may be the most entertaining, as one might have guessed.

Alicia: So today is the Dance Festival… My fortune predicted that you’d come up and say to me…

My choices:

Please dance with me.
Um… never mind.

I asked her to dance and she said:

Alicia: Uh? Oh, really? Yes, I would love to!
Me: Shall we dance, Alicia?
Alicia: (My reading was right! I did get asked to the dance!)
Me: Did you say something?
Alicia; What? Oh, no, it’s nothing.

In the end, my own choice was determined by pity.


Here is the event with Alicia:




Actually, though, in the end, my final choice was determined by compassion rather than any other consideration. Yue looked so lonely there by the Pool. With neither family nor friends in Alvarna, I felt compelled to ask her to the Dance. Her responses were the most poignant as well, even more than Dorothy.

Yue: Today is the Dance Festival. I doubt any one’s going to bother asking me out, but I can’t help being a little nervous anyway.
Yue, would you like to dance with me?
Umm, never mind.
Yue: Who, me? Really? Are you sure, Freyr? Or are you just joking? If you really mean it, I’d love to.
At the square:
Me: Shall we dance, Yue?
Yue: I’ve got to warn you. I’m a terrible dancer. But we can have fun anyway, right?
Me: Of course we can.
After the dance:
Me: Thank you, Yue. That was nice.
Yue: Yeah, I had fun! I didn’t know you were going to be such a good dancer!
Me: I’ve never really had much practice.
Yue: I had so much fun, Freyr. You don’t know how happy it made me to be asked to dance. Thank you. Well, I’ll see you later, Freyr.

Whomever you ask, you will be forced to endure verbal expressions of disappointment from some of the other eligible girls if you speak to them after you have danced with some one else.

For example, Ceci will remark:

Ceci (with cross hurt): Oh, you already danced with some one else? But I was really hoping... Never mind.

Mana (with cross hurt): You danced with somebody else, didn't you? Why didn't you ask me instead?

Alicia (with cross hurt): Haven’t you already danced with some one else? According to my fortune, that’s not going to lead to a very happy future.

Rosalind will ask;
Rosalind: Hmm? Freyr, where exactly were you leading me today?

Julia is one exception. As I had expected, she will be quite happy to dance with some one more skilled than I.

Julia: Did you enjoy the dance? I had a great time with my partner.

Actually, Yue and Dorothy are too polite to make a fuss.

Yue will simply say, rather sadly: 'Hi, Freyr. You look like you're having fun.'

Likewise, Dorothy will ask: 'Did you have fun?'

It may be coincidental that Julia was at a lower heart level than any of the other girls and was most complacent where my own behaviour in asking another girl to the Dance was concerned. I would be interested to know whether she would have given a different response had she been at 8 hearts like Mana or Yue. When I play my second game, I'll work harder at the start to court Julia as 4 hearts is on the cusp of romantic interest as it were. At 5 hearts, a girl will show up on Alicia's romantic radar as one who has an interest in you. (I rather doubt the girls' post-dance responses if you dance with another girl change according to heart level, but it is one of those details I'd like to confirm later when I have time.

Note: I should make it clear that, for all their verbal reactions to their rivals and any interest that you take in another girl, doing so will NOT lower any girl's heart level.