Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar Guides

Just a note to inform players that my preliminary guides for Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar should be 'live' on IGN later this afternoon. There will be a Calendar Guide and a Characters Guide in any case. I am working on all aspects of the game and will write reference guides as usual for Recipes (including Windmill as well as Kitchen recipes) and Courtship and Marriage as well as a General Walkthrough and Guide for the game.

What players should know at the start is that controls are very different from other HM games for the DS. The 'A' Button causes your Character to leap into the air. He/she can perform somersaults by hitting 'A' twice. Leaping can be useful if you wish to take a shortcut or reach an area that is otherwise inaccessible. Use barrels that you see outside the doors of houses and shops to leap to higher ground. An amusing effect of leaping from the barrel next to Raul's shop is that you will go down his chimney like Saint Nicholas!

The 'B' Button, rather than cancelling actions tends to be the Action Button. Use the B Button to speak to Characters, give items to Characters and collect items from the ground, including Coins, Insects, Wild Flowers and Herbs like Chamomile and Mint and Coins of different denominations.

You cannot ship items as usual in this game. Instead, you will have a stall at the Bazaar where you will sell your items each week. You can sell items to any local shop but in view of the fact that each Bazaar will have a sales goal, selling any items elsewhere may be rather counterproductive. Furthermore, the value of your Items when sold at your Bazaar Stall is double the amount that any Merchant will pay for the same item.

The only Crops sold at the start of the game at Raul's Shop is Turnips. Fertiliser can be used DAILY on any Crop in any stage of growth. You will find Potato Seeds and Cabbage Seeds for sale at his Stall at the Bazaar even in the first Week. Young Cows, Young Sheep and Chicks are sold at the Bazaar by one of his brothers. The actual Animals that are sold appear to be chosen randomly, although adult Chickens only appeared once I had purchased a Chick and adult Cows once I purchased a Young Cow.

The Bazaar sales are a mini-game of sorts and rely upon speed and nimble finger-tapping for success. You should keep three items on the table at all times. If you sell one, replace it immediately. You must ring the Bell first to draw customers to your stall and then count out the items one by one in response to a buyer's demands. Often buyers will stop at the stall simply to ask questions or speak to you. It's rather amusing sometimes but in fact, the Response you choose from three options will determine whether or not your reputation will rise or fall.

Foraging is one of the primary methods of making money at the start. You can catch any Insect with your bare hands, but you have to make certain that you are walking, not running at the time. The L Button determines your speed and you can toggle it to walk when you are insect-hunting.

You can dive into the water to see if any item will 'catch' on your clothing, but significant Stamina is lost each time you do so, which means that you must pay attention to your Stamina bar. Among items that can be 'caught' in this fashion are tins of Straight Tea, Gold Ore, Ore Stones, Small Coins and Sea Urchins.

Many Flowers, Herbs and other items can be found on the ground. Mushrooms tend to appear during and after rain and are season-specific in terms of type. Walnuts can be found randomly beneath trees throughout the year. A sparkle on the ground indicates the presence of a Coin. All of this information, including the values of each item, is included in my General Guide.