Birthdays in and out of Harvest Moon

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As it is my birthday in this world, I thought that a worthy goal in IoH would be to move forward to my birthday there and see how my husband Vaughn will celebrate it.

Unfortunately, I am a slow player, but I am determined to reach 4 Autumn in my game, and I will report the results if I manage it. I really would like to see how the taciturn Vaughn responds to the occasion...

Well, too much of my real and Harvest Moon birthday was spent caring for livestock and building a new pen for my Chickens, but in the end, I was able to make it to 4 Fall in time to experience my Harvest Moon birthday rather late at night on my real birthday.

Sad to say, as in previous (unmarried) years, NO ONE on the Island acknowledged the fact that it was my birthday. I'll have to choose a different birthday in the next game to see if this makes a difference. IoH is the first Harvest Moon game where another character shares my birthday. It is Nathan whose birthday falls on 4 Fall.

I don't think it makes a difference though. If other players have been wished a Happy Birthday by random villagers in IoH, please let me know.

Even my husband, Vaughn, ignored the occasion completely in the morning when I spoke to him and gave him his usual gift.

After 6.00 p.m., however, I was able to trigger a birthday event as follows:

A Special Occasion

Vaughn: You’re home.
You finish work for the day?

I’m finished.
I’m not finished.

Vaughn: What’s today?
This one’s easy.

Our Anniversary
My Birthday

My Birthday

Vaughn displays a big red heart.

Vaughn: That’s right.
Happy birthday!

Vaughn: Take the day off.
Let’s celebrate.
I got a cake.
Let’s eat.

My thoughts: That was so sweet.
What a great birthday!

End of Event.

I don't wish to sound spoiled, but it occurred all too quickly. I barely had time to look at the table before the event was over... I'll have to trigger it again to enjoy it more fully. Actually, I need to experience it again and this time give the incorrect response to see how he reacts if I tell him I think it's our Anniversary!
That always is fun in Harvest Moon.

Incidentally, the birthday celebrations in ToT are sumptuous occasions. Actually, the table setting for any holiday celebration in ToT once you are married is absolutely wonderful!

(How many players recall the error in FoMT where you had to answer incorrectly when married to one of the girls or risk her wrath? Apparently the programming had gone awry. I'd have to refer to my game journals to be certain, but I think it occurred when you were married to Elli and had a child.)

Later:

I reloaded and gave the wrong answer, telling Vaughn that it was 'Our Anniversary' to see how he'd respond. He was really sweet about it, actually. He told me that I must be exhausted in order to forget my own birthday. Of course, this prompted him to tell me to go straight to bed, not being allowed to eat the food on the table. (Two pieces of white cake, two red drinks)

It was only when I reloaded yet again, to play it through properly for the final time that I noticed a detail I had missed the first time. When I gave the incorrect response, my Fullness was down. I awakened the next morning with my Fullness diminished... When I replayed it for the final time, giving the correct answer, my Fullness was down but when I awakened after sharing the cake and drink with Vaughn, my Stamina and Fullness bars both were filled completely. Like many of the food festivals in IoH, therefore, the Birthday Celebratrion fully fills both Stamina and Fullness. I love the little details like this in Harvest Moon. So much care goes into the programming.

Challenges in Island of Happiness

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Every Harvest Moon game is challenging and very few can be explored fully in less than five years (Harvest Moon time!) but I really have come to the conclusion that 'Island of Happiness' is by far the most challenging game of all. Imagine a game where you have to unlock many of the Eligible Girls/Bachelors... Imagine ordering a Bird Barn or Animal Barn that does not contain a full set of feeders or any shipping containers. Imagine a 'Maker' that requires 20 Adamantite instead of only one and a Maker Shed that must be expanded before you can order some of the 'Makers'. If you wish to order Accessories, you may need 10 to 60 pieces of Orichalc rather than 1.

Suffice it to say that I cannot imagine any player sighing regretfully that he/she completed all goals too quickly! Every aspect of this game is challenging. You have to unlock new areas on the map if you wish to meet vital characters and ever gain access to a Mine.

Festivals are unlocked as well. As you move forward in the game, you will be able to participate in new Festivals.

Items do not have a single value either. Each item has a Rank as well as a grade in terms of Quality, Size and Freshness. When you are mining or fishing, in particular, you need to be aware constantly of the number of empty slots in your rucksack. Unless the items are identical not only in type, but in Rank, Quality, Size and Freshness, they will occupy different slots. You can stack items of different ranks and grades but this must be done manually. The resulting 'stack' will contain items of rank and grades that represent an average of the original items.

New 'advanced Makers' that require an upgraded Maker Shed include a Thresher and a Flour Mill. In a previous post, I wrote about the New Year Festival, where my character actually participated in the ritual of pounding the rice for rice cakes. Little details like this astound me. The obvious time and energy that went into the creation of Island of Happiness make it a labour of love.

For fans of Harvest Moon, it is wonderful to be able to encounter characters from other games like Cliff, Trent, Karen and Popuri. (When they visit the Island in IoH, they are married to your old 'Rivals' from FoMT/MFoMT.)

The characters from Mineral Town speak of their spouses and of others as well. For example, Trent will tell you that Mayor Thomas arranged for his room at the Inn on the Island. Other characters play a role even when they are not present in the flesh. The Gourmet is an important character in one of Pierre's Heart Events.

As in most Harvest Moon games, you need not be the best farmer, rancher, miner or fisherman/woman in order to live a fairly decent life. You won't perish if you fail to meet all the goals in the game. Discussing some of the 'challenges' in IoH therefore should not discourage players who mainly play Harvest Moon games in order to marry and have a family. That goal can be one of the easier to attain, depending on the Eligible Girl/Bachelor you wish to court. There are Eligible Girls/Bachelors who will not appear on the Island if you do not attain specific goals but there are others who are available for courtship from the start of the game.

Without being too specific about Tree of Tranquility, the upcoming Harvest Moon game for the Wii, you will not be able to meet all the Eligible Girls/Bachelors at the start in that game either. At the very earliest, you will be able to unlock every possible character only halfway through your second year. In other respects, however, it is very different from Island of Happiness. It has a very detailed storyline and plot, casting your character in the role of hero/heroine. In that sense, it reminds me a little of Rune Factory, although there is no combat in ToT. In many Harvest Moon games, you are called upon to rescue the Harvest Goddess, but the plot in ToT is far more complex than that. There is a 'next generation' option in ToT that is rather wonderful. I certainly recommend that game as well wholeheartedly!

Heart Events and Rival Heart Events in Island of Happiness can be touching, dramatic or hilarious. Courting every possible candidate for marriage BEFORE you decide on a wife/husband is worth the effort because the Events are wonderful.

I think a player could spend six (real time) months on Island of Happiness without exhausting half of the possibiities. Through Harvest Moon, one can live more than one life but there always is that pesky problem of real time...

Choking on a Rice Cake

This Event was so hilarious that I had to share it. I often replay Events, including Festival Events in order to satisfy myself that I have experienced all possible variables.

In HM Cute DS as well as in other Harvest Moon games, characters attending the New Year's Day Rice Cake Festival often refer to the possibility that some one could choke on a rice cake. Here are some of these remarks:

Hardy: I was just worried that somebody might choke on something... But then, I may be the one who chokes on rice cakes...
Elli: If you eat rice cakes too fast, you might choke on them! Be careful.
Kassey: I almost died once, a long time agao. I choked on a rice cake!
Patrick: My older brother almost choked on a rice cake once.

In Island of Happiness, this sorry situation can occur to YOUR character randomly.

Sabrina warned me of the possibility, saying that: 'If you eat rice cake too fast, you could choke... So be careful.'

Even so, I never dreamed it could happen to ME.

The first couple of times I played through the Event, nothing untoward occurred. I took my 'share' of rice cakes home with me. The reason I replayed the event a couple of times actually was the realisation that the number of rice cakes given to you is random. One time I obtained only one; another time I received 12. I was trying to discover what the maximum number could be when I actually CHOKED on a rice cake at the Festival!

You can see my character doubled over in the centre of the group, choking on her rice cake while the Islanders watch. Another screenshot shows her actually pounding the rice cakes. I loved that detail.

What a wonderful game this is! Fans of Harvest Moon may be aware of the fact that there is more than one version of each of the Heart Events. The next Heart Event will vary depending on your response during any Heart Event. In other words, there are different 'paths' for the Heart Events for any Eligible Girl/Bachelor in Island of Happiness. You would be required to play a dozen games at least to experience all of them. The fact that you can play either as a girl or a boy means that Island of Happiness actually is TWO separate games in a single cartridge.

There are dozens of 'optional characters' that only will come to the Island if you complete specific goals. They tend to be linked to accomplishments in one of the activities such as mining, fishing or ranching. Some of them appear to be linked to Island improvements, such as paving another road.

Down Memory Lane... FoMT and MFoMT

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Thinking about marriage in Boy & Girl reminded me of Friends of Mineral Town and More Friends of Mineral Town, two of the greatest games ever made. In the days when I played FoMT, it never occurred to me to take screenshots of my games. I captured events in words. In fact, that was the start of my first game guide. Unfortunately, I cannot find my original game where I was married to Karen. I did, however, manage to find two old games. In one I was married to Elli and had a child. In the other, I had married Mary quite recently.

You will see the infamous mouse-eared child in both FoMT and MFoMT I am including some scenes from an old MFoMT game. My husband is not in evidence... so you will have to guess which one of the guys fathered this particular mouse-eared child!

When I revisited my old lives, I took a quick peek into my Refrigerator and Shelf and was thrilled to find that all my sentimental treasures remained safe... I include a photograph of the 'treasures' from the Blue Heart Events in MFoMT. I have all the gifts from the girls in my Shelf in FoMT, naturally.

For those who never played FoMT or MFoMT but who have played 'Boy & Girl', I am including a photograph of the 'White Flower of Happiness'. In MFoMT, you can obtain this flower more than once.

Here is the ultimate proof as well of the hours I put into research for my guides, for better or worse. My mother would be horrified at what she would consider a colossal waste of time and energy but to me, a job worth doing at all is worth doing properly. A life worth living is worth living properly and I consider my Harvest Moon lives to be 'real' on some plane of existence.

Hot Springs, Your Sweetheart, Monkeys and You

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Distant rumours of this event in older Harvest Moon games had reached me over the years, but not to the point where the event no longer was a surprise to me. In fact, it would be rather hilarious I think, even to a player familiar with it.

In many Harvest Moon games, the Harvest Goddess acts as a guardian and intercessor even in the realm of romance and courtship. In Harvest Moon DS and Harvest Moon Cute DS, after a certain number of offerings, the Harvest Goddess will offer to boost the heart level of the eligible grl or bachelor of your choice. The original 'boy' version offers far more options in this respect, which is VERY unfair! In the boy version of Harvest Moon DS, you can choose a name from three different lists comprised of the ordinary Valley girls, the Magical Valley girls and the Mineral Town girls. In Harvest Moon Cute DS, you only can choose from two lists, one containing the ordinary bachelors of the Valley and the other comprised of the Mineral Town boys... Skye is not included ANYWHERE!

It is not of HM DS or Cute that I wish to speak here, however, but of Harvest Moon PSP Boy & Girl. I had expected the event to be similar to the comparable event in Friends of Mineral Town and More Friends of Mineral Town. In fact, it is far more creative and diverting.

In terms of EFFECTS, there is a very big difference in the games. In Harvest Moon DS and Cute DS, you can CHOOSE the individual whose heart level you would like the Harvest Goddess to boost. This allows you to follow any strategy you like. If, in fact, you are trying to raise the heart levels of every eligible girl or bachelor, you can name the one with the LOWEST Heart level and the Goddess will raise it.

The event occurs, in Harvest Moon Boy & Girl, when you have given the Harvest Goddess a total of ten offerings of crops harvested from your own field. A total of 5 crop offerings will trigger an event in which she will give you a Red Power Berry. 10 crop offerings give you the opportunity to experience the Hot Spring event with the girl who likes you best...

In Harvest Moon Boy & Girl, you are not given ANY options, apart from telling the Harvest Goddess that you are not interested in romance at all. If you tell her that you do have a 'sweetheart', she will assume that it is the girl or bachelor with the HIGHEST current heart level and will raise it. I found this rather annoying, to be honest. I didn't need help with THAT target, but with the one with the lowest heart level. In fact, I did not save the event at all and will trigger it later in the game when I decide which girl I would like to join in the Hot Spring...

For that is the central action of the Event. After you leave the Harvest Goddess and descend the steps from the Hot Spring, you will meet the girl with the highest heart level at the bottom. She will express her intention of taking a dip in the Spa. You then may attempt to join her in the Spa if you wish.

When you leap into the Hot Spring, however, you will see only a monkey in the water!
Even if you stay half an hour or ALL DAY, you never will see the girl who announced her intention of using the Spa. It is only when you leave the Hot Spring that the girl will appear from behind the Spa building. She will ask you if you saw monkeys and then will confess that she in fact was there as well, beneath the water!

It is a rather bizarre little event. I wonder if it refers to a tale from Japanese folklore. I cannot imagine that the introduction of the monkey motif is entirely random. I will do some research on this...

The photographs show the event as experienced with Elli. In due course, I will try to experience it with all the eligible girls.

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.'???

The Starry Night Stocking from Nina

If there is one question that I am asked more than any other in emails, it is how to obtain the stocking for the Starry Night Festival. Whether it is Friends of Mineral Town, More Friends of Mineral Town, Harvest Moon DS or Harvest Moon Cute for DS, although detailed instructions are included in my guides, the question surfaces again and again.

This prompted me to create a step-by-step instruction post here for HM DS and HM Cute for DS. Photographs are included, in case there is any possible uncertainty.

1. Befriend Nina by giving her any flower or wild grass on a daily basis. Maximum FP is 255. You should have her at maximum 255 FP LONG before the first Winter season begins...

2. Buy a sheep from Rick at Yodel's Farm. Shear the sheep and save at least one ball of wool, any size.

3. Order a Maker Barn from Gotz. When it is completed, the Makers will become available at Saibara's smithy. Go to the Third Mine where you will find Adamantite on ANY floor, including the ground floor. With 20,000G and a piece of adamantite, you can order the Yarnmaker from Grey at Saibara's smithy.

4. On the first sunny day in Winter, go to Galen's house with a ball of yarn in your rucksack. Enter and offer the yarn to Nina.

5. The stocking event then will occur. In Cute, the English translation of the event is so convoluted as to be almost incomprehensible but most players will not care, as long as they know that the stocking will be found on the hook of their house when they return to it.

As you can see from the photographs, I try to trigger the event on the 1st day of Winter shortly after 6.00 a.m.

If, by some sad, sad chance, Nina DIES before you manage to raise her friendship level or perform the other steps in this dance, raise Galen to maximum level and enter his house in Winter to experience the last-chance stocking event, wherein he will tell you that Nina knitted a stocking for you before she died and then give it to you. And IF you are one of those players who didn't bother to befriend Nina during her lifetime, you should feel VERY guilty about it and regret your selfishness each time to see your Stocking hanging on the hook...

With respect to FoMT and MFoMT, the event is very similar, but the character who knits the sock for you is Ellen, Elli's grandmother. You must befriend her, then bring a ball of yarn to her house on any sunny day in Winter and hand it to her in order to trigger the event...