Starry Night Festival in Island of Happiness

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Unfortunately, I am having trouble with my wireless connection on my laptop, and I have been forced into 'Recovery' three times, which is an awful time-wasting procedure afterwards, as all programmes must be re-installed. Days ago, I had intended to write a post about the Starry Night Festival in Island of Happiness.

I have to confess (once more) that I am attracted to guys with long silver hair. I am not certain bachelors with long silver hair in Harvest Moon games tend to have complicated schedules and only occasional appearances, making them more difficult to court, but Vaughn in Island of Happiness, like Skye in Harvest Moon Cute DS, is absent much of the time on the days when invitations to romantic festivals must be made.

I have been able now to spend the Starry Night Festival with every bachelor apart from Vaughn. Mark, like the Magical Girls in HM DS/Cute DS will spend the evening at YOUR home and, like the Magical Girls (and Skye in Cute) will provide the food and help with the cooking. It is very endearing.

Vaughn, sad to say, has not been on the Island yet on 23 Winter when the invitation for the Starry Night date must be made. I am running out of time on this temporary game. I either have to marry Vaughn to be able to experience the festival with him or I have to move forward into marriage with some one else without ever experiencing the event with him. I have married a couple of the bachelors on a trial basis, never saving the result, but I need to fix upon a real spouse in order to experience pregnancy and childbirth. I only have a couple of weeks before the game is released. It is time to make a decision.

I would like to see how Vaughn behaves, though, when he celebrates the Starry Night Festival as a bachelor. I suppose that minor detail can wait until I have my own retail copy of the game, though. There are far more important goals to complete before then.

Vaughn is an odd, taciturn guy, very unlike the smooth-talking, romantic Skye whom I adore in Cute. He does possess his own attractive qualities, though. Mark would be my other choice. He is the classical blond-haired, wide-eyed hero of storybooks. (I almost wrote 'blue-eyed' but Mark's eyes are green.) My only dissatisfaction with Mark occurred in his Blue Heart Event. I had to pretend to be weaker than I was, but not TOO weak, in order to please him when we competed in a trial of strength. Ideally, I would have liked him to have admired me for besting him but I don't suppose there are many males who would not have a bruised ego if a girl they liked were to be superior to them where sheer brute strength is concerned. (Even Gannon lectured me when I had the audacity to WIN the rock-pushing contest!)

When a trial of strength occurs between romantic partners, I always think of Brunnhilde in the Niebelungenlied, who demanded that her husband-to-be have the ability to defeat her. When she discovered that she had been tricked, she took her newly wedded husband by the scruff of the neck and suspended him by his collar from a peg on the wall, then calmly went off to bed alone.

Brunnhilde was not allowed to triumph ultimately either though. The entire saga ends in tragedy. In IoH, there are no great tragedies and even if you beat Mark in the rock-pushing contest, lowering his heart level in the process, you can raise it again afterwards by winning more contests. I was rather upset, though, that despite the fact that he displays signs of hero-worship towards my character, he still had to be deceived by a result that showed him to be stronger than she! What rankles a little is that he basically insisted I compete with him in that fashion. I wasn't the one to issue the challenge. He was. If it had been my challenge, I happily would have involved myself in a small deception to boost his ego, but as he basically forced me into the contest, he should have been willing to accept an honest results.

Never mind. He redeemed himself by his gentlemanly behaviour on the night of the Starry Night Festival, when he provided all the ingredients for the meal and helped me prepare them. He is truly adorable with those huge . I will let him have his illusions of strength and indeed may allow him to sire my child. After all, if I marry Vaughn, I lose the opportunity to bring one of the rival children to the Island's population...

I have added a couple of screenshots of the Starry Night Festival with Pierre, who waxes rather poetic and combines his inspiration for culinary creativity with his appreciation of the heavens...

Heart Events in Harvest Moon Boy and Girl

When I experienced one of the girl's 1st Heart Events in the Girl version of Harvest Moon Boy & Girl, I remembered that More Friends of Mineral Town included the 1st Heart Event of each of the eligible girls in the original Friends of Mineral Town. When, however, I then experienced Elli's Blue Heart Event in the Girl version of Boy & Girl, I began to suspect that ALL the Blue Heart Events for the eligible girls in the Boy version were included in the girl game. When I experienced Popuri's Blue Heart event and received an egg from her, my theory was vindicated somewhat...

What this would mean, of course, is that you could obtain all the benefits of these events. Elli's sandwiches may not be worth much either in a culinary or a financial sense, but Ann's request for 3 eggs is extremely profitable and is worth experiencing even if you are playing as a girl.

Obviously you must have met all requirements for each of these events. In the case of Ann's Blue Heart Event, you must have at least three adult egg-laying chickens in the boy version as well as having Ann at the right heart level. In the girl version of the game, I have not experienced the event yet. Perhaps it was not included, which would be a pity, but I am not going to give up yet...

In the boy version of the game, Ann and Popuri always repeat the same dialogue at the Goddess Spring. In the girl version of the game, their dialogue changes with their friendship level.

Another discovery I made was to confirm what I suspected when I met Kai in the Church in the middle of the first Spring: it is, in fact, his Black Heart Event. If you choose the correct action, which is to tell him that you are NOT Carter, his heart will be at Blue level as soon as he comes to Mineral Town for the Summer.

Incidentally, for the sake of those who wonder what Kai would have confessed that day, it was an argument with his father... I replayed the event simply to discover what would happen if I pretended to be Carter... in fact, I always try to give both results in my guides in any case. Kai will begin to confess an argument with his father, who does not believe Kai should be spending any time in Mineral Town. He then will become increasingly uncomfortable with the entire Confession process, declare that he cannot go through with it and leave without ever meeting you...

Honesty IS the best policy and you will have the chance to meet Kai and win his heart somewhat if you tell him that you are not Carter, even if you are tempted to hear his confession!

The significant Heart Events in the Boy version of the game are the Blue Heart Events. In the girl version of the game, it may be the Green Heart Event, which is accompanied by Heart Event music.

Rick's Green Heart Event has special requirements. You must leave a chicken outside overnight in order to trigger the event, rather like the old Indian practice of tethering a goat outside in order to bait a tiger! I did not enjoy this AT ALL, as I always am conscious of the threat that the wild dog poses. Perhaps the game allows one night of guaranteed safety for the poor chicken in pursuance of this Heart Event, but I rather doubt it.

In any case, Rick's Green Heart Event is very interesting because of the responses in both cases to his comment. In Heart Events, there usually is a 'correct' and an 'incorrect' response.

Here is the dialogue:

At 6.00 a.m. when you exit your house after leaving at least one chicken outside overnight, you will find Rick in front of your henhouse at Green Heart level.

Rick: Sorry to bother you, but keep the chickens inside at night. There are wild dogs.

I nod and turn towards my chickens.

Rick: Chickens love to stay outside in the sun. So cute...

My choices now:
They lay eggs too.
You could eat them.

If I choose: They lay eggs too.

Rick: Right. We make a living off of them. We have to be appreciative. See you around.

If I choose:

You could eat them.

Rick; Ha ha ha ha! You're too funny! I know you love chickens!
He then will turn to you:

Rick: Can I come to see your chickens again? See you.

Later in front of the Supermarket after choosing the second option:

Rick (still at green heart): How are your chickens? I know it's hard to keep animals. If you ever need advice, please let me know.

END OF EXCERPT

I would have thought that the first option was the obviously correct one, until I went back to experience what I thought would be the response to the 'incorrect' choice. The expression on Rick's face when I remarked that one could eat them was a very happy one. He immediately assumed I was teasing him and liked it. In fact, in MFoMT, Rick's yellow heart event I seem to recall involved a visit to the Inn where he was highly entertained by my sense of humour, telling me how funny I was and how much fun it was to be with me.

After the event, I chased him to the Supermarket where I spoke to him to see his heart level... it remained green and had not decreased as far as I could discern. (How I wish for a Love Bangle at such moments in Boy & Girl!!!) I am beginning to believe that both options may be acceptable here...

I am including photographs of Rick's heart level AFTER the event in both cases.
Is there any perceptible difference?

In one case, he simply says: See you around.
In the other case, he asks: Can I come to see your chickens again? See you.

One reason I would lean towards the second option now is his attempt to ask for another invitation to see you in that case. Perhaps I am over-dissecting the event though and the obvious choice is the best...

I would be interested in the opinions of other players.

N.B. I have noticed that the size of the heart icon in the corner changes randomly sometimes at any given level and therefore may not be an accurate gauge.

'The Woodcutter and the King' and a Power Berry

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In experiencing Mary's Blue Heart Event, you have the opportunity to read the legend inspired by the real magical tree in the middle of the meadow to the right of the lake.

Mary will give you a book and ask you to read it 'between tasks'. At first, I did not know how to read the book... I tried to set it down on a table, thinking that I then would be able to press X to read it, but in vain.

In fact, the first time I experienced the event, I became frustrated in the end and returned the book to Mary unread. When she asked me to choose which character I liked best, I simply guessed, but chose the 'Woodcutter' thinking that this character would be more sympathetic to village folk...

I then replayed the entire day, partly in order to add the information about Mary's response to the incorrect answer to my guide and partly to test something that had occurred to me with respect to a possible way to 'read' the book.

In fact my supposition was correct. It was possible to read the book by pressing Triangle when the book was in the rucksack. The Triangle Button orders the game to 'Explain Item'. Pressing Triangle unlocked the entire story, which is rather long and quite charming.

Furthermore, it gives the entire tale of the magical tree in the Meadow and the fact that a 'rare nut' in the form of a Power Berry will be given if you take pity on the tree and do not chop it down.

Here is the tale of the 'Woodcutter and the King':

Text of Book:
'The Woodcutter and the King'
Once upon a time there was a woodcutter who lives in a small country. One day the woodcutter were called before the king. The king ordered the woodcutter to go and find a special nut that was said to prolong life.

'The woodcutter finally found the rare nut way on the top of a tall tree in the forest. But as he prepared to cut the tree down...

The woodcutter suddenly heard a voice.

It was the tall tree, asking 'please don't cut me down'.

The woodcutter felt pity for the tree and decided to let it stand...

To his surprise, the tall tree gave him the nut in thanks. The woodcutter had never seen a nut of that colour before, but he dutifully sent the nut to the king.

The king ordered the woodcutter to chop down the tree down and bring it to the castle. But the woodcutter refused...

In anger, the king threw the woodcutter in the dungeon and set off himself to cut down the tree. But none of the trees had any nuts, and the king lost his way and never came out.

The woodcutter was saved.'

End of Story.

I never would have had the opportunity to read this tale had I not played Harvest Moon Boy & Girl. It is little delights like these that make EVERY Harvest Moon game worth the trouble...

More Sympathy for poor Rick

In all my excitement at having experienced the gift-giving ceremony of the Spring Thanksgiving event with each one of the Valley bachelors, I forgot that I could not marry Skye yet if I wished to complete all the Mineral Town heart events... My brief moment of elation now has been crushed by the weight of my duty to write a COMPLETE guide...

Just joking about that, because in fact, every event has some value and I love experiencing as many events as possible in any Harvest Moon game. I therefore put my feelings for Skye in storage and went on to experience life as a single girl, triggering Rick's 3rd Heart Event on a rainy Saturday...

Actually, I am very glad I did. One gets a sense that Rick is pushy and interfering, that he lacks a sufficient sense of moral support for his sister Popuri, that SHE in fact is the victim of his officious meddling for the most part... until one experiences Rick's Blue Heart Event in Cute.

In More Friends of Mineral Town, one realises that poor Rick is burdened by too much responsibility at too early an age. I believe it is in his fourth heart event there that he lets his hair down a little, figuratively speaking, and is able to enjoy a carefree evening with you at Doug's Inn. His enthusiasm and appreciation of your sense of humour there is quite touching...

Well, if you have not played More Friends of Mineral Town, you probably will find little to like in Rick's behaviour in Forget-Me-Not Valley until you experience his Third Heart Event. After all, most of his dialogue is filled with anger against Kai and his determination to supervise Popuri's behaviour at every turn.

The Blue Heart Event begins no differently. Ruby has expressed an intention of cooking an egg dish for Rick. It is interesting that the old adage of 'bringing coals to Newcastle' does not apply either to Popuri or Rick. Although they LIVE at a Poultry Farm, both of them love eggs and any dish made with eggs. Rick's Most Favourite is a Spa Egg and Popuri's Most Favourite dish is Omelet Rice.

Rick suggests that you join him for dinner and you greet his idea with pleasure. Ruby is delighted to accommodate an extra guest. She is in the process of beginning to prepare the meal when Popuri arrives on the scene.

Ruby tells Popuri that she is making her favourite dish for dinner without stipulating the dish. Those of us who have courted Popuri in the original HM DS know that it is Omelet Rice that is on the menu...

Popuri immediately offers to help cook the meal. Rick is very upset by this turn of events and proceeds to tell you that the dinner will be ruined by his sister's participation, that she will make many mistakes, correct none of them and ultimately serve a nightmare... so much for his hopes of enjoying one of Ruby's delights!

At this point, you may be rather disgusted with him for being such a killjoy and having such a low opinion of his sister. Wait, though...

Ruby will be impressed by Popuri's thoughtfulness in offering to help and will welcome her with open arms. As they prepare the meal, however, Popuri will prove Rick's fears to have been well-founded as she first adds too much spice, then vegetables that have not been cooked properly and finally refuses even to taste the dish before serving it, repeating again and again that everything is 'fine'...

When you eat your food, you will be poisoned by it, although you will not pass out, nor will you be rushed to Dr. Hardy for any antidote. It does not appear to have any lasting negative effects either on SR or FR... Even so, the poison icon will appear above your head...

You say nothing of this and Popuri is absolutely oblivious to the result of her carelessness. Furthermore, Ruby herself appears to think that all is well.

Outside the door of the kitchen, Rick will ask you if you have been affected badly by the food. When you attempt to reassure him, he correctly will assume that it is kindness alone that motivates you. He will thank you for being so considerate and thoughtful towards Popuri and confess that he cares greatly about his sister.

It is an event that truly offers a little window to Rick's soul...

You do have a choice during the event, after Rick's pronouncements of doom and gloom, to leave... If you choose this option, you will speed out of the room, sparing yourself a poisoning, but Rick's heart level will drop to purple again and he will be hurt and perplexed by your actions, despite the fact that he did everything in his power to warn you against Popuri's cooking!

My own question is: how could Ruby not have tasted the food herself and how could she have allowed it to be served if it actually had the power to poison a guest???
Never mind, though. The event serves its purpose which is to demonstrate that Rick, far from being the insensitive lout he appears sometimes, actually knows his sister better than we realise and is acting to protect her from her worst excesses...

There is another aspect to this event that deserves a quick mention. It emphasises the importance of Cooking in Harvest Moon. So many Harvest Moon games include very detailed and rich 'recipes' or cookbooks. Very often, the 'Most Favourite' Gift for an individual will be a cooked item. Many events focus on cooking or eating. There are many Festivals in Harvest Moon that are centred on food. The Cooking Contest in FoMT/MFoMT, Rune Factory and Harvest Moon DS/Cute DS is an example, but it is not the only Festival that focuses on food. There are Egg Festivals in other Harvest Moon games, including Magical Melody. An Innocent Life has a number of Festivals that require your character to provide specific crops or ingredients, and indeed, the Christmas Festival involves the preparation of a special Cake. In many Harvest Moon games, the Year End and New Year Festivals are your sole opportunity to acquire special ingredients needed to complete your Cookbook... You are not required to complete your Cookbook in Harvest Moon games but it is an enjoyable and sometimes challenging goal.

Trent's Blue Heart Event: So cute but such a bore...

Trent, formerly known simply as 'the Doctor' in Mineral Town (FoMT/MFoMT) now is known by name either as Trent or Dr. Trent, depending upon the degree of formality between the parties. Elli invariably refers to him as Dr. Trent in HM Cute DS, making one wonder if even marriage would dissolve the title in front of his name.

I'm afraid she is welcome to him, as far as I am concerned. I always thought he was extremely cute and he still is, but he is SUCH a complete BORE. He rabbits on and on about diet and health, even as his level of affection for you increases.

His Blue Heart Event is no exception. Basically, you enter the Clinic in order to 'play' as Elli puts it or 'relax' as Hardy would describe a friendly visit. Hardy immediately decides to visit Romana and Elli offers to accompany him... As the plan is made only AFTER your arrival, you would be excused for thinking that every one is desperate to avoid your company! When Trent declares HIS intention to accompany the Romana delegation, injury is added to insult.

Hardy fortunately intervenes and puts your thoughts and feelings into words by saying: 'No, you stay here, Dr. rent. Freya came all this way, after all. It's a bit rude to Freya is all three of us get up and take off.'
(To say the least...)
Trent still is determined to add his weight to the delegation, however and continues to protest!
Trent: Huh? But I think...

At this point, Hardy is forced to snap at him: Don't think. Stay here and keep Freya company. Well, we're off.

Any woman who was not utterly besotted with Trent would be thoroughly disgusted by him at this point. I mean, a shy disposition is one thing but his desperate, repeated attempts to get away from you are too much!

Elli at this juncture says something rather amusing to those who know her well: 'OK. Take care of things while I'm gone.'

This is the girl who continually makes mistakes, who is nothing more than an assistant and who never displays anything but the most formal and respectful admiration for HER Dr. Trent. And yet, she is speaking to him here as if she is the one in charge and is handing over the sceptre of power to him temporarily. Not even 'while WE are gone' but 'while I'm gone'!!!

Well, to be honest, I applaud Elli's surge of confidence here, as no one else ever does or says anything to boost her morale and sense of self-worth. The many events you have witnessed wherein she makes mistakes in the clinic or where individuals refer to her mistakes in the past are numerous and excite both compassion and a small degree of anger and frustration with Trent for not defending her as much as he could! He does remark at one point essentially that she could be a good nurse if she would get her act together, but that is as far as it goes.

When they leave, you will be rewarded with the rather appealing sight of Trent blushing as he remarks upon the fact that it is 'just the two of us'. That is perhaps the best point in the entire event. He really is very cute.

In any case, with the other two off on their pilgrimage to the Villa, Trent proceeds to seize the day by delivering a long, boring lecture on diet and health.

You probably can guess the question that will determine his heart level. Yes, it concerns DIET AND HEALTH.

Trent: (...) Do you eat a balanced diet? Proper nutrition's an integral part of a healthy lifestyle.

Your choices:
I eat balanced meals.
I just eat what tastes good.

It is fairly obvious which of the two responses will please him, but really, eating 'what tastes good' is not necessarily tantamount to eating junk food! Nonetheless, I firmly squelched my instincts for mischief and dutifully told Trent that I existed solely on balanced meals.

It is only if you give this response that you will be given a very tiny window into the state of Trent's emotions. He will ramble on a bit about diet and health but THEN, after telling you that he is 'so happy to see you healthy and in good spirits', he will let you see that it is a bit more than his ordinary happiness at the sight of ANY individual who is in good health.

He will confess: 'I don't know why, really... You know... These ... feelings I have.'
He then sinks into tortured silent introspection in the form of (...)

You attempt to prise more out of him with a question mark, but alas. Trent does not take your bait. In fact, he tramples over what little progress he had made in courting you by saying:

Trent: ... I'm sure it's nothing. Just pretend I never said anything.

Perhaps you could have persuaded him to unburden himself further but Hardy and Elli return at this potentially interesting moment.

Romana, not surprisingly, was too busy to see the Medical Team. Hardy rather unexpectedly blames Sebastian for this!

Hardy: Romana was busy, so we got told to take a hike. Gr. That stuck-up Sebastian...'

Hardy's first remark, however, in response to Trent's comment that the two had returned quickly, is: 'Hmph. Too quick.'

He could be referring to their failure to see Romana, but I think he engineered the entire expedition in order to give Trent a chance to be alone with me.

Elli remarks that Trent looks 'a little uneasy' and Trent tells her that 'It's nothing' and then rather officiously advises me to return to my ranch.

Surprise, surprise... I am propelled unceremoniously out the door, left to wonder if Trent actually likes me or not, despite the fact that the event increased his AP by the usual 3000 points awarded for the 'correct response'.

Mind you, I did experience the event with the 'wrong response' as well, as I always do in order to add the information to my Courtship Guide. The lecture that Trent gave me almost made me want to use my new 'Lovely Maiden' martial arts technique on him!

Tell him that: 'I just eat what tastes good' and he will say:

Trent: That's no good, Freya. You're not a child anymore. Just sticking to the things you like could take its toll on your health. You need to keep track of what's going into your body.
Me: (...)
Trent: You are what you eat, as they say. As a doctor, it pains me to see an increase in unhealthy people.
Trent and I both: (!)
The door opens and Hardy speeds into the room, followed by Elli... In this situation, although Hardy says that their return was 'Too quick', it was not nearly quick enough for me...

In the scenario where you give the incorrect response, he actually tells Elli and Hardy, upon their return that: 'Apparently Freya needs to change her eating habits.' I mean, the nerve of the man! What really infuriated me was that he leapt instantly to the conclusion that the food that tasted good to me HAD to be junk food. That's the puritan in him I suppose. He actually implied that I ought to eat food that I actively disliked if it were healthy stuff...

I have to admit, however, that ice cream is a staple of my diet both in real life and in Harvest Moon. I am not certain that it should be categorised as 'junk food
in either world, though. It does restore 30 points of Stamina and reduces Fatigue by 20 points as well when made with nothing more than a small milk and a small egg!

In any event, I am not really looking forward to married life with Trent, when I finally choose him as a husband. I shan't stay long with him, that's for certain, despite his good looks. What would you bet that, after marriage, when Trent suggests that you choose a nickname for yourself, he will say something on the order of: 'You can call me Dr. Trent as always.'???

Sunday, Bloody Sunday... all Carter's FAULT!!!

Well, as every one knows, there is such a thing as being too clever. Miss Clever Clogs here always saves in both slots when she is in the mines, as if by some chance there is neither stairs nor hole on a specific floor, she then can reload in the other slot on the previous floor and descend to a new configuration. Otherwise, if not in the mines, I try to keep my other slot on the previous day to prevent irrevocable errors...

I was in the mines, so I saved in both slots after experiencing Part I of Skye's Blue Heart Event on a rainy Sunday. I thought I was terribly clever to have triggered the event on Sunday as I needed to experience Marlin's Blue Heart Event the next day and one can't experience a Skye Event and Marlin's 3rd Heart Event on the same night... I had been putting Marlin off for ages because of this and intervening Festivals. He was almost at green heart level in fact, but I still needed to experience the Event.

So... I returned in the rain at 10.00 p.m. to the Tent, only to remember that Carter visits the Blue Bar on Sundays. I waited patiently for him to return, little realising the horrible destiny I had set in motion for myself.

Bloody Carter!!! He staggered back onto the screen at 11.50 p.m. and did not even enter the tent until midnight! When I went to the door, it was locked, of course. All doors are locked at midnight.

I reloaded and tried again, attempting to slip into the tent WITH him. No luck. I could keep HIM outside the tent if I barred his path, but I couldn't trigger the event without him.

No matter how many times I tried, I was unable to trigger the event. If I entered BEFORE Carter, I would be inside the tent alone with Flora, which will not set Part II of the Event in motion...

So, it appears as though I will not be able to marry Skye in this game as I probably will not be able to trigger the 4th Heart Event, having missed the main portion of the Blue Heart Event.

I seldom contact Natsume for help with my own game, as I prefer to solve all puzzles myself, but this time I was on the telephone instantly to my contact there. He told me that I needed to experience both parts of the Heart Event and that, yes, not being able to do so would ruin my chances of marrying Skye.

He then told me that, as I would not be able to keep this game in any case, it may 'be for the best' if my heart is fixed upon Skye as I would find it more difficult to send back the cartridge if I were living in wedded bliss with the thief who stole my heart. Perhaps...

Nonetheless, stubborn and determined, I immediately began a NEW game in Slot 2 so that I could consummate my romance with Skye in one game at least...

As you can imagine, this has slowed down my progress enormously. I have had to go through the long, arduous process of setting up a new farm and making enough money by the second day of gameplay to order a Bird Barn and so on...

After I slept fitfully last night (in real life), I awakened with a better prospective. I am glad at least that I did not overwrite the old game, but left it in Slot 1. There is hope of Life after Skye.

This morning, returning to Slot 1, my Kitchen and Can Maker were delivered, making it possible for me to COOK. I will soldier on, forgetting about Skye for the moment.

After all, 5 other Valley bachelors, 5 Mineral Town bachelors and the four Magical Girls still are available...

As for the new game in Slot 2, I will continue to play it when time permits, but will not ignore my primary game in Slot 1.

Finally, it is only through innocent errors such as these that guides can be written properly. If I had not experienced Part I of Skye's 3rd Heart Event on Sunday, I would not be able to warn other players of the consequences. Who would have known?
When programmers create these games, they do not pause to consider all ramifications. It would require an extraordinary memory of all permutations to realise that a two-part event may have two different sets of requirements. Perhaps in a later version of 'Cute', they will re-programme the game to prevent Part I from being triggered on a day when Part II cannot be completed. On the other hand, life is cruel and circumstances often prevent us from obtaining our heart's desire.

As many characters in Forget-Me-Not Valley remark, the life of a rancher is hard...

Final Note on this: I am not admitting defeat, even in my original Slot 1 game. Although Natsume categorically states that you must experience all four heart events, and I would agree, as this is a requirement in all Harvest Moon games with traditional 'heart events', is it even remotely possible that experiencing Part I of an Event with Skye will qualify? It could be akin to a situation where a player does experience the Heart Event but gives the wrong response, thereby lowering the bachelor's or girl's heart level. I probably have lost my chance with Skye, but I am going to pray there is a glimmer of hope... If he continues to appear in the Valley at night, I will raise his heart level, however slowly and see if I can trigger the Fourth Event with him... I doubt it will be possible, but time will tell. In any case, it is vital to find out for the sake of the guide and all the other players out there who will be fascinated by Skye.