Harvest Moon Forever

Review of Tides of Destiny

2011-10-18T11:59:00.002-04:00

A number of players have asked for a review of this game, so I am going to oblige them with a brief note about it.

Tides of Destiny will not disappoint fans of Rune Factory who would like to see all of their favourite elements incorporated in every game in the series, yet it is different enough to satisfy those who want something new.

Instead of suffering from the traditional case of amnesia, your Character and his best friend are transported to another era and are forced to share one body. It is the body of the Male Character, but one of the goals in the game is to lift the curse that keeps the poor Female Character locked inside her best friend's body. Once this is accomplished, you can move forward in two different games if you so choose. You will be able to play as the Male Character and as the Female Character.

It is an interesting premise and one that can be by turns both amusing and annoying. The female Character does not remain mute even in the presence of others. The little dramatic exchange that occurs when a female Voice pipes up in an introduction to a new Character does become a little tedious although, after a point, even the protagonists become bored with the business and settle for a dialogue along the lines of: 'It's a long story and I'll tell you all about it later.'

As in every Rune Factory game, your Character must hone his combat Skills as fighting and taming Monsters is essential. Fishing is included in the game as well. As is usually the case in Rune Factory, most of your essential Tools (and your first Weapon) will be Gifts. They are sold at local shops, however, so if you are not patient enough to WAIT for the Gift Event, you can purchase them. You can find a Brush and a Harvester on the floor of your Barn and the Fishing Pole is a gift from Joe but Joe sells both Harvesters and Brushes and the local Smithy sells the Cheap Fishing Pole.

The biggest differences in terms of gameplay are the seafaring element, the enormous Earth Golem named Ymir who takes the place of a Ship and the way that farming is organised.

You cannot farm on your Home Island and indeed, your Character does not tend Crops himself but must instead tame Monsters in the Crop Group to tend them for him. He can 'find' sprouts on specific Islands through use of his Spirit Wand and then set Monsters ashore on that Island to tend them. It is an interesting change.

Seafaring is a big part of this game. Important Requests tend to deal with exploration of the Ocean and 'X Marks the Spot' is the way that it works. The Character who makes the Request will place an X on your Sea Chart and you then must control Ymir and 'set sail' for the location. Once the location is reached, Ymir must raise the Island for you.

There are Sea Monsters that appear randomly in the course of these expeditions. The location of the Sea Monsters is not random, but the actual type of Monster that appears on any given expedition will be chosen randomly in many cases. When fighting a Sea Monster, it is not your Character who performs the combat but rather Ymir, controlled by your Character.

Cooking, Forging, Crafting and Mixing Medicines are available from the start as your Character can use his Neighbours' facilities. Only simple Recipes that require a maximum of two Ingredients can be made in another Character's facility. To make Recipes that require more Ingredients, you first must expand your Cottage to include a second floor and then purchase the Crafting area. James sells Expansions and Crafting Areas. The House Expansion needed in this instance costs 10,000G.

You will not have any trouble making money in this game. Many of the early Requests have good monetary Rewards. Buffamoo and Woolies can be found on the first Island you explore and when tamed, yield Milk and Small Fleece respectively. You can sell Items to any local Merchant. There is a bargaining option in some cases and there are 'selling trends' that will boost the value of certain types of Items on specific days. The same Bulletin Board that posts Requests posts the Weather, Selling Trends and Local News.

There are a number of little mini-games that occur at specific Festivals or as Requests. This, too, is familiar to fans of the series.

There is another interesting aspect to Island exploration in that some Islands can be raised only temporarily. While Ymir holds them in the air, you can explore them but then must allow him to toss them back into the sea. They can be found again, however...

I will add to this review shortly but for now must return to actual guide-writing!

New Rune Factory, Tides of Destiny Site

2011-10-12T15:23:00.004-04:00

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Although Harvest Moon Forever is my primary site, in the past year or two, I have created separate sites for each Harvest Moon and Rune Factory game. You will find links to the new Harvest Moon Tale of Two Towns Site and Rune Factory Tides of Destiny Sites on the right side of this page.

Unfortunately, I stupidly mistyped the name of my Tides of Destiny Site yesterday when I created the link. It now DOES go to a real site!

Upcoming Tale of Two Towns Site

2011-09-23T12:17:00.005-04:00

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The newest game in the Harvest Moon series is 'Tale of Two Towns' and I am in the process of creating a site as well as the usual Guides for this game. 'Tale of Two Towns' has been released for the ordinary DS system but a slightly different version is due to be released for the 3D system shortly. Evidently, the game will be the same for the most part, but there will be some special little additions to the 3D game.

In 'Tale of Two Towns', you choose not only your character's gender but his/her residence of choice. There are two Towns, as the name of the game announces. The Towns are Bluebell and Konohana. Bluebell Town specialises in Animal Farming. Konohana specialises in Crops and Orchards. The Towns are separated by a mountain region.

The Harvest Goddess will tell you the history of the Two Towns as well as the reason why she blocked the tunnel that cuts through the mountain and once acted as a shortcut between them. Too much bickering between the Mayors and villagers of both towns became unbearable to her and she caused an earthquake to bring down boulders to act as a barrier. Your primary task at the start of the game is to restore good relations between Bluebell and Konohana as she regrets the act that further divided them.

Although Crop Farming and Animal Husbandry are divided between the two Towns and you must choose between the two at the start of the game, it is not only possible but desirable to change your residence from time to time. You have the ability to make a choice each season, so every player can experience the unique beauty and charm of each Village, not only as a tourist but as a resident. While living in one Village, you are encouraged to visit the other. Each Village has some basic shops, but there are specialised businesses that can be found only in one of the two.

Note that although you must choose between Crop Farming and Animal Husbandry, you will be able to grow Crops on your Farm in Bluebell Village or raise Animals on your Farm in Konohana.

In true Harvest Moon tradition, there are Cooking Festivals and it is the Cooking Festivals that offer you the opportunity to begin to mend relations between the Two Towns.

Players of both Harvest Moon and Rune Factory will note new options in this Harvest Moon game that have been taken from Rune Factory. Among other things, there is a Message Board where Requests can be taken and Courtship includes both Heart Events and 'Date Events'.

Players who enjoyed Grand Bazaar will note that some of the Characters as well as gameplay options from that game have been included in Tale of Two Towns. The three brothers who were so prominent in the Bazaar are Characters in Tale of Two Towns. Another Grand Bazaar option is the ability to purchase pets who will herd your Animals as they do in Grand Bazaar.

The Mountain Area that separates the Two Towns is particularly glorious in this game, and gives a Player the ability to forage for Mushrooms, Bamboo Shoots and other wild items as well as Fishing and catching Insects. New to Two Towns is the ability to catch fish with your hands! The use of a Fishing Rod is necessary to catch many varieties of Fish but shallow waters offer the chance to 'hand fish'.

A preliminary General Guide should be available on my new Tale of Two Towns site this weekend. The site has been created and you will find pages for the General Guide and Calendar Guide. More information will be added as time permits.

Happy Harvesting!

Farmville meets Harvest Moon

2011-03-24T15:45:00.002-04:00

My own secret hope is that one day soon there will be a genuine Harvest Moon game created for Facebook. Meanwhile, with the advent of the English Countryside in Farmville, one can play a game that reminds one quite a lot of Harvest Moon.

The English Countryside is a location where players who have reached Level 20 or higher in Farmville can own a second farm. In classical Harvest Moon form, you will be asked to rescue a dilapidated estate by an elderly gentleman who arrives on your land in an old-fashioned airship and who, after you help him with the repairs, will invite you to journey back home with him.

The English Countryside offers a sequence of Quests to allow players to obtain necessary buildings and animals, introducing them to new Crops and the ability to raise hybrid Animals that did not exist in the original Farmville.

Quests have become more frequent in Farmville over the past year, appearing generally to mark holiday seasons such as Christmas and Valentine's Day. They usually require the planting and harvesting of specific Crops, interactions with Neighbours/Friends to obtain specific unique items with progressively more valuable Rewards for each task in the sequence.

Fantasy Kingdoms

2011-02-03T13:09:00.006-05:00

Once again, I would like to recommend Fantasy Kingdoms to Harvest Moon and Rune Factory players. It is an extraordinarily beautiful game that appears to be unique among the large number of Facebook farming simulation games that continue to proliferate wildly. It does not have the plot depth of Harvest Moon or Rune Factory but the developers constantly are expanding the scope of the game. I wrote a little guide for it, although I need to update it again with the new items.

Freyashawk's Fantasy Kingdoms Site

In particular, I would recommend the game to any one who loves to celebrate festivals and holidays as FK always has the most amazing Items to honour the various festivals in the Wheel of the Year. The Lunar New Year is being celebrated and Items for St. Valentine's Day are being released now as well. Unlike Zynga (who makes Farmville and Frontierville), the makers of Fantasy Kingdoms are very responsive to players.

Harvest Moon and Rune Factory always will be my greatest focus and I am workiing still on Rune Factory 3, which is one of the LARGEST interactive novels I ever experienced, with actual variations on Request Events and Date Events that allow a player to experience a completely different Event randomly if and when he/she either reloads or accepts a Simple Request or initiates a Date Event for the second time!
The dialogues are witty, humourous and sometimes amusingly bizarre. Any one who appreciates the actual Events in Harvest Moon and Rune Factory will find this game more than satisfying.

Speaking of which, because of the wealth of Event variations in the game, I haven't published a Rune Factory 3 Courtship and Marriage Guide yet, but hope to have one in place by next week.

A Yuletide Heart from Fantasy Kingdoms

2010-12-22T08:03:00.002-05:00

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Created by my friend Cherie, Harvest Moon and Rune Factory veteran, a Yuletide Heart in Fantasy Kingdoms fashioned from Pointsettias and Rainbow and Autumn Dryad Trees. Exquisite bit of landscaping...

Traditional Christmas Spirit in Games

2010-12-18T10:41:00.006-05:00

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Any player of Harvest Moon is familiar with the Starry Night Festival and throughout the series, there have been traditions in Harvest Moon that are similar to Christmas traditions, such as the Stocking that must be knit by another Character and then placed on the wall to be filled in the middle of the night, usually by the Mayor acting as Santa's agent. Christmas per se, however, is not one of the traditional Harvest Moon festivals...

Some of the Animal Crossing games include Christmas revelries. Jingles is a character beloved by almost all Animal Crossing fans and one can enjoy the annual hunt for him, tricking him into giving extra gifts by changing clothing and headgear.

For gorgeous opulent Victorian depictions of Christmas and Yuletide, one cannot do better than to play Fantasy Kingdoms on Facebook. It is a total fantasy fulfillment for any one who delights in magic and who has gazed at Victorian illustrations wistfully, wishing that one could surround oneself with that type of enchantment and beauty during the Yuletide season.

The artists who work on Fantasy Kingdoms have created a real Winter Wonderland, complete with Magical Reindeer, Sleigh and all the other traditional symbols of Yule. Gifts can be exchanged with Neighbours and the fairly new option of Spellcrafting now allows one to craft special Limited Edition buildings, including an Ornament House and Gingerbread House.

Farmville may have more Holiday activities, including snowball fights and gift-wrapping, but it cannot compare with Fantasy Kingdoms for sheer breathtaking beauty. Furthermore, Fantasy Kingdoms always tends to be more 'giving' in its rewards for players who spend time and energy on the game.

Fantasy Kingdoms should appeal to any one who appreciates the philosophy at the heart of every Harvest Moon and Rune Factory game as it is based on the concept that power is derived from the acts of tending to the land and living in harmony with it.

Mana is the 'currency' upon which Fantasy Kingdoms is based, although Kingdoms Cash is a secondary currency that can be used to purchase special Items. For the most part, however, players can earn Mana by conjuring and gathering magical Crops, harvesting trees and empowering and gathering from Artifacts. The Crops that have been released for the Christmas season are extraordinarily beautiful and enchanting. They consist of Holiday 'Candy' and Ornaments. The various stages of growth of any magical Crop in Fantasy Kingdoms are distinct and the ability to 'freeze' Crops at any stage allows players to landscape their Kingdoms in different ways.

There are four different types of 'Christmas Trees' this year and each will change as it grows until it is ready to be harvested. One Tree displays pinecones. Another has lit candles. There is a Green Tree heavy with gorgeous ornaments and decorations and another 'trimmed' White Tree. Both of these will have gifts beneath them when they are ready for harvest.

One cannot compare a game like Fantasy Kingdoms with Harvest Moon or Rune Factory in terms of depth and gameplay. Fantasy Kingdoms basically is a method by which players can create their own works of arts, bringing their visual fantasies to life. It is landscaping for the most part, but it can be as detailed and as challenging as the player desires. Changing perspectives as well as creating patterns from objects are very much a part of Fantasy Kingdoms. If one is not interested in this, however, one can create a simple landscape that is beautiful and satisfying artistically.

It may be difficult for most people to find any time during the busy holiday season to play any games, but I do urge all lovers of traditional Christmas images and symbols to explore Fantasy Kingdoms a little. It is a free game and definitely worth the effort, for gamers and non-gamers alike.

For those who find themselves alone or unable to socialise in the real world during this season, games like Fantasy Kingdoms offer a very fulfilling way to celebrate the Spirit of Christmas and to interact with others who share the same sense of enchantment and magic.

Happy Harvest Festival to all RF/HM Fans!

2010-11-25T10:54:00.002-05:00

I apologise in advance for my sporadic access to the internet recently. I am not at home and have limited access until Saturday. Thus, if you do not see any updates to the Guides and your comments do not appear YET on my sites, please understand and have patience.

I would like to wish all Harvest Moon and Rune Factory players and fans throughout the world a very happy Harvest Festival. Thanksgiving may be a North American festival, but the Harvest Festival is universal to those of us who love Harvest Moon and Rune Factory.

In conclusion, I urge you NOT to bring a Toadstool or P. Mushroom to the feast as your contribution to the big POT.

As it is Thanksgiving for some, I would like to express my thanks to Marvelous Interactive and Natsume for creating a universe that never fails to excite and delight and to help me bear some fairly unbearable pain at times. I would like to express my gratitude as well to all of those players who have encouraged and supported my efforts to write guides for these fabulous games and especially to Mars Frog, Cherie and Nathan who have taken valuable time from their own enjoyment of some of these games to help me log results!

Wishing us all many more years of enjoyment of Harvest Moon and Rune Factory...

Freyashawk

Forging in Rune Factory 3 has new Upgrade Options

2010-11-21T16:06:00.005-05:00

Forging is a process that will be familiar to players of prior games in the series, but Rune Factory 3 is unique in many ways. First of all, you will learn Recipes by means of the Weapons Bread that you can purchase and consume. Second of all, although the creation of a new Weapon requires set Ingredients delineated in the Recipe, the Upgrade of Weapons and Equipment can be done with any number of Items.

In Rune Factory 3, although the creation of a new Item is accomplished by using set Ingredients, upgrading can be done with the Item of your choice. War Trophies, for example, have different attributes now in terms of Stats. If you wish to upgrade your Weapon by adding Defence Points to it, you need to use an Item that will add to DEF. If you wish to add Magic Attack power, you need to use Items with MGC ATK power.

It is very creative and a lot of fun!

The Menu at your Forge will be divided into two Options:

Make Item
Upgrade Item

If you choose the Option to Make an Item, you will be able to make it by using the required Ingredients, and the Recipes that you have learned will be displayed.

If you choose to Upgrade an Item, you will see two slots to the right:

Material
Item

Below them:

Will Make:

The percentage that represents your chance of success then will be given.

For example, one can add a Plant Stem to an Aquasword.

The Aquasword has the following Stats:

Aquasword: 4700G (Lv. 1)
A sword imbued with the power of water magic. Its blade is constantly wet.
Sell: 590G
Stats: ATK +41, MGC ATK +24

If you wish to raise the Magic Attack as well as Magic Defence of the Aquasword, you can add a Plant Stem.

In RF3, a Plant Stem has the following Stats:

Plant Stem: 300G
The hardy, thick stem of a plant. Has a variety of uses.
Sell: 150G
Stats: MGC ATK +4, MGC DEF +1

There will be a difficulty rating for each upgrade Item as well. For the Plant Stem, the Difficulty rating is 19.

With a successful upgrade that adds the potency of the Plant Stem to an ordinary Aquasword, you will have the following:

Aquasword: 4888G (Lv. 2)
Sell: 613G
ATK +41, M. ATK +28, M. DEF +1

As you can see, the Magic Attack and Magic Defence possessed by the Plant Stem were incorporated into the upgraded Aquasword.

With the addition of a Hard Horn, Freyr further augmented the power of his Weapon:

Hard Horn: 380G
A jagged, saw-like horn. Upgrades increase chances of knockouts.
Sell: 220G
ATK +2, DEF +4

With this Item added, the Aquasword became:

Aquasword: 4982G (Lv. 3)
Sell: 625G
ATK +43, DEF +4, MGC ATK +28, MGC DEF +1

Each Upgrade raises the Level of the Weapon. Do not forget that forging like cooking requires Energy. You must pay attention to your Energy Gauges if you do not wish to find yourself at the Apothecary!

Note that there is a limit to the number of upgrades that can be made. Level 10 is the highest Level for any Item in RF3 and you will be unable to add any more Materials once the Item reaches Level 10. You therefore need to choose Materials carefully. As there is an Upgrade Difficulty value for every Material, you will find in the early days that your Character will have a zero percent chance of success if he attempts to use some Materials to upgrade his Items.

A good strategy is to use Materials with low values to upgrade Items with low values even if you ship them rather than use them ultimately as this will increase your Skill Level, allowing you to use better Materials on the Items that really matter to you. In other words, make and upgrade an Item such as a Broadsword to Level 10 and then ship it simply in order to raise your Skill Level at the Forge.

What I like about RF3's system of upgrading is the ability to add Attack values to defensive equipment and Defensive values to Weapons. Although Swords and Shields are lumped together in the Menu at the Smithy, Shields actually are made and upgraded at the Workbench and not the Forge.

Although players can expect to find similarities between all Rune Factory games, each one has its own marvelous character and one can be surprised by new options such as the ability in Rune Factory 3 to custom-upgrade your Weapons. You will find more details about this at my Rune Factory 3 Site as well as my Rune Factory 3 Walkthrough/General Guide. Recipes for the Forge, Workbench and Pharmacy as well as Kitchen Recipes are included in my RF3 Cookbook Recipes Guide.

New Rune Factory 3 Site

2010-11-09T10:54:00.003-05:00

As with Grand Bazaar, I have created a site for Rune Factory 3. You will find the link on the right side of the page. As always, my Guides will be published by IGN and preliminary Rune Factory 3 Guides should be 'live' later today. As with Grand Bazaar, however, I will publish the most updated versions of all Rune Factory 3 Guides on my Rune Factory 3 site as well.

I had intended to write a review of Rune Factory 3 for this site, but decided that the time would be spent better if I worked on the actual Guides. You therefore will find a preliminary Walkthrough/General Guide, Characters Guide, Items Guide and Cookbook Recipes Guide later today both on my Rune Factory 3 Site and on IGN.

Note to my readers: I have been having trouble accessing these sites of mine to moderate comments lately. Firefox will not allow me to sign into my account. The only way I can do it is through an old version of Internet Explorer. It is very vexing and I hope I can suss out the problem soon as I wish to stay up-to-date with players! I had similar problems with YouTube making it virtually impossible for me to publish viewer's comments on my videos for the past six months or so. I am not very computer-literate. I am primarily a writer and Harvest Moon/Rune Factory fanatic.

One final note: I have not completed work on my Grand Bazaar Guides but I am taking a break to work on Rune Factory 3. There have been so many wonderful new Harvest Moon and Rune Factory titles in the past couple of years that I never can do justice to any of them, it seems...

Freyashawk's Rune Factory 3 Site

Rune Factory 3

2010-10-26T14:22:00.001-04:00

I just received a test copy of Rune Factory 3. I hope to be able to have some preliminary guides in place when it is released in November. I am not at liberty to write about the game yet, but will state that it is INCREDIBLE!!!

Winter in Grand Bazaar

2010-09-16T08:53:00.006-04:00

As this is my primary site, I thought I would share some details about the Winter Season in Grand Bazaar, although more information always will be found on my Grand Bazaar Site and Grand Bazaar Guides. Click the portrait of Freya on the right side of the page to go to my Grand Bazaar Site.

Winter in Harvest Moon games always tends to be quite different from the other three Seasons but Winter in Grand Bazaar has some very creative additions to the usual snowy landscape.

First of all, there are snowballs on the ground and although you cannot push them together to make your own Snowmen who speak and give you gifts as you can in Animal Crossing, they often DO contain Gifts from Nature. Throw the Snowball to smash it and you may find it contains an Ore Stone or other surprise, including Cooked Dishes and Flowers from every Season. Freyja found a Curry Dumpling in a Snowball on the second day of Winter, Moondrop Flowers and Magic Blue Flowers.

Incidentally, there are Snowmen of various sizes and designs stashed here and there throughout the Map, although I have yet to receive a visit from one on a snowy night as in Animal Parade, asking for a replacement for his lost nose.

Next, although the River is frozen in Winter, you can find cracks in the ice. Use your Hammer to strike the ice where you see the cracks and it will create a large hole where you can dive for items or fish. Despite the freezing temperature, your Character will react no differently to immersion in the water in Winter...

Ore Stones can be found on the ground in Winter as well as inside Snowballs and when diving in the River.

There are two kinds of sparkles in Winter. One is the sparkle of ice that can be found randomly anywhere on the map, including locations your Character could not possibly reach. These are 'eye candy' in the form of glittering ice from Winter's freezing temperatures. The othr sparkles are the usual ones that denote the presence of coins.

So far, the only Cooked Dish I have found inside Snowballs is Curry Dumpling. The Rank/Quality varies, however, making one Curry Dumpling worth more than another. A Snowball incidentally can contain another Snowball!

A new activity in Winter is Snowboarding. Mayor Felix will deliver a Snowboard to your House on the 2nd of Winter or thereabouts and announce that there will be a tournament on the 20th. You can practice on the course on the Hotel Screen. Once the Snowboard delivery occurs, you will find a Skateboard on sale at the Bazaar for 9000G. This appears to take a slot ordinarily devoted to one of the Pet Toys. The other Pet Toy will continue to be sold. I believe that the Pet Toy is chosen randomly but if you wish to make certain that both are sold at Felix's Stall, you probably should purchase the Skateboard and be done with THAT.

Amir will be introduced in the first Winter on or about 3 Winter by Mayor Felix and will stay at the Hotel. Milk makes him very happy. All likes/dislikes as well as the schedule of Amir's Heart Events can be found in my Courtship and Marriage Guide.

Upcoming Games: The Sims 3 for DS

2010-09-14T17:15:00.002-04:00

Amazon.com Widgets

I was looking at the different versions of the DSi on Amazon as my primary DS Lite has lost the use of the L Button and while reading reviews by customers, came upon the Sims 3 game for the DS, not yet released. Has any one heard anything good or bad about this game? Generally, I have found that the handheld versions of The Sims are completely different from the console versions (and they are quite different from the PC games). The sole exception was the Sims Castaway for the PSP which was almost identical to the Wii version, but then the PSP is a rather unusual species... half-console, half-handheld.

I would be interested in the opinions of other Sims fans about this one...

Review of Grand Bazaar

2010-09-01T15:47:00.004-04:00

Having played a few Facebook Farming Simulation games recently, I was struck once again by the degree of patience and dedication that Harvest Moon requires. Yet, the rewards are far greater than any rewards gained in playing a Facebook game.

Harvest Moon and Rune Factory are not like Facebook farming simulation games except for the fact that they are based on farming. Facebook games essentially were designed for individuals who, logging into Facebook for whatever purpose, then could visit their farms for a few minutes every day in order to make gradual progress and 'meet' other players as Neighbours and Friends.

Harvest Moon games, on the other hand, require hours of dedicated gameplay if you wish to unlock all possible options and experience all Events. Players always know that there are more options to be unlocked and this often is the motivation that spurs them onward when their Characters still are scratching out the barest means of survival on farms still largely unused.

Reviews of games as well as strategy guides with 'spoilers' sometimes provide added incentive to continue. In Grand Bazaar, however, you will have information as to future options when you encounter a new Dish made by Joan or unlock the Windmills.

For those players who still have grown nothing more than the three Crops available in Spring or Summer of the first year, the 3rd Windmill offers a glimpse of the wealth of possibiilities in farming that are in the future:

3rd Windmill Recipes

Turnip Seeds:
Ingredients: Turnip
Spring Crop. Can harvest 4-5 Days after planting.

Potato Seeds
Ingredients: Potato
Spring Crop: Can harvest 6 - 8 Days after planting.

Cabbage Seeds
Ingredients: Cabbage
Spring Crop. Can harvest 11 - 15 Days after planting.

Cucumber Seeds
Ingredients: Cucumber
Spring Crop. Can harvest 7 - 9 Days after planting.

Asparagus Seeds
Ingredients: Asparagus
Spring Crop. Can harvest 8 - 11 Days after planting.

Strawberry Seeds
Ingredients: Strawberry
Spring Crop. Can harvest 6 - 8 Days after planting.

Tomato Seeds
Ingredients: Tomato
Summer Crop. Can harvest 8 - 10 Days after planting.

Corn Seeds
Ingredients: Corn
Summer Crop. Can harvest 11 - 15 Days after planting.

Onion Seeds
Ingredients: Onion
Summer Crop. Can harvest 5 - 7 Days after planting.

Pineapple Seeds
Ingredients: Pineapple
Summer Crop. Can harvest 15 - 21 Days after planting.

Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients: Pumpkin
Summer Crop. Can harvest 11 - 15 Days after planting.

Radish Seeds
Ingredients: Radish
Summer Crop. Can harvest 4 - 5 Days after planting.

Eggplant Seeds
Ingredients: Eggplant
Fall Crop. Can harvest 8 - 10 Days after planting.

Carrot Seeds
Ingredients: Carrot
Fall Crop. Can harvest 6 - 8 Days after planting.

Yam Seeds
Ingredients: Yam
Fall Crop. Can harvest 4 - 6 Days after planting.

Green Pepper Seeds
Ingredients: Green Pepper
Fall Crop. Can harvest 6 - 8 Days after planting.

Spinach Seeds
Ingredients: Spinach
Fall Crop. Can harvest 5 - 6 Days after planting.

Y. Pepper Seeds
Iingredients: Yellow Pepper
Fall Crop. Can harvest 8 - 11 Days after planting.

Cauliflower Seeds
Ingredients: Cauliflower
Fall Crop. Can harvest 11 - 15 Days after planting.

Grass Seeds
Ingredients: Fodder + Fertiliser
Grow Spring - Fall. Harvest 12 Days after planting.

Wheat Seeds
Ingredients: Wheat + Fertiliser
Grow Spring - Fall. Harvest 50 Days after planting.

Coffee Tree Seed
Ingredients: Coffee Beans + Fertiliser
Bears Fruit in the Spring. It takes 2 Months to mature.

Olive Tree Seed
Ingredients: Olive + Fertiliser
Bears Fruit in the Spring. It takes 2 Months to mature.

Peach Tree Seed
Bears fruit in the summer. It takes 2 months to mature.

Banana Tree Seed
Bears fruit in the summer. It takes 1 Month to mature.

Orange Tree Seed
Bears fruit in the summer. It takes 6 Weeks to mature.

Cherry Tree Seed
Bears fruit in the summer. It takes 2 Months to mature.

Grape Tree Seed
Bears fruit in the Fall. It takes 2 Months to mature.

Apple Tree Seed
Bears fruit in the Fall. It takes 2 Months to mature.

Muscat Tree Seed
Bears fruit in the fall. It takes 2 Months to mature.

Blueberry Seed
Ingredients: Blueberries + Fertiliser
Bears fruit in the Fall. It takes 2 Months to mature.

Tea Tree Seed
Ingredients: Spring Tea Leaves + Summer Tea Leaves + Fall Tea Leaves
Takes a Month to mature. Leaves grow Spring - Fall.

Coffee Pack
Ingredients: Coffee Beans
Pack of ground Coffee. Enjoy coffee with ease.

Citrus Perfume
Ingredients: Orange + Pineapple
Perfume with Citrus Aroma. Makes a Great Gift.

Flower Perfume
Ingredients: Moondrop + Pink Cat + Magic Blue Flower + Magic Red Flower + Toy Flower
Perfume with floral Aroma. Makes a great Gift.

Herb Perfume
Ingredients: Mint + Chamomile + Lavender
Perfume with herbal aroma. Makes a great gift.

Olive Oil
Ingredients: Olive + Oil

Herb Oil
Ingredients: Mint + Chamomile + Lavender + Oil

Nut Oil
Ingredients: Walnut + Oil
Oil made from Nuts. Used for cooking.

Grape Seed Oil
Ingredients: Grape Tree Seeds

Pumpkin Seed Oil
Ingredients: Pumpkin Seeds
Oil made from Pumpkin Seeds. Used for cooking.

Bottled Walnuts
Ingredients: Walnut
Bottle filled with Walnuts. Incredient for cooking.

Honey
Ingredients: Honeycomb
Made from honeycomb. Very sweet and delicious.

Bottled Chestnuts
Ingredients: Chestnut
Ingredients: Bottle fileld with peeled chestnuts to cook with.

Flour
Ingredients: Wheat
A bag full of flour. Ingredient for bread/pasta.

Bread Crumbs
Ingredients: Bread
A bag full of bread crumbs. Ingredient for fried foods.

White Bread Crumbs
Ingredients: White Bread
A bag of white bread crumbs.

Rice Flour
Ingredients: Rice
A bag full of rice flour. Ingredient for recipes.

Soy Flour
Ingredients: Soybean
Made from crushed Soybeans.

Buckwheat Flour
Ingredients: Buckwheat
Soba noodle ingredient. Has other uses too.

Shiratama Flour
Ingredients: Rice Candy
The essential shiratama ingredient.

As you can see, there is so much more than the initial Turnips, Potatoes and Cabbage for the player to anticipate!

Note that it is through expansion of the Bazaar that more Crops, Cookware and other options will be unlocked. Chen and Gannon from Sunny Island/Sunshine Islands will arrive in Zephyr Village when the Bazaar is expanded for the first time and Chen will sell more Seeds as well as Oil. Sherry will begin to sell Fruit Tree Seeds. An unnamed Character will sell Cookware and another unnamed Salesman will sell the famous Big Bed. A further expansion will unlock even more Crops and items.

Some players have thought that Grand Bazaar simply incorporated aspects of other Harvest Moon games, but diving for treasure is a new option that provides entertainment and suspense to an aspiring farmer, especially when he/she discovers Gold Ore or a tin of Straight Tea caught in his/her clothing when emerging once again on dry land.

Although one could use a net to catch insects in Hero, in Grand Bazaar the player can catch them with his/her bare hands. Walk, don't run, by the way. Players who complain that they are not 'fast enough' to catch the fireflies are moving TOO FAST. You have to stand in front of the firefly and watch it wink back into view before you scoop it up in your hands. There are so many varieties and colours of Fireflies... Summer is a magical season. You can leap into the air to catch other insects, especially when they are flying.

When Insects cling to the trunks of Trees, walk slowly to a position in front of the tree but a step away from it, then leap forward into the air and catch it. It's a bit tricky sometimes but rather fun.

I have added a section to my General Guide that gives the locations of insects in each Season.

Traditional Harvest Moon Festivals have been expanded. The Flower Festival lasts four days. The Sprites' Tea Party in earlier games now is a Community Tea Party.

All in all, the game is similar enough to other Harvest Moon/Rune Factory games to give fans a sense of stability and a little 'edge' over the beginner but different enough to excite every one.

Please visit my new Grand Bazaar site for the latest versions of all my Grand Bazaar Guides. CLICK ON THE PORTRAIT OF FREYA ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PAGE to go to the site.

The Elusive Fishing Rod and Fireflies in Grand Bazaar

2010-08-26T10:35:00.009-04:00

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In most Harvest Moon games, the Fishing Rod is a tool that eludes many players as it often is a gift that can be obtained only at a specific time and place from a specific Character. There are exceptions, of course, as in Sunshine Islands, where you simply purchase it like any other Tool.

In Grand Bazaar, if you fail to read the little booklet that accompanies the game (or if your advance test version did not have a booklet!), you may spend some of the first Spring season searching for a Fishing Rod fruitlessly, showering the Characters who speak most often of Fishing with gifts in order to attempt to persuade them to give you one of your own...

In fact, Felix will give you a Fishing Rod on 1 Summer when you first leave your House. You do need to exit by the front door, evidently, if you wish to experience the Event. Your life then will change radically as it always does in Harvest Moon when the fishing option is unlocked.

In many Harvest Moon and Rune Factory games, Fireflies are a common sight on Summer evenings when their tiny golden lamps wink in and out of the landscape. There are players, including me, who followed the tiny golden lights fruitlessly in Island of Happiness before we discovered that they were fireflies and simply a natural part of the landscape rather than a clue to a secret.

In Grand Bazaar, fireflies will appear on the first evening in Summer and you can catch them with your bare hands! In fact, there are many different varieties (and colours) of Fireflies... This is only one more small detail in a game that all Harvest Moon fans should find delightful and absorbing.

Incidentally, to catch any Firefly, make certain first that your Character is walking and not running, then stand still in front of the location where the Firefly appeared. Its light will wink in and out. When you see the light, press the B button to catch it.

I personally have had trouble catching the flying insects that appear on tree trunks in Summer. After cursing and swearing a little, I discovered that standing still first and then leaping into the air to catch the insect as it began to fly away was possible, but difficult. Thanks to Julia as well for posting her findings.

There is a detailed post about Catching all types of Insects on my Grand Bazaar site, incidentally, as well as descriptions of the location where each Insect is found, both during the day and at night.

For Butterflies and Dragonflies, there are two different methods. You either can go to a spot where the insect is not actually flying from one spot to another but simply 'treading air' for a moment. Make certain that the insect is close enough to the ground to catch and simply catch it. The other method is by leaping into the air. You actually can execute a double leap to catch a Butterfly or other flying insect that is fairly high above the ground. It requires some practice to be successful.

There is a section in my Walkthrough/General Guide that lists insects by location and season. In many cases, you can return to a specific location again and again in the course of a single day to catch the same type of insect more than once. For the most part, the Insects that you find in the first couple of seasons are not worth much money but in the first Spring, 10G - 40G does accumulate. Once you have a Fishing Rod, income from Insects becomes less important but you still can aim for 100% completion and a competitive rank in Multiplayer Mode. In Autumn, there are Dragonflies that are worth almost 300G, more than some Fish! Although Insects will not appear in Multiplayer Mode, Kevin will tell you the totals of each Player.

Another new Trivia addition to my Walkthrough/General Guide as well as my Grand Bazaar site is Dialogue from the Bazaar. I have logged as many Customer Dialogues as possible with the Correct Response as well as any monetary results. I will try to add the results for incorrect responses as well when time permits.

Grand Bazaar Calendar of Festivals, Birthdays and Bazaars

2010-08-24T16:51:00.003-04:00

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CLICK ON THE PORTRAIT OF FREYA ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THIS PAGE TO BE TAKEN DIRECTLY TO MY NEW GRAND BAZAAR PAGE.
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Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar for the DS system is a traditional Harvest Moon game in that your Character arrives at a village as an aspiring Farmer. You can play either as a Boy or as a Girl and the main distinction here will be in terms of Courtship and Marriage. Heart Events will differ obviously according to your Character's gender but Rival Heart Events will be the same in both games.

The village in this game is Zephyr, aptly named as its power is fueled by the wind. Windmills are central to Zephyr Village and as your Character makes progress in the game, more Windmills will be accessible to him/her. Each Windmill has its own Recipes. When you are given access to a new Windmill, you will be able to see most of the Recipes that can be prepared there. In some cases, there are a few Recipes that need to be unlocked before the list will be complete.

As in any Harvest Moon game, social interactions and community participation is a key to your success. Remembering Birthdays with a Gift is important in winning friends and pursuing the courtship of any Eligible Girl or Bachelor.

Your success in monetary terms is based primarily on your sales at the weekly Bazaar rather than shipping totals. You cannot ship items per se in Grand Bazaar. Instead, you need to store items during the week in order to be able to sell them at your Stall at the village Bazaar.

The weekly Bazaar is held by default on Saturday but if any Festival or Birthday is set to occur on Saturday, the Bazaar will be held on Sunday instead. The Bazaar Grounds are located in the northeast section of the village. It begins at 10.00 a.m. and ends at 7.00 p.m. During the hours of business, you can open and shut your Stall as you wish in order to be able to explore and shop at other Stalls. You often can find items that are not sold at the local shops at the Stalls at the Bazaar. For example, in the first Spring, Raul will sell Potato and Cabbage Seeds at his Bazaar Stall. Wilbur will perform expansions of your Field or Storage. Enrique sells Animals and Lloyd sells Ores. An unnamed Character has a Gift-Wrapping Stall where she will wrap any item for you for 200G. Note that the Cooked Dishes sold at Joan's Stall at the Bazaar as well as those on the Menu at her Cafe are chosen randomly. Any Cooked Dish you purchase will be given to you as an actual item, so you can sell it, consume it or give it to some one as a Gift. Whenever you purchase a Cooked Dish, Joan will 'teach' you the Recipe. Buying Cooked Dishes therefore is one method of adding to your Cookbook. Cooked Dishes often make more desirable Gifts for many Characters than raw ingredients or foraged items, although many Characters do love Flowers.

Each week, you will be given a Bazaar sales goal by Mayor Felix. Do not expect to meet the first goal of 15,000G - 20,000G immediately!

The individuals who had the best Stalls will receive awards on the day after the Bazaar. These are announced at the square at noon. 1st place, 2nd place and 3rd place awards are given for the highest sales. One other award that is announced is for the individual who had the 'happiest customers'.

It is not only through selling the correct number of items to a buyer that you achieve recognition but in dealing with customers socially. Often a customer will come to your Stall simply to talk. The individual may ask questions or seek your aid in some minor way. You usually will be given a choice of three responses. Your choice will determine how happy you made your customers.

The Calendar of Festivals, Birthdays and Bazaar Days for the first Year and second Spring is as follows:

Calendar of Festivals and Birthdays

Year One

Spring

Saturday, 7 Spring: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Sunday, 8 Spring: Flower Festival begins
12.00 p.m. at Village Square for Announcement

Thursday, 12 Spring: Flower Festival ends
12.00 p.m. at Village Square: Winner Announced
The person who gave the most flowers is the Winner

Saturday, 14 Spring: Spring Harmony Day
Boys give chocolate to girls
N.B. Purchase Chocolate from Mayor Felix at Bazaar

Sunday, 15 Spring: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Monday, 16 Spring: Sherry's Birthday (any flower)

Wednesday, 18 Spring: Joan's Birthday

Friday, 20 Spring: Claude's Birthday

Wednesday, 25 Spring: Ethel's Birthday

Friday, 27 Spring: Daisy's Birthday (any flower)

Saturfday, 28 Spring: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Monday, 30 Spring: Tea Party
12.00 p.m. noon at Square
In the 1st Spring, Mayor will provide you with Tea.

Summer

Wednesday, 1 Summer: Mayor Felix's Birthday

Friday, 3 Summer: Wilbur's Birthday

Saturday, 4 Summer: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Saturday, 11 Summer: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Sunday, 12 Summer: Dirk's Birthday

For Silver Coin: I like these. Thanks. (happy)

Wednesday, 15 Summer: Cow Festival
12.00 p.m. noon at Square
Who has the best Cow?

Saturday, 18 Summer: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Tuesday, 21 Summer: Raul's Birthday

Saturday, 25 Summer: Kevin's Birthday (any insect)
For any insect: Yes! This is neat. (Laughter) Thanks.

Sunday, 26 Summer: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Thursday, 30 Summer: Nellie's Birthday

Autumn

Saturday, 1 Fall: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Monday, 3 Fall: Lloyd's Birthday

Tuesday, 4 Fall: Freyashawk/Freyr Birthday

Thursday, 6 Fall: Isaac's Birthday

Saturday, 8 Fall: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Tuesday, 11 Fall: Stuart's Birthday

Saturday, 15 Fall: Cooking Festival (Entree)
12.00 p.m. noon at Square
Bring Entree Dish to compete.

Sunday, 16 Fall: Cooking festival (Dessert)
12.00 p.m. noon at Square
Bring Dessert Dish to compete.

Tuesday, 18 Fall: Cindy & Lauren's Birthday
For Lauren, any Flower:
For Moondrop: Is this for me...? Th-Thank you very much.
Cindy does NOT like Flowers.

Thursday, 20 Fall: Ivan's Birthday (any flower)
For Toy Flower: What? Is this for me? (with a laugh) Thank you very much.

Saturday, 22 Fall: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Sunday, 23 Fall: Wine Festival
12.00 p.m. noon at Square
Bring Wine to compete.

Tuesday, 25 Fall: Freya's Birthday

Saturday, 29 Fall: Claire's Birthday

Sunday, 30 Fall: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Monday, 31 Fall: Pumpkin Festival
Give candy to children who come by your home.

Winter

Friday, 4 Winter: Marian's Birthday

Saturday, 5 Winter: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Thursday, 10 Winter: Dog Festival
12.00 p.m. noon at Square
Who has the best Dog?

Saturday, 12 Winter: Antoinette's Birthday

Sunday, 13 Winter: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Monday, 14 Winter: Winter Harmony Day
Girls give chocolates to Boys

Saturday, 19 Winter: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Thursday, 24 Winter: Starry Night Festival
Festival to spend with that special some one.

Saturday, 26 Winter: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds.

Monday, 28 Winter: Angelo's Birthday (Moondrop Flower)

Thursday, 31 Winter: New Year's Eve
8.00 p.m. in the Square
Bring in the New Year!

Year Two

Spring

Saturday, 2 Spring: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Friday, 8 Spring: Flower Festival begins
12.00 p.m. at Village Square for Announcement

Saturday, 9 Spring: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Tuesday, 12 Spring: Flower Festival ends
12.00 p.m. at Village Square: Winner Announced
The person who gave the most flowers is the Winner

Thursday, 14 Spring: Spring Harmony Day
Boys give chocolate to girls
N.B. Purchase Chocolate from Mayor Felix at Bazaar

Saturday, 16 Spring: Sherry's Birthday (any flower)

Sunday, 17 Spring: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Monday, 18 Spring: Joan's Birthday

Wednesday, 20 Spring: Claude's Birthday

Saturday, 23 Spring: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Monday, 25 Spring: Ethel's Birthday

Wednesday, 27 Spring: Daisy's Birthday (any flower)

Saturday, 30 Spring: Tea Party
12.00 p.m. noon at Square
In the 1st Spring, Mayor will provide you with Tea.

Sunday, 31 Spring: Bazaar Day
10.00 a.m. at Bazaar Grounds

Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar Guides

2010-08-24T14:45:00.004-04:00

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.

Beautiful Visions in Virtual Farming

2010-08-14T22:31:00.013-04:00

Some of the players of Fantasy Kingdoms and Lovely Farm are true artists whose creations can be breathtaking. Most of the screenshots here are taken from the farm and Kingdom of a Swedish player.

Included here are corners from three other farms. Two belong to Neighbours. The southern corner with the Violets is a screenshot of my own farm in Lovely Farm.

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To my Friends and Neighbours and Harvest Moon fans

2010-08-08T12:38:00.003-04:00

My primary focus now for guide-writing is Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar. I completed my Guide for Lovely Farm. My guides for Frantasy Kingdoms and Farmville are incomplete but probably will remain so at this point. I'll continue to post updates on the sites I created for the two games, however as well as updating the guides with more information as time and energy permit.

Where Gift-Giving is concerned in the Facebook Farming Simulation games, quite a lot of ill-will and resentment is being generated, much of it due to the clumsy programming in the games themselves.

With the exception of Lovely Farm, where Gift-Giving and the receipt of all Gifts is incorporated (thankfully!) in the game itself, Gifts in most Facebook games are generated as Requests that go into the same queue as other Requests for Friendship and Causes and Neighbours. What this means for some one like me is that my Requests Page is flooded with the following:

1. Friendship Requests from individuals who are utter strangers. I do not accept these unless the individual gives me some point of common interest at least, such as Harvest Moon or Lovely Farm or Fantasy Kingdoms.

2. Neighbour Requests. I do not accept these when it is a Request to play a new game at this point. I simply cannot cope with yet another game. At present, I am involved in the following games: Lovely Farm, Fantasy Kingdoms, Farmville, Castle Age, Castle & Co., Tiki Islands and Frontierville. I basically will accept Neighbour Requests from any player who is involved in these games but I cannot be expected to give and return gifts instantly and I will explain why later in this post. I am not trying to ignore any one. In fact, I try very hard to reciprocate, but there are problems that prevent efficient return of gifts in many of the games.

3. Requests to Join Causes. On the whole, I will not accept these at this point, simply because I do not have the time to investigate them. 'Causes' on Facebook may or may not be legitimate, but often lead to some kind of marketing or advertising or spyware, malware or virus-type pages. Sorry, but I have to be cautious. Not accepting a Facebook Cause Invitation does not mean that I do not believe in the Cause itself.

4. Requests to accept and return Gifts. This will be the topic of the rest of this post.

On any given day, I find over one hundred Gift Requests in my Facebook queue. There are problems with this inherent in some of the games and problems in terms of real time. I am writing this post for ALL players who are being cursed or reviled by their Neighbours when they fail to return Gifts instantly.

Lovely Farm Gifts: As previously indicated, this game offers the very best system in that Gifts automatically appear in the game itself. Unfortunately, there is a limit of 15 Free Gifts daily to ALL Neighbours, so one must keep lists of Neighbours who actually send Gifts and I try to do that and reciprocate as often as possible. In Lovely Farm, there are Free Gifts and Paid Gifts. There is no limit to the number of Paid Gifts that can be sent. Unfortunately, Diamonds NEVER are generated by gameplay and Coins are not easy to earn. I first plough my earnings from Crops back into the soil by buying Seeds. I don't think any player would begrudge me this strategy. After that, I try to return any Paid Gifts that have been sent to my Neighbours. I reached Level 19 recently which means that I now can send Peacocks but only if I have 2200 Coins in my possession. I really ought to spend some of my Coins in purchasing items for my own farm so that I can raise my Levels, but so far, I've spent most of my Coins for Gifts for good Neighbours. I promised myself I would try to send one Peacock to every Neighbour who has sent me Roses more than once. In other words, if a Neighbour spends 2000 Coins to send me Gifts at their level, I will reciprocate with a Peacock if he/she desires one. You always can send me a Message on Facebook. Please do not start a Chat for Gifts! For me, Chat is reserved for real friends and emergency situations, not for a specific item that you want for a game. I am happy to read all messages sent to me, however, so that's the way to communicate. I consider a couple of Harvest Moon friends 'real friends'. You know who you are, I hope.

Gifts in Fantasy Kingdoms: Apparently, a player is allowed to generate 22 new Gift Requests each day, but there is no limit to the number of return Gifts you can send. The problem here is the game itself. The way the system should operate is that you can accept a Gift, then send the same item as a 'thank you Gift' and then be returned to the Requests screen on Facebook to deal with other 'pending Gifts'. That is what is supposed to occur, but 90% of the time, it doesn't work out that way. Instead, after sending the 'thank you Gift', the player is sent to the Fantasy Kingdoms splash screen to begin gameplay. This is a great nuisance as it adds considerably to the time-consuming aspect of gift-giving. I am ashamed to confess that, after experiening this a couple of times, I simply give up and go forward to live my life, rather than struggling endlessly with the Gifts Requests.

Gifts in Farmville: This is where the Game deliberately sidetracks and misdirects players and it is infuriating to me. Lately, Farmville has begun to generate prompts that tell you that such-and-such Neighbour really needs a specific item for his/her Collection or construction project. It is ALL Nonsense! I don't need a Dragonfly. I don't need Bees when I haven't been able to complete my Beehive yet! The game actually has told me that specific Neighbours need Horseshoes when they aren't even building Stables. What occurs then is a host of Gift Requests for items I neither want nor need. It is difficult to know what motivated the sender in these cases. Was it a game prompt? Did the individual send the Gift because he/she needs the item? When you receive three Gift Requests from one player, you only can return one item. So which one of the three does the player actually WANT or NEED? I'd prefer a message from a player in this situation... Fortunately, a personal message can be attached and added to the Gift Request.

Gifts in Castle Age: These appear to work fairly well until the name of the sender disappears from your list of Friends eligible to receive Gifts. I still don't understand why that occurs. If any one knows the answer, please share that information here. I suspect that you are allowed to send a specific number of Gifts to each Friend/Neighbour in your lifetime. I can't imagine why else people who are members of your Army no longer appear on your Gift List.

Gifts in Castle & Co. Very few Friends actually play this charming little game, but one is allowed to send one Gift to each Neighbour or Friend every 24 hours. Unfortunately, the Gift requests go into the Facebook Requests queue. In fact, the only game that doesn't work this way is Lovely Farm. Once again, Bravo to the makers of Lovely Farm! If only they would allow MORE Free Gifts than 15 per day.

Gifts in Tiki Island: There are some unique and bizarre gifts in this little game. The Gift Requests go into the Facebook queue, unfortunately, which means that I cannot reciprocate immediately when I am faced with over 100 Requests.

Gifts in Frontierville: Unfortunately, this game has the WORST Gift system of any game. You don't have the option to give a thank-you gift immediately. You either have the choice of entering the game or accepting more 'pending' gifts. What this means is that it is extremely difficult, when you don't know your Neighbours in real life, to remember who sent what and who wants what unless you are ready to play the game again then and there. When you do play the game, the Gifts box will tell you which gifts you received from which Neighbours but the Gift-Giving screen does not carry over from there at all. It would be nice if you could click on a gift announcement and be taken to the Gifts screen to find that Neighbour's name chosen automatically for receipt of a Gift. It is possible that I haven't played enough to truly understand the strategies of gift-giving in Frontierville. I hate the endless pop-ups in the game so much and the assumption that every player is incapable of devising his/her own strategy that I seldom play. I'd like to return the gifts to any one who has sent them, but Frontierville is at the bottom of my list, sadly.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my wonderful Neighbours who have helped me in Lovely Farm and other games and to apologise for all my shortcomings where gift-giving is concerned. The sheer volume of Requests defeats me sometimes.

Zynga's Strategic Error, Pregnant Sows and False Requests

2010-08-06T14:56:00.006-04:00

Farmville, a farming simulation game, may be one of the most popular games on Facebook and its 'sister game', Frontierville, may be considered as the closest to Harvest Moon in details by some fans of the series, but I for one believe that Zynga, the maker of both, is making some serious tactical errors with respect to its consumer base.

Obviously, Zynga's main purpose in creating these games is not to entertain us but to make some money. Nothing wrong with that BUT when playing any game threatens to drown a person's Facebook account in endless streams of postings about the game, many players (including me) become thoroughly disgusted. Furthermore, the tendency in the newer game, Frontierville, to treat every player like an absolute idiot by giving constant in-game prompts as to what action to perform next are being adopted by Farmville.

Where Farmville is concerned, I counted three prompts almost as soon as I loaded my farm to post suggestions to players' walls that they become Neighbours AND to send gifts to players who had abandoned their Farms to resume gameplay. These prompts interfered so badly with my own gameplay that ultimately two prompts collided and froze the game completely. Players who may have been able to obtain a free Blue Pony Foal from the Blue Pony who emerged from my Nursery Barn will be unable to do so as the post froze on the screen and nothing I did could persuade it to publish.

Just as well perhaps. I am growing increasingly weary of seeing my own Facebook 'wall' clogged with messages from Farmville even though I play the game less than Fantasy Kingdoms or Lovely Farm.

I am not the only player who is becoming disgusted with Farmville's endless suggestions to send Gems or Fuel or other specific Gifts to Neighbours and Friends either. What is particularly pernicious about this is the fact that much of the information is inaccurate. The game informed me that another player desperately needed a Nail for his Stable when in fact the Neighbour did not even HAVE a Stable, either in the process of being built or one that had been completed. Useless Gifts sent to a Neighbour are an annoyance and a waste of time and effort both for the sender and the recipient. As for suggestions that a Player post information to ANOTHER Player's Wall about a game... it really is not appropriate, especially if the player is some one who essentially abandoned all interest in the game.

Recently, I have noted the appearance of a Pregnant Sow generated by Farmville on players' farms. This is a cute little Pig with a rattle who simply is dropped onto a player's farm. When you click on it, it tells you that the Sow is pregnant and that it belongs to a specific player. You are asked to post information about the 'missing' Sow on the designated player's wall. This is all false information, by the way. The designated 'owner' never owned a pregnant sow and, should you click on the post once it appears on the player's wall, you will be taken to a special site where you will be asked to take surveys and interact with other advertising media. The Pregnant Sow is perilously close to a virus in my view. I find the whole business rather despicable and I do apologise for attempting to return the first one I encountered to its 'owner'. At that point, I did not realise how the programme operated and genuinely thought that the 'owner' was missing a pregnant pig.

Many players are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the volume of nonsense generated by Farmville and Frontierville, both Zynga games. Facebook account holders may not be dedicated gamers in many cases, but it is utterly wrong to suppose that they are idiots who could not find their own way out of a paper bag! There is no need for arrows and prompts telling a player what to do next in a farming simulation game. It takes much of the fun from the game. When a game clamours endlessly for a place on a player's Wall, it becomes less attractive as well. Most people have OTHER reasons for being on Facebook. It is quite possible that they would like to post genuine information about their own lives or the lives of family and friends. There is nothing wrong with the idea of playing games on Facebook and indeed I enjoy the option myself, but when it becomes burdensome and swamps everything else, I begin to consider the option of jettisoning the programme completely.

In the Interest of Fairness...

2010-08-04T13:39:00.003-04:00

As I published a post about a particularly absurd response from one individual who worked in Customer Support at Zynga, the makers of Farmville when he demanded that I supply a screenshot of a prompt that appeared on my screen for a moment a week previously, I felt it only just to publish a very positive response from Zynga as well.

A couple of days ago, I 'lost' a White-Tailed Buck while moving him from one position to another on my farm. Unable to find him anywhere, I contacted Customer Support. This time, I received an immediate response from some one named Lola, who told me that, upon investigation, she did see that the Buck still was on my farm and that it could be hidden beneath a building.

With this information, I was inspired to do a very thorough search. I found the Buck beneath a building that was in the opposite direction from the location to which I had been moving him when he vanished.

I wrote to her to thank her and received this response:

'I am delighted to hear that you found your Buck. I do understand the love for certain animals on the farm and the concern when they go missing. Please always remember that we are here to answer any of your questions comments or concerns. Thank you for your time and hard work on the Farm.'

How very different from my earlier experience with Zynga Customer Support. In fairness, the awful representative who demanded that I essentially time-travel to obtain a screenshot of a message generated BY ZYNGA was yanked off the case ultimately and the issue settled by his superior.

I did wish to share the response to my White-Tailed Buck issue, though, as it portrays Zynga and Farmville in a positive light.

Becoming a Neighbour for Facebook Games

2010-08-02T13:58:00.002-04:00

There appears to be quite a lot of confusion where 'Friends' and 'Neighbours' are concerned in terms of games on Facebook. Asking some one to accept a Friendship Request in order to obtain another Neighbour in any game is only the first step. Once the individual accepts your Friendship Request, you need to invite him/her to become a Neighbour. This is true of every Facebook game that I have played.

Often in some of the games, the game will prompt you to visit a player's Farm in order to perform a task EVEN IF THAT INDIVIDUAL IS NOT YOUR NEIGHBOUR. I think that some players wrongly assume that a prompt of this nature signifies that the individual IS a Neighbour as well as a Friend.

There are a number of players of various Farming Simulation games who have requested that I accept them as Friends. They then never take any further steps to become a Neighbour in the game for which the Friendship was requested. Furthermore, when I then initiate the Invitation to become a Neighbour, it is not answered.

I understand that players require specific numbers of Neighbours in order to obtain upgrades but I feel that it is common courtesy to send a Gift if some one accepts you as a Neighbour. You need not send daily gifts but a single Gift as a simple expression of gratitude is a nice gesture. Obviously if there is a limit, as in Lovely Farm, of 15 Free Gifts per day, it may take time to send every new Neighbour a Gift, but one should do it sooner or later. I have some Neighbours who never sent a Gift even in return for a Gift I sent. Other Neighbours, even at a lower level than I, have been gracious about sending whatever items they have been able to unlock.

The real point of this post, however, is to make players aware of the difference between the players who are recognised as 'Friends' by any Facebook game for the purpose of generating 'help' requests and true Neighbours who must either have initiated or accepted an actual Invitation to BE Neighbours in the game.

Night and Day in Farming on Facebook

2010-08-01T14:08:00.007-04:00

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My natural impulse in farming or in anything else, whether in real life or in a game is to choose the most beautiful item or option rather than the most profitable or practical. This can be a real problem in Farming Simulation Games on Facebook where real time controls your results. The most beautiful Crops may not be the ones that are most practical in terms of a player's real-life schedule. It took me awhile to realise this. Wishful thinking often overcame good sense where farming was concerned, whether in Fantasy Kingdoms, Lovely Farm or Farmville.

In Farmville, I tended to grow Morning Glories, irrespective of the time of day or night when I planted them. In Lovely Farm, I wanted to grow the most beautiful Crops and in Fantasy Kingdoms, I wanted to do the same. Time and again, I would return to a game to find my Crops withered.

In Fantasy Kingdoms, I solved the problem temporarily by restricting my choices to Crops that take at least one full day to mature. In Lovely Farm, where I am very conscious of a desire to increase my Levels, I tried to choose Crops that were fairly fast-growing while planting them according to a schedule that would allow me to harvest them. Even so, I made some errors due to wishful thinking. I planted Crops with a shorter growth period than 12 hours at night, hoping that I would be able to harvest them before they withered. I do pass many sleepless hours at night because of pain levels but the problem is that I am not on any specific schedule for that. Pain controls my ability to sleep and my time of waking. Sad to say, I wasted my energy, coins and time more than once by planting short-term Crops after sunset.

Now I have embarked on a rather schizophrenic 'planogramme' where, during the day, I satisfy my desire to create a 'Lovely Farm' in the patterns and varieties of my Crops and then, when I have harvested most of those in the evening, I replace them with the Crops that require at least 12 hours to mature, whether or not I find them aesthetically thrilling. So far, this strategy has worked well for me.

It occurred to me, however, that when Neighbours visit my Farm, their concept of me will vary according to their own schedule. If they are nocturnal gamers, they probably never will see the lovely patterns I enjoy most. If they are diurnal, on the other hand, they will experience the Farm as I like to see it myself.

The Daisies are the first true flower that one is able to unlock in Lovely Farm. They actually are Marguerites, the miniature blossoms in the Daisy family. In real life, there are many flowers I prefer to Daisies but I was thrilled when I saw my first Daisy harvest in Lovely Farm. They really are lovely.

Watch for an Interview with the creators of Fantasy Kingdom!

2010-07-30T14:35:00.006-04:00

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In the brief period that I have been playing Fantasy Kingdoms, I have been very impressed not only by the creativity and graphic skills displayed in this game, but the attitude of Sneaky Games as well. The game is far more generous towards its players than any other Farming Simulation game I have encountered on Facebook and this fact, coupled with the sheer beauty of the game made me feel that it deserved to be promoted.

The people at Sneaky Games have been kind enough to consent to an interview about Fantasy Kingdoms so ... watch this page!

N.B. The screenshot with the Egyptian Pyramid shows one corner in the Kingdom of my Neighbour and Friend, ILuvHM.

The Wishing Well can be visited once each day by any player and will dispense rewards from 100 Mana to an actual Castle!

Creativity and Art in Farming

2010-07-30T09:33:00.002-04:00

Crop Circles, where some force cuts a swathe through ripening grains or other Crops in order to create a symbol or pattern have been the subject of much discussion and even a film or two. Likewise, there are patterns in different locations throughout the world that can be seen only from the air and include both the Crop Circles and Nazca symbols. Ancient chalk figures in England such as the Uffington Horse and Cerne Abbas Giant can be seen from the ground but the best view is to be found from a high hill or from the air.

Oddly enough, it is when playing a farming simulation game that ordinary individuals can construct landscapes or patterns in a similar fashion. A friend of mine who played Rune Factory Frontier declared his intention to plant flowers in every field, including the dungeons, creating a landscape that would be extraordinarily beautiful. I sadly suspect he never had the time to complete this wonderful plan but it captured my imagination even if I never was able to find the time to do it either.

My first personal experience with creativity in gaming was a Level Creator tool in a PC game named Claw. With virtually no expertise in computer programming, I was able to create my own custom levels for the game. One could place bonus coins in any location for the Character, Captain Claw to reach. I loved creating patterns with the gold coins and in fact, wrote 'Freya' in the sky in almost every level I created.

The creation of any custom level was a time-consuming business and I doubt very many people even play Claw now. Nonetheless, I discovered some of the aesthetic pleasure in creating patterns with Crops in Fantasy Kingdoms, Lovely Farm and Farmville.

The Magical Crops in Fantasy Kingdoms are the most stunning and unusual and each has different stages of growth. The appearance of the Seeds when first planted is almost as beautiful as the Crop when it is ready for harveest. What surprised me, however, was the discovery that the Crops in Lovely Farm likewise have a number of different stages and are very beautiful at each stage. The Crops that are available at Level 1 are not the most beautiful on the whole and it is only when players raise their Levels that they can work with a number of different colours, textures and patterns not only in Seeds but in spouting Crops and Crops that are almost ready to be harvested.

I truly enjoy taking the time to plot out patterns on my field in Lovely Farm. In Fantasy Kingdom, I have become more involved in the magnificent buildings and decorations lately but aesthetics rather than cash flow always determine my choice of Crops there as well.

One can create beautiful patterns on the field in Farmville and indeed, some of the Flowers are lovely, but the game drives players to grow Crops in large quantities. The Co-Op Jobs and the Crafting (which requires Bushels that are randomly generated by harvesting a particular Crop) are all geared towards mass farming. It adds strategy to the game but makes it less of a Zen meditation exercise. I enjoy my visits to my Lovely Farm and Fantasy Kingdom far more for the most part, despite the addition of a magical carousel to my Farmville estate.

There are those who rake the sand in a Zen garden each morning and/or evening. For me, creating a beautiful pattern with Crops and Flowers has the same effect.

Farmville's Magical and Charming Option

2010-07-27T11:52:00.002-04:00

I admit that I have been rather critical of Farmville and that, in comparisons with other, less commercial games on Facebook, it has shown itself to be less attractive.

Yesterday, however, I became aware of an Option that is truly magical but which, because of my own prejudices against anything ugly or aesthetically displeasing, I was not able to experience. The tale reflects very badly upon me but I will recount it nonetheless.

Within the last fortnight, I saw a posting by a Neighbour of a Lost Animal I never had encountered before. It was an 'Ugly Duckling'. I had encountered 'Party Ducks' and some other odd creatures such as the Groovy Cow but this was unlike anything else... The 'Ugly Duckling' was TRULY Ugly, with one enormous buck tooth hanging from its mouth. I did not wish to have a creature like that on my Farm and so passed up an opportunity for a magical and wonderful experience!

A friend of mine who plays Farmville DID adopt the Ugly Duckling, wondering if it would produce a Feather Harvest like the other Ducks. When it became 'Ready' yesterday, instead of an automatic Harvest, a pull-down menu appeared, offering him the chance to 'Transform' the Duck. Readers probably have guessed by now what occurs. The fact that I did not think of this when I first encountered the Ugly Duckling does not reflect well on some one who probably has read every fairytale and folktale in existence.

Yes, right before his eyes, the Ugly Duckling was transformed into a beautiful White Swan. I am kicking myself for not having adopted the Ugly creature, ashamed of my unkindness and envying my friend his acquisition of a glorious White Swan.

Birthday Wishes on Natsume Official Forum

2010-07-26T09:58:00.004-04:00

A fan of Harvest Moon and Rune Factory sent me an email containing a forward from the official Natsume forum. She was delighted and surprised by the message which was simply to wish her a Happy Birthday from Natsume.

I wanted to share this because to me, it represents the attitude of Natsume and is the reason why I continue to volunteer to write Guides for Natsume games. Natsume never loses the personal touch, despite an increasingly heavy workload with all the new games that are being produced.

The philosophy of Harvest Moon and Rune Factory is one of placing friendship above financial considerations and selfish gain. In every Harvest Moon game, a player is encouraged to pay attention to the birthdays of all the other Characters in his/her community. It is apt really that Natsume should take the trouble to remember the Birthdays of the members of its Official Community Forum.

Bravo, Natsume, for embodying the principles of Harvest Moon in your corporate actions!

Farming Fanatics...

2010-07-25T10:03:00.005-04:00

A Neighbour of mine in the wonderful game of Lovely Farm kindly allowed me to post her Facebook photo here. It is very apt I think for any one who plays Farming Simulation games, whether Farmville, Lovely Farm, Fantasy Kingdoms or Harvest Moon!
Thank you for graciously allowing me to share this!

New Option of Crafting Goods in Farmville

2010-07-22T09:39:00.007-04:00

Despite my somewhat jaundiced view of Farmville, it does have a multitude of endless interactions with the player and constant interfacing with other players as well. Lost Animals, Pregnant Sows, a Farmers' Market that offers Bushels of the Crops that you and your Neighbours grow as well as Co-Op Jobs are among the Options that appear whenever you play Farmville. Unfortunately, the Farmers' Market and Co-Op Jobs can be experienced only by players who have increased their Levels of experience. I now have tried both.

Between the Co-Op Job Option and the Farmers' Market Options, I personally find the Co-Op Jobs rather tedious, even when a Neighbour assists. Essentially, what is required is that you grow enormous quantities of a single Crop within a limited time period. If you do not have machines to till the field, sow the Seeds AND harvest the Crops, you will be forced to invest a substantial amount of REAL time in the venture, with very little reward really. You can earn a Bronze, Silver or Gold Medal and of course, you will earn whatever income and experience your Crops produce.

For my Co-Op Job, I chose to grow 1500 Red Tulips as I love Flowers. A Neighbour and Harvest Moon comrade very kindly added his effortst to mine. In all honesty, without his help, I could not have completed the Job and in fact, he was the MVP in this labour, supplying over 60% of the Red Tulips for the 'Wedding' organisers who contracted with us for the items. Annoyingly, some glitch in Farmville forced me to harvest the last 200 Tulips TWICE. I had completed the entire job and indeed, had re-tilled a number of plots when the game told me that the game had been 'enhanced' and forced me to reload. To my horror, when I did, I found that the 200 Red Tulips had regrown themselves magically and had to be harvested again.

You can choose between a number of different Co-Op Jobs but it appears that they all involve a task of growing and harvesting large quantities of a single Crop.

The Farmers' Market, on the other hand, has been invested with a Crafting Option that might prove interesting. When it first was announced, I was asked to choose between a Bakery, Winery and Spa. I chose the Spa, thinking that it would involve Flowers more than other Crops.

Actually, I suspect that the Recipes in all three Crafts require a wide variety of ingredients. As in games like Rune Factory, you need to raise your level of experience before you can make more than one Recipe.

So far, I have made 'Fresh Sachets' at my little Craft Cottage and sold one to a Neighbour.

The Recipe for a Fresh Sachet is: 3 Pumpkin Bushels, 3 Cranberry Bushels, 1 Sunflower Bushel

What is interesting here is that you can 'buy' any Bushels you do not have from a Neighbour's Stall if he/she has them, which extends your potential to complete Recipes for Goods.

It is not as interesting as Grand Bazaar, or any other Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game, but it is a step in the right direction!

Later: The automatic option to make a choice between the three Crafting buildings no longer is given to players. I was rewarded by responding instantly with the gift of a free Spa, but now you must buy one or more of the three buildings at the Market. The Buildings are: Bakery, Winery and Spa. The three Buildings are available only at Level 25 and each costs 100,000 Coins, making me rather happy that I responded to the offer when I received it! You may not even see them at the Market if your levels are not high enough.

If you do not have a Market Stall, you cannot do anything with the option as it all works through the Market Stall. Now, at the Market Stall, there are new Menus that allow you to Use either Bushels or Goods or, when you choose Bushels, to Make Goods or Uss a specific Bushel as before simply to gain Mastery Points during harvests.

At Level 15, with a Market Stall, you can buy Goods now as well as Bushels from Neighbours. The 'Fresh Sachet' costs 1100 Coins. If you have a vehicle, you can trade the Fresh Sachet for Fuel. I was rather disappointed to find that this is the only way to use the Goods at present, although Farmville promises that there will be an option to acquire special items in future as well.

Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar

2010-07-21T16:49:00.003-04:00

I received a test version of Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar today, so I shall try to begin work on Guides for this game at once. I will not be able to share any information whatsoever about the game at this point but simply would like to assure players that I will be covering it.

Please note that there may be some differences between this version and the ultimate retail version, so I may need to make small changes to any Guides that I publish when the game first is released.

Although I evidently needed a little break from serious guide-writing, there is nothing that compares with Harvest Moon and Rune Factory!

Attitudes of Game Creators Inspire Loyalty

2010-07-17T16:23:00.002-04:00

I would like to believe that a good attitude and a good response by a game creator in the face of an obvious error would inspire loyalty in players while acknowledging that it cannot override the essential entertainment quality or value of the game itself.

Fantasy Kingdoms have experienced a multitude of problems in the past few days. Free Gifts would not transfer, players could not visit other Kingdoms and often a player would apply to the Wishing Well in vain... Three months old, they obviously still are working on their game, but I have to admit that their willingness to admit to a fault and to compensate their players is admirable.

A few moments ago, when accessing my Kingdom, I received a message:

'We are sorry for all of the Maigc Storms and Fairy Dust lately. As a part of the Kingdoms Loyalty Programme, I have placed a very special Mana Chest in your Giftbox.

Love, Harmony.'

Contrast this with Farmville's response to an even greater series of disasters for players yesterday. Where Farmville is concerned, players have lost Animals, Barns, Gifts and other Items. Items placed on a player's land have vanished (permanently it seems) and the only response AFTER almost a full day of problems was that 'Farmville is aware of issues with loading Farmville and are actively working to resolve them'.

I personally lost a number of Gifts as well as a Japanese Trellis that Farmville gave me when I completed my Japanese Barn. I set the Trellis on my land today, having read a message from Zynga to the effect that the problems had been resolved and it vanished into thin air. Clearing my cache and reloading the game twice did not resolve 'the issue'... I would be much surprised if Farmville gave its loyal followers any compensation at all, let alone compensation equal to that given by Fantasy Kingdoms.

The Benefits of Raising your Levels in Farmville

2010-07-14T12:13:00.003-04:00

Players who are familiar with Harvest Moon or Rune Factory know that new options are unlocked when your levels of experience increase or when you complete specific goals. Although Farming Simulation Games on Facebook cannot compare with Harvest Moon or Rune Factory in their depth, complexity or the sense of satisfaction one obtains when goals are completed in HM or RF, there still are new options that are unlocked at higher levels and that can expand the game's scope enormously.

In Farmville, for example, you will find that the game will change when you reach Level 15 and have the option to purchase a Market Stall. With a Market Stall, you can interact with other Farmers.

The Farmer's Market

You will not be able to purchase your own Market Stall until you reach Level 15, nor will you be able to accept Bushels from other players until then.

Once you purchase a Market Stall, you can access the Farmer's Market through the Stall itself.

The little tutorial that can be accessed at the Market Stall gives the following information:

Each time you harvest a crop, you might find a bushel of that crop. When you find them, you get extra bushels for crop mastery! Crop bushes are used to speed up your mastery or XP progress, to unlock seeds that you can't yet buy in the market and to craft items in your Crafting Cottage. Coming soon!

Bushels you find are stored in your Market Stall. You can spend your bushels to boost your productivity on the farm! First click your Market Stall and select Farmer's Market, then click the 'My Bushels' Button, and then click the 'Use' button under the Bushel.

When you harvest a bushel, your market stall is set to sell those bushels for 24 hours. If you've mastered the crop, your stall will stay open longer. If you're already selling the crop, finding another Bushel will keep your stall open longer, too.

From your own Market Stall, you can see the Bushels your friends are offering. You can take up to 3 bushels from each friend. Just click the 'Get Bushels' button and start shopping!

In order to 'Use' the Bushel, you need to be growing the specific Crop and it needs to be ready for Harvest within two hours. Otherwise, there will be no effect whatsoever
Market Stalls are used both to store Bushels of specific Crops and to offer them to visiting Neighbours. If any Neighbour takes Bushels from your Stall, you will be rewarded. You can choose the form your Reward takes. You will be offered 10 XP, 4000 Coins or 15 Fuel. (?) Whenever you harvest a Bushel of a specific Crop, it automatically will go into your Market Stall and the Stall will open for business for 24 hours. There are ways to extend the time that the Stall remains open, but 24 hours is the normal time period.

Whenever you click on your Market Stall, you will have an option to access the Farmer's Market. Here you will be given the opportunity to see all the Bushels that your neighbours currently are offering. You can take three Bushels of any specific Crop from a Neighbour's Stall.

These Bushels can be used or shared with Neighbours. If you opt to 'Use' a Bushel that you have collected, you need to be able to harvest the same Crop on your own Farm within two hours in order to gain the benefit which is an increase in the Experience earned from the act of Harvesting that Crop. For example, if you choose to 'Use' a Bushel of Rice, you need to have Rice that will ripen within the next two hours and be able to harvest it before the time limit expires. Rice ordinarily gives +1 XP. If a Bushel of Rice is in use, however, each Rice square that you harvest will give you +2 XP.

Only one Bushel can be in use at any given point in time. If you have Bushels for more than one Crop that is ready to be harvested, you can use the corresponding Bushels sequentially.

If you have not reached Level 15 and attempt to collect a Bushel from a Friend's Wall, you will receive the following prompt:

Sorry! You need to get to Level 15 before you can visit a Farmer's Market and collect bushels! Would you like 20 XP from Farmville to help you on your way?

You therefore can claim a little reward of 20 XP even if you cannot collect the Bushel posted on a Neighbour's or Friend's Wall.

Garden Shed

The Garden Shed gives you the opportunity to save Flowers that you harvest to use as Decorations on your own land. If you love beautiful Flowers, you will enjoy this option tremendously. Unfortunately, the price is steep unless you have 10 Neighbours. On the positive side, there are no Level Requirements for owning a Garden Shed

The Garden Shed is described as follows:

Garden Sheds save Perfect Bunches hat you find while harvesting flowers. Use them to make decorative flower bouquets to put around your farm or share with friends! Your first Garden Shed comes with 10 rare bouquets as a special purchase gift!

The Garden Shed is a Building Item with two separate listings and prices:

Garden Shed
10 Neighbours Needed

Garden Shed
30 Farm Cash

The Co-Op Job is another advanced Option unlocked at Level 20. The third box at the lower left corner of your screen will change from the Delete Tool to Co-Op Farming.

Here is the description of Co-Op Farming from the game:

Co-Op Guide

A job is a task that involved seeding and harvesting a number of the specified crop within the time frame stated in the job. There are three levels of rewards in a job: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Medal rewards are based on how fast you complete the job, and give even more coins and XP. Gold is the most difficult of all but gives all participants a unique reward item.

To help on a job, find a job on the 'All Jobs' List. You must be firends with the job initiator, not already be on another job and the job must not be full in order to join.

If for some reason you want to leave a job, you can select 'Quit Job' at any item. If you signed on as a helper, your contributions willr emain but you won't get a reward when the job is complete. If you are an initiator, you can only quit a job if there are no others helping.

A new option that appeared yesterday but which has been heralded and advertised for quite awhile is the Workshop.

The Workshop Option

When my Character reached Level 25, the following Announcement was made, requesting that I commit myself to a specific Workshop:

Coming Soon!
Sign up now! You'll get an awesome Limited Edition item!

There will be three different Workshops as follows:

Bakery
Uses fruit and vegetable bushels to make pies and cakes

Winery
Uses fruits and grain bushels to make wines and juices

Spa
Uses flower and fruit bushels to make perfumes and candles

If you sign up for the Bakery:

Pumpkin Bread
Bushels Needed: Pumpkins, Wheat

Strawberry Shortcake
Bushels Needed: Strawberries, Wheat

Spicy Muffins
Bushels Needed: Carrots, Peppers, Ghost Chili

Pattypan Tart
Bushels Needed: Pattypan Squash, Onion, Rice

If you sign up for the Winery

Sweet Sake
Bushels needed: Rice, Cranberries

White Sangria
Bushels Needed: White Grapes, Sugar Cane, Strawberries

Red Table Wine
Bushels Needed: Grapes, White Grapes

Fruit Wine
Bushels Needed: Raspberries, Blueberries, Sugar Cane

If you sign up for the Spa:

Fresh Sachet
Bushels Needed: Pumpkins, Cranberries, Sunflowers

Floral Perfume
Bushels Needed: Raspberries, Morning Glory

Soothing Herbal Lotion
Bushels Needed: Aloe Vera, Green Tea

Relaxation Oil
Bushels Needed: Blueberries, Morning Glory

Although you can accept one of the three Workshops at this point in time, it appears that some work still must be done by Farmville before you can begin to use them. The Limited Edition Gift I received for affiliating myself with the Spa (mainly because I love the flowers in Farmville) was a rather frightening garden gnome.

Rules relatiing to Gifts in Facebook Games

2010-07-13T13:32:00.003-04:00

There is some confusion among players as to the rules respecting Gifts in Free Facebook Games. The Games themselves sometimes contribute to the confusion actually and although many games share the same rules, some are different. Of the Games that I have explored, the Rules where Gifts are concerned appear to be as follows:

Farmville:

1 Free Gift can be sent to a Friend/Neighbour every 3 Hours. Other players have confirmed the time limit. If any one has been unable to send another Gift after three hours, please let me know.

Players can find items in the Market that have a 'Send' as well as a 'Buy' Option, allowing them to send items to Friends. This is different from the Free Gifts Menu, where ALL Gifts are Free. I expect there are no time restrictions on the Items that can be sent from the Market.

CAUTION: Reciprocating with a 'thank you Gift'. In Farmville, when you send a thank you gift, it will be the SAME item that was sent to you. When this item is one that you specifically requested and which may not be useful to the person who sent it to you, do NOT activate this option. Many of the Free Gifts, such as Materials for Building or for the Tuscan Wedding have NO resale value! If your Friend or Neighbour cannot use the item, it is worthless and prevents you from sending a Gift he/she might appreciate far more.

Free Gifts are unlocked according to the Level of Experience of the Sender.

There are some special situations in Farmville when specific Items that do not appear currently in the Gifts Menu can be requested by a Message on the Player's Wall or by a Request to any Friends who have not played Farmville yet. At least, this was my own experience when I needed Bamboo. Bamboo is one of the Limited Edition Items that is included in the Gift Menu on a cyclical basis. When it did not appear currently in the Gift Menu, I was able to make a Request to a list of Friends who did NOT play Farmville or at any rate never had sent me a Gift before.

The Gift Menu in Farmville includes both Items that are permanent and Items that are cyclical and belong to a special Category. Collectibles, Building Materials and Special Event Items are cyclical. In other words, a Harness and Nails may appear for two days, and then be replaced by Horseshoes and Boards.

Fantasy Kingdoms:

There is no time limit nor are there any restrictions on the number of Free Gifts that you can send to a Friend or Neighbour. As with other games, however, when you send a Thank you Gift, it will be the same item that you received. What is interesting here is that Limited Edition Items that have expired can be exchanged indefinitely if you continue to use the Thank you Gift option! For example, the Sunset Tree no longer appears in the Free Gifts Menu as it was a Solstice Item but if you receive one as a Free Gift, you can send one back as a Thank You Gift!

All Free Gifts are available to a player at any level.

Farm Town:

One Free Gift can be sent to any/every Neighbour or Friend every 24 hours. Gifts are unlocked by the Level of the Sender. There is a very interesting and useful option in Farm Town that does not exist in other Games, however, which is that you can EXCHANGE any Gift upon receipt of it for any other Gift that YOUR Level has unlocked. I love this option. I only wish this game had better graphics. It is the ugliest game I currently play!

Lovely Farm:

One Free Gift can be sent to 15 Neighbours or Friends every 24 hours. You cannot send more than 15 Free Gifts to ANY ONE in any 24 hour period. In Lovely Farm, the Gift Menu includes both Free Gifts and Paid Gifts. Some of the Paid Gifts are Items that do not appear in the Shop Menu and can be obtained only if some one sends them to you. It appears that there is no time restriction or limit to the Paid Gifts you can send to any individual but I must confirm this.

Castle Age

One Free Gift can be sent to any Neighbour or Friend every 24 hours. A special Gift that does not appear in the Gift Menu will be sent to any one who responds to an Invitation to join a player's Army. I do not think an Invitation bars a Player from sending an Item from the Gift Menu during the same 24 hour period, but I must confirm this.

Gifts are not level-specific but often are part of a set that must be completed before they will be of any use to the recipient.

Tiki Farm:

Free Gifts include Seeds as well as rather unique and rare Animals, including Penguins, Koala Bears and Kimodo Dragons.

Reviews of Frontierville, Tiki Farm and Treasure Isle

2010-07-11T11:11:00.004-04:00

Facebook makes me think of Grand Central or Waterloo Station... there is so much going on at any given moment and much of it is activity by strangers or people who would be strangers anywhere but Facebook. I have 100 new Requests for Friendship, Acceptance of Gifts, Acceptance of Neighbour Offers or whatever on my page on a daily basis, a News Feed that tells me what other people are doing, with offers from their pages of Bonuses or Mystery Eggs or other Items as well as a host of game adverts in the column on the right side of the page. Many of the Games advertised on Facebook are 'Free' but many offer a free 'taste' of the game, requiring real investment if you wish to pursue the Game with any dedication.

A friend persuaded me to try a game called Tiki Island, citing her own dream to live on an island. Although I was juggling at least five other games on Facebook, I decided I would give it a try for her sake. It is a charming little game in its way, apart from one VERY annoying point: Whenever you play the game, a pop-up advertisement for ANOTHER game called Verdonia appears in the middle of your screen. I find this both annoying and rather incomprehensible. The prompt demands that you: 'Play Verdonia NOW!' Well, why would a person begin one game and, without having any chance to perform any actions yet in THAT game, wish to transfer to another game instantly?

Pop-Ups of various kinds are very much a part of most of the Facebook games and they always detract from my enjoyment of it. These games are programmed to treat a player like an idiot, but it's all marketing. You may be in the middle of an activity such as plowing or planting and quite suddenly the game will suggest that you 'take a break' to send some free gifts to friends. Is the game acting in a generous spirit to promote selfless giving? Not at all. By sending a gift to a friend, you are drawing that friend into the web of the game. If it is a friend who currently plays the game, the act of giving still isn't entirely selfless. With your Gift is a pre-written request for the Friend to send YOU a Gift in return.

Frontierville was recommended to me by a number of Harvest Moon friends as the game with the most to offer, including an option for Courtship and Marriage. I dreaded the idea of becoming involved in yet another game when I hadn't sufficient time to deal with Fantasy Kingdoms, Lovely Farm, Farmville, Farm Town and Castle Age... but once again, I was persuaded. In fact, it is the most complex of all the games I have played, apart from Castle Age. On the other hand, it is the most FRANTIC as well. The entire game is linked to various mini-games. The most frequently activated mini-game is the one that is triggered by any gain of income, experience or food. Whenever you perform any activity, whether it is clearing land, tending a Crop or feeding an Animal, you receive coins and XP and often a Food Item as well. All these pop out in the form of Items you need to collect actively by clicking on each of them. If you fail to click on them quickly enough, they vanish. I need to confirm this, but I believe that you will receive the basic reward for your action without clicking on the Items and that clicking on each will give you Bonus points. Nonetheless, it is a bit nerveracking for me, especially if you have moved to a different part of the screen to perform another task, leaving behind all of the Items from the previous action that popped onto the screen. I daresay that a lot of players find this fun. Perhaps it is the antiquity of the laptop I use, or the less-than-accurate 'mouse' it has, but I don't enjoy it very much. Furthermore, the endless prompts that appear on the screen to 'share' every small accomplishment tend to conflict with and actually impede gameplay.

I think Frontierville is worse in this respect than other games simply because there is so much going on at any given moment. In fact, there are some fundamental defects in most of these games where messages and Requests are concerned. Why is it impossible to accept ALL your Gifts at once, in the same way that one can perform actions towards a group of emails simply by filling in a box, then choosing an option such as 'Delete' or 'Save'? You could have an option either to 'Accept' or 'Reject'. The only game that sends Gifts automatically into your Gift Box is Lovely Farm. In similar fashion, why could the game not allow you to publish all of its messages to your Wall AFTER you finish playing rather than interrupting you every few moments? All of these games are in Beta still, but really...

Speaking of 'Beta' versions of games or online games in general, one wonders about the wisdom of making any 'real' investments in terms of money even for a player who has unlimited funds to spare. In games that are made for specific systems or platforms, a player can save and keep his/her progress without fearing that an outside influence will render it unusable or even non-existent. Where any online gaming experience is concerned, what control does the player have apart from the transient control exercised while the game actually is current?

I am most tempted to invest real money in some of the gorgeous items in Fantasy Kingdoms but apart from the fact that I really cannot afford to do so, I must try to remember that all of these games exist only at the whim of their creators and could be pulled from the internet at any point in time.

Once upon a time, I created a wonderful site on About.com with over four hundred pages of detailed erudite text and fantastic images. One day, About.com changed its policy. What had been a free site would become subject to charges. I did not have the sort of resources that would have allowed me to keep a site of that size on the internet so it was lost...

I have digressed badly from the topic of this post, which is to review Tiki Farm, Frontierville and Treasure Island.

Were it not for the annoying and I feel, unethical insertion of the pop-up to play Verdonia, each time you load Tiki Farm, I would enjoy the game more. It is an interesting variation on ordinary Farming Simulation games. For a start, you have to farm on a volcanic Island, although the Volcano is not an 'active' option as it is in Treasure Island. It simply is decorative and can be moved like any decoration.

The biggest difference between Tiki Farm and most of the other Farming Simulation games is the fact that Ranch Products and many other Items are VERY time-restricted. You have to feed your Cow Alfalfa (shades of Hero of Leaf Valley) in order to produce Milk but, unlike other games where the Cow will keep her Milk until you can obtain it from her, Tiki Farm Milk will spoil within five minutes or so! You therefore need to remain active in the game basically whenever you begin any activity such as fishing or obtaining Ranch Product. There are Crops that ripen in half an hour for example! The only other Farming Simulation game I have played that has Crops with a comparable growth period is Frontiersville where Clover can be planted and harvested almost in the blink of an eye.

There is a 'Lost Animal' option in Tiki Farm similar to the one in Farmville, although the Animals are far more exotic and amusing. My favourite is the Enchanted Narwhal, who will wander onto your Island. If adopted, the 'spell' will be broken and she will be restored to her natural form, which is that of a lovely Unicorn!

Free Gifts are very much a part of all the Facebook games and Tiki Farms is no exception. The difference here is in the nature of the Gifts, which are original and exotic. One that appeals to me greatly is the option to give a traditional Japanese 'Beckoning/Welcoming Cat' or Maneki. Others include Kimodo Dragons, Koalas and Bald Eagles. There is nothing mundane about Tiki Farm.

Fishing is an option in this game as well, which makes sense for a Farmer living on a small deserted island! In fact, any item that generates products regularly, whether a Dairy Cow or a Dock, is defined as a 'Workshop'. An item must be placed in order to generate product where any Workshop is concerned. If it is the Dairy Cow, the item is Alfalfa. If the Dock, you must bait the rod with a Grub. Having triggered the operation with the appropriate Item, you then must wait five minutes for the result. If you wait too long to collect the Fish, it, like the Milk, will spoil and you will lose 200 coins of income.

Both Tiki Farm and Frontiersville are more complex and potentially interesting than the other Farming Simulation games on Facebook in terms of 'helping' Neighbours. In fact, Frontierville allows you to hire Neighbours for specific tasks as well as including the usual option for the Neighbour to initiate the visit. In Tiki Farm, you can collect items as well as tending Crops (by removing insects and watering them) while visiting a Neighbour's Island. It is when one visits Neighbours in any game that one begins to see the scope of the game in terms of advanced Levels. Where Tiki Farm is concerned, there are quite a few fascinating Workshops at higher Levels.

I am not really competent to discuss Treasure Island yet, as I have not had time to play it enough to judge. It appears to require an investment in 'real' money, however, which is one reason I did not explore it further initially. There is a type of Sunscreen that is required if you wish to explore the Volcano. I do not see an option to obtain that Sunscreen without investing in the game. Apart from that, the game was rather enjoyable, combining a Treasure Hunt with Farming. You basically journey from island to island to dig for Treasures. Each Island has a different goal in terms of the Treasure Collection you can find there. It appears that you usually will not be able to complete a Set by yourself. For example, on the Island where you must find a set of five Tiki Gods, you will find only four of the five, finding one duplicate Tiki rather than finding the one that would complete your Set. You therefore must find a Neighbour to trade Tikis with you.

On your home island, you can farm. There is a Gem Tree that is rather intriguing. Gems can be used to unlock barriers and probably have other uses as well. I haven't explored the game enough to discover much. One irritating aspect to the game was that, having played it a couple of times to 'clear' three islands, I was rather upset when, loading the game again, it failed to recognise me, forced me to begin as again even to the point of making me take the tutorial...

I will play Treasure Island again if only to review it properly...

Finally, I would venture to state that Frontierville is in a different league from all the other Facebook Games. For me, the point of Facebook games is to entertain without forcing a player to invest too much time and energy into any of it. If I want to play a 'deep', detailed game, I will choose Harvest Moon or Rune Factory, not a game that I must play on my laptop. My controls are not that precise, for a start, and it is annoying when precise actions are required that I cannot perform successfully. I do not mind interacting with other players. It can be very interesting to see how other people landscape their Farms or Islands. On the other hand, when a Game tries to force me to 'spam' every individual who ever has contacted me, I rebel. Almost EVERY Facebook Game will ask if you wish to use your email lists to find new Neighbours. I never have allowed that option to be initiated. I do not consider it ethical.

I have been playing another Facebook game called 'Castle Age' but as it is an RPG rather than Farming Simulation game, I will discuss it in a separate post.

Lovely Farm on Facebook

2010-07-07T22:25:00.005-04:00

Another fairly new game on Facebook that has caught my fancy, with its gorgeous graphics and its rather whimsical Items. I am writing a little mini-guide for this game as well.

Early tip: You will be strapped for cash in the early stages but whenever you visit a Neighbour, you can earn +1 XP and +5 Coins for each Crop that you water or fertilise. You will be given the option to water three Crops and fertilise three Crops at each Neighbour's Farm. If you wish to be a good Neighbour, therefore, you must keep a few Crops growing on your Farm.

I have created a little Guide for Lovely Farm. You will find it at:

Freyashawk's Lovely Farm Guide

Lovely Farm Guide on IGN

Comparison of 4 Facebook Farming Simulation Games

2010-07-03T12:30:00.007-04:00

Having spent far too much time playing Facebook games in the past week, I now feel that I may have enough knowledge of them to make a superficial comparison between the four Farming Simulation games I continue to explore.

The four games are: Farmville, Fantasy Kingdoms, Farm Town and Lovely Farm. Comparisons will be made of the Graphics, Music, Gameplay Options, Need for Neighbours, Need for Currency and Complexity.

Of the four, it is Fantasy Kingdoms that gives me the greatest pleasure, but I have come to realise that it is not as much of a 'game' as the other three. It is more of an ongoing work of art in which the player participates. Like a Zen Rock Garden, it calms my spirit and gives me joy simply to visit my Kingdom, to revel in the beauty and magic of the Crops that are ready to be harvested and then plan the visuals of my next planting. It really is more about landscaping than strategies for making money, although it helps to make enough Mana to purchase the items a player likes the most, and the ones that will yield the most Mana for future purchases. Furthermore, if you wish to be able to perform MORE landscaping, you need to expand your Kingdom and that requires Mana and/or Kingdoms Cash. Fantasy Kingdoms has the most beautiful Music as well. It is pleasant to listen to the melody while one visits. As far as Neighburs are concerned, you really need only one in order to send gifts back and forth. Having more gives you the ability to visit them to perform tasks, earning Mana, Awards (Charms) and Experience, but in view of the fact that the game makes no restrictions as to the number of Gifts that a Neighbour can send, the need for Neighbours is negligible in comparison with the other three games.

Farmville is by far the most socially interactive of the four games. You ability to succeed is linked to the number of Neighbours you have, as you can obtain rare and interesting items if you are aware of the Farmville messages they post. There is a great deal of constant interaction between the game and Facebook 'Walls'. Game Feed is recommended for this reason. You can obtain bonuses, Lost Animals, Mystery Eggs and participate in Co-Op Games easily only if you interact frequently if not constantly with your Neighbours.

The music in Farmville is decent and it has excellent sound effects where the Animals and farming actions are concerned. The graphics are really quite stunning in their own way, especially where Limited Edition Themes and fertilised Crops are concerned. There is far more need for strategy in this game than one may realise initially. It is rather nerve-racking at times, to be honest, and the game itself lends its weight to this anxiety with almost constant prompts. Whether it is a prompt to publish an accomplishment on your Wall, to ask other players to Fertilise your Crops or to send Gifts to them, the stream of messages make the game a bit laggy and do not enhance enjoyment at all. On the other hand, if you wish to obtain rare and interesting items, you will be grateful for the fact that other players are surrendering to the game's prompts and advice to post THEIR achievements and experiences... Farmville really is aggressively social in nature and you must reconcile yourself to this reality if you wish to be able to participate in all of the options that are available.

The least attractive aspect of Farmville in ethical terms is the way it is geared towards real investment on the part of the player. The introduction of collections and themes that are very limited in time and their marketing forces a player constantly to resist the seduction of the call to purchase Farm Cash and/or Coins.

I foresee another problem in Farmville for any player who invests a great deal of time and energy in the game. The players who are at very advanced levels may have extraordinary farms, filled with rare and fascinating items but the clutter often diminishes the beauty significantly. Unlike Fantasy Kingdoms, where Storage is free and offered at the start of the game, Storage Buildings must be purchased or constructed in Farmville and the less expensive of these have the capacity evidently to store no more than two items. Recently, I obtained a couple of Neighbours who are very advanced in the game and although I marvelled at the variety and quantity of wonderful items they had, their farms were NOT beautiful in a coordinated fashion. Instead, they had corners on their farms that were beautiful but in other areas, the farms reminded me of the village dump. Animals in enormous quantities packed as tightly as sardines, all waiting for harvest appears to be a common feature in the farms of players at Level 30 and above.

In Farmville, new options appear only at specific Levels. For example, although I obtained an option to collect Bushels of Crops to share from a Stall, my Neighbours who were at Level 10 were unable to collect them. Similarly, when I obtained a Garden Shed to store bouquet of Flowers, the same Neighbours at Level 10 were unable to take any.

It is at Level 20 evidently that the Co-Op option appears in Farmville. This is an option to accept a time-limited Job to produce a single Crop in quantity. When you accept the Job, you can invite other Neighbours to participate in the task with you. If all players who volunteer persevere to the end and the task is accomplished successfully, every one profits. (I wondered previously why so many farms I visited were dominated by a single Crop. Now I know.)

Farm Town promises to be extremely interesting to a player who has the patience and determination to reach the levels of experience and income that will allow him/her to unlock advanced options. It is very much like Harvest Moon in many respects, although the graphics are almost horrible and the music is primitive (but not unpleasant). If you add a body of water to your farm, you can fish, for example, and there are many different varieties of fish that can be caught. Furthermore, as in Harvest Moon, the varieties of fish are location-specific. In other words, a pond will yield different types than a beach. Unlike Farmville, where you can harvest Ranch Products from Animals even if you cannot house them in appropriate Barns at first, in Farm Town, the Animals you own will be useless until you can purchase the appropriate housing. They simply wander about aimlessly. You can interact with them by petting them, but you cannot collect any product from any of them unless I am missing something critical here in terms of gameplay. I continue to play Farm Town only for the promises that the future appears to hold. I want to try the fishing option in particular... Without investing real money in the game, I initially believed I would have to wait until my Levels increased sufficiently to earn me the price of a Pond, River or Beach.

The optoon to store your Crops and to visit the Market do not exist at low levels of experience in Farm Town. I only realised this when I asked a player at low levels to test it. She had only the option to harvest her Crops immediately. Furthermore, although I have the option to till two squares at once at my current level, the player at Level 7 does not have this option yet.

When you have the option to harvest and store your Crops rather than selling them the moment they are harvested, you then can go to your Storage and choose to visit the Marketplace.

At the Marketplace, you will be given the option to sell any or all of the Crops in your Storage. You will have other options as well. Farmers will be milling about the Marketplace and they will ask you to perform specific tasks on their farms. I have no idea if these farmers are real players or characters generated by the game itself. In any event, I first visited a farm in order to harvest Crops, including Garlic, a Crop I have not unlocked yet. When I returned home, half of the Garlic I had harvested was in MY storage as well as having earned Coins for my labours.

The next job I was offered was to catch fish from the river on a player's farm. So, even without the money necessary to purchase your own water source for your farm, you will be able to fish if you go to the Marketplace and wait for a fishing job! As with the Crops I harvested, some of the Fish I caught (50% of them actually) were in my Storage when I returned home.

Lovely Farm is the game that has a true Harvest Moon atmosphere, at least for me. It is totally silent, however, which means that it has to rank lowest where Music is concerned, having none whatsoever, unless I am missing a control. The graphics are wonderful, although they are not in the same category as the extraordinary beauty of Fantasy Kingdoms. The Crops are large and luscious. Unlike any of the other Farming Simulation games, you must water your Crops at a specific point in the growth cycle. It therefore is more realistic and more like Harvest Moon where the farming option is concerned.

Lovely Farm has ordinary Animals such as Goats, Pigs, Cows and Ostriches, but it has magical Fantasy Animals as well. There is a sort of folktale quality to the graphics in the appearance of the Forest Hut in which you live and the furniture you can purchase. It requires more effort perhaps to succeed than a game like Farmville, simply because you must pay more attention to your Crops. The ability to obtain all sorts of items and bonuses from the Game Feed in Farmville does not appear to exist in Lovely Farm. This is both an advantage and disadvantage. The advantage lies in the fact that you can play your game undisturbed. One other quality that makes Lovely Farm different from the other games is the fact that any Gifts you receive instantly go into your Gift Box in the game itself. You are not required to access your Facebook page to wade through thousands of Requests to find them. There is a limit of being allowed to send only one gift per day to any Neighbours or Friends in Lovely Farm, but that limit is shared by Farmville and Farm Town as well.

So far, it is the people who made Fantasy Kingdoms who have shown themselves to be the friendliest and most generous. They appear to work tirelessly to add new items to the game, and always add one or two Free Gift Items as well as the items that must be purchased. Daily rewards in the form of Mana are given and emails tend to offer items of some value as well. I am very impressed with Sneaky Games, even though the name is a little sinister!

Fantasy Animals in Lovely Farm

2010-07-02T15:07:00.005-04:00

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Lovely Farm is a slow-moving game in some ways, especially when it pertains to income. You can send a gift to a Friend only once each day, which makes it impossible to obtain much income by selling gifts or using them to generate money quickly. On the other hand, the graphics are really gorgeous and for some reason, remind me very much of Harvest Moon. The ability to send an Ostrich as a Free Gift to a friend at the very start was very compelling and added to the 'Harvest Moon' feeling I had.

Sadly, unlike Animal Parade, you cannot ride an Ostrich but it does lay eggs. Pigs, another Free Gift, appear to be rooting for Truffles, although I have not reached the point where I can 'harvest' any.

Crops are large and very attractive. A good strategy, if a player were focused on the game, would be to grow a large number of fast-growing Crops such as White Radishes in order to raise Levels and add to income as quickly as possible. Stupidly, although I did this, I missed the deadline for the harvest and they all withered.

This rings me to another aspect of the game that makes it more like Harvest Moon than Farmville. You need to water most Crops if you wish to be able to harvest them.
Like Farmville, however, you can help a neighbour by watering or fertilising THEIR Crops, although there is a limit of three portions of Water and Fertiliser and you are charged if you use them. It goes give experience, however. I have not quite discovered how often the fertiliser and water option appears yet.

What enchanted me today about the game was the fact that I finally had sufficient income and the required Level to purchase a Ranch Animal called 'Fluttergoat'. The Animals, like the Crops, are large and attractive. I did not know how large a Goat with Wings would be, but when I placed him, I discovered he was a decent size and absolutely delightful. I do not know what product he will produce but expect that it will be unusual and appropriate in some way.

The Fantasy Animals are defined as 'Seasonal' in the game which probably is the equivalent of 'Limited Editions' that will be offered only for a specific limited time period. Other Seasonal Animals available now are PorkyBees (Pigs with wings who are striped black and gold), FlyingCows (Black and White Cows with colourful balloons attached to them), FancyPigs (Pigs who have been painted with all sorts of colourful pictures) and finally, LadyCows (a Black Cow with black and red Ladybird wings). Of the four, I like the Fluttergoat best, although the LadyCow is rather interesting as well.

I do recommend this game to fans of Harvest Moon. Where Farmville has a rather impersonal, commercial atmosphere, Lovely Farms appears to have been created with real love. One expects a certain number of glitches and 'bugs' when a game is made by a smaller company... It is more discouraging to discover that a game like Farmville, enormously successful, is not only filled with glitches and 'issues' but does not have a friendly or helpful support system to go with them. From what I have seen on the Lovely Farm Forum, the people in charge of the game do make an effort to respond to players' concerns and problems. It is early days yet, but Lovely Farms has made a positive impression on me.

Fantasy Kingdoms Guide on IGN

2010-07-02T03:52:00.004-04:00

A little guide I wrote for Fantasy Kingdoms now is published on IGN, although I created a page for the game as well:

Fantasy Kingdoms Guide on IGN

I still am extremely impressed with Fantasy Kingdoms. Although there are marvelous Buildings and Artifacts that require Kingdoms Cash to purchase and easily might seduce a player into investing real 'coin of the realm' in the game, they make it easy to play the game and to enjoy it without investing a single penny. Furthermore, I have been rewarded again and again for my interest in this game in the brief period in which I have played it. When the game was inaccessible, I received a Chest containing 900 Mana with an apology. I had not contacted any one or complained, incidentally, but the apology and Mana Chest (currency) were generated automatically. Yesterday, an email containing a 'coupon' for an Artifact, the Unicorn Topiary, ordinarily purchased for 2000 Coins, was sent to me. I contrast this generosity and concern with the unsatisfactory responses that I received so far from Farmville Support.

Although I love Fantasy Kingdoms personally because the concept and graphics are developed from a traditional 'fairytale' universe, I must make it clear that this game does not require deep strategy. It is more of a visual delight and a form of creative 'meditation' for me, in that designing the landscape of a Kingdom is sheer joy and dissipates some of the stress of my daily life. If a player is looking for a game that requires strategy, Fantasy Kingdoms would not be the answer. It is a work of art in which the player can participate and shape to his/her liking.

On Friday, I wrote: I am not certain if I will pursue work on a guide for Farmville any further, even though there is some strategy involved in playing the game successfully, as I am not entirely happy with a response I received from Zynga when they failed to deliver an item promised to me.

When I contacted them initially, they simply requested my User ID and the platform on which I was playing the game. When I sent that information to them, however, they then demanded a screenshot of the Carrier Pigeon message.

The Zynga response on Friday asked me to capture a screenshot of last week's Message from Zynga on Farmville telling me that they were going to give me Carrier Pigeons. The Carrier Pigeons never were given to me. Other players have received them. I did not. I am at a loss to know how I possibly could capture a message that appeared on the screen almost a week ago. It seems to me that as they generated the message, they should have a record of the offers they make to players, and it shouldn't be my responsibility to supply the impossible. It is a trivial matter, and I only post the issue here because I have been reviewing Farmville, along with a few other Facebook games, and this response reflects poorly on the company.

On Saturday morning, I received another email from Zynga about the issue. This one was from a different representative who apologised for the fact that I had not received my Carrier Pigeons and announced that they had been sent to my Gift Box. The issue therefore is resolved now. I still am rather disgusted by the endless hoops through which the first representative made me leap, and especially his demand that I perform the impossible, but perhaps he has received a little scolding from his superiors. I certainly have no cause for complaint in the quick response of the second representative and his willingness to solve the problem at once.

I therefore intend to continue to work on the little Farmville Guide at this point in time. Once Grand Bazaar is released, however, I doubt I will have much time for anything else!

Why Play Games on Facebook?

2010-06-29T09:31:00.002-04:00

A question I asked myself and one that other players may ask as well is, with incredible games available for console, handheld and PCs, why would any one play games on Facebook that cannot promise the same detail or complexity? Why choose Farmville, for example, instead of Harvest Moon or Rune Factory?

The answer to this question for most people probably is that a fan of Harvest Moon or Rune Factory would not choose any Facebook game instead of Harvest Moon or Rune Factory. On the other hand, it is possible to play both types of game simultaneously. Rune Factory and Harvest Moon will wait patiently for your return, unlike Animal Crossing and most Facebook games, which operate in real time. If you neglect Animal Crossing, you will return to find that you must exercise some damage control before you can play the game with ease. In particular, you must deal with the Weeds that will have cropped up everywhere in your absence.

In Farmville and the other farming simulation games on Facebook that I have explored, there are no Weeds to clog your field, nor will any plot that you have tilled be subjected to the ravages of time and weather if you fail to plant seeds there for any length of time. You therefore can prepare your farm for planting and leave the game for whatever period you choose. This means that you can explore any number of Facebook games without committing yourself to any degree of attention unless you actually plant Crops.

When Crops are planted, they are time-specific and, if not harvested when 'ready' will wither and be wasted. It is a pity to waste Crops in any game.

One of the primary purposes of any game on Facebook is social interaction. If you use Facebook in order to interact with your Friends and Family or any one else, it becomes more fun to combine ordinary interactions with Facebook games. If you have a good friend on Facebook who is interested in farming simulation games, becoming his/her neighbour allows you to have more fun.

Neighbours are very important in a game like Farmville. You can play without having any neighbours, but you will be unable to reap the rewards of many of the bonuses and options that are available if you have Neighbours. The game really is geared towards the entire concept of social interaction as well as farming.

Having Neighbours is only the first step, however. You need to post your accomplishments on your Wall if you wish to help your Neighbours benefit from your successes. This is true of many of the Facebook games. It is a type of advertising, of course, but the games are free and there is little harm in it, apart from the possibility that Friends who have no interest in gaming may begin to believe that you are obsessed with it and do nothing else with your time.

You do not need to spend that much time on any of these games, however, in order to participate in them. That is the beauty of these Facebook games. Your investments in term of time and energy are under your control. If you log into Facebook daily, you can grow Crops that take 12 or 24 hours to mature and be confident of harvesting them before they wither. If you only log into Facebook every two days or so, there are Crops that can be planted that will not mature until two days have passed. Note that your XP gain for any Crop is linked usually to the number of hours it takes to grow. There are Crops that are equal in the time they need to mature but give different XP Gains. If you are seriously interested in increasing your Levels, you always should choose the Crops that give 2 XP instead of 1 rather than choosing the Crops that are most attractive visually.

Which brings me to another potential reason to play the farming simulation games on Facebook. I mentioned this in an earlier post actually. A player can construct a picture with his/her farm, whether in Farmville, Fantasy Kingdoms, Farm Town or Lovely Farm. You need not bother with strategies of profit if you would prefer to approach the game from an aesthetic point of view. I actually try to combine both considerations. My birth flower is the Morning Glory and I eagerly awaited the point in Farmville when the Seeds would be unlocked. Now I usually try to grow some Morning Glories on my field for the simple pleasure of gazing upon them. Some Crops definitely are more attractive than others. (Pineapples and Artichokes are among the less attractive Crops but they do give good XP and are profitable.)

I am wandering away from the point of this post I fear which is not to give tips about specific games but to explain the attraction of them in general.

The way many of these games work is by inserting random events periodically. In Farmville, one of these Events is the appearance of a 'Lost Animal'. When a Lost Animal appears on your Field, you cannot adopt it yourself, but you can post the information on your Wall to allow other players to adopt it. The Lost Animals tend to be varieties that are not offered for sale at the Market. Llamas, Black Sheep, Groovy Cows, Pink Cows and Party Ducks are some of the Lost Animals that the game generates. A player who is at a very low level can increase his/her Ranch population by adopting these Lost Animals but only if his/her Neighbours and Friends post the information on Facebook.

There are other little rewards and occurrences that can be 'shared'. When you collect products from your own Animals, you sometimes can offer them to your Neighbours, again by posting the information on your Wall. When a Special Event such as the Tuscan Wedding is in progress, these items may be ingredients that need to be collected in order to obtain special rewards. Special Events such as the Tuscan Wedding in Farmwille will not last forever. You can ignore them or participate in them. They are subsidiary to the primary purpose of the game which is to improve your Farm and your Levels of experience.

In many games on Facebook, increased Levels or other accomplishments result in Ribbons or Medals. This is one of the 'collection' option in these games. By posting the announcement of the award on your Wall, you can give your Neighbours an opportunity to obtain a bonus from it. The bonus usually is in the form of currency.

My actual guides for Farmville and Fantasy Kingdoms are posted on separate pages I created and will be published on IGN when they are more complete. For any one who wishes to explore Facebook games, however, I would imagine there are two general principles:

If you participate in the Facebook Community while playing the game, your success will be greater and you will have far more fun than if you play in isolation.

Have patience and do not rush to invest real money in any game. As in Harvest Moon, time and perseverance are your best allies in terms of increasing your own income in the game itself. Obviously, as these games are free, encouraging players to purchase currency with real money in order to obtain the best and most interesting items is one of the game's goals, but you need not be seduced by it. On the other hand, if you have a decent real income, investing $5.00 or its equivalent in the game is not entirely absurd. If you are a gamer, you can compare that sum to the price of a Console or handheld game and realise how it may be a way of supporting the creators of a good Facebook game. There are ways to purchase currency without sharing your financial details. It always it better to go through PayPal in these cases than to give any one access to your Credit Card or Debit Card information. The best players, however, are the ones who allow the game itself to generate currency for them.

Finally, these games exist to enhance your enjoyment of Facebook. Do not become a slave to any of them. As we all know, it is easy to become addicted to any good game.

Farmville on Facebook

2010-06-26T14:09:00.005-04:00

As IGN appears to be interested in little mini-guides for Facebook games, I may create small guides for a couple of the farming simulation game. In fact, I have created a site for Fantasy Kingdoms as it is such a delightful game. Farmville is a game that appears to have wide popularity, and it has more details than I first realised, so I may write a small guide for that as well.

If any one wishes to play Farmville and be my neighbour, send me a Friend Invitation on Facebook but please add a personal message telling me that you are a fan of Harvest Moon and/or Rune Factory. I do not accept invitations from random individuals. I do not expect to know every one who wants to be added, but if we share a love of Harvest Moon or Rune Factory or even nothing more than a love of Cats, I am happy to add you.

After my initial distrust of the idea of owning a Cat in Farmville in order to be able to gather a 'harvest' from it, I now see that there is no animal slaughter in Farmville. As in Harvest Moon, Pigs find Truffles for you. You can harvest feathers from Geese without killing the poor silly creatures. My cat is only 77% 'ready' at this point, but a player left a comment on this site to the effect that you brush your Cat in order to collect. Calves likewise are brushed, although grown Cows obviously give Milk.

If I were to write a little Walkthrough for this game, my first suggestion would be to obtain a Chicken Coop as soon as possible. The options that are linked to Eggs are the most fun of all that I have experienced at this stage. Chickens who are not housed in a Coop simply yield Eggs, as far as I can see, but when Chickens are housed in a Chicken Coop, both you and your neighbours have a chance of collecting items known as Mystery Eggs. Mystery Eggs when hatched can yield rare Chickens, XP points and other rewards.

It is rather important to have at least one neighbour and if you have more neighbours or friends on Facebook who play the game as well, you will have far more fun than you would if playing alone. This is unfortunate in a way, as I always like to think that a solitary, isolated person could enjoy these games as well, but enjoyment is rather limited unless you interact with other people. One method of interaction is by sending free gifts of Ranch Animals, Trees or other items. As your income will be very limited at the beginning (why does this sound so familiar???), if you are given a Chicken or Cow or even a Pear Tree, you may be almost pathetically grateful.

As far as a Walkthrough is concerned, I do have a suggestion for other players of the game. Always till your soil even you do not have time to plant Crops or tend to them. This action can be very beneficial to your neighbours and friends.

As a player, you have the option to visit other farms. When you do, you first have an option to fertilise five plots. If no land has been tilled, you cannot perform this act. Furthermore, the NEXT option that will be given is the one that benefits you. If the farmer has a Chicken Coop, you will be given some feed and the chance to feed the farmer's Chickens. This is one method of finding Mystery Eggs. If you were not able to use all five bags of fertiliser on the farmer's field, however, the Chicken Feed never will appear. So my advice to players of Farmville is to till your land even if you do not have time to USE it.

Here is a link to my preliminary guide for Farmville:

Farmville Walkthrough and Guide

More Reviews of Facebook Games

2010-06-20T13:04:00.007-04:00

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Reviews of Farmville, Farm Town, Fantasy Kingdoms, Castle Age, Castle and Co, Happy Aquarium and Yoville.

Having only spent a couple of days on these games, I cannot claim to be in a position to write an expert review of ANY of them, but these are my preliminary findings.

Of all the Facebook games, the Fantasy Kingdoms farming game is the most to my liking in its concept, graphics and items. As far as actual gameplay is concerned, however, it seemed that I ran out of energy sooner and with less accomplished than I did in comparable games such as Farmville and Farm Town. Unless I can obtain more 'mana' points, I will have to judge Farmville and Farm Town as better games. However, wonderful a concept or however diverse the items, if you cannot do anything in the game, it's all rather pointless. In fact, there are ways to 'earn' Mana if you can help your neighbours and if friends send you gifts. Unlike both Farmville and Farm Town, there is no limit on the number of items that a friend can send in a day. At least half if not more of these 'free gift' items are Trees that can be harvested.

I daresay Fantasy Kingdoms has not been as successful commercially yet as a game like Farmville as it appears to be a fairly new game by a smaller firm. The graphics are absolutely stunning and the concept of the game is fantasy-based with a mixture of real magical herbs, trees and crops and clever fantasy magic crops. Many of the medicinal herbs resemble their real counterparts but some of them are graphic 'puns' on the names. For example, Sunflowers when growing are beautiful sunlamps and Fish Tail Ferns appear with fish tails. There are other clever fantasy crops such as Eye of Newt that actually grows into a tall plant with an 'eye' as its flower. The game was out of service for a couple of hours at one point, but users were given 900 Mana points in compensation. A nice touch considering the fact that the game is absolutely free.

Although I initially liked Farm Town better than Farmville, I now have revised my opinion. Although you can acquire Ranch Animals in Farm Town at the very start, you cannot obtain any products from them evidently unless you build the appropriate housing for them. At the start, I was given a sheep and a pig. I did not want the pig, but was unable to sell him until I reached a specific level in the game. The best part of reaching that level was selling the useless pig! I still ike the fact that items sent as gifts in Farm Town can be traded for any item on the gift page that you have unlocked.

One of the problems with many of these games is the fact that you really cannot explore them properly unless you have 'friends' or 'neighbours'. The best exploitations are possible only when you have neighbours to visit, help and with whom to exchange gifts. I suppose that as Facebook itself is geared towards global community interactions, it makes sense that the games would focus on this goal.

Farmville became far more interesting when I raised my levels a little and obtained the ability to visit neighbours' farms and feed their chickens. There are 'Mystery Eggs' that you can obtain in this fashion. A Mystery Egg can hatch into a rare Chicken that you may not be able to afford to buy... It can hatch into XP points or other things as well, but I really was rather thrilled when one hatched into a Black Chicken.

I have not discovered precisely what it means to harvest an Animal such as a Cat and indeed was very reluctant to acquire a Cat at first because I was worried about the 'harvest' potential. As other Animals when 'harvested' continue to live happily on the farm, however, I am confident now that I won't be expected to slaughter my Cat when the 'ready' period arrives... What does one harvest from a Cat? Perhaps it is Kittens... Harvests tend to take the form of experience points so that may be the actual extent of it.

I am playing only one combat game in the form of Castle Age. Castle Age is fueled by LoTR concepts and has beautiful illustrations, but I suspect that the size of a player's army does matter and that requires that one recruit Facebook 'friends'. I rather dislike that idea. If some one wishes to participate, well and good, but I don't wish to push people into it. In Castle Age, Stamina and Energy are replenished in time...

Today, I read some FAQS about Castle Age, after making a rather negative discovery about myself and my ability to be corrupted into preying upon those weaker than myself. Many of the elements in gaming that I personally dislike are part of the Castle Age game. Although the Quests are well-written and illustrated, that is only a small part of the game. What you are supposed to do is to sally forth to duel against or raid other players, taking their money and becoming stronger by defeating them. When you are urged to go to Battle, you are shown a list of other players within a certain range of your own Level. You then can choose either to duel or invade.

A player of comparable level but with a large army probably will defeat you if you should challenge him/her. The players you can defeat in order to earn your daily allotment of points are those who are of slightly lower level with small armies or no army at all. It made me feel like a crass bully boy when I began to pick off the weaker players on the list in order to gain experience and higher levels. I did not like it very much.

The most powerful incentive the game offers is that you should increase the size of your own army by sending out invitations to your 'friends' or contacts. To me, this smacks of spamming your friends and contacts. When I explored the online FAQS for Castle Age, I discovered some one had written a strategy guide on how do ensnare the largest distribution list possible for your invitations to this game.

Whenever you are involved in a combat situation, victory usually brings money in the form of some of your opponent's cash and defeat means that your opponent bears off some of your cash as his/her spoils. The game offers a method of concealing your Cash by banking it for 10% of the total. If some one challenges and defeats you, therefore, that individual will gain $0 instead of making off with the carefully hoarded savings you had intended to use to purchase some decent armour. I then realised that the money I had 'won' from opponents probably was their life savings or a goodly portion thereof. I really was not terribly proud of myself...

Although I love edged weapons and combat has its appeal, I really do prefer games that are not competitive. The Fantasy Kingdom and Farmville games, although not as detailed or profound as any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game, nonetheless appear to be based on the idea of helping your friends by fertilising their fields, chasing off pests and sending them gifts.

Castle and Co. is another game I have explored. It has Candyland-style graphics and obviously targets young children to some extent. The basis of the game, however, is feudalism, precursor of capitalism. You are the lord or lady of the land and you build workshops so that the peasants can labour for you. Your job is simply to cheer them on. You never dirty your own hands by tilling the soil, chopping lumber, foraging or mining. Upgrading your workshops allows more of your people to work for you. Your workshops make money for you and you plough that money back into the workshops by upgrading them. One clue that this game was created not entirely for young children is the fact that you can build an 'Aleshop'!

Happy Aquarium is somewhat similar to Fish Tycoon which I loved, but Happy Aquarium differs in that it includes many mini-games where you lead one of your fish to find treasure in a time-limited hunt or through an obstacle course.

Yoville is the final game on my list. It is somewhat similar to The Sims in that your Character must find work and socialise with other Characters in order to succeed. Your avatar can chat with other avatars in public venues or offer games of tic-tac-toe to virtual strangers, but that is subordinate to the task of visiting your neighbours and working regularly at your jobs. Here, as in many of the games, the number of neighbours that you obtain is critical to your success in life. Without neighbours, you will not be promoted at work. Rather unfair, but there it is. At first, I absolutely HATED the Yoville game. A friend of mine sent me a gift of a Silver Chest in response to my gift of the same item. I then found I could not open it without a Silver Key. Purchase of a Silver Key was beyond my means or desire... Later, I discovered that a Silver Key can be sent as a free gift by a friend or neighbour, so it is not as diabolical as it first appeared.

In all of these games, you can post special discoveries or achievements on your Wall, allowing other players to glean rewards, adopt interesting animals or obtain items... but I find it rather embarrassing to post a veritable deluge of game announcements, making it appear as though my entire life is devoted to Facebook games!

What is lacking in these farming simulation games, of course, are the solid Characters and dialogues that are so much a part of any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game. If you invite Friends to become Neighbours, you could argue that they are the 'Characters' in these games, but most of the actions appear to be generated automatically even between neighbours.

None of these games can compare with Harvest Moon or Rune Factory but they can be addictive and they provide a clever bit of marketing strategy for all the advertisers who utilise Facebook. What they do is force you to log into Facebook for a start in order to harvest Crops that are ripe in a farming game or conceal the gold you have gained from the passage of time in a combat game. Once you have logged into Facebook, the battle for your time and attention is half-won... Yes, Facebook is a 'Community' and some of your real friends may be part of your Network there, but it still has the ability to waste hours of your time. That having been said, would any one like to sign up to enroll in Freyashawk's Army? (Just joking!)

Later: I have created a little page for a Fantasy Kingdoms mini-guide. You will find the link on the right side of this page.

Time Out for Facebook Games

2010-06-19T09:33:00.006-04:00

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I first registered on Facebook in order to be able to view family photographs posted by a very good Harvest Moon friend. I confess I do not spend much time on Facebook, although I neglect to 'log out', causing people to believe that I am hovering there somewhere in the ethernet.

When I first arrived there, my friend sent me all sorts of invitations and virtual items. I didn't have a clue as to what was going on and sadly did not respond in any way. It was only yesterday, having seen a number of postings by different people about places like 'Farmville' and 'Farm Town' as well as some sort of Cooking game that I decided to investigate personally.

I therefore accepted the very old invitation by my Harvest Moon friend and attempted to claim the old 'gifts' she had sent... I downloaded a game bar for Farmville that does not work and cluttered up my browser with all sorts of Zynga 'apps'. So this is the world of apps that is advertised endlessly... Is it worthwhile to interact with them?

The answer, if one were to weigh REAL games like Harvest Moon, Rune Factory and The Sims, in a balance with these 'apps' would be 'No.' They are simplistic and lack any of the depth, humour or philosophy that is so much a part of the games I like to play. Incidentally, I explored a combat RPG called Castle Age at the same time, seduced by the rather lovely graphics.

I suppose, however, that these 'apps' are not intended to be compared to real games at all. They are not designed for uninterrupted concentrated gameplay. They are little time-fillers, a way to amuse and entertain oneself while one is multi-tasking on Facebook, having conversations with Facebook friends, 'creeping' on people or otherwise whiling away a lifetime online without really accomplishing anything. Places like Farmville and Farm Town give one a sense of DOING something at least, by harvesting crops and earning coins, even if there is no real depth to the experience.

All these games are free, by the way, but the entire purpose, disguised beneath cute graphics and offers designed in the spirit of universal friendship, is ADVERTISING. Furthermore, although there is no overt negative motivation on the part of the creators of these games, they are designed to give access to the players' personal information and details. I do not share my information on Facebook to any one apart from my friends, but Zynga immediately demanded access and received it as there is no alternative if you wish to gain access to the games they produce.

Basically, they ask you to promote their games by sending 'free gifts' to your friends, thereby introducing them to the game. There is nothing nefarious here, but it is marketing dressed up as gaming. You begin any game with a few assets and the ability to earn coins by playing the game, whether it is a matter of growing crops (Farmville or Farm Town) or working in a factory (Yoville) or embarking on Quests and fighting enemies (Castle Age). HOWEVER... if you are seduced by the superior goods that cost far more than you could hope to earn in the near future, you are offered an opportunity to purchase MORE 'Cash and Coins' with your REAL money, whether through PayPal or credit card transaction. Apart from this direct exchange of real currency for fake currency, there are a host of advertising offers from diverse companies, from Discover to Shoe Emporiums and Survey Groups, promising you game currency if you apply for a credit card, buy footwear or sign up to participate in surveys. Is this any worse than the adverts that clutter up the internet, forcing their way into your consciousness whenever you compose an email, perform a search or visit YouTube? I daresay it isn't and at least it is fun.

The interesting part of these games, to me, is the way they promote the entire concept of Facebook by giving you the opportunity to interact with your 'friends' on Facebook in a myriad of different settings. In other words, your friends can become your neighbours in Farmville, part of your army in Castle Age or neighbours and co-workers at the local factory in Yoville. Some of the interaction is generated by the game itself. Your 'friends' actually may not be online when they ask for assistance in raking leaves or frightening crows on their farms. It does give you the illusion that you are part of a community, however, and this may be comforting to individuals who live in real isolation or have few chances to socialise in the real world.

I never had much free time to spend on Facebook and I very much doubt if I will have time to work on my farms in Farmville or Farm Town or perform many Quests in Castle Age. I expect I have but skimmed the surface of these games and that there are more delights in store for a player who actually devotes many weeks to them. I certainly will try to visit my holdings in the Zynga universe from time to time to see how the games unfold, but I can't imagine that I will be doing so on a daily basis.

So far, of all the games I have explored, I liked Farm Town the best initially because you could plant crops and Trees and have both ranch animals and pets without being forced to use any 'real' money to invest in the enterprise. You evidently can purchase fishing locations as well in the form of ponds, rivers or beaches. If you receive a gift from a friend that you do not like, moreover, you can trade it for another one. With the fishing option, at first glance, it appeared to resemble Harvest Moon therefore more than Farmville, but in fact, I only have scratched the surface of Farmville. With respect to Farm Town, I don't like the look of my avatar much and the graphics in general are fairly simplistic, but any one who played early Harvest Moon games knows that satisfying gameplay is far more important than graphics. The incredible graphics that now grace any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game are simply the icing on the cake.

Actually, people who are experts at Farm Town have utilised the rather simple graphics in some incredibly creative ways. One farmer created his farm in the form of a turtle and another created the figure of a dragon in his.

Although the graphics in Castle Age are lovely, they are static rather than interactive, like illustrations in a picturebook. The game really appears to be designed for multi-player action, something that never works well for me, because I really do not have the time for it. You can duel against other players or work with them to fight boss enemies... My problem with this particular game is the fact that any Quest or duel takes energy and you then have to wait for the gauges to refill. Again, though, it is a game to play while multitasking, not intended to occupy your attention fully.

I actually played a couple of computer games that are somewhat similar to these Zynga games, although they had more fully-defined goals. One was Virtual Villagers and the other was Fish Tycoon. I enjoyed both very much and. They worked in real time as do the Zynga games and of the two, I liked the Fish Tycoon best as it allowed you to create a magnificent aquarium on your desktop. Both games required some effort and concentration, however, as death was an element in each. You needed to keep your Villagers and Fish healthy and happy. The Fish Tycoon ultimately was released on the DS platform but I never had time to play that version. One of the reasons I liked the game in the first place was the fact that it could be on the desktop of my computer, giving me joy as I worked.

Chambers 6 and 7 of the Mine in HoLV

2010-06-15T19:16:00.002-04:00

I have added both configurations for Chamber 6 and the two configurations for Chamber 7 to the HoLV Mining Site I created.

You will gain access to these on 20 Winter in the first year whether or not you actually defeat the Robot Mole.
HoLV Mining Puzzles

The Location of the Harvest Goddess Spring in HoLV

2010-06-14T11:42:00.002-04:00

A player asked about the location of the Harvest Goddess Spring in a comment on this site, but as I recall my own confusion in the first days of Spring navigating the Map in HoLV, I decided to post some screenshots of it here.

There are two ways of approaching the screen where the Harvest Goddess Spring is located. You can approach it from the east, from the Mallard Lake screen or you can approach from the west, where the Funland headquarters and Mine are located.

It can be somewhat confusing as the river has a number of Spring-like configurations on this screen. In fact, where your access to the river at the far western point of this screen originally is barred by a large boulder, you later will be able to unlock a new fishing spot here by giving Ponta the 11th Fish and requesting a Fish Print of it. By then, you should be familiar enough with the Map not to become further confused!

One way of identifying the Harvest Goddess Spring is by looking for the green Turtle who appears to make it his home. Another is by looking for the large patch of dirt in front of it.

If you access the screen from the east, you first will come upon a little footbridge that leads to an area where two Fruit Trees stand. The one on the right is an Apple Tree yielding one Apple and the one on the left bears two Cranberries. There is a single patch of untilled soil here as well. This is where, when the square has been tilled, the Blue Mist Seed will be planted in the Blue Mist and Azure Swallowtail Quest.

Move left (west) beyond this area along the main path to find the Harvest Goddess Spring on your Character's right. In other words, if you are walking or riding west, you will see the Harvest Goddess Spring to the north. If, however, you descend the stairs from the Mine Entrance area to enter the screen, the Harvest Goddess Spring will be to your left but still on the northern side of the path, naturally.

New HoLV Mining Puzzle Site

2010-06-14T09:36:00.003-04:00

As Mining in HoLV involves a series of puzzles, it is useful to be able to refer to the actual screenshots of each Chamber, 'before' and 'after' the puzzle is solved. Each Chamber has two possible Configurations or Puzzles. I created a post some time ago on this site with the Configurations of Chambers 1 - 5, but it can be rather annoying to look for old posts on this site.

I therefore created a little site that is devoted SOLELY to Mining Puzzles in Hero of Leaf Valley. Here is the link:

HoLV Mining Puzzles

As you can see, the URL is short and because it consists of a single post, you always will be able to access the screenshots of the Puzzles immediately.

The Amazing 'Golden Potato' in HoLV

2010-06-13T11:04:00.004-04:00

This post will not offer any real tips for gameplay, but is a reflection on the entire basis of Harvest Moon. In Hero of Leaf Valley, there are a number of ways to save the Valley from development into an Amusement Park. The primary method involves successful accumulation of 50,000G in income, but even this method has different results depending on your actions in the first two years. The other two methods are either to transform the Valley into a Nature Preserve or a Tourist Attraction.

Players of the old 'Save the Homeland' game for the Playstation will recall the 'Sacred Land' Quest. I played 'Save the Homeland' myself long ago, but only now realised how much all Harvest Moon games are intertwined. For the 'Fruit of Fortune', grown from the 'Golden Potato Seeds' is none other than the humble Yam or Sweet Potato, one of the great 'money crops' or 'cash crops' in any Harvest Moon game.

It is entirely fitting that the 'Treasure' of Leaf Valley should be the Sweet Potato/Yam rather than any form of currency, jewels or precious metals. Incidentally, 'unlocking' Yams in the form of the Golden Potatoes of HoLV (not to be confused with the gold Mineral Potatoes) is an example of the value of experiencing all possible Events to complete all possible Story Quests in HoLV rather than doing the bare minimum required to save the land.

I have written about Dia's personal odyssey in HoLV before. It is a very touching tale of a rather fragile, sheltered girl who learns to appreciate the honest toil of a farmer and to interact personally with the soil. Although your friendship is a key element in her personal growth, her own recognition of the vastness of the universe and the extraordinary details in Nature, coupled with her love of reading and knowledge ultimately make her one of the most well-rounded Characters in HoLV.

This is not the case at the start of the game, however. In early Spring, she is shy and abrupt almost to the point of rudeness. Her dialogues, like the conversations of many individuals in reality whose painful shyness denies them ordinary social graces, could be mistaken for arrogance.

Dia's metamorphosis is somewhat similar to that of Mary Lennox's spiritual awakening in Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic, 'The Secret Garden'. Mary represents an archetype common among expatriate 19th century European colonialists, growing up in India and accustomed to the care of submissive servants rather than the attention and love of her own parents. She is sent 'home' to England where, initially bad-tempered and spoiled, her increasing interaction with wild animals and the earth itself transform her spiritually and physically. There is more than a little proselytising in this work by the author who, like many of her contemporaries, embraced the axiom of 'mens sana in corpore sano' in a reaction against elements that believed civilisation was designed to rise above Nature. The series of Harvest Moon likewise embraces a philosophy to the effect that Nature has the power to teach and heal, bringing us back from a rather unwholesome 'hothouse' technological lifestyle.

Dia is not the only Character whose attitudes develop and improve with regular social interactions. Members of the Funland crew, including their 'hot' CEO Alice, are changed by your encounters and friendship with them.

Farming as a form of heroism is a fascinating basis for a series of games. When one reflects upon the culture of the samurai as an integral part of Japanese culture and the historical conflicts between the warrior class and the farmers, Harvest Moon becomes even more interesting in philosophical terms. Farmers often were viewed as inferior and cowardly by the warrior class, not only in Japan but in any civilisation with a defined warrior culture. Kurosawa's epic classic, 'The Seven Samurai' depicts this conflict beautifully but at the same time shows the fallacy in traditional Samurai arrogant assumptions about the 'peasants'. Like the Samurai of Japan, the warrior class in the Arab world in the form of the bedouin of the desert believed that their superiority at arms gave them the right to raid the villages. A conflict always existed between the 'settled' groups who tilled the soil and the bedouin tribes.

Although Rune Factory allows your Character to be both farmer and warrior, it conforms to traditional Harvest Moon philosophy in that farming is NOT perceived as an inferior occupation. In fact, your Character, although a warrior in the past, ultimately derives honour from his accomplishments as a successful farmer rather than achieving glory through force of arms. Other warrior Characters such as Kross in Rune Factory Frontier embrace the farmer's life as a means of purification and spiritual advancement.

Friendship 'Bonus' a Double-Edged Sword in HoLV

2010-06-11T17:47:00.002-04:00

On 10 Summer, Freyr's Horse had a single heart and was painfully slow to ride. On 11Summer, when he saved his game, he was astounded to discover that his Horse had the maximum Friendship Level of 5 Hearts and could run like the wind. He had not made any Wish with the Goddess with respect to the Horse, but had brushed it, whistled to it and mounted it.

11 Winter was a rainy day. All my animals were inside the Barn and the Chickens were inside the Coop. While caring for the Livestock, I accidentally pushed the Horse out of the Barn. I used the Bell instantly to bring him back into the Barn, but apparently the damage was done in terms of his FP.

Although, when I 'talked' to him, he was in a good mood, on the morning of 12 Winter, when I saved my game, my Horse, who had 5 Hearts on the morning of 11 Winter had only 1 Heart on 12 Winter.

In other words, the FP 'Bonus' can work both ways. The accidental effect of pushing the Horse out of the barn, however briefly, was multiplied to the point where he lost 4 out of 5 of his Hearts!

I reloaded and replayed the day, mainly because the Horse's speed is an integral part of the game, especially when you need to race against the Robot Horse.

If you don't do what you are supposed to do...

2010-06-10T18:21:00.007-04:00

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In Hero of Leaf Valley, you will be visited by the Sprites on 2 Winter in the first year. They will beg you to deal with a 'strange bird' who is terrorising the Valley.

Obviously, you need to defeat the Robot Crow, but I always like to find out what will occur if you FAIL to make the proper gestures... Thus, after the Events that show the proper sequence of successful Events, you can find the results of a situation where Freyr did nothing whatsoever while the Robot Crow ate everything in sight. As the conversation between the Funland employees is rather amusing, I am posting it here. All of these Events are included in my HoLV Characters Guide in the section that is devoted to Alice.

Note that, if you DO defeat the Crow as you should, Alice's FP will increase. After the Event, Freyr visited her and found she had gained a heart.

By the way, despite dire warnings to the effect that the Robot Crow, if allowed to roam freely, will consume all the Crops and fruits in Leaf Valley, I did not find this to be the case when I tested the 'bad' result in my game. As a matter of fact, directly after the Event wherein Freyr stood motionless watching the Crow eat all the ftuit, he STILL found Chestnuts and Red Herb in the Items Shop/Florist Shop Square and all the usual items elsewhere on the Map.

Robot Crow Sprite SOS

On 2 Winter, at 6.00 a.m., I experienced a visit from three agitated harvest Sprites:

Nic: Freyr, it's terrible!

Nac: A strange bird is terrorising the town!

Flak: C-Can you do something?!

Nic: I think you should talk to that weird item shop guy. He's sure to know something about something that weird!

Nac: J-Just do whatever you can! Or I'll never be able to go outside again!

Defeat of the Robot Crow

Although Louis' Shop usually would not be open for business at this early hour, I rush immediately to the area where his Shop and Lyla's Florist Shop are located to trigger the next Event in this sequence.

An enormous robotic creature is pecking at some food on the ground. I run into Louis' Shop:

Louis: Oh, Freyr! Did you see that robot crow...?! It just appeared a few moments ago, but it's taking the fruit and... What, how to stop the robot...? I'm not sure I... Let me think about it...... I know, maybe...! I've heard that the robot crow has even been spotted during the night... Which means that it can still operate without the sun to power it or the need to be charged. Which means, I believe that... That robot crow is directly using food as its energy source. So maybe you will be able to stop it if you gather up all the food before it can get to them? J-Just to be clear, this is all just my hypothesis. Be very careful...

I now must search for fruit on the ground, to collect it before the Crow can reach it to 'refuel'. It is not difficult. After collecting three pieces of fruit, the robot crow crashes and disappears underground.

Louuis emerges from his shop.

Louis: Freyr, you did it! I am very glad you were really able to stop it that way. I'm sure the Funland Company built this robot crow. The technology... Is really amazing... I think building such a thing proves how serious they are.

You now spy the Funland crew behind the tree near the flowerbeds.

Alice: H-Hey... It stopped working, what's going on?!

Charles: The robot crow is built to convert the fruit it eats into energy. Basically, it ran out of fuel.

Renton: Which means that we failed.

The angry CEO turns to both of them now, with incredulity.

Alice: Well, you say that pretty casually... Do you know how much that robot cost us?! How about you think about that!

Charles: Boss... You'll ruin your beautiful face if you get so angry.

Renton: It's all that farmer boy's fault.

Alice: Yes, that guy from the farm... What was his name? I'm not going to forgive him for this.

(And after all the gifts I have given her, walking late at night to the Mine to be courteous and friendly...)

Charles: I think it was, Freyr...

Renton: That's right. That was his name.

Alice: Freyr... I won't forget it again. You'll soon find out what happens when you make me angry!

The Event ends. There are two Red Herbs where I stand. Louis has vanished.

Oddly enough, Lyla stands in the middle of the area, as though nothing untoward has occurred, simply exclaiming:

Lyla: Good morning, what a wonderful morning. It may be a little cold, but I like it much better than the heat.

Failure to Defeat the Crow

If I had refused to try to defeat the Crow, simply standing there as it flew from fruit to fruit, refueling at will, it finally would fly away, triumphant.

My character would stand, shoulders slumped in the centre of the little square where the Items Shop and Florist are situated.

Alice, Charles and Renton then would walk up to me. The 'finger-snapping villain' music would play.

Alice: Oh, Freyr. It seems our company's robot has caused you a bit of trouble.

I turn to face them.

Alice: Well, not that you have any right to say what we do on our property.

Charles: It was wonderful, wasn't it? This machine can run forever as long as it has food to feed on.

Renton: that's right. It's got a large appetite like the boss!

Alice: I'm cutting your pay cheque in half.

Renton: Boss, wait! That's too much!

Alice:...But what Renton says is true. That robot has a big appetite. It might eat up all the food around here... I recommend you give up before then and just leave town. Bye then. Haaaaaaa ha ha ha ha!!

The Funland group would leave and the music would change as Louis would walk out of his shop to join me in the square.

Louis: ...that's unfortunate. But I am glad you were not hurt. The technology... Is really amazing... I think building such a thing proves how serious they are. But what they said seemed to support my hypothesis. I think we will be able to manage the next time. ...Most likely. Let's get back to our work for now. Although I believe that we should all be a little careful.

Louis Saves the Day

If your Character does not defeat the Robot Crow, either because he does not encounter it or fails to collect the fruit when he does find it, Louis will appear at your door at 6.00 a.m. on 5 Winter.

Louis: Freyr, good morning. There is something I wanted to ask you... Do you remember the robot crow? I actually saw it again last night. Maybe it was because there was not any food nearby, but it appeared low on energy. Seeing that, I thought this was my chance! So I gathered all the nearby fruit and hid them in my pockets. And then, the robot crow fell towards the beach! Perhaps it ran out of fuel. I still feel I was very lucky. But I believe that this matter is behind us now... Well, I just thought I should inform you... Good bye, then.

Improved HoLV Perpetual Calendar

2010-06-04T15:03:00.007-04:00

When I first obtained Hero of Leaf Valley, I created a Festival and Birthdays Guide, pursuant to my usual habit of doing so for any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game. When I realised that Events needed to be organised in the manner of FoMT/MFoMT, HM DS/Cute DS with the creation of an HoLV 1st Year Events Calendar Guide and an HoLV
2nd Year Events Calendar Guide, I briefly wondered if there were any point in keeping the HoLV Festivals and Birthdays Guide as all Birthdays and Festivals were included in the Events Calendar Guides for the first two years...

Well, I realised today that the HoLV Festivals and Birthdays Guide could be one of the most useful quick-reference Guides for players if I added Seasonal Crops, Fruits/Nuts/Berries, Fish, Insects and Most Wanted Items to each Season. Although this information is included in the HoLV Walkthrough/General Guide and the Most Wanted Lists and Delivery Requests are given in the HoLV Shops and Businesses Guide, tranforming the little HoLV Festivals and Birthdays Guide into a true HoLV Perpetual Calendar Guide with ALL of this seasonal information at a player's fingertips, as it were, for instant access, could be invaluable. I certainly find it extremely useful in my own game, which is my basic standard when I create any new guide.

Thus, the small HoLV Festivals and Birthdays Calendar Guide now is the HoLV Perpetual Calendar Guide as follows:

Hero of Leaf Valley PSP Complete Perpetual Guide

By Freyashawk

Introduction
The Perpetual Calendar
1st and 2nd Year Events Calendars
Friendship Levels and Story Quests
Effects of Seasonal Changes
Complete Perpetual Calendar
Spring Season
Spring Crops
Items found in the Wilds
Spring Wild Fruits, Nuts, Berries and Flowers
Spring Fish
Spring Insects
Spring Most Wanted Lists
Spring Birthdays and Festivals
Summer Season
Summer Crops
Items found in the Wilds
Summer Wild Fruits, Nuts, Berries and Flowers
Summer Fish
Summer Insects
Summer Most Wanted Items
Summer Birthdays and Festivals
Autumn Season
Autumn Crops
Items found in the Wilds
Autumn Wild Fruits, Nuts, Berries and Flowers
Autmn Fish
Autumn Insects
Autumn Most Wanted ITems
Autumn Birthdays and Festivals
Winter Season
Winter Crops
Items Found in the Wilds
Winter Wild Fruits, Nuts, Berries and Flowers
Winter Fish
Winter Insects
Winter Most Wanted Items
Winter Birthdays and Festivals

Introduction

This Guide consists of a Perpetual Calendar for Hero of Leaf Valley, with important information for each Season entered beneath the heading for the Season. It includes all Birthdsys and Festivals as well as Seasonal Crops, Items found in the Wilds, Season-Specific Fish and Most Wanted Lists.

Events that occur are NOT included in this Guide but can be found in my HoLV 1st Year Events Calendar Guide and HoLV 2nd Year Events Calendar Guide at:

Hero of Leaf Valley 1st Year Events Calendar Guide:
http://faqs.ign.com/articles/108/1087187p1.html

Hero of Leaf Valley 2nd Year Events Calendar Guide
http://faqs.ign.com/articles/109/1090010p1.html

The first two years of the game are critical in that the game automatically will end if you fail to save the Valley from the threat of development into an Amusement Park. All Events connected to this goal as well as Friendship Events are included in the Events Calendar Guides for the first two years.

In 'Hero of Leaf Valley', your quest to save the Land can be performed in a number of different ways and each 'Happy Ending' has its own pivotal Characters and Events. Fundamental to ANY successful completion of your Quest is the need to raise the Friendship Levels of other Characters in the Valley.

As in any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game, Friendship Levels increase when you 'meet and greet' Characters regularly and give them items that they particularly like or love. A Birthday Gift has a greater value in Friendship Points than the same item would have if given to the Character on an ordinary day. Remembering Birthdays therefore is a key element in Harvest Moon.

Being aware of Festivals, their schedules and any possible results is important. Race Days are an opportunity to make money through wagering as well as winning prizes by entering your Horse and winning one of the three Races for the first time. The Harvest Goddess Festival in Spring is an opportunity to boost Friendship/Heart Levels with a Gift. The Harvest Festival in Autumn is a romantic Festival.

When you begin 'Hero of Leaf Valley', only two dates will appear on the Calendar on your Wall.

Spring:

11 Spring: Harvest Goddess Festival

22 Spring: Race Day

Whenever you meet a new Character, however, his/her Birthday immediately will be added to your Calendar.

Seasonal Changes

In any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game, the change in Seasons will have an effect not only on the Crops you can grow but on the Items found in the Wilds as well. In HoLV, there are other Seasonal effects that are linked both to Individuals and local Merchants. These are the Most Wanted Lists and Delivery Requests that appear in the Menus of the local Shops as well as the Villa.

Delivery Requests are Year-Specific with a three-year rotation schedule. In other words, Delivery Requests for the 1st Year will be valid in the 4th Year and so on. Most Wanted Items Lists, on the other hand, are valid every Year. I therefore have included the Most Wanted Lists for each Season beneath the Season heading on the Calendar, as this is a Perpetual Calendar, valid for every year.

Perpetual Calendar

In this Perpetual Calendar, you will find all Birthdays listed with a 'Most Favourite' Gift valued at +3 FP first followed by other suggested Gifts that are less expensive but worth at least +2 FP. Beneath the heading of each Season, you will find Seasonal Crops that can be grown only in that Season followed by 'Other Crops' that can be grown in other Seasons as well. Fish that are specific to the Season likewise are listed first followed by the Fish that can be caught in other Seasons as well. Insects are listed in the same fashion. Items found in the Wilds as well as Wild Fruits, Nuts, Berries and Flowers have been included. Most Wanted Items for each Season are given here although they can be found in the HoLV Shops and Businesses Guide. I have not included Delivery Requests as they change on an annual basis. The information included in the Perpetual Calendar is valid for every year.

Spring

Spring Crops: Strawberry, Carrot
Other Crops: Potato, Tomato, Corn, Breadfruit, Alfalfa, Rice

Items Found in the Wilds: Red Herb, Green Herb, Grass, Common Seashell, Wonderful Seashell, Coral, Clam

Spring Wild Fruits, Berries, Nuts and Flowers: Apple, Cranberry, Orange, Very Berry, Blueberry, Moondrop Herb

Spring Fish: Huchen, Dace, Pale Chub, Dark Chub, Black Rockfish, Cobalt Rainbow Trout, Spanish Mackerel, Nagi, Rainbow Trout
Other Fish: Red Rockfish, Garden Eel, Sweetfish, Monkfish, Shrimp, Swordfish, Black Porgy, Mountain Grunt, Pacific Flying Squid, Porgy, Octopus, Surfsmelt, Loach, Albacore, Black Bass, Blotched Snakehead

All Seasons: Pirate Treasure, Sunken Treasure, Treasure Chest, Earthenware, Unusual Pot

Spring Insects: None limited to Spring
Other Insects: Swallowtail Butterfly, Drone Beetle, Monarch Butterfly, Grass Yellow, Caterpillar, Green Japonicus, Small White

Wanted Items Lists:
Grocery: Boiled Egg, Milk M, Fried Clam
Item Shop: Iron Ore, Copper Ore, Mineral Crystal
Florist: Fairy Dress Herb, Pink Cat Mint, Moondrop Herb, Coal
Cafe: Very Berry, Strawberry, Yogurt
Pub: Cheese, Black Truffle, Green Herb
Bob: Alfalfa Sprouts, Mineral Crystals
Carpentry: Blue Rock, Silver, Copper Ore
Villa: Rainbow Trout, Milk M, Carrot

1 Spring: Renton's Birthday (Grass, Any Nut or Berry)

5 Spring: Alice's Birthday (Rare Metal, Mineral Crystal, any Nut/Berry)

11 Spring: Harvest Goddess Festival
Ronald's Birthday (Boiled Egg, Any Nut or Berry)

6.00 a.m. Letter Announcement of Festival:

Harvest Goddess Festival (star)
Today is the Harvest Goddess Festival! Is there some one you'd like to thank? Is there some one you have a crush on? Take this opportunity to give a gift to that special some one, and become even better friends!

Tip: Gifts given to any Character today have a higher FP value than they would on any ordinary day.

16 Spring: Parsley's Birthday (Cranberry, any Nut or Berry)

22 Spring: Race Day

Entries must be made before noon; Races run and Medals exchanged between 2.00 p.m. - 4.00 p.m.

27 Spring: Lyla's Birthday (Pinkcat Herb, any flower, berry, nut)

Summer

Summer Crops: Watermelon, Wild Mint
Other Crops: Potato, Tomato, Corn, Breadfruit, Alfalfa, Rice

Items Found in the Wilds: Red Herb, Green Herb, Grass, Common Seashell, Wonderful Seashell, Coral

Summer Wild Fruits, Berries, Nuts and Flowers: Grapes, Cranberry, Chestnut, Walnut, Very Berry, Blueberry, Full Moon Berry, Moondrop Herb, Pinkcat Herb

Summer Fish: White-Spotted Char, Sweetfish, Squid, Longtooth Grouper, Dolphinfish, White Trevally, Catfish, Flounder
Other Fish: Greenling, Red Rockfish, Horse Mackerel, Garden Eel, Sweet Shrimp, Shrimp, Anchovy, Sardine, Eel, Swordfish, Blue Mackerel, Mackerel, Alaska Pollock, Pacific Flying Squid, Porgy, Octopus, Loach, Black Bass, Blue Hornard, Blotched Snakehead, Lobster

All Seasons: Pirate Treasure, Sunken Treasure, Treasure Chest, Earthenware, Unusual Pot

Summer Insects: Rhinoceros Beetle, Pincer Beetle
Other Insects: Red Dragonfly, Golden-Ringed Dragonfly, Lesser Emperor Dragonfly, Swallowtail Butterfly, Drone Beetle, Monarch Butterfly, Grass Yellow, Caterpillar, Common Skimmer, Green Japonicus, Small White

Most Wanted Lists:
Grocery: Black Watermelon, Strawberry Jam, Broiled Loach, Fried Corn
Item Shop: Red Herb, Pontata Root, Common Seashell
Florist: Frost Pansy, Fairy Dress Herb, Silverbell Herb
Cafe: Green Herb, Grapes, Chestnut
Pub: Porgy, Blotched Snakehead, Broiled Eel, Gazpacho
Bob: N/A
Carpentry: Gold Ore, Silver Ore, Coal
Villa: Garden Eel, Tomato, Corn, Full Moon Berry

1 Summer: Earth Day
Bob's Birthday (Honey, Fodder, Egg)

8 Summer: Gwen's Birthday (Full Moon Berry, any Berry or Nut)

10 Summer: Joe's Birthday (Any Fish)

14 Summer: Rudolph's Birthday (Rare Metal, Mineral Crystal, Red Herb)

15 Summer: Zann's Birthday

20 Summer: Fireworks Day

21 Summer: Wallace's Birthday (Boiled Egg, Any Berry/Nut)

24 Summer: Chester's Birthday (Rare Metal, Any Berry/Nut)

27 Summer: Race Day
Entries must be made before noon; Races run and Medals exchanged between 2.00 p.m. - 4.00 p.m.

Autumn

Autumn Crops: Pumpkin, Onion, Frost Pansy, Mistbloom
Other Crops: Potato, Tomato, Corn, Breadfruit, Alfalfa, Rice

Items Found in the Wilds: Red Herb, Green Herb, Grass, Common Seashell, Wonderful Seashell, Coral, Clam

Autumn Wild Fruits, Berries, Nuts and Flowers: Grapes, Apple, Cranberry, Chestnut, Walnut, Full Moon Berry, Pinkcat Herb

Autumn Fish: Leatherfish, Salmon, Pike, Tuna
Other Fish: Greenling, Red Rockfish, Horse Mackerel, Sweet Shrimp, Shrimp, Anchovy, Sardine, Eel, Chicken Grunt, Mountain Grunt, Black Scraper Fish, Raven Globefish, Tiger Globefish, Blue Mackerel, Mackerel, Alaska Pollock, Pacific Flying Squid, Black Porgy, Octopus, Ocellated Octopus, Sakura Salmon, Black Bass, Dark Sleeper, Albacore, Blue Hornard, Blotched Snakehead, Lobster, Smelt

All Seasons: Pirate Treasure, Sunken Treasure, Treasure Chest, Earthenware, Unusual Pot

Autumn Insects: Blue Damselfly
Other Insects: Red Dragonfly, Golden-Ringed Dragonfly, Lesser Emperor Dragonfly, Swallowtail Butterfly, Drone Beetle, Monarch Butterfly, Grass Yellow, Caterpillar, Common Skimmer, Green Japonicus, Small White

Most Wanted Lists:
Grocery: Cranberry Jam, Stewed Apple, Baked Golden Potato
Item Shop: Moonlight Stone, Scrap Metal, Red Herb, Super Mushroom
Florist: Mineral Crystal, Wild Mint,Fairy Dress Herb, Stardust
Cafe: Cranberry, Pumpkin, Chestnut, Full Moon Berry
Pub: Big Mushroom, Clam, Pike
Bob: N/A
Carpentry: Sapphire, Ruby, Opal
Villa: Onion, Apple, Orange

2 Autumn: Louis' Birthday (Egg, any Berry or Nut)

5 Autumn: Aurelia's Birthday (Lumber, any Berry or Nut)

10 Autumn: Harvest Festival

6.00 a.m. Announcement Letter in Postbox
You may receive a visit from the Eligible Girl with the highest Heart Level inviting you to the Dance; Dance held until 4.00 p.m. at Plaza

Go to the Plaza before 4.00 p.m. to experience the Festival Dance.

12 Autumn: Tim's Birthday (any Insect or Egg)

20 Autumn: Gina's Birthday (Large Fish, any Berry, Nut or Egg)

25 Autumn: Race Day

Entries must be made before noon; Races run and Medals exchanged between 2.00 p.m. - 4.00 p.m.

29 Autumn: Katie's Birthday (Full Moon Berry, Egg, any Berry or Nut)

Winter

Winter Crops: Spinach, Stardust
Other Crops: Potato, Tomato, Corn, Breadfruit, Alfalfa

Items Found in the Wilds: Red Herb, Green Herb, Grass, Common Seashell, Wonderful Seashell, Coral

Winter Wild Fruits, Berries, Nuts and Flowers: Cranberry, Chestnut, Apple, Orange

Winter Fish: Char, Right-Eyed Flounder, Cod, Pacific Herring, Young Amberjack, Amberjack, Masu Salmon
Other Fish: Greenling, Red Rockfish, Monkfish, Chicken Grunt, Mountain Grunt, Black Scraper Fish, Raven Globefish, Tiger Globefish, Alaska Pollock, Pacific Flying Squid, Black Porgy, Octopus, Ocellated Octopus, Sakura Salmon, Black Bass, Dark Sleeper, Blotched Snakehead, Smelt, Surfsmelt

All Seasons: Pirate Treasure, Sunken Treasure, Treasure Chest, Earthenware, Unusual Pot

Winter Insects: None
Other Insects: Caterpillar

Most Wanted Lists:
Grocery: Boiled Egg, Onion Soup, Doria, Clam Chowder
Item Shop: Pontata Root, Mineral Crystal, Coal
Florist: Alfalfa Sprouts, Red Herb, Fairy Dress Herb, Mistbloom
Cafe: Strawberry, Grape, Watermelon, Green Herb
Pub: Porgy, Cheese, Milk M
Bob: N/A
Carpentry: Lumber, Scrap Metal
Villa: Amberjack, Smelt, Carrot, Potato

2 Winter: Woody's Birthday (Lumber or Golden Egg, Any Nut/Berry or Egg)

9 Winter: Dia's Birthday (Blueberry or Frost Pansy, Any Berry or Nut)

10 Winter: Kurt's Birthday (Tomato, Nut or Berry)

23 Winter: Liar's Day

Charles' Birthday (Fluffy Bread, Mineral Crystal, any Ore, Red Herb)

25 Winter: Martha's Birthday (Fine Cheese, any Nut or Berry)

30 Winter: New Year's Day Festival

Cookbook and Items Lists in HoLV

2010-06-01T21:21:00.002-04:00

I usually create a separate Items List/Shipping Guide for any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game but with HoLV, I decided to add the Items Lists to the Shops and Businesses Guide. It makes sense as you cannot SHIP items in HoLV, but you can sell them to local merchants.

The Items Lists with their ordinary selling prices are included at the end of the Guide, after the Delivery Requests Lists. So far, I have listed all Crops, all Ranch Products, all Items from the Wilds, Fish, all items from the Mine and all Cooked Dishes. I will add notes as to the merchants who will buy each category of item. I will try to add information as to when any merchant will pay a higher price, although that information is given in the Wanted Items Lists.

As far as the Cookbook is concerned, I have added a Table of Contents that lists all Recipes. Recipes in the Cookbook are organised according to Utensil, mainly because your Kitchen in HoLV is equipped with a Small Pot and a Small Frying Pan. I therefore felt that players would like to know the Recipes that could be made with those basic utensils.

Strategies for Fishing in Hero of Leaf Valley

2010-05-31T07:00:00.004-04:00

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Fishing is an interesting aspect of both Harvest Moon and Rune Factory in general, but in Hero of Leaf Valley, a new detail has been added to the experience. Depth is a factor in HoLV and it cannot be overlooked. Some fish simply can be caught solely if you cast your Rod at the right depth. You can fish all Season without ever seeing a Fish that tends to stay in the shallows if you constantly cast your Rod to the deepest point that can be reached.

Depth is displayed on a vertical gauge that appears only when you have targeted a psrticular location by pressing X. Fishing in HoLV requires three different actions even before any Fish takes your bait. You first need to equip your Rod using the Square Button. You then need to choose a target by pressing X. When you have done this, the vertical depth gauge will appear on the right side of your screen. Any fish that are located at the target point will be displayed at their current depth. It is here that strategy must be employed if you are looking for a specific type of Fish.

For example, you can catch Salmon during the Autumn season, but you will not find this Fish in the deeps. You need to look for a target point that displays a fish in the shallows if you are searching for Salmon. There are other Fish, including Pike, that tend to stay in the shallows so a Fish that is displayed at that depth is not guaranteed to be a Salmon, but at least you have a chance of catching one.

If you are looking for Treasures, on the other hand, you need to fish in the depths. This makes perfect sense, as most artifacts or Treasures will sink to the bottom of the sea or Lake. Large Fish such as Tuna tend to prefer the depths as well.

It is very exciting to be able to find Pirate Treasure in any season when fishing at Crystal Bay. In HoLV, the first Treasure or Artifact of any type goes directly to your Storeroom to be displayed. Any duplicates you find or catch go into your inventory and can be sold. Some command a very handsome price. There are a number of different 'Chests' in HoLV. There is the traditional Pirate Treausre, but there is a 'Treasure Chest' as well. There are ancient Artifacts in the form of Pots, Eerthenware, Clay Dolls and other interesting items. There are a diverse number of Fossils as well.

In HoLV, Fish are both location-specific and Season-specific to some extent, although the Seasons that have been given officially for each type of Fish are not entirely accurate. I have been logging my results and will correct any discrepancies.

The Special Fishing Bait that can be obtained either from the Harvest Sprites or made in the Transformer 2 Machine using Lumber is extremely useful. It prevents any Rubbish from being caught on your Fishing Rod in the course of a single fishing expedition. When you catch no Rubbish, you obviously catch far more Fish than you would without the Special Fishing Bait.

The type of Fishing Rod you use will determine the Fish that you are able to catch. The best Rod is the only one that will allow you to catch Tuna, for example. Although a wide variety of Fish can be caught with the basic Fishing Rod, it always is best to upgrade as quickly as possible. Better tools use less Energy and are more effective.

Mining Configurations, Before and After

2010-05-30T15:50:00.029-04:00

There are two possible configurations for any Chamber in the Mine in HoLV. I made a video about this, but decided to post stills on this site, as even I sometimes forget the configurations and am lazy about it. WIth it here on my site, I can refer to it immediately.

I now have created a separate site for these Puzzles at:

.HoLV Mining Puzzles

I have used Roman Numerals for each Chamber and each Configuration. Thus, the first Chamber would be Chamber I. The first Configuration would be Chamber I.I. and the second would be Chamber I.II.

Incidentally, if you push any Yellow Rock too far and have no way to fix it, simply leave the Chamber and return. All Rocks will be reset to their original position.

The video I made on YouTube some time ago is more sophisticated, but this post at least will give players a quick reference point to the ten possible Configurations in the first five Chambers of the Mine.

My Character, as small as a flea in the screenshots, is standing in each 'after' screenshot at the Rock that needs to be smashed with the Hammer.

Remember always that only the Yellow Rocks can be moved but that they cannot be hit directly with a Hammer. The only way to smash a Yellow Rock is with an explosion wave from a Rock of any other colour.

You can smash the Rocks manually one by one, apart from the Yellow Rocks, but it will cost you dearly in energy and you will lose the items that are inside any Yellow Rocks in the Chamber.

To move any Yellow Rock, stand as close to it as possible until you see the prompt to 'Grab' with the O Button. Use the O Button to 'Grab' it. You then can move to any side of the Rock without letting go of it. Once your Character is positioned to push the Rock in the right direction, use the X Button to 'Push'. When the Yellow Rock has been placed properly, find the Rock that you wish to smash and, with Hammer equipped, use the Square Button to smash it. If the Explosion Wave destroys every Rock in the Chamber, you will hear a fanfare and see a prompt: Well done!

Chamber I.I before and after:

Chamber I.II, before and after.

Chamber II.I before and after.

Chamber II.II before and after.

Chamber III.I before and after.

Chamber III.II before and after.

On 1 Winter in the first Year, the second set of tunnels north of Chamber 3 should be cleared of rubble. You will be able to enter one new Chamber to the left and another new Chamber to the right. The tunnel to the left leads to this Chamber:

Chamber IV.I before and after.

Chamber IV.II before and after.

Take the tunnel to the right to find the fifth Chamber.

Chamber V.I before and after.

Chamber V.II before and after.

Question for Players of Hero of Leaf Valley

2010-05-28T11:14:00.004-04:00

IGN has a limit as far as the size of any Guide is concerned. I therefore cannot add the schedules and/or strategies for all 16 Story Quests to the Walkthrough/General Guide. I have created an HoLV Characters Guide which contains the actual text of the Story Quest Events in the sections devoted to the Characters most closely connected to each Story Quest. The actual schedules of ALL Story Quests are provided in the HoLV 1st Year Events Calendar Guide and the 2nd Year Events Calendar Guide.

I wonder, however, if this is too fragmented for players. Perhaps I should add the text of all Story Quest Events to the Events Calendar Guides for each of the two first year. Alternately, I could add the schedules of all Events to the Characters Guide. At the moment, the text of the Events in the Characters Guide includes only the actual date and time when Freyr experienced each Event.

I believe the easiest solution would be to add the schedule of each Event to the Characters Guide. The Table of Contents in the Characters Guide does show where the Events for each Story Quest are included. If I provide the complete schedule as well as the actual date and time when my Character experienced the Event, this should prove helpful.

If any player has an opinion on the matter, please feel free to add your comment to this post.

Here is an example of how I intend to organise the actual Events in the HoLV Characters Guide:

The Tale of the Cake Contest

Katie's Events:

The following section includes all of Katie's Friendship Events as well as all Events connnected to the Tale of the Cake Contest Story Quest.

Katie's 1st Friendship Event

Schedule: 26 Spring - 28 Spring, 30 Spring or 2 Summer:

6.00 a.m. Katie's 1st Friendship Event (Tale of the Cake Contest) (Optional)

Location: Homestead

Requirements: You must have met Wallace previously; Katie must have 20 FP or higher

N.B. To gain +15 FP with Katie at the very start of the game, give negative responses to all three Questions posed by the Harvest Goddess

On Friday, 26 Spring, I experienced Katie's 1st Event when I left my farmhouse.

Katie: Good morning, Freyr! If you're free, why don't you come to the cafe? I'll treat you to some cake!

We now are at the Cake. I cram an entire slice of cake into my mouth.

Katie: How is it? Do you like it?

I nod.

Katie: Oh, good! Well, if you're going to stay here, I'd like you to know that you're always welcome in our cafe! We keep losing business because...well, more people move out of Leaf Valley than move in these days.

Wallace: Oh, don't worry. We still get by. But I hope you'll come by often, Freyr.

Katie and I now are at my door again.

Katie: Did you know that my grandpa and your grandmother were close friends since childhood? Maybe we can be close friends, too! Stop by and say hello sometime!

'Endings' in Hero of Leaf Valley

2010-05-25T19:31:00.003-04:00

Some one who saw one of my HoLV You Tube videos made a comment to the effect that it looked like 'Save the Homeland' with more Harvest Moon activities. In fact, although this is true in a very general way, Hero of Leaf Valley is far more complex.

For a start, I seem to recall that 'Save the Homeland' would end when you completed ANY Story Quest. Essentially, the first Story Quest that you completed would end the game. You then could begin again with some of your assets to follow a different Story Quest.

In 'Hero of Leaf Valley', you can COMPLETE as many Story Quests as you like without any fear that the game will end abruptly, cheating you of the chance to play any longer.

It is on 30 Winter in the 2nd Year that the 'Ending' to the first part of the game will occur.

If you have 50,000G on 30 Winter, you will experience one of THREE endings associated with 'Shoot for the Stars!', the Main Story Quest. The first of these will allow you to enter the third year with the possibility of courting and marrying Alice. This Ending will occur only if you defeated EVERY Robot sent into the Valley and if you decided to rescue Alice and the Funland employees from drowning. The second Event Ending is the one that occurs if you tried your best but did not defeat EVERY Robot. The third ending Event is the one that occurs if you couldn't care less about Alice and simply wish to purchase the Land and be done with Funland.

If you do not have 50,000G on 30 Winter, you can experience one of three other Ending Events. The first is associated with the Nature Preserve solution. The second is associated with the Tourist Destination solution. The third is the ending that will occur if you neither have 50,000G nor completed at least three Story Quests in the Nature Preserve category or three Story Quests in the Tourist Destination category. The last Ending, therefore, is the Event that represents failure to save Leaf Valley.

If you fail to save the Valley, you will be forced to begin the game again, but will be allowed to keep some of your assets. What is interesting, however, is the fact that, even if you succeed in saving the Valley, you have the option to start a new game with your current assets.

In other words, the old 'Save the Homeland' option to play a new game still exists. This may be the choice of a player who has chosen to complete only a few Story Quests in the first game and wishes to experience more Events.

Of course, with the PSP capability of keeping multiple save files, you can save your game before 30 Winter in the 2nd year and then choose to start a new game in one file while going forward into the third year in another file.

Players who do not choose to move forward into the third year will not be able to marry, nor able to create a Greenhouse or experience the Sprinkler system that is available only in the advanced phase of the game. They will not meet Zann...

Nor will they be able to marry. In the context of marriage, there is another potential 'Main Story' in Hero of Leaf Valley.

If you have spoken frequently to the Harvest Goddess, you may have noted her wistfulness and loneliness. Even in the first year, she is outspoken in her dissatisfaction with her isolation from all but the Harvest Sprites.

Many of the Story Quests in HoLV are connected to the Harvest Goddess in one fashion or another, but there is one that is vital to her future. If you have any desire to court the Harvest Goddess, you must complete the Harvest Goddess Temple Quest. Furthermore, you must make certain that, at the end of the 2nd Year, her FP is higher than that of any of the ordinary Eligible Girls. You then will experience 'Marina's Confession', an Event of Transformation in which the Harvest Goddess sheds her wings and divine duties to become the human Girl Marina. This represents a significant change and it is one that players may wish to consider.

You can keep multiple save files in Hero of Leaf Valley. If you wish to experience Marina's Confession, you MUST save one file before you have raised any Eligible Girl's Heart Level to a point where the Harvest Goddess no longer can compete for the highest rank in your affections. You then can split your game into two separate paths, one for a future where the Harvest Goddess remains her divine self and another where she is allowed to come down from her pedestal to seek a very human life.

Incidentally, you can find the text of 'Marina's Confession' in my HoLV Characters Guide.

All in all, 'Hero of Leaf Valley' is far more than a new version of 'Save the Homeland'.

The Harvest Festival Dance in HoLV

2010-05-23T16:27:00.001-04:00

I would like to dedicate this video to my friend and HM comrade, ILuvHM for all of her tireless work in logging the text of dialogue and events in Hero of Leaf Valley with me.

Animal Problems in HoLV

2010-05-23T11:29:00.003-04:00

Players have had sad tales to tell about their Animals in almost every Harvest Moon games. Animals sometimes become stuck in walls when builders expand homes or barns. Animals left outside, even in pens, sometimes escape and disappear, even though the game does not recognise that they have vanished...

Well, HoLV has some occasional problems with Animals as well. Some are amusing but others can cause loss of Hearts.

Another player's Journal vividly describes the problems she has encountered with her own dog Junah:

'Where is junah? Ugh! I can hear him barking but can’t see any part of him. I whistle. He’s behind the trash can in the wall. He can’t seem to get away. I waited by the bed again and made a quick grab for him. Is this normal? Does he sleep in the walls? In AP your dog slept by your bed...

In another entry:

'Where is Junah? Junah is stuck behind the TV. I whistle and looked out from behind the tool box. I can see his feet running under the TV. I walk over and the word 'Examine' is highlighted. I walk over to my bed and wait for the words 'Pick up', then grab him. I put him down again by the table. He’s walking funny. His feet are going forward, but his body is sliding sideways. He walks through the kitchen wall and into the fridge. The fridge looks like it has a tail as Junah’s tail is sticking out. Funny. I decide to leave him in the fridge to help himself to all the fish he can eat.'

Her descriptions are hilarious and happily, her dog's situation caused no loss in Friendship.

In my own game, however, my first Dog problem DID result in the loss of a Heart.

I had taken my dog to the Grocery Shop area to 'Search' for items. He did this quite docilely and successfully but THEN went into the sign in front of Ronald's Shop. He looked like one of those guys that appear in old films wearing 'sandwich boards' to advertise some one's business. He really appeared to be wearing the sign or else to have mutated into a half-dog, half-sawhorse creature.

This would not have been a problem had he responded when I whistled for him, but he failed to do so. The sun set and I think the silly creature fell asleep in between the boards. Meanwhile, knowing that I would lose significant FP with him if I could not take him home with me, I continued to whistle for him. In desperation, I actually walked into my Homestead, then returned to the area immediately to see if the shift in screen would shift HIM. Well, it evidently shifted him to another dimension as he had disappeared completely.

I went into the Homestead again to see if somehow he had followed me and had put himself safely to bed. No such luck.

He was at five hearts when I took him foraging. I may have incurred two black strikes, one by whistling at him after he fell asleep and the other by 'abandoning' him on another screen. The fact that I stayed up until 1.00 a.m. trying to retrieve him counted for nothing...

At 6.00 a.m. the next morning, he was at four hearts but waited by the food dish as though nothing untoward had occurred. Very annoying. My only recourse if I did not wish to live with the loss of affection would be to reload from another slot and replay the day. It isn't worth the effort. I have the Power Berries and it will be interesting to see how quickly I can win back the lost heart...

Incidentally, I won the heart back in a single day. Even so, it was irritating because it was the DOG'S fault and not mine!

Video Tutorial about Mining in HoLV

2010-05-22T19:48:00.004-04:00

Not as artistic as I would have liked perhaps, but I am having trouble with my laptop again.

In any case, it provides useful visual information about the Rock Configurations in the first three Chambers of the Mine as well as information about the Underground Lake.

Although this video really was created to show the Rock Configurations in the first three Chambers, a brief explanation of Mining may be in order.

First of all, you need to unlock Mining in general by working Part-Time for Rudolph five times before you will be able to unlock Mining for yourself. In order to experience some of the Story Quest Events that are linked to the Mine, you must satisfy requirements in terms of the total number of items that you have obtained from the Mine. Mineral Crystals do not count where these totals are concerned, as you can 'create' them yourself using the Transformer 1 Machine. In order to experience all possible Events in the Story Quests linked to the Mine, you need to have obtained at least 30 items from the Mine. This is a fairly low requirement, as are any of the Requirements in HoLV. It actually represents the bare minimum any player should be able to obtain if he/she visits the Mine a few times.

A new Chamber should be unlocked at the beginning of any new Season, BUT it is possible that there are minimum requirements that must be met here as well. Obviously, if you did not unlock mining yet, the Chambers will remain barred with fallen masonry. There may be some requirements in terms of the total number of items that players have obtained previously in the Mine as well. These totals would be fairly minimal, but Mineral Crystals would not be included in the count. The reason why Mineral Crystals are not counted is because you can create them yourself by placing Grass in the Transformer 1 Machine in the same manner in which you can create Special Fish Bait by placing Lumber in the Transformer 2 Machine.

If you have unlocked no new Chambers in the Mine NOR the Underground Lake, then I would assume it is a mining requirement rather than an additional fishing requirement.

In my game and those of players who were able to access the Underground Lake as soon as Ponta spoke of it, we had been mining on a regular basis since the start of the game, gaining access to the Mine as early as we could in Spring by working 5 times for Rudolph. We had been selling items from the Mine regularly to local merchants and had given gifts to Rudolph to raise his FP. We experienced two of his Friendship Events before Autumn... Rudolph's total FP is the only other variable that comes to mind.

Incidentally, the only Harvest Moon and Rune Factory games that I cover are the genuine authentic versions published by Natsume and XSeed. True fans of Harvest Moon and Rune Factory will obtain the genuine article, even if it involves some personal sacrifice, in the interest of helping to support the people who make these games available to us. If you are using bootlegs or illegal downloads, then you are NOT supporting the creators of these fabulous games. Illegal downloads and bootlegs tend to have all sorts of 'bugs' and problems, from an inability to save your game properly to corrupted data or options that do not work.

General Strategies in HoLV

2010-05-22T11:52:00.006-04:00

Any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game can be played in a number of different ways and HoLV definitely is part of the Harvest Moon series. It differs somewhat from most traditional Harvest Moon games in the necessity of 'saving the homeland' from Funland's threat of development by the end of the 2nd Year. There are a wide array of choices as to how you wish to accomplish this goal, however, and players need not experience ALL possible Events in HoLV in order to achieve the goal.

For many players, including myself, however, experiencing all possible Events IS a goal and I created the 1st and 2nd Year Events Calendar Guides with that aim in mind. A certain amount of planning is necessary if you wish to experience all possible Events simply because ALL Events are time-restricted and many have specific weather requirements.

When you experience the Event at the Villa where you obtain the Silk Thread and are told to give it to the Harvest Goddess, Flak makes an odd statement about his patroness, the Harvest Goddess:

Flak: Harvest Goddess keeps bugging us if the 'Silk Thread' is ready yet. But she's so fickle, she won't care about the 'Seven-Colour Cloth' in a few days!

When I experienced this dialogue, I was rather shocked for a moment by the Sprite's apparent disrespect for his Goddess, but then I realised what he was trying to tell you. All Events are set to occur within specific time periods. You can't carry the Silk Thread for weeks before deciding to take it to the Harvest Goddess and expect her to respond in a positive manner.

This is where an Events Calendar Guide can be vital. Most of the Events that occur outside buildings require fair weather. You therefore will not be able to experience them on rainy or snowy days. If an Event is set to occur only within a specific four day period and you have a rainy day, the window of opportunity becomes even smaller.

The Event where you obtain the Silk Thread is set to occur between 4 Autumn - 12 Autumn from 6.00 a.m. - 5.59 p.m. only in fine weather. The Event wherein you give the Thread to the Harvest Goddess is set to occur between 4 Autumn - 13 Autumn from 6.00 a.m. - 5.59 p.m. in good weather. If you wait until 12 Autumn to experience the first Event, you only have 12 Autumn and 13 Autumn in which to experience the second. If rain is predicted for 13 Autumn, you MUST go immediately to the Harvest Goddess Spring after obtaining the Silk Thread to give it to the Goddess.

If you do not obtain the Silk Thread before 13 Autumn, you will not be able to complete the Story Quest of the Harvest Goddess' Gown. That does not mean that you will be unable to save the land from the Funland threat of development by any means, but it does mean that you will be unable to experience many interesting Events in your current game.

Obviously, you can play the game more than once. With the PSP, you even can begin a game and then save the same game at different points in order to move forward along different paths in each file. If, however, you enjoy the challenge of experiencing as much as possible in a single file and game, you may wish to attempt to experience 'Dia's Jealousy' and 'Taking the Silk Thread to the Harvest Goddess' both on 4 Autumn, provided the weather is fine or if it is rainy, on 5 Autumn, at the earliest possible opportunity.

Characters often give very sound advice in Harvest Moon and Rune Factory. In HoLV, you will receive very useful advice from Wallace:

Wallace: It's important to plan what you're going to do each day.

This is not merely the ramblings of an old man. It IS very important to plan your day in advance, simply because the Map is large and some areas can be rather remote. The Harvest Goddess Spring probably is the most remote of all destinations because it cannot be reached from the Plaza, the central point, or hub, of Leaf Valley. From the Plaza, paths go directly to the Grocery, the Florist and Items Shop, Woody's Carpentry, the Beach and the Villa. To reach the Harvest Goddess Spring, you either need to take the Grocery path through the Cafe/Pub area, then through the Mallard Lake and Church area or you have to go to Woody's Carpentry area, through the Forest of Pike Mountain and then through the Mine/Funland Corporation area. In other words, no matter how you choose to do it, you have to go through three areas before you can reach the Harvest Goddess Spring.

Renton will tell you that it takes half a day to circle the Valley. Given the fact that most Events occur before 6.00 p.m., you need to plot your course rather carefully if you wish to maximise your experiences in a single day.

That having been said, it is not difficult to meet the ordinary Requirements for most Events in HoLV. Many Events involved with the main Story Quest occur automatically when you leave your Farmhouse at 6.00 a.m.

The reason why there are specific rather narrow time slots for each of the Events in HoLV is because the game includes more linear plots than other Harvest Moon games. When you consider that there are sixteen different Story Quests, each of which must operate smoothly within the context of the others and each of which includes a fair number of Events that must be completed within a two-year period, Hero of Leaf Valley represents rather an incredible achievement. 'Save the Homeland' was a marvelous game for its time, but 'Hero of Leaf Valley' is far more complex and sophisticated. The wealth of dialogue is astounding. I noted that dialogues about the weather can include a remark that deals not only with current weather conditions but actually compares that with the weather of the previous day! The fact that responses to specific gifts can vary according to heart levels makes the game very sophisticated in terms of dialogue as well.

My own strategy is to experience all possible Events at the earliest opportunity in a single day if I can even if it means that I will not make much money that day. Once I have cleared the Calendar of Events, I can relax a little and spend the rest of the days in that time period as I please, without worrying about weather or being at a specific location at a specific time.

Your Kitchen in Hero of Leaf Valley

2010-05-19T10:40:00.009-04:00

I am not the only player who experienced a little thrill the first time I walked into my new kitchen. First of all, whenever you obtain a Kitchen in Harvest Moon, you feel that you finally have ARRIVED. Your life becomes so much easier and cooking IS fun. All those raw ingredients that you toted about in your Rucksack for weeks now can be stored in the fridge or USED to create new dishes.

It may be possible to obtain the House expansion in Spring but most players do it immediately after the Summer Races. A House Expansion, after all, is desirable, but there are other expenses in Spring that need to take priority. Furthermore, you have to order one of the existing projects on Woody's Menu before the House Expansion in the form of Kitchen, Bath and Toilet will be unlocked.

The Kitchen, Bath and Toilet are situated in a separate chamber. You will awaken to find that your bed has been moved but if you expect to find a small kitchen counter in the same room, you will search in vain. Walk through the opening in the centre of the eastern wall and...

From the Journal of a good friend who is a Harvest Moon comrade as well:

'OMG… the kitchen is beautiful! When I woke up I’m like hey why is my bed moved? Oh yeh, the kitchen! Walk around looking….where is it? Slight sucking in of breath upon seeing it! Very pleasantly surprised. I had expected a starter kitchen like Joe and Kurt's.'

Players of A Wonderful Life/Another Wonderful Life may recall similar experiences with respect to the Kitchen in those games.

If you consider the premise of HoLV, which is story-driven, it makes sense to allow a player to obtain a Kitchen, Bath and Toilet as a single building project. After all, the business of saving the homeland must take precedence over everything else. Other Harvest Moon games that divide the House Expansion, Kitchen, Bath and Toilet expansions into four and sometimes even five different upgrades do not have the same urgency or time limit where the plot of the game is concerned. You have only two years to save Leaf Valley in HoLV. The HM gods mercifully decreed that, with the weight of this responsibility resting upon your shoulders, you should be allowed the benefit of cooking, bathing and changing your clothes with a single home upgrade.

For my part, it was the additional storage space that thrilled me most when my new house expansion was unveiled to me. Even with the Large Rucksack, I never had sufficient space, and it saddened me whenever I was forced to give away, sell or consume a seasonal item simply in order to free a slot in my Rucksack.

I, of course, had hoped to make every Cooked Dish as early as possible, but I finally had to dispose of my Apples and Oranges in the interest of space. No longer, though! All edible items can go into the Fridge, to await future use...

Your initial Kitchen provides you with a small Frying Pan and a small Pot. These allow you to cook any Dish that requires only one ingredient. Although all Recipes are included in my HoLV Cookbook Recipes Guide, I included an 'Easy Recipes' section in my HoLV Walkthrough/General Guide that gives all the Single-Ingredient Recipes for Pot and Frying Pan.

Remember that Cooked Dishes often are 'Wanted Items' by local merchants. In Summer, Corn is on the Wanted Items list at Clove Villa but Ronald's Wanted Items List includes Fried Corn. Martha will pay 60G for raw Corn, but Ronald will pay 100G for the same ear of Corn when it has been cooked in a Frying Pan. the Wanted Items Lists for every Season are included both in my HoLV Walkthrough/General Guide and my HoLV Shops and Businesses Guide.

The items that are the subject of Delivery Requests often are out-of-season. Once you have a Kitchen, it is easier to store Crops, Fish and items from the Wilds in anticipation of a future Delivery Request.

At the end of the first Summer, it is worthwhile to consider a potentially profitable Wanted Item that will go into effect on 1 Autumn. Scrap Metal usually sells for 10G, but during the Autumn Season, Louis will pay 30G for each piece of Scrap Metal. Unfortunately, you can store only a total of 99 items of any variety in your Toolbox. A single slot will take 99 items, but if you attempt to fill a second slot with the overflow, the Toolbox will not accept the items. You therefore must keep any excess Scrap Metal in your Rucksack if you wish to profit from Louis' need for the item in Autumn.

In the screenshots of the Kitchen, you will note that Freyr is dressed in an outfit that is different from the one worn throughout the pre-Kitchen period. A change of clothing is a benefit of taking a Bath in HoLV.

Incidentally, there is one very frustrating aspect in HoLV where the Bath is concerned. There is no prompt whatsoever at the door of the Bath or Toilet. If you stray too close to the door, your Character will slide right in, have a bath as quick as lightning and be out again, clearing the water from his ears... having WASTED his daily Bath while his energy still was at the full! I have done this twice early in the morning after cooking up some quick dishes at the counter... Very annoying! It wouldn't matter if you could have multiple baths, but only the first one counts, so it is very exasperating when your Character decides to have a quick bath without permission!

Special Fishing Bait in HoLV

2010-05-18T20:07:00.003-04:00

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Special Fishing Bait is an interesting little item in HoLV that, when scattered in the water, helps you catch more fish by preventing you from catching any Rubbish items.

Your first encounter with Special Fishing Bait may be as a Gift from one of the Harvest Sprites after you have given the Most Favourite Gift of Mushrooms to one of them a couple of times.

You can find Mushrooms in the Forest or you can place a piece of Lumber on the plank behind your Storage Shed and water it each day until a Mushroom appears. Unfortunately, one piece of Lumber produces only a single harvest of a single Mushroom.

You will find Special Fishing Bait on the Menu at the Races. It costs 2 Medals there.

What I did not realise was that there is another connection between Lumber and Special Fishing Bait apart from the transaction performed by the Harvest Sprites when you give them Mushrooms.

The Transformer 2 Machine transforms Lumber into Special Fishing Bait. When I entered my Horse in the Long Distance Race in the first Summer, I won the race and made a handsome profit by having bet on him at 6 to 1 odds. What I did not expect was the Prize of the Tranformer 2 Machine, nor did I realise what its action would be.

After all, in previous Events with Louis, although he spoke of his Tranformer Machine experiments, they appeared to involve Crops rather than the creation of Fishing Bait. Another little surprise from a game that has many wonderful treats in store for its players.

Incidentally, whenever you enter your own Horse in a Race, the odds will be generated randomly. The first time I entered my Shadowfax in a Race in the first Summer, he was billed as the favourite at 2 to 1 odds! Incredible for a horse who was running his maiden race...

I reloaded and replayed the Event, only to find that this time, the odds were listed at 6 to 1 for him. I bet on him generously and won a handsome profit... as well as the Transformer 2 Machine.

Family Life in HoLV

2010-05-17T10:02:00.005-04:00

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This information, including the Rival Events, will be included in my Guides but as a player posted a comment to ask about one aspect of Family Life, I thought a post might be helpful.

First of all, 'Hero of Leaf Valley' is based on 'Save the Homeland', not 'Back to Nature'. It is 'Harvest Moon Boy & Girl', another PSP title, that was based on the old 'Back to Nature' and includes both the male and female versions of THAT game.

In the original 'Save the Homeland', you had two years to save the Village. At the end of that period, or when you succeeded in 'clearing' one of the possible Quests to achieve this, the game ended then and there. You then could start the game again, carrying over most of your items and assets and play through a different Story Quest, continuing to do this until you had experienced all possible Story Quests. In 'Save the Homeland', there was no option to marry, although romantic Events would occur with the protagonist of the Story Quest you chose to complete.

'Harvest Moon Boy & Girl', for players not familiar with 'Back to Nature' is rather similar to 'Friends of Mineral Town' and 'More Friends of Mineral Town' in that it takes place in the same village, has most of the same set of characters and many of the same goals. There is a big difference, however, between the 'Boy' version and the 'Girl' version of HM B&G. If you play as a Boy, you can marry and have a child. If you play as a Girl, however, the game will end when you marry. Rather unfair to those of us who ARE Girls, perhaps, but that was the way the original Japanese game worked and, on the positive side, at least you CAN choose whether to play as a Girl or a Boy. Furthermore, as it is a PSP title, you can play BOTH as a Girl and a Boy in different save files! Like many Harvest Moon games, it gives incredible value for the cost.

Now, to answer some questions about 'Hero of Leaf Valley'. It is a very expanded version of 'Save the Homeland' as it will not end after you save the Valley AND, you actually can marry in HoLV. The game is divided into two main parts. You have to 'save the homeland' before you will have the option to marry, although courtship can occur during the first part of the game while you are busy saving the Valley.

The first part of the game, therefore, is most similar to the original 'Save the Homeland', although it is not identical by any means. The game does NOT end if you manage to succeed in one of the three main Quests. If, however, you fail to save the Valley from the threat of development by the end of the 2nd year, the game WILL end and you will be forced to begin again. You will not be forced to start with nothing again, however. You will be able to 'inherit' many of your assets from your first failed game.

In the second phase, once the land is safe from threats of development, HoLV begins to resemble a traditional Harvest Moon game. You can propose to an Eligible Girl and marry her, provided all Heart Level requirements have been met. There are Rival Events that can occur between Eligible Girls and the bachelors who are interested in them, but they will not lead to Rival Marriages. Your own marriage does not result in any children.

There are other Events that cannot be experienced before the third year of the game and a new Character in the form of Zann, who somewhat resembles Ivan or Lute from Rune Factory games and who can create wonderful Accessories for you.

Some players have expressed a wish that one could have a Child in HoLV, but after all, every Harvest Moon game, although it is founded on the same general philosophy, is unique. Players who are familiar with 'Save the Homeland' will be thrilled by the amazing expansions of the game that can be found in Hero of Leaf Valley. If having a Child is your primary goal in Harvest Moon, there are many games that will satisfy your ambition. In the recent Animal Parade for the Wii, you actually can have more than one child. If you consider Rune Factory as part of the 'Harvest Moon' series, as I do, there is Rune Factory 2, where you actually can PLAY the game in the 2nd Generation as your Child!

One final point about Events in 'Hero of Leaf Valley'. Many players are using the terms from the Official Guide to describe the many Events that can be experienced in this game. I initially did the same in my Guides, but now intend to use my own terms because I am beginning to see that some events, quite clearly, are Heart Events and have very little to do with the Story Quests to which they are linked. The only link in many cases is the fact that they involve the same Eligible Girl who is the protagonist in the Story Quest. Instead of describing the Events as 'Mecha', or 'Farm Aid' or whatever, whenever an Event is a Friendship Event or Heart Event, I am going to designate it as such, although I will make certain that each Event either is described as 'Mandatory' or 'Optional'.

I have a couple of reasons for making this change. One is the fact that many of the Story Quests are linked and indeed, 'Optional' Events often are connected to more than one Story Quest. I still need to confirm whether or not experiencing a specific Event that involves more than one Eligible Girl or Character increases FP for all the Characters in the Event. Evidence that lends itself to the belief that it DOES increase FP if only slightly, is the fact that Heart Levels have changed immediately after I experienced an Event. On the other hand, simply 'meeting and greeting' any Character on a given day increases FP by +1 point. Experiencing an Event with a Character could be assigned the 'Meeting and Greeting' point for that day. In some specific cases, an Event will raise a Character's FP significantly and that is confirmed officially. Whether or not ALL Events result in some FP increase, however, beyond +1 FP for each Character involved, still needs to be confirmed.

Two Events that clearly are 'Heart Events' in HoLV are Dia's first two Events. They both are concerned primarily with her relationship with your Character. In the first, your Character 'rescues' her from a large spider. In the second, she confesses that your gifts to her have widened her appreciation of the knowledge she has gained from books. In fact, as her Heart Level increases, her general dialogue as well as her responses to specific gifts, often deals with the same topic.

Blueberries traditionally are Dia's favourite in more than one Harvest Moon game. In HoLV, however, her responses to the gift of a Blueberry as well as responses to other Berries would be bizarre if one did not comprehend their basis.

In fact, most of her Responses to Gifts of items 'found in the wilds' reflect a comparison of descriptions of itmems found in books with the reality of the item. Here are some of her early Responses to items. Note that these ALL are Gifts that are acceptable to her:

At Black Heart:

For Very Berry: ...Th-Thank you.

For Fish (S?) or Common Seashell: Oh, no, it smells so foul.

At Purple Heart:

For Blueberry: ...This is a little different from what I saw in the encyclopedia. ...Is it real?

For Orange, Strawberry, Very Berry: Can you...Eat this? It won't make you sick?

For Moondrop Herb or Fairy Dress Herb: ...It's a fairly common flower.

For Tomato: It's ...So dirty, covered in mud...

At Blue Heart:

For Very Berry: This is fairly sweet.

For Blueberry: I'm not sure how good these taste, but...I think I like the taste.

As you can see, if you look at the Responses knowing that Dia has been extremely 'sheltered' and therefore may be experiencing her first real contact with these items, dialogue that otherwise would appear ungrateful or discourteous becomes less so.

'It's ... So dirty, covered in mud...' for a Tomato for example, is the response of a girl who never saw a Tomato until it had been prepared in a Salad or Sandwich. The Response to a Seashell, 'Oh no, it smells so foul.' again displays the astonishment of a girl who saw pictures of shells in books but was unprepared for the reality of an item fresh from the sea.

Her responses to Blueberries and other Fruits are extremely interesting, as they show the incredible attention to detail that has been given to the dialogues in this game.

At Purple Heart:
For Blueberry: ...This is a little different from what I saw in the encyclopedia. ...Is it real?

This is the response of a girl who prior to this only saw pictures of Blueberries in an Encyclopedia. At this point in time, she has little personal knowledge of raw, unprepared Fruits, even those that are cultivated. Proof of this is given in her response to ANY other Fruit:

For Orange, Very Berry, Strawberry: Can you...Eat this? It won't make you sick?

As you continue to visit her, raising her Heart Level, her responses to these items change:

At Blue Heart:

For Very Berry: This is fairly sweet.

For Blueberry: I'm not sure how good these taste, but...I think I like the taste.

Here, you see how she has 'grown' emotionally to become more in touch with the universe and with her real feelings and senses. She is sharing HER actual responses to the taste of these Fruits.

The Event where she confides the effects of your visits and gifts puts all of this into proper perspective:

Dia stood in the Library facing me.

Dia: Oh, Freyr. ... I was just reading, thinking about things. I've realised that the things written in my books don't take place in a distant land, they happen much closer to home. ... What, well... About this gift you've given me. Lately, when I read, I find myself saying, 'Oh, I know this. I've seen that before...' Knowledge isn't only something to know. It's important that they are experienced. With everything you've done... I think I'm getting more interested in the outside world. I feel like I'll go for a long walk one of these days. ...Although by that I mean, I'll go as far as your farm, perhaps.'

This is one of the reasons I love Harvest Moon so much. It is not about 'clearing a goal' as much as it is about your ability to change lives, to bring prosperity AND happiness to others. If you take an interest in spoiled, shy Dia, she will become a better person, more courageous and more involved in the feelings and lives of others. Even at Green Heart Level, however, she has not changed fully...

If you follow Gina's Quest to make the Harvest Goddess Dress, you will see how Dia remains quite imperfect and selfish at the point where your Character asks about the 'Silk Thread' needed by the Harvest Goddess. Both Martha and Louis will tell you about the trader who delivers Miss Dia's clothes to the Villa and who undoubtedly has Silk Thread.

In fact, Martha will tell you that Dia purchased some recently:

Want Silk Thread

Martha: What? 'Silk Thread'...? I'm sorry, I don't have any. I think that the trader who comes to deliver Miss Dia's clothes may sell you some, but it's quite expensive. Now that I think about it, Miss Dia had just purchased some from him... I wonder what she'll use it for?

When you speak to Dia, however, to ask about it:

Want Silk Thread

Dia: 'Silk Thread'? ... Um... ...Could you ask some one else? Oh... Wait one moment. ...You wouldn't be planning on raising the worms that would make the silk thread, would you? P-Please, never bring those things to the villa! Understood?

When Katie and Gina are discussing the gown outside the gates of the Villa, Dia interrupts by calling for Gina to fetch her shawl for her. This may demonstrate her spoiled and selfish nature, but at the same time, Gina is at fault somewhat for not confiding her plans to make a gown for the contest. Gina is too self-effacing and both she and Martha are somewhat responsible for being over-protective of Dia and keeping her in her 'ivory tower'.

As the Story Quests develop, all of this changes gradually, and every Character in Hero of Leaf Valley changes. Even Alice and the other employees of Funland can be influenced by your Character...

2nd Year Events Calendar Guide

2010-05-15T14:25:00.004-04:00

There is a 2nd Year Events Calendar Guide for Hero of Leaf Valley now, but it is not that useful yet as it is very much a 'work in progress'. What I have done to improve both the 1st and 2nd Year Events Guides is to add colour coding for the Dates. One reason I write guides actually is rather selfish. I like to use my own guides to organise my own games, especially when I begin a second file. In the old days, when there was more than enough time for these matters, I used to amuse myself by trying to discover the 'earliest possible opportunity' to complete any goal in Harvest Moon.

In any case, colour codes make it easier to use this type of Guide, which essentially is a Calendar Guide for all the Events in Hero of Leaf Valley. Unfortunately, the version that was uploaded Friday has colour coding only for one season. This will be corrected on Monday.

It has been determined now that the weather CAN be changed in HoLV if you reload two days prior to the day you wish to change. If, therefore, you are nearing the last possible opportunity to experience an event that requires good weather, you may wish to make certain that it doesn't rain or snow on the last day when it can be triggered. Remember that any weather is subject to the rules that govern prevailing trends.

Recipes in HoLV

2010-05-12T14:06:00.001-04:00

Just a note to inform players that my HoLV Cookbook Recipes Guide now is complete with all Recipes for Pot, Frying Pan, Oven and Mixer.

I have included some information in that mini-guide about Martha's Part-Time Work and Ponta's Recipes as well...

Adopting and caring for your Dog in HoLV

2010-05-12T13:40:00.006-04:00

A player emailed me today as follows:

Hi Freyashawk,

First I just wanted to say thank you for all your guides, I have used many of them over the years as I am an avid Harvest Moon (and Rune Factory) fan! I've recently been playing Hero of Leaf Valley and just had a question that I'm wondering if you know anything about. For some reason, I can't get my dog's affection to go up! And actually, I've lost the heart I had when I first was able to adopt him. I feed and pick him up once a day, and have started feeding milk or fish but still haven't gotten my heart back (on Summer day 2). Could this be because I don't have a dog house for him yet? I got him just before rainy season so unfortunately he was outside all day in the rain for quite a few days in a row.

END OF EMAIL

Actually, the answer as well as all details required for care of your Dog and other Animals is included in my HoLV Walkthrough/General Guide now, but for those players who have not read recent versions of the guide, a post on the topic may be helpful.

The player who wrote to me is correct in surmising that the loss of the heart is due to her failure to protect her dog from the elements. You do not need to purchase the Dog House in order to keep your Dog healthy, however. You can carry him into the house when the weather is inclement.

Bear in mind the fact that you can lose affection with him if you do not carry him outside again when the weather improves!

The point values of every action that can be undertaken towards your Dog are as follows:

Animal Friendship Levels

As with the Characters you meet in Leaf Valley, Animals have Friendship Levels of their own, and raising these Levels can be critical to your success in life.

The system that awards Friendship Points to Animals is a little different from that which applies to other Characters. In fact, you can lose Hearts with Animals as well as gain them.

Animal Friendship Levels are as follows:

0-29 FP = 0 Hearts
30-79 FP = 1 Heart
80-129 FP = 2 Hearts
130-179 FP = 3 Hearts
180 - 219 FP = 4 Hearts
220 - 255 FP = 5 Hearts

These values apply to all Animals, whether they are Pets, Poultry or Livestock. The difference between each Animal type in terms of Friendship is that you interact with each differently and earn FP through different actions.

Friendship with your Dog

Even when you do not own a Dog, your actions with respect to the two stray dogs in the Valley will determine your future ability to adopt one.

You will find a food dish next to your Farmhouse even at the start of the game. Although you do not own a pet Dog, you should leave food in the dish daily in order to be able to court the stray dogs of the Valley. When your Friendship Level with the Dogs reaches 31 FP, you will have the option to pick up either Dog. The first time you pick up either one of the two Dogs, you will be given the option to adopt.

At that point, you will be able to choose which of the two dogs you wish to adopt, irrespective of the Dog with whom you currently are interacting. To adopt the Dog you are NOT holding, choose 'No' when you are asked if you wish to adopt it.*

After adoption, your duties and responsibilities with respect to the Dog you have chosen will increase.

If you wish to delay the adoption of a Dog by ignoring the invitation to pick him up when his FP reaches the required level, you can do so and his FP will not decrease. You will be able to continue to raise his Friendship Level slowly by filling the Food Dish daily but until you have adopted him, you will be unable to gain any FP from other actions.

Various actions will raise his Friendship on a daily basis, but other actions will cause his FP to decrease.

To increase FP each day:

+2 FP: Pick up your Dog
+2 FP: Whistle for your Dog (use the L Button, then Choose the 'Dog')
+2 FP: Play the Ocarina to train the Dog
+1 FP: Place any food item other than Milk or Fish in the Food Dish
+2 FP: Place any ordinary Milk or Fish in the Food Dish
+6 FP: Place Gold Milk in the Food Dish

To decrease FP:

-20 FP: Forget to feed your Dog
-20 FP: Hit the Dog with a sharp Farm Tool
-20 FP: If your Dog is Sick for an entire Day without Treatment
-5 FP: Awaken your Dog when it is sleeping

Other actions result in an FP decrease by the hour:

-2 FP per hour: Taking or keeping the Dog outside in bad Weather if you do not have a Dog House
-1 FP: Leaving your Dog in any area other than the Homestead
-1 FP: Keeping your Dog inside the House when the Weather is good

As you can see, the act of adopting a Dog in Hero of Leaf Valley forces you to assume a fairly serious amount of responsibility each day. The rewards, however, can be very great. It is your Dog who will find the Power Berries that are hidden in the Valley and these can increase your total Energy capacity.

The Dog can find other useful items as well.

The items your Dog can find, with the probability of finding them is as follows:

80% chance of finding a Power Berry until he has found all four of them.

There is a 5% chance of finding Pontata Root, Black Truffle, White Truffle, Star Truffle or Baby Truffle while the Power Berries remain undiscovered.

Until your Dog has found all 4 Power Berries for you, the chance of finding any other item remains at 5%. Once you have obtained all the Power Berries, the chances of finding the other items changes to:

50% chance of finding Pontata Root.
20% chance of finding a Star Truffle.
10% chance of finding Black Truffle, White Truffle or Baby Truffle.

Note that you will not be able to direct your Dog to search for items until you have gained 2 Hearts with him. The 'Search' Command is one of seven commands you can teach him by playing your Ocarina.

Ocarina Commands

To play the Ocarina, you first must equip it. Even when you own one, you will not be able to play it until you have adopted one of the two stray dogs in the Valley.

Playing a Melody on the Ocarina is effected by the use of the Square Button in conjunction with the Directional Buttons.

The commands with the FP Levels and melodies that are linked to each are:

Sit Command: Requires +31 FP
Press Up, Left, Down

Stay Command: Requires +31 FP
Press Up, Down, Down

Come Command: Requires +51 FP
Press Left, Right, Right

Search Command: Requires +71 FP
Press Down, Left, Up

Pursue Command: Requires +71 FP
Press Right, Left, Right

Jump Command: Requires +96 FP
Press Left, Up, Right

Beg Command: Requires +126 FP
Press Down, Up, Up

Note that you must hold down the Square Button while you input the Directional Commands, rather like 'charging' a tool in other Harvest Moon games. If you fail to do this, your Character simply will take the Ocarina from his Rucksack and return it quickly to his Rucksack. Once in awhile, you may persuade him to play a single note, but that will be the extent of it. If, however, you press the Square button firmly and hold it down, you will be able to play all the melodies that constitute valid commands.

Whether or not your Dog chooses to obey is another matter entirely, but simply playing a Command for him will increase his FP by +2 Points.

A Dog's Special Abilities

Unlike the Poultry and Livestock you can own in HoLV, your Dog has special abilities that will increase when you perform specific actions on a daily basis. These special abilities or traits are Intelligence, Speed, Perseverance and Wildness. Your Horse has his own Special Abilities, but these will be discussed in another section.

To increase these abilities, perform the following actions:

When you call your Dog by whistling to him, it will increase his Intelligence. His Intelligence Level will determine his success in obeying your Commands.

When you train your Dog using the Ocarina, his Speed will increase.

When you Feed your Dog each day, it increases his Perseverance, the trait that will strengthen his immunity to Sickness.

Barking is the sign of Wildness and picking up your Dog on a daily basis will decrease his tendency to bark.

*It appears from a player's comment that if you do not wish to adopt the Dog who first gives you the option, you either need to hunt down the one you like better or wait until he appears, then pick HIM up and choose the option to adopt...

Wanted Items in Hero of Leaf Valley

2010-05-07T15:56:00.006-04:00

A player made a comment about the 'Wanted Items' in Hero of Leaf Valley. There are so many details to include in the guides that I have not done much in terms of the 'Wanted' Lists that every Merchant has, but hope to have a detailed list for each Season in the next few days.

When you take items to sell to any Shop or Merchant, there are two possibilities. One simply is to choose to 'Sell' the item. The other is to access the 'Wanted Items' List. Often the items on the Wanted Items List will be listed at a higher value than the regular value of the item. Every shop is different and the list changes each season, so it is a good idea to be aware of the items that are 'Wanted' at a specific location in any Season.

The 'Wanted Items' for all the Shops for every season now are included in both my Walkthrough/General Guide and my Shops and Businesses Guide.

In Spring:

Ronald's Grocery Shop:

Boiled Egg: 100G
Milk M: 270G
Fried Clam: 50G

Louis' Item Shop:

Iron Ore: 80G
Copper Ore: 60G
Mineral Crystal: 30G

Lyla's Florist Shop:

Fairy Dress Herb: 50G
Pink Cat Mint: 20G
Moondrop Herb: 20G
Coal: 40G

Sunny Garden Cafe/Moonlight Pub

Cheese: 550G
Black Truffle: 80G
Green Herb: 20G

Bob's Animal Supplies:

Alfalfa Sprouts: 50G
Mineral Crystals: 40G

Woody's Carpentry Shop:

Blue Rock: 110G
Silver: 90G
Copper Ore: 50G

Clove Villa Kitchen:

Rainbow Trout: 60G
Milk M: 270G
Carrot: 100G

Note how the prices of the same Item when it is on different 'Wanted Items' Lists can vary. For example, both Woody and Louis include Copper Ore on their Wanted Lists in Spring but Woody is willing to pay 10G more for this Item than Louis.

Although Mineral Crystals appear on Louis' Wanted Items List, he pays no more than the regular price for them, where Bob will give you 10G more for the same Item. Medium Milk is 'Wanted' both by Martha and by Ronald. It is Ronald, however, who will give you an extra 10G for the item.

Where Coal is concerned, the best price is offered by Lyla, who will pay 40G for Coal as a 'Wanted Item', as opposed to the regular price of 20G.

My new HoLV Shops and Businesses Guide includes all of the Wanted Items for every season and all Delivery Requests for the first two years. Within the next day or two, I hope to have ALL Delivery Requests for all years completed.

Review of Witch's Witch

2010-05-07T13:45:00.005-04:00

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Natsume gave me a opportunity to explore the upcoming DS game, 'Witch's Witch', some time ago but I only now have been given official permission to post about it. 'Witch's Wish' is due to be released on 25 May 2010 but can be pre-ordered at Amazon now for $19.99. I have added a link to this post that will take you directly to Amazon if you wish to reserve your copy.

'Witch's Wish' is a delightful little game that should appeal to any one who enjoyed 'Princess Debut'. Your Character is Vicky, an aspiring witch who must solve a mystery and make some critical decisions as to the future of her community in the course of her story. 'Witch's Wish' is not centred on romance as much as 'Princess Debut' but in its own way, shares some of the essential elements of that game and does have its own romantic elements where some of Vicky's friends are concerned.

First of all, there is the Touchscreen action, which is extremely clever, in that you have the opportunity to use Elemental Runes in the true sense of the word (signifying magical sigils) in order to cast spells. Somehow, you have a real sense of casting magic by doing this. A certain amount of accuracy is required to cast the Spells properly. As you gain experience by completing Chapters, you gain more potent elemental spells. Knowing which elemental spell to use at any given time can be critical to your success.

Exploring the Map to speak to the right people at the right time is the key to success in any given Chapter. If you do not receive the information you need from specific Characters, you will not be able to move forward. You can unlock new songs and pictures when you smash objects by casting the proper Spell. As there are three levels of Elemental Spells and you have the power to use them only in specific Chapters, the game very much hinges on knowing WHEN to perform a specific action or visit a specific area.

There is a wonderful arena named 'Witch One' where you can engage in magical duels with other aspiring Witches. Winning matches against the highest three opponents will allow you to gain new Badges and Fruits, the items that unlock new songs and pictures. Again, as you will possess the most powerful Spells only in specific Chapters of the game, it is important to know when to enter a match in the Witch One arena, which is not always accessible to your Character.

Although 'Witch's Wish' is suitable to players of all ages, including children, like so many of the games Natsume produces, it does deal with some very profound philosophical and social issues. This issues are discussed both with passion and with humour. Again, as is characteristic of Natsume games, even minor characters are developed in some detail and there is a wealth of dialogue to explore.

Social issues are evident from the very start in a world where rich and poor are divided by a wall and the shadow of the wall prevents sunlight from reaching Lower Town. Furthermore, only the rich have the means to attend magic schools, which are prohibitively expensive and thus magic has become the prerogative of the rich. Finally, the Wall was created by a 'legendary Witch', who long ago sealed away all the magic of the townspeople in order to prevent conflict between them.

Vicky, a young girl from Lower Town, aspires to become a Witch. Her motives, even at the very outset are pure. She wishes to be able to use magic to 'help others'. She passionately believes that:

'Magic is every one’s hopes and dreams! It’s wrong to seal something so important!'

Against this is the argument that:

'If every one wants to make their dreams come true, they’ll fight. Isn’t that right? Every one has different dreams... There’s no such thing as a world where every one’s dreams come true... Unfulfilled dreams either turn into something ugly and keep accumulating, or break out as conflicts.'

These are profound issues and one easily can perceive 'magic' as the power of technology. The residents of Lower Town who are manual labours desire magic in order to be able to use it to perform their tasks. The rich residents of the Upper Town are opposed to this, wishing to keep all magic power and knowledge to themselves.

There are more fundamental social and philosophical issues at stake concerning government and the right to control others as well as the limits to power and who should have the right to choose how much freedom is allowed to the masses.

Amazon.com Widgets

Spring Exploitations in HoLV

2010-05-06T16:53:00.003-04:00

Players of FoMT and MFoMT will be familiar with the Spring Horse Races as the first opportunity to make a significant profit. In HoLV, you can trade your Medals for Lumber, which is even better than money in the first Spring Season.

Medals cost 50G each, so you may wish to save as much money as possible in anticipation of the Spring Races on 22 Spring.

There are three Races. In the first Spring, you will not be able to enter a Horse in any Race but you nonetheless can wager on them.

The first Race is a Spring or Short Distance Race. The second is a Long Distance Race and the third is a Steeplechase.

It appears that the first Race is the one that is the easiest to predict. The favourite usually wins at 2 to 1 odds. This is NOT a guaranteed result, however. I have experienced results wherein the horse at 4 to 1 odds won instead.

Unfortunately, you cannot save your game at 1.59 p.m. at the entrance to the Race Course as you could in Mineral Town, but you always can reload to replay the entire day if you wish. In almost every case that I or a fellow HM fanatic replayed the Race Day, the favourite won the 1st Race. The other two Races were a little more variable.

Louis: It’s best to use logic to pick a winnning horse. Trust the odds. Don’t gamble on a long shot and expect to win.

By the time the Summer Races are held, you may be able to enter your own Horse in one of the Races. It is suggested that you enter the Long Distance Race as you probably will have more items in your possession that will restore your Stamina than Carrots or Mineral Carrots, the only items that will increase your Speed. When your own Horse is entered in a Race, the odds will be utterly random. He may go off as the favourite at 2 to 1 or he may be posted as a longshot at 6 to 1. If you think you can win the race, make certain that the odds are long and then bet on him. It is worth the effort of reloading back to 6.00 a.m. if your Horse is posted as the favourite.

On Race Day, in fact, you may wish to do as little as possible BEFORE the Races are run, as you may wish to reload the game if the results are not profitable for you.

A very small potential exploitation exists when you accept Part-Time Work in Martha's Kitchen at the Villa. She will ask you to prepare a specific Dish and usually will give you an excess of ingredients. If you know the Recipe (and it should be included in my HoLV Cookbook Guide if you do not), you can use the least expensive and the fewest ingredients to prepare the required number of Dishes. Martha always will give you any 'leftover' ingredients.

For example, when she asked Freyr to make 3 Fish Meals, he was able to choose his second ingredient in each instance from a wide variety of items, including Breadfruit, Tomatoes, Green Herb, Mushrooms and Walnuts. Fish Meal is made with two ingredients, one of which always must be Fish. He took home about 15 items.

In another case, when Martha asked him to make 5 blocks of Cheese using Medium Milk, she gave him 14 Medium Milk. He only needed to use 10 and thereby was able to go home with 4 Medium Milk, a 'Wanted Item' at the Greengrocer's Shop.

As far as Part-Time Work in general is concerned, every Job has its own rules.

Where Mining and Forestry are concerned, it is the the number of times that you accept the Job that counts in terms of unlocking new options rather than the amount of work completed. You need to work for Rudolph five times in order to unlock the Mine. Similarly, you need to work for Woody five times to unlock the Forest. As you cannot keep anything from the Mine except Mineral Crystals when you are working for Randolph and only Mushrooms and other Wild Items when working for Woody, you may wish to conserve your time and energy a little and simply do the bare minimum in order to unlock the freedom to Mine and Chop Lumber for yourself. In the case of Bob's Part-Time Job, you may wish to focus on a single Horse as well as boosting Bob's Friendship each time with a gift of Fodder in order to obtain a Horse from him at the start of Summer. Even if you only brush one Horse and Brush and Milk the Cow, as well as throwing Fodder into all 6 stalls, you will earn 100G and the Small Milk. Note that Friendship Points earned by ALL the Animals he owns will count towards the minimum total FP requirement, however.

Once you have unlocked the Mine for your own use, Rudolph's Part-Time Job no longer will exist. Once you unlock the Forest, you no longer will be able to work for Woody, but you still will be obliged to apply to him for access to the Forest. What this means, in effect, is that you only can visit the special Forest area on days when the weather is fine and never on Tuesday or Thursday when the Carpentry Shop is shut. The Mine, on the other hand, is not subject to the original hours set for Rudolph's Part-Time Work and although he will continue to stand near the entrance during those hours, you need not apply to him for permission in order to smash Rocks.

Bob's Part-Time Work continues after he gives you a Horse. Martha's Part-Time Job as well as Ronald's Job of caring for his Chickens continue indefinitely. These two jobs are situated inside buildings and payment therefore is based on the job rather than the time spent. Bob's Part-Time Work, as it partially is performed outside is based on the amount of time spent in the Pasture. You can arrive early and stay until 6.00 p.m. to earn almost 1000G in a single day. You do need to Milk the Cow, however, if you wish to receive the Milk 'Bonus'.

New HoLV Cookbook Recipes Guide

2010-05-05T17:44:00.003-04:00

I have created a new Hero of Leaf Valley Cookbook Recipes Guide. As of now, all Pot and Frying Pan Recipes have been included with about half of the Oven Recipes and a few Mixer Recipes. I hope to complete ALL entries tomorrow.

You will find the link to the Guide on the right side of this page.

If you work Part-Time in the Kitchen of Clove Villa, you may find a pattern in the assignments you are given. If other players have had different experiences, I would like to hear about them, but in my own experience, the assignments appear to be dictated partly by the time of day when you accept the Job.

If you go fairly early in the day, you are more likely to obtain the assignment to make 5 Blocks of Cheese. Later, there are assignments for Sandwiches and Fish Meal.
Medium Milk 'leftover' from the assignment is one of the more valuable 'leftovers'. From the Fish Meal assignment, however, you may receive Mushrooms, which can be given to the Sprites who love them.

Martha will not give you the Recipe for the Dish beforehand but when you make it successfully for the first time in her kitchen, your Recipe Book will be updated to include it.

One of the reasons I created the Cookbook Recipes Guide as quickly as possible was to help players with the Part-Time Kitchen work.

Tip: Whenever you have options to use more than one item as an ingredient during an Assignment, always use the least valuable or most common item and try to save the most expensive or rare items for your 'leftovers' if possible.

Leftovers may be random. I have performed the Cheese Assignment a few times and each time obtained a different amount of Medium Milk afterwards.

Hero of Leaf Valley Strategy Guides

2010-05-04T14:44:00.003-04:00

You will find links to all current Guides for Hero of Leaf Valley on the right side of the page.

A new Characters Guide has been added to the list, which now includes an HoLV Walkthrough/General Guide, an HoLV 1st Year Events Calendar Guide, an HoLV Characters Guide and a Calendar of Festivals and Birthdays.

The 1st Year Events Calendar Guide now contains ALL Events that can occur in the first Year for all 16 of the Story Quests. I now shall begin on the 2nd Year Events Calendar Guide.

As well as continuing to add more general information to the Walkthrough/General Guide, I am adding schedules to the Characters Guide to help players locate any Character in Leaf Valley at any given time. So far, only a few schedules have been included. I added Alice's schedule and Parsley's schedules first as they are more difficult to locate than many of the other Characters.

By the end of the week, I hope to have created an HoLV Recipes Cookbook Guide.

Collecting Items from the Mine and Forest in HoLV

2010-05-03T10:41:00.006-04:00

A player asked how he might be able to collect Lumber in HoLV. The same question could apply to the items from the Mine.

Basically, when you start the game, you need to apply to Woody for a Part-Time Job in the Forest and to Rudolph for a Part-Time Job in the Dig Site/Mine. When you perform these 'Tutorials', which is what they are in effect, you move one step closer to 'unlocking' the Forest and the Mine. Whenever you perform the Part-Time Jobs, you will be given a 'bonus'. In the case of the Forest, you will be allowed to keep any Mushrooms or Truffles you find. In the case of the Mine, you are allowed to take home only the Mineral Crystals.

How, then, does one obtain the right to keep ALL the items from the Mine and to begin to collect Lumber for building projects?

Simply by contining to apply for the Part-Time Work offered in these locations... After you have done this a few times, proving in effect that you know what you are doing and will not be irresponsible or place yourself or the Valley in danger, you will be given carte blanche to operate...

That is how you unlock the initial right to chop Lumber and mine for Ores and Gems. Note that there are new areas that can be unlocked later...

Bear in mind the amount of Energy that is used whenever you swing your Axe to chop down a Tree... I have listed good Energy Recovery Items in another post.

AP Medicine is the best, restoring ALL your Energy, but it costs 1000G. The items I listed are less expensive.

By the way, those players who have played Friends of Mineral Town or More Friends of Mineral Town probably will recall the Medals that could be won at the Horse Races. In fact, those Medals could change your entire life if you collected sufficient numbers of them...

In Hero of Leaf Valley, you can win Medals at the Races as well and can purchase LUMBER with those Medals. So take heart... there are other ways to obtain Lumber apart from swinging an Axe.

As far as Mushrooms are concerned, there are a number of uses for these and other ways to obtain them apart from foraging in the Forest.

Mushrooms are a favourite Gift for the Harvest Sprites and they may give you Fish Bait in return. Make certain that you do not give them Truffles, however. They utterly detest them, strangely enough.

If you wish to grow Mushrooms, you must follow the procedure used in HM DS/Cute DS by placing Lumber in a damp area. In HoLV, you needn't build a special Mushroom Shed. The plank is behind the Storeroom, one of the buildings on your farm. You needn't plant seeds either. Simply water the Lumber until Mushrooms appear and continue to water them regularly. Only one Mushroom can be harvested from any piece of Lumber. You then must place another piece of Lumber on the plank.

Incidentally, once you have adopted and trained your Dog to 'Search' for items using the Ocarina, you first will be able to find 4 Power Berries and then will be able to find Mushrooms and Pontata Root on a daily basis if you take him out with you. Although it is possible for him to find other items before he finds the Power Berries, the odds are stacked in favour of the Power Berries as they are far more vital to your welfare. Each Power Berry increases your Total Stamina.

Pontata Root is the most effective Fatigue Resistance item in HoLV, so when you reach a Season where Red Herbs and Green Herbs no longer are plentiful, take your Dog out to find Pontata Roots.

How to Save the Land in Hero of Leaf Valley

2010-05-02T20:40:00.005-04:00

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Evidently, players are confused as to the different methods by which the land can be saved from development in 'Hero of Leaf Valley'.

As I have written in other posts, there are 16 different Story Quests that can be followed but these fall into three main categories.

The first category is the Main Story: Shoot for the Stars! The Greatest Farm in the World!

Many of the Events in this Story will be experienced automatically because they deal directly with the Funpark Corporation and the plan to develop the Land as a Funpark.
Alice, the CEO of the Company, will tell you that you can buy the land outright from the Corporation for 50,000G. Having the funds will not be sufficient to complete this Quest, however. You must defeat a number of Robot enemies created and let lose upon the land by the company...

There are two other ways to save the land from development, however, if you cannot manage the first or prefer one of the alternatives. As an alternative, you can transform the land into a Nature Preserve or into a Tourist destination.

Each one of the other Story Quests apart from the first is PART of one of the other two endings. You must complete THREE of the Nature Preserve Story Quests if you wish to save the land by cfreating a Nature Preserve. Or, you must complete THREE of the Tourist Destination Story Quests if you wish to transform the land into a desirable Tourist Attraction.

Players are confused by the Events that must be completed in this context. Each Story Quest has its own sequence of Events. Some Events in each Sequence are optional, which may be adding to the confusion. Others are mandatory. You must experience ALL THE MANDATORY EVENTS IN THREE OF THE STORY QUESTS either in the Nature Preserve category or in the Tourist Destination Category in order to save the land and be allowed to move forward to the third year.

If you choose one of the alternate methods, it is not a matter of experiencing a total number of Events from more than one Story Quest. It is a matter of completing three of the Stories successfully.

In other words, your options are to save the land by successfully completing:
Shoot for the Stars: The Greatest Farm in the World!

Or by completing THREE of the following Stories:

Tale of the Golden Potato Seed (Nature Preserve)
Tale of the Blue Mist and the Azure Swallowtails (Nature Preserve)
Tale of the Silver Fish (Nature Preserve)
Tale of the Blue Bird (Nature Preserve)
Tale of the Endangered Weasel (Nature Preserve)
The Hundred-Year-Old Cherry Tree (Nature Preserve)
The Secret Fossil (Nature Preserve)

Or by completing THREE of the following Stories:

Tale of the Harvest Goddess Dress (Tourist Destination)
Tale of the Cake Contest (Tourist Destination)
Tale of the Horse Race Champion (Tourist Destination)
The Harvest Goddess Temple (Tourist Destination)
Rebirth of the True Harvest Festival! (Tourist Destination)
The Holy Masterpiece (Tourist Destination)
The Legendary Baker (Tourist Destination)
Louis, the Inventor King (Tourist Destination)

You can complete Story Quests in another category if you wish but you cannot save the land by completing three Story Quests from DIFFERENT categories. In other words, completing 'The Holy Masterpiece' Quest, the 'Secret Fossil' Quest and 'The Tale of the Silver Fish' will NOT save Leaf Valley. You either have to complete two more Tourist Destination Quests or one more Nature Preserve Quest.

The screenshots are from three optional Events that begin three different Story Quests. The 'Tale of the Harvest Goddess Dress', 'Louis the Inventor King' and the 'Tale of the Endangered Weasel'.

Note that my 1st Year Events Calendar Guide, part of which is posted on this site, allows a player to co-ordinate his/her movements in order to begin as many of the Story Events as possible, giving his/her Character the option to choose the Quests he wishes to complete.

Tunnel vision always is a danger in any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game. This is why my Calendar Events Guide is formatted according to date rather than Story.