More than one player asked me to describe Will's Ship in Sunshine Islands. I promised to make a brief video tour of his yacht. This is the result. In the process, I added footage of various boats from previous Harvest Moon games, including the mysterious boat at the pier in Mineral Town (FoMT/MFoMT), the small boat that takes you to the Island in HM DS/Cute DS and the Ship that brings Mineral Town visitors to and from Sunny Island in Island of Happiness.
A Website for all Harvest Moon fans providing Links to all Guides by Freyashawk: Actual Links on Right Side of Webpage
Showing posts with label HM Cute DS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HM Cute DS. Show all posts
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Legendary Sword and Unlocking the 4th Mine in HM DS/Cute DS
I am writing this post simply because of the sheer volume of emails that I continue to receive with respect both to the Legendary Sword and the 4th Mine in HM DS and Cute DS.
Although the two games are very similar in most respects apart from the choice of potential spouses, there are a few small differences and one of these is the requirement for taking the Legendary Sword from the 255th floor of the 2nd Mine.
In the original HM DS (aka the 'boy version'), your character in theory needed to have the necessary experience to be able to upgrade ALL tools to mystrile level in order to be able to take the Legendary Sword from the mine, but experience was all that mattered. If only one tool actually had been upgraded to Mystrile, that was sufficient. (Some players have reported that even with other tools BELOW Mystrile level of experience, they were able to take the sword. This will vary from one version of the game to another. Remember that the European version of the game is quite different from the North American Natsume version.)
In HM Cute DS (aka the 'girl version'), your character actually must upgrade ALL tools to Mystrile in order to meet the requirement for being worthy to take the Legendary Sword from the 255th Floor of the 2nd Mine. Having the necessary experience is not sufficient.
In some circumstances, players in both games have gone to the 255th Floor of the Mine believing that all their tools had been upgraded to mystrile when in fact, this was not the case. The Fishing Rod IS one of the tools in both games and if the player fails to gain sufficient experience to upgrade it to Mystrile, the Legendary Sword will remain on the lowest floor of the mine.
Although all of this information is included in my General Guide for HM DS and HM Cute DS, I probably should include one final point about the Legendary Sword here.
Although the Legendary Sword can be used rather effectively as a weapon against the Dark Creatures in any Mine, that is not its primary use in either game. It is the ONLY item that can be used to destroy the two large boulders that bar access to the Super Field Cave behind the waterfall. It is not only access to the Super Field that is achieved when you destroy the two Boulders but a shortcut that is created as well. The shortcut can be quite useful on occasion.
Despite the instructions that are included in my Guides, players often attempt to bash away with the Legendary Sword, failing in every attempt to destroy the Boulders as they mistakenly assume that the Legendary Sword, used as a tool in the Mines in combat, should be used likewise as a tool against the Boulders.
This is where Harvest Moon has been a little tricky, making the use of the Legendary Sword in this particular situation one of the 'secrets' in these two games. You do NOT use the Legendary Sword as a tool to destroy the Boulders. Instead, its use is magical in nature and is initiated by standing in front of one of the two Boulders, then pressing the 'A' or action button. This will initiate an actual 'Magical' Event that will destroy the Boulder.
Note that each Boulder requires a separate Event. You therefore need to go to the other Boulder, then press the 'A' Button again.
Keira is a pivotal character both in HM DS and HM Cute DS. Where the 'Magical Girls' are concerned, the player in HM Cute DS can experience all of their 'heart events' even though they are not 'eligible' for marriage in Cute. In fact, where Keira and Leia are concerned, their 'heart events' are 'plot events' and should be experienced.
If you wish to be able to complete your Items/Shipping List, you must bring Leia to yellow heart level as you will not be able to catch a Bottled Message until you do. In fact, this is another reason to upgrade your Fishing Rod to mystrile as you will not be able to catch the Bottled Message with any lesser Fishing Rod.
There is a minor difference with respect to the two games in terms of the Fishing Rod and the Bottled Message. In the original HM DS, you only could use a fishing rod of a level HIGHER than Mystrile if you CHARGED IT ONLY TO MYSTRILE LEVEL. If you gave a Blessed or Mythic Rod the full charge, you could not catch the Bottled Message with it!
In HM Cute DS, you can use either a Mystrile Fishing Rod or any Fishing Rod of higher level to catch the Bottled Message without being required to reduce the charge of any higher Level Fishing Rod.
Take the Bottled Message to Daryl's house in order to experience her 4th and final Heart Event BOTH in the original HM DS and Cute DS. It is the 'Yellow Heart Event' that allows Leia to return to the sea and makes it possible for her to visit the beach once each week if you encourage her to do so at the end of the Event.
Incidentally, there is one small difference between the two games in terms of 'triggering' the 4th Heart Event. In the original HM DS, you had to equip the Bottled Message before you visited Daryl's house. In Cute, the Bottled Message simply needs to be in your Rucksack.
In the original HM DS, Leia is one of the eligible girls and you can continue to woo her after she returns to her mother by meeting her on the beach each week.
Keira is important to the plot in both games as well. If you do not meet Keira by experiencing her 1st Heart Event on the 255th floor of the 3rd Mine either in HM DS or in HM Cute DS, you will not be able to unlock the 4th Mine.
Remember that, once you have married, you no longer can experience ANY Heart Events in any Harvest Moon game. You therefore need to trigger Keira's 1st Heart Event by visiting the 255th Floor of the 3rd Mine AND defeating all the Dark Creatures on that floor (without cheating!!!) before you marry any one in either game.
When the barrier crumbles, enter the small chamber beyond to experience Keira's 1st Heart Event in both versions of the game. If you do not defeat all Dark Creatures on the 255th floor manually, the barrier will not crumble. In other words, turning your DS on and off to wipe the Dark Creatures off the floor will NOT work! If you fall through the floor and then reload your game to the 255th floor, that will not work either. I suggest that players save one file at the 254th floor as a back-up if they wish to make certain that they can visit Keira on the 255th floor.
One final point should be made here in view of the common error made by players with respect to the Mines in HM DS/Cute DS:
The 255th Floor is significant both with respect to the 2nd Mine and the 3rd Mine. In the 2nd Mine, the 255th Floor is the lowest floor of the Mine. You must defeat all Dark Creatures on that floor (again without cheating) in order to dissolve the barrier that leads to the chamber where the Legendary Sword awaits. Once you have 'cleared' the 2nd Mine by performing this action, you will be able to unlock the 3rd Mine by visiting the Excavation Site outside of 'working hours'. In other words, go to the Excavation Site either before 8.00 a.m. or after 8.00 p.m. to trigger the Event with Carter that will unlock the 3rd Mine. (A similar Event unlocks each of the Mines when all requirements are met. To unlock the 1st Mine, the only requirement is that you have your Hammer with you.)
The 255th Floor of the 2nd Mine may be the 'home' of the Legendary Sword but it is NOT Keira's home. She lives (or rather sleeps like the Sleeping Beauty of the fairy tale) on the 255th Floor of the 3rd Mine. Going to the 255th Floor of the 2nd Mine will not trigger any Heart Events! You need to go to the 255th Floor of the 3rd Mine in order to experience a proper introduction to Keira in her 1st Heart Event BOTH in the original HM DS and in HM Cute DS.
Experiencing Keira's 1st or Black Heart Event is only one of the requirements for unlocking the 4th and final Mine. As with each of the previous Mines, you need to visit the lowest floor of the 3rd Mine and 'clear' it of Dark Creatures before you can unlock the 4th Mine. There may be only one Dark Creature on the lowest floor of the 3rd Mine... as I am writing this post from memory alone, I cannot recall specifically if the Dark Sheep is the Creature you will meet on the lowest floor of the 3rd Mine but that detail is of no consequence. Simply do the job as before and, provided you have experienced Keira's Black Heart Event, you will be able to trigger the usual Event with Carter at the usual hours at the Excavation Site afterwards.
Finally, the 4th Mine is by far the deepest and largest Mine in the history of Harvest Moon. It does contain the Wonderfuls, however, and they appear on floors that end in 0. My Guide gives details as to the designated floors for each of the Wonderfuls.
Wonderfuls have little use in Harvest Moon games prior to Island of Happiness. In HM DS/Cute DS, you need to collect a full set if they are to be useful at all. When you have done so, the Harvest Goddess will appear to grant a wish.
In Island of Happiness, on the other hand, Wonderfuls are the items that will 'upgrade' your tools in every conceivable manner. They can be won at Festivals, obtained from the Harvest Goddess, purchased from Chen in Winter or obtained as prizes in wi-fi farming competitions.
One of the most wonderful aspects of Harvest Moon games is the way that items introduced in earlier games gradually make their uses known in later games. Players of FoMT and MFoMT will recall the four Suns that could be created in their own kitchen but which had no practical use.
It was only in HM DS/Cute DS that we discovered that the Suns could be used in our Basements as artificial sources of light for seasonal crops.
Likewise, the Wonderfuls that only served as a trigger for the grant of a single wish in HM DS/Cute DS are essential to tool use in Island of Happiness.
Exotic animals are not items but where, in former Harvest Moon games, they existed only to enrich the landscape and provide topics for conversation among characters, it is only in Tree of Tranquility that the player actually CAN tame them and have them as pets. All the false rumours about the animals in 'A Wonderful Life/Another Wonderful Life' became reality in ToT. Harvest Moon fans who yearned to domesticate the large Turtle who won a race against Nina finally can do so in ToT!
Although the two games are very similar in most respects apart from the choice of potential spouses, there are a few small differences and one of these is the requirement for taking the Legendary Sword from the 255th floor of the 2nd Mine.
In the original HM DS (aka the 'boy version'), your character in theory needed to have the necessary experience to be able to upgrade ALL tools to mystrile level in order to be able to take the Legendary Sword from the mine, but experience was all that mattered. If only one tool actually had been upgraded to Mystrile, that was sufficient. (Some players have reported that even with other tools BELOW Mystrile level of experience, they were able to take the sword. This will vary from one version of the game to another. Remember that the European version of the game is quite different from the North American Natsume version.)
In HM Cute DS (aka the 'girl version'), your character actually must upgrade ALL tools to Mystrile in order to meet the requirement for being worthy to take the Legendary Sword from the 255th Floor of the 2nd Mine. Having the necessary experience is not sufficient.
In some circumstances, players in both games have gone to the 255th Floor of the Mine believing that all their tools had been upgraded to mystrile when in fact, this was not the case. The Fishing Rod IS one of the tools in both games and if the player fails to gain sufficient experience to upgrade it to Mystrile, the Legendary Sword will remain on the lowest floor of the mine.
Although all of this information is included in my General Guide for HM DS and HM Cute DS, I probably should include one final point about the Legendary Sword here.
Although the Legendary Sword can be used rather effectively as a weapon against the Dark Creatures in any Mine, that is not its primary use in either game. It is the ONLY item that can be used to destroy the two large boulders that bar access to the Super Field Cave behind the waterfall. It is not only access to the Super Field that is achieved when you destroy the two Boulders but a shortcut that is created as well. The shortcut can be quite useful on occasion.
Despite the instructions that are included in my Guides, players often attempt to bash away with the Legendary Sword, failing in every attempt to destroy the Boulders as they mistakenly assume that the Legendary Sword, used as a tool in the Mines in combat, should be used likewise as a tool against the Boulders.
This is where Harvest Moon has been a little tricky, making the use of the Legendary Sword in this particular situation one of the 'secrets' in these two games. You do NOT use the Legendary Sword as a tool to destroy the Boulders. Instead, its use is magical in nature and is initiated by standing in front of one of the two Boulders, then pressing the 'A' or action button. This will initiate an actual 'Magical' Event that will destroy the Boulder.
Note that each Boulder requires a separate Event. You therefore need to go to the other Boulder, then press the 'A' Button again.
Keira is a pivotal character both in HM DS and HM Cute DS. Where the 'Magical Girls' are concerned, the player in HM Cute DS can experience all of their 'heart events' even though they are not 'eligible' for marriage in Cute. In fact, where Keira and Leia are concerned, their 'heart events' are 'plot events' and should be experienced.
If you wish to be able to complete your Items/Shipping List, you must bring Leia to yellow heart level as you will not be able to catch a Bottled Message until you do. In fact, this is another reason to upgrade your Fishing Rod to mystrile as you will not be able to catch the Bottled Message with any lesser Fishing Rod.
There is a minor difference with respect to the two games in terms of the Fishing Rod and the Bottled Message. In the original HM DS, you only could use a fishing rod of a level HIGHER than Mystrile if you CHARGED IT ONLY TO MYSTRILE LEVEL. If you gave a Blessed or Mythic Rod the full charge, you could not catch the Bottled Message with it!
In HM Cute DS, you can use either a Mystrile Fishing Rod or any Fishing Rod of higher level to catch the Bottled Message without being required to reduce the charge of any higher Level Fishing Rod.
Take the Bottled Message to Daryl's house in order to experience her 4th and final Heart Event BOTH in the original HM DS and Cute DS. It is the 'Yellow Heart Event' that allows Leia to return to the sea and makes it possible for her to visit the beach once each week if you encourage her to do so at the end of the Event.
Incidentally, there is one small difference between the two games in terms of 'triggering' the 4th Heart Event. In the original HM DS, you had to equip the Bottled Message before you visited Daryl's house. In Cute, the Bottled Message simply needs to be in your Rucksack.
In the original HM DS, Leia is one of the eligible girls and you can continue to woo her after she returns to her mother by meeting her on the beach each week.
Keira is important to the plot in both games as well. If you do not meet Keira by experiencing her 1st Heart Event on the 255th floor of the 3rd Mine either in HM DS or in HM Cute DS, you will not be able to unlock the 4th Mine.
Remember that, once you have married, you no longer can experience ANY Heart Events in any Harvest Moon game. You therefore need to trigger Keira's 1st Heart Event by visiting the 255th Floor of the 3rd Mine AND defeating all the Dark Creatures on that floor (without cheating!!!) before you marry any one in either game.
When the barrier crumbles, enter the small chamber beyond to experience Keira's 1st Heart Event in both versions of the game. If you do not defeat all Dark Creatures on the 255th floor manually, the barrier will not crumble. In other words, turning your DS on and off to wipe the Dark Creatures off the floor will NOT work! If you fall through the floor and then reload your game to the 255th floor, that will not work either. I suggest that players save one file at the 254th floor as a back-up if they wish to make certain that they can visit Keira on the 255th floor.
One final point should be made here in view of the common error made by players with respect to the Mines in HM DS/Cute DS:
The 255th Floor is significant both with respect to the 2nd Mine and the 3rd Mine. In the 2nd Mine, the 255th Floor is the lowest floor of the Mine. You must defeat all Dark Creatures on that floor (again without cheating) in order to dissolve the barrier that leads to the chamber where the Legendary Sword awaits. Once you have 'cleared' the 2nd Mine by performing this action, you will be able to unlock the 3rd Mine by visiting the Excavation Site outside of 'working hours'. In other words, go to the Excavation Site either before 8.00 a.m. or after 8.00 p.m. to trigger the Event with Carter that will unlock the 3rd Mine. (A similar Event unlocks each of the Mines when all requirements are met. To unlock the 1st Mine, the only requirement is that you have your Hammer with you.)
The 255th Floor of the 2nd Mine may be the 'home' of the Legendary Sword but it is NOT Keira's home. She lives (or rather sleeps like the Sleeping Beauty of the fairy tale) on the 255th Floor of the 3rd Mine. Going to the 255th Floor of the 2nd Mine will not trigger any Heart Events! You need to go to the 255th Floor of the 3rd Mine in order to experience a proper introduction to Keira in her 1st Heart Event BOTH in the original HM DS and in HM Cute DS.
Experiencing Keira's 1st or Black Heart Event is only one of the requirements for unlocking the 4th and final Mine. As with each of the previous Mines, you need to visit the lowest floor of the 3rd Mine and 'clear' it of Dark Creatures before you can unlock the 4th Mine. There may be only one Dark Creature on the lowest floor of the 3rd Mine... as I am writing this post from memory alone, I cannot recall specifically if the Dark Sheep is the Creature you will meet on the lowest floor of the 3rd Mine but that detail is of no consequence. Simply do the job as before and, provided you have experienced Keira's Black Heart Event, you will be able to trigger the usual Event with Carter at the usual hours at the Excavation Site afterwards.
Finally, the 4th Mine is by far the deepest and largest Mine in the history of Harvest Moon. It does contain the Wonderfuls, however, and they appear on floors that end in 0. My Guide gives details as to the designated floors for each of the Wonderfuls.
Wonderfuls have little use in Harvest Moon games prior to Island of Happiness. In HM DS/Cute DS, you need to collect a full set if they are to be useful at all. When you have done so, the Harvest Goddess will appear to grant a wish.
In Island of Happiness, on the other hand, Wonderfuls are the items that will 'upgrade' your tools in every conceivable manner. They can be won at Festivals, obtained from the Harvest Goddess, purchased from Chen in Winter or obtained as prizes in wi-fi farming competitions.
One of the most wonderful aspects of Harvest Moon games is the way that items introduced in earlier games gradually make their uses known in later games. Players of FoMT and MFoMT will recall the four Suns that could be created in their own kitchen but which had no practical use.
It was only in HM DS/Cute DS that we discovered that the Suns could be used in our Basements as artificial sources of light for seasonal crops.
Likewise, the Wonderfuls that only served as a trigger for the grant of a single wish in HM DS/Cute DS are essential to tool use in Island of Happiness.
Exotic animals are not items but where, in former Harvest Moon games, they existed only to enrich the landscape and provide topics for conversation among characters, it is only in Tree of Tranquility that the player actually CAN tame them and have them as pets. All the false rumours about the animals in 'A Wonderful Life/Another Wonderful Life' became reality in ToT. Harvest Moon fans who yearned to domesticate the large Turtle who won a race against Nina finally can do so in ToT!
Monday, November 24, 2008
'Heart Events' with Magical Girls in HM Cute DS
*****************************************************
(Screenshot from Leia's 4th Heart Event)
Most players understand that, once your character marries, 'Heart Events' no longer will trigger in any Harvest Moon game. What players of Cute sometimes fail to recognise, however, is that the original Heart Events for the Magical Girls, although they cannot lead to marriage in the English version of HM Cute DS, still operate as classical Heart Events. Two of these Events are critical where progress is concerned:
Leia's 4th Heart Event or 'Yellow heart Event': This is the Event that is triggered when you catch a Bottled Message and enter Daryl's house with it. In order to catch a Bottled Message, you must have Leia at Yellow Heart Level at least, use a Mystrile Fishing Rod (or higher) at Mystrile level and fish at the beach in Spring. In Cute, you will not have to reduce the 'charge' of any Higher Level Fishing Rod but in the original HM DS, you will not catch the Bottled Message if you charge a Rod to Blessed or Mythic level.
Keira's 1st Heart Event or Black Heart Event: To experience this Event, you must enter the 255th floor of the 3rd Mine after defeating all 'dark creatures' on the floor without cheating. When the last Dark Creature is defeated, the barrier will crumble. Enter the little bedchamber to experience the Event. Experincing this Event is a rerequisite for unlocking the 4th Mine.
IF YOU HAVE MARRIED BEFORE YOU EXPERIENCE THESE EVENTS, THEY NO LONGER WILL TRIGGER!
What this means is that you will not be able to catch a Bottled Message nor will you be able to unlock the 4th Mine. It is yet another example of the old adage: Marry in haste, repent at leisure.
The 4the Mine is not essential nor is the Bottled Message but it is a pity if you cannot experience all possible Events nor explore all locations on the Map.
I always advise players to experience ALL possible Heart Events before they propose to some one and marry in Harvest Moon. With hundreds of years to live in the Valley, why rush? (I know Skye is irresistable but he will wait for you!)
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Gender of Child in HM Cute DS
I am afraid I had to be reminded of this by an Anonymous contributor who made a comment on this site... but I am revising this post now. The gender of your child may be determined by an even/odd date, either by the date of your marriage or the date on which you give birth.
As I stated previously, I have not tested this myself in my own games, so will NOT add it to any of my guides. I would appreciate any feedback from players on this topic.
(Note on 27 August: Thanks to all who posted their data here! It appears that the gender IS random, after all, but I would be happy to receive more data if players wish to continue to post it here.)
Anonymous stated that, if you propose on an even day, causing your wedding to fall on an odd day, your child will be a boy. If you propose on an odd day, causing your wedding to fall on an even day, your child will be a girl. This was based on the premise that your wedding would follow 7 days after your proposal, which is not necessarily the case. If a Festival day intervenes, the Wedding will be set a day later... if there are two Festival days or intervening Rival Marriages, then two days later, and so on.
I had been given information to the effect that a child born on an even day would be a girl and that a child born on an odd day would be a boy. As I had not been able to test this in my own games, it did not go into my guide, but a number of players had emailed me to ask why they could not have a girl in Cute, which caused me to publish a post here based on the Anonymous comment.
I since decided that the information is too conflicted to be posted as definitive. What I am publishing instead is a request to players to post their own game results here. What was the date of your proposal? What was the date of your wedding? When was your child born in Cute and was it a boy or a girl?
Ryva posted a comment to the effect that she knew some one who had a boy on an even day. I welcome comments from other players giving their results. I would prefer results from your own game rather than 'I knew some one who had...' because I know from my own experience that one sometimes forgets the precise date of an event in Harvest Moon. If you have a current game, however, your child's birthday as well as your Anniversary Date will be on your Calendar. Please post here! Thank you.
As I stated previously, I have not tested this myself in my own games, so will NOT add it to any of my guides. I would appreciate any feedback from players on this topic.
(Note on 27 August: Thanks to all who posted their data here! It appears that the gender IS random, after all, but I would be happy to receive more data if players wish to continue to post it here.)
Anonymous stated that, if you propose on an even day, causing your wedding to fall on an odd day, your child will be a boy. If you propose on an odd day, causing your wedding to fall on an even day, your child will be a girl. This was based on the premise that your wedding would follow 7 days after your proposal, which is not necessarily the case. If a Festival day intervenes, the Wedding will be set a day later... if there are two Festival days or intervening Rival Marriages, then two days later, and so on.
I had been given information to the effect that a child born on an even day would be a girl and that a child born on an odd day would be a boy. As I had not been able to test this in my own games, it did not go into my guide, but a number of players had emailed me to ask why they could not have a girl in Cute, which caused me to publish a post here based on the Anonymous comment.
I since decided that the information is too conflicted to be posted as definitive. What I am publishing instead is a request to players to post their own game results here. What was the date of your proposal? What was the date of your wedding? When was your child born in Cute and was it a boy or a girl?
Ryva posted a comment to the effect that she knew some one who had a boy on an even day. I welcome comments from other players giving their results. I would prefer results from your own game rather than 'I knew some one who had...' because I know from my own experience that one sometimes forgets the precise date of an event in Harvest Moon. If you have a current game, however, your child's birthday as well as your Anniversary Date will be on your Calendar. Please post here! Thank you.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Winning the Sheep Festival in Harvest Moon
Experienced players know that, in most Harvest Moon games, any Sheep who is not fully grown, is pregnant, sick or has been sheared will not be eligible for entry in the Sheep Contest.
In Island of Happiness, the Sheep Contest occurs on 19 Spring. Another difference between Island of Happiness and FoMT/MFoMT or HM DS/Cute DS is the fact that Sheep can be sheared every four days rather than only once each week.
Imagine my embarrassment and disgust when Mirabelle told me that the Sheep I had been grooming for the Sheep Festival, who had 10 Hearts and therefore definitely would win was INELIGIBLE for entry because I had miscounted the days when I last sheared her!
I was forced to enter a Sheep with only 2 Hearts. On the day of the Sheep Festival, my Sheep with 10 hearts had a full coat of wool, one day too late...
I had to listen to all the characters at the Festival as they advised me to 'try harder' and to 'take better care' of my animals in order to be able to win next year. So humiliating.
Just a brief note to players to make certain NOT to shear any Sheep he/she intends to enter in the Sheep Festival the week before the Contest. I do mark the date for 'last shearing' in all my Event Calendar Guides and will do so in my Island of Happiness Calendar Guide as well.
As only one slot is allotted to each game in IoH, I could not correct my error and will be forced to wait until next year to win the Sheep Contest. Oh well...
In Island of Happiness, the Sheep Contest occurs on 19 Spring. Another difference between Island of Happiness and FoMT/MFoMT or HM DS/Cute DS is the fact that Sheep can be sheared every four days rather than only once each week.
Imagine my embarrassment and disgust when Mirabelle told me that the Sheep I had been grooming for the Sheep Festival, who had 10 Hearts and therefore definitely would win was INELIGIBLE for entry because I had miscounted the days when I last sheared her!
I was forced to enter a Sheep with only 2 Hearts. On the day of the Sheep Festival, my Sheep with 10 hearts had a full coat of wool, one day too late...
I had to listen to all the characters at the Festival as they advised me to 'try harder' and to 'take better care' of my animals in order to be able to win next year. So humiliating.
Just a brief note to players to make certain NOT to shear any Sheep he/she intends to enter in the Sheep Festival the week before the Contest. I do mark the date for 'last shearing' in all my Event Calendar Guides and will do so in my Island of Happiness Calendar Guide as well.
As only one slot is allotted to each game in IoH, I could not correct my error and will be forced to wait until next year to win the Sheep Contest. Oh well...
Saturday, August 16, 2008
The Magic of Alexandrite and Harvest Moon
One of my favourite gems both in Harvest Moon and in the 'real world' is Alexandrite. It is a gem that was discovered in Russia in the first half of the 19th century and named after the young boy Tzar, Alexander II, as it displayed the Russian Imperial colours. Natural Alexandrite was very rare when Russian mines were the sole source of the gem, but fairly recently, it has been found in other countries and on other continents, including Brazil and Africa. Alexandrite that is found outside Russia does not display quite the same colour change as the original Russian Alexandrite, however. Russian Alexandrite changes from green to purple in artificial light.
Alexandrite is one of the rarest gems that can be found in mines in Harvest Moon games and players who are observant will discover that it displays the same colour change as Alexandrite in the real world when your character takes it outside. It is details like this that make Harvest Moon games so exceptional.
In Harvest Moon, the Alexandrites found in the mines usually are faceted gems, but when it is fashioned as a cabochon, Alexandrite has the chatoyance that characterises 'cat's eye' gems. In fact, the word chatoyance is derived from the French 'oeil de chat' which means 'eye of cat'. A cat's eye gem is one with a magical lustre that gives the impression of an eye with a shining pupil. It is similar to a 'star gem', the difference being that a cat's eye has a single line of shimmering light that runs from one end of the cabochon to the other, while a star gem has three lines that cross one another in a star formation. Sapphires and rubies are gems that in cabochon, display stars. Alexandrite, like Tiger's Eye, displays a 'cat's eye'.
I am including some photographs of natural Alexandrite, both in faceted and cabochon form. (Cabochon is another word that is derived from French, in this case, a Middle French dialect, from the word 'caboche', meaning 'little head'.) It may surprise some individuals to learn that the central red gem in the ring that includes six small Alexandrite cabochon gems (3 on either side) is a Sapphire and not a Ruby. In the ring that has three faceted gems, the smaller purple gems on either side of the central Alexandrite are Tanzanite. Alexandrite as a fairly uncommon gem even now tends to be set in unusual ways, with other unusual gems. I included a gorgeous ring with three Alexandrite cabochons because the stones have a very defined chatoyance, unlike the small accent cabs surrounding the Sapphire on the other ring.
The two screenshots from IoH show Alexandrite from the Mine when it is in your character's Rucksack, both outside in the sunlight and inside under artificial light. What is interesting about this and quite different from Alexandrite in other Harvest Moon games is that the Alexandrite in IoH appears to be from Brazil, displaying an orange tone rather than the purple or purple/red of the original Russian Alexandrite from the Ural mines.
Among others, you will find Alexandrite in Friends/More Friends of Mineral Town, Harvest Moon DS/Cute DS and Island of Happiness. In Island of Happiness, its shape is quite different from the emerald cut found in FoMT/MFoMT and HM DS/Cute DS.
A Note of Caution: Two of the rings shown in these photographs are very expensive and I do not own these beauties myself. If you are interested in obtaining Alexandrite yourself, beware of synthetics. Very often, what is advertised as 'genuine' Alexandrite is lab-created and synthetic. If that does not matter to you, you should be able to find synthetic Alexandrites that are very inexpensive but if you are looking for a natural gem, find a reputable dealer. One of my own personal ambitions is to own a very fine Alexandrite ring someday. I do own one beautiful cat's eye Alexandrite but it is extremely small, far too small to be anything more than an accent stone in a custom-made piece. I bought it at a Gem Fair a few years ago. (I am a miner at heart, I suppose, fascinated with all gems, minerals and ores.)
Thursday, July 3, 2008
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.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
The Bewitching Witch Princess
The Witch Princess in Island of Happiness lives in a wonderful little Hansel-and-Gretel styled cottage deep in the forest. She has the same vast library of books that she had in HM DS/Cute DS but her collection of bears now is visible to the casual visitor as you can see.
Note the map of the Island that appears on the upper screen. This is a wonderful resource that displays the current position of every important character on the Island.
If you would like to know which Events you have experienced...
Players often become confused as to which Heart or Rival Heart Events they have experienced. This can occur because a player stops playing the game for awhile and then returns to it or it can occur simply because a player is unaware of the significance of an Event when it is experienced.
Whatever the reason for the confusion, I always include a section in my Courtship and Marriage Guides for the actual text of every Heart and Rival Heart Event in the game. Whether it is 'Friends of Mineral Town', 'More Friends of Mineral Town', 'Harvest Moon DS' or 'Harvest Moon Cute DS', you can find the text of all Romantic Events in the 'Heart Events and Rival Heart Events Guide'/'Courtship and Marriage Guide' for the game you are playing.
The section that gives the text of the Events therefore is not intended to be a 'spoiler' but rather an aid to gameplay. Much time and energy can be saved if you know which Events you have experienced and which you still need to trigger. Knowing which Events are Heart Events and which constitute Rival Heart Events is important as well. By including the text of the Events, heartache and heartbreak can be avoided! If you wish to marry the girl/bachelor yourself and have experienced three of the four Rival Heart Events without realising it, reading the Text section of the Guide can alert you to the situation, allowing you to avoid the 4th and Final Rival Heart Event that would deprive you of your intended spouse forever.
Separate sections in the Guides are devoted to each of the Eligible Girls or Bachelors in the game, giving the individual's birthday, schedule, likes and dislikes and a full schedule of each of his/her Heart and Rival Heart Events.
The Romance guides include detailed information on Courtship and Marriage in general, with all requirements for Marriage.
Links to ALL my Guides, including Courtship and Marriage Guides, are included on the right side of this page.
Whatever the reason for the confusion, I always include a section in my Courtship and Marriage Guides for the actual text of every Heart and Rival Heart Event in the game. Whether it is 'Friends of Mineral Town', 'More Friends of Mineral Town', 'Harvest Moon DS' or 'Harvest Moon Cute DS', you can find the text of all Romantic Events in the 'Heart Events and Rival Heart Events Guide'/'Courtship and Marriage Guide' for the game you are playing.
The section that gives the text of the Events therefore is not intended to be a 'spoiler' but rather an aid to gameplay. Much time and energy can be saved if you know which Events you have experienced and which you still need to trigger. Knowing which Events are Heart Events and which constitute Rival Heart Events is important as well. By including the text of the Events, heartache and heartbreak can be avoided! If you wish to marry the girl/bachelor yourself and have experienced three of the four Rival Heart Events without realising it, reading the Text section of the Guide can alert you to the situation, allowing you to avoid the 4th and Final Rival Heart Event that would deprive you of your intended spouse forever.
Separate sections in the Guides are devoted to each of the Eligible Girls or Bachelors in the game, giving the individual's birthday, schedule, likes and dislikes and a full schedule of each of his/her Heart and Rival Heart Events.
The Romance guides include detailed information on Courtship and Marriage in general, with all requirements for Marriage.
Links to ALL my Guides, including Courtship and Marriage Guides, are included on the right side of this page.
Why won't Kai come to the Valley in other seasons?
This is a response to a comment by a visitor to this site. The visitor asked why Kai won't visit the Valley in other seasons if you have unlocked the Mineral Town visitors by inserting FoMT/MFoMT into the GBA slot with HM DS or HM Cute DS.
Well, Kai is a guy who only loves Summer and refuses to work in any other season. In FoMT/MFoMT, his beach shack is open for business only during Summer. Likewise, in HM DS/HM Cute DS, he opens his stall on the beach in Forget-Me-Not Valley only during Summer. He may or may not open a stall or cafe on some tropical Island during the other Seasons... there isn't any Harvest Moon game at this point in time that features Kai working in Spring, Autumn or Winter in ANY location.
One does wonder sometimes how Kai manages to work BOTH at his seaside cafe in Mineral Town AND at his stall at the beach in Forget-Me-Not Valley simultaneously during the Summer seasons, but that is a problem in logic that is overwritten by the singular rules of magic embodied in Harvest Moon.
Incidentally, if you marry Kai in HM Cute DS, he will stay in the Valley with you, although he will maintain his philosophy of working only during the Summer season. One suspects therefore that he would not work ANYWHERE in Spring, Autumn and Winter, even in the hottest of climates, but who knows...? Harvest Moon is a saga that we hope never will come to an end.
Where all other visitors from Mineral Town are concerned, their patterns of movement follow ordinary logic: they visit Forget-Me-Not Valley on their 'Days Off'. Thus, Grey visits the Valley on Thursdays when the Smithy in Mineral Town is shut. Karen visits on Tuesday when the Supermarket in Mineral Town is closed. (The Supermarket is shut on Sunday as well, but Mineral Town visitors, apart from Kai, are allowed only one visit to Forget-Me-Not Valley per week.) And so on...
There is a game that may appear in the future where characters from Mineral Town visit an Island on a seasonal rather than weekly basis... but more about that in a month or so.
Well, Kai is a guy who only loves Summer and refuses to work in any other season. In FoMT/MFoMT, his beach shack is open for business only during Summer. Likewise, in HM DS/HM Cute DS, he opens his stall on the beach in Forget-Me-Not Valley only during Summer. He may or may not open a stall or cafe on some tropical Island during the other Seasons... there isn't any Harvest Moon game at this point in time that features Kai working in Spring, Autumn or Winter in ANY location.
One does wonder sometimes how Kai manages to work BOTH at his seaside cafe in Mineral Town AND at his stall at the beach in Forget-Me-Not Valley simultaneously during the Summer seasons, but that is a problem in logic that is overwritten by the singular rules of magic embodied in Harvest Moon.
Incidentally, if you marry Kai in HM Cute DS, he will stay in the Valley with you, although he will maintain his philosophy of working only during the Summer season. One suspects therefore that he would not work ANYWHERE in Spring, Autumn and Winter, even in the hottest of climates, but who knows...? Harvest Moon is a saga that we hope never will come to an end.
Where all other visitors from Mineral Town are concerned, their patterns of movement follow ordinary logic: they visit Forget-Me-Not Valley on their 'Days Off'. Thus, Grey visits the Valley on Thursdays when the Smithy in Mineral Town is shut. Karen visits on Tuesday when the Supermarket in Mineral Town is closed. (The Supermarket is shut on Sunday as well, but Mineral Town visitors, apart from Kai, are allowed only one visit to Forget-Me-Not Valley per week.) And so on...
There is a game that may appear in the future where characters from Mineral Town visit an Island on a seasonal rather than weekly basis... but more about that in a month or so.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Once More, How to Marry Leia the Mermaid
In HM DS, you can marry Leia the Mermaid. In HM Cute DS, you cannot marry her, but you nonetheless can experience all four of her Heart Events (as well as those of other 'Magical Girls' in both games).
In order to experience Leia's 4th and Final Heart Event, aka the Yellow Heart Event, you must be aware of these requirements:
1. You must have experienced Leia's first 3 Heart Events and have Leia at Yellow Heart Level;
2. You must have a Mystrile Fishing Rod or Fishing Rod of a higher level than Mystrile;
3. You must catch the Bottled Message using any Fishing Rod at Mystrile Level which means, at least in the original HM DS, that you cannot have a Fishing Rod lower than Mystrile and, if it is higher than Mystrile, only charge it to Mystrile Level. (I think in Cute, you may be able to catch it with higher levels of Rod with a full Blessed or Mythic charge but I would have to look at my game journals to make certain).
4. YOU ONLY CAN CATCH THE BOTTLED MESSAGE IN SPRING.
In HM DS, you then had to go to Daryl's house with the Bottle in your hands to trigger the 4th Heart Event. In Cute, you can go there with the Bottled Message in your rucksack and it still will trigger. Either way, once the Event is experienced, Leia will return to the sea.
She will visit the Beach of Forget-Me-Not Valley after that each week. If you wish to marry her in HM DS and did not have her at full red heart level before her return to the sea, you can ply her with Big Fish then until she reaches red heart level.
In order to experience Leia's 4th and Final Heart Event, aka the Yellow Heart Event, you must be aware of these requirements:
1. You must have experienced Leia's first 3 Heart Events and have Leia at Yellow Heart Level;
2. You must have a Mystrile Fishing Rod or Fishing Rod of a higher level than Mystrile;
3. You must catch the Bottled Message using any Fishing Rod at Mystrile Level which means, at least in the original HM DS, that you cannot have a Fishing Rod lower than Mystrile and, if it is higher than Mystrile, only charge it to Mystrile Level. (I think in Cute, you may be able to catch it with higher levels of Rod with a full Blessed or Mythic charge but I would have to look at my game journals to make certain).
4. YOU ONLY CAN CATCH THE BOTTLED MESSAGE IN SPRING.
In HM DS, you then had to go to Daryl's house with the Bottle in your hands to trigger the 4th Heart Event. In Cute, you can go there with the Bottled Message in your rucksack and it still will trigger. Either way, once the Event is experienced, Leia will return to the sea.
She will visit the Beach of Forget-Me-Not Valley after that each week. If you wish to marry her in HM DS and did not have her at full red heart level before her return to the sea, you can ply her with Big Fish then until she reaches red heart level.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Harvest Moon and the Environment
Out of a hundred emails I receive containing questions about Harvest Moon, at least a quarter of these tend to be desperate appeals for help because the player gives gifts that an eligible girl or bachelor loves and yet, his/her AP keeps going back down to zero!
The reason for this, as I have stated again and again in my Guides, is because the Harvest Goddess who watches over the land is very strict with respect to littering. She has taught her people not to throw items recklessly into the roads, into the seas and rivers or anywhere else... In almost every Harvest Moon game, you will find rubbish or trash bins in the Village Square and in your own house. In some Harvest Moon games, you actually can ship rubbish items such as old boots and empty tins to obtain a little extra income. What you MUST NOT DO is throw the items on the ground or into any body of water.
If you 'catch' an old boot with your Fishing Rod, do not throw it back into the water. Take it to the nearest rubbish bin or ship it... or if you are playing a game that features the little girl May, you can give it to her as a gift and she will be thrilled with it. (She is one of the few individuals who actually LIKES rubbish, apart from the Witch Princess in HM DS and Cute who likes some rubbish items but not others. You can give the Witch Princess your empty tins and fishbones, for example.)
In some Harvest Moon games, you can pull weeds on your own land and toss them aside without incurring any penalties but in Harvest Moon DS and Cute DS, throwing even a weed onto your own field is considered littering. The Witch Princess may give you her own gift of rubbish if you toss 10 weeds, but although you have been given that dubious award from her, you will lose AP with eligible bachelors/girls! Do not drop or throw ANY item on the ground or water ANYWHERE in Harvest Moon DS or Cute DS. Affection WILL decrease when you do...
In some games, it is only the affection and/or friendship of individuals within a specific radius that will decrease when you litter. In others, the effect will be general.
It may be useful to add a note here about throwing a small fish into the ocean in order to catch the King Fish. You must do it if you wish to catch the King Fish in question, but it WILL be considered littering and you will lose affection/friendship in every Harvest Moon game when you do it. Make certain to remedy the loss as quickly as possible... that's the best you can do.
In some games, you actually can go to Confession at the local Church and be absolved for the 'sin' of littering. This is worth doing, actually, if you either have dropped an item by accident or have been forced to throw a small fish into the sea to catch the King Fish. Those players who, when trying to give a favourite item to an individual, have dropped it by accident when the intended recipient has moved away suddenly will lose not only the item and the benefit of the gift but be punished with a littering penalty! We've all experienced this, I expect... I usually reload in such cases, even if I am forced to relive an entire morning...
The reason for this, as I have stated again and again in my Guides, is because the Harvest Goddess who watches over the land is very strict with respect to littering. She has taught her people not to throw items recklessly into the roads, into the seas and rivers or anywhere else... In almost every Harvest Moon game, you will find rubbish or trash bins in the Village Square and in your own house. In some Harvest Moon games, you actually can ship rubbish items such as old boots and empty tins to obtain a little extra income. What you MUST NOT DO is throw the items on the ground or into any body of water.
If you 'catch' an old boot with your Fishing Rod, do not throw it back into the water. Take it to the nearest rubbish bin or ship it... or if you are playing a game that features the little girl May, you can give it to her as a gift and she will be thrilled with it. (She is one of the few individuals who actually LIKES rubbish, apart from the Witch Princess in HM DS and Cute who likes some rubbish items but not others. You can give the Witch Princess your empty tins and fishbones, for example.)
In some Harvest Moon games, you can pull weeds on your own land and toss them aside without incurring any penalties but in Harvest Moon DS and Cute DS, throwing even a weed onto your own field is considered littering. The Witch Princess may give you her own gift of rubbish if you toss 10 weeds, but although you have been given that dubious award from her, you will lose AP with eligible bachelors/girls! Do not drop or throw ANY item on the ground or water ANYWHERE in Harvest Moon DS or Cute DS. Affection WILL decrease when you do...
In some games, it is only the affection and/or friendship of individuals within a specific radius that will decrease when you litter. In others, the effect will be general.
It may be useful to add a note here about throwing a small fish into the ocean in order to catch the King Fish. You must do it if you wish to catch the King Fish in question, but it WILL be considered littering and you will lose affection/friendship in every Harvest Moon game when you do it. Make certain to remedy the loss as quickly as possible... that's the best you can do.
In some games, you actually can go to Confession at the local Church and be absolved for the 'sin' of littering. This is worth doing, actually, if you either have dropped an item by accident or have been forced to throw a small fish into the sea to catch the King Fish. Those players who, when trying to give a favourite item to an individual, have dropped it by accident when the intended recipient has moved away suddenly will lose not only the item and the benefit of the gift but be punished with a littering penalty! We've all experienced this, I expect... I usually reload in such cases, even if I am forced to relive an entire morning...
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The Ultimate Walkthrough for Courtship of Skye
Here are the steps to take if you wish to court and marry Skye (and who wouldn't?):
1. Introduce yourself to EVERY character in the Valley even if you do not give them all gifts. (This is a necessary step in obtaining a Fishing Rod as well as you must introduce yourself both to Galen and Nina if you wish to experience that event.)
2. Go up the wide staircase towards Romana's Villa on any sunny night between 10.00 p.m. and 11.50 p.m. and Skye's 1st Heart Event will trigger, introducing you to Skye.
3. Do NOT expect to find him the next day as he never appears in the Valley on the day following any of his Heart Events.
4. Go to the Valley exit at 10.20 p.m. on the next sunny night to find him at the earliest time and give him any toiletry (sun block, lotion, whatever) from the Excavation Site to boost his AP by
+300 points and change your outfit daily to boost his AP by an additional +200 points, giving you an increase of +700 AP per day with Skye.
Once you have met Skye in his First Heart Event, he will be found in the Valley on any night when the weather is fine. He enters the Valley between 10.10 and 10.20 p.m. I usually entered Vesta's house at 10.10 p.m., equipped a toiletry in my items slot, then walked outside to waylay Skye as soon as he entered the Valley. His dialogue is romantic when he is on this screen and when he is on the screen with the Waterfalla and Goddess Spring. His path will take him west across the bridge and north to the Goddess Spring where he stands until dawn. His dialogue actually changes according to heart level when he is on the screen with the Waterfall and Goddess Spring and is heart-stopping in some cases.
All of his events, apart from the 1st heart Event are in two parts. You set up the event in the morning by going to the right location and agreeing to participate. If you do not agree to participate, you will lose FP with the villagers involved but you still can change your mind and participate in Part II of the Event.
Part II of every event occurs at Skye's usual time frame, between 10.00 p.m. and 11.50 p.m. but weather requirements are different where Skye's Heart Events are concerned. I experienced both his 2nd Heart Event and his 3rd Heart Event on rainy days. I experienced the 3rd on a sunny day as well, but I think the 2nd actually may require rain.
The most difficult event in terms of Part II is the Third Heart Event or Blue Heart Event because Part II requires the presence both of Flora and Carter in the tent between 10.00 p.m. and 11.50 p.m. On Tuesday, Flora will be out until late. On Sunday, Carter does not even enter the tent until midnight strikes, making it too late for Part II of the event to trigger. My advice: if you walk into the screen that contains the Excavation Site on Tuesday or Sunday at a time when it would trigger Part I of Skye's Blue Heart Event, reload your game without saving! Just wait until the next day... It is his most romantic heart event and it is sad if you miss it.
If you DO miss Part II of ANY of Skye's Heart Events, it will not prevent you from experiencing the next Heart Event or from marrying him. You only NEED to experience Part I but it is Part II that increases his AP.
Marrying Skye: You cannot propose to Skye in the ordinary way by flourishing the Blue Feather. There is NOTHING ordinary about this bachelor. You can show it to him but he will mutter something about your interest in other bachelors. Do not fret. Go home and go to bed with the Blue Feather in your rucksack. (If you are not ready for the marriage proposal because you wish to experience other bachelors' heart events first, just stow the Feather in your toolbox and the Proposal Event will not trigger.)
If the Blue Feather is in your rucksack, Skye will come to your house in the night and you will have the opportunity to give him your heart with the Blue Feather.
There are complete details about all aspects of courtship and marriage, including the schedule of all heart and rival heart events for every bachelor in my Courtship and Marriage Guide at:
[link=http://faqs.ign.com/articles/861/861637p1.html]Harvest Moon Cute Courtship and Marriage Guide[/link]
It includes the recipes of all the 'Most Favourite Items' for each of the bachelors. Skye's Most Favourite is Finest Curry, but you can make do with Toiletries from the Excavation Site instead until you have a Kitchen and a Pot (rather cruelly the last utensil offered by the Shopping Channel).
Skye is the only bachelor with five Heart Events. The additional Heart Event occurs at Green Heart level.
How to Make Skye's Most Favourite Dish:
Finest Curry
Ingredients:
Rainbow Curry
White Curry
Burnt Food Frying Pan
Burnt Food Pot
Burnt Food Oven
Burnt Food Mixer
Burnt Food Steamer
Burnt Food No Utensil
Utensil: Pot
N.B. Use a Weed to make any Burnt Food Dish rather than wasting good
ingredients.
To make Rainbow Curry:
Ingredients:
Curry Rice
Blue Curry
Green Curry
Red Curry
Yellow Curry
Orange Curry
Purple Curry
Indigo Curry
Utensil: Pot
To make White Curry:
Ingredients:
Rice Ball
Curry Powder
White Grass
Utensil: Pot
To make Curry Rice:
Ingredients:
Rice Ball
Curry Powder
Utensil: Pot
Schedule of Skye's Heart Events
1st Heart Event, aka Black Heart Event
Location: Walk from Main Path to Romana's Mansion
Time: 10.00 p.m. to midnight, any day
Requirement: must be sunny day
2nd Heart Event, aka Purple Heart Event
Location: Blue Bar
Time: 6.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. on Monday, Part I
10.00 p.m. to midnight, Part II
Requirements: Must be a rainy Monday, Skye must be at 10,000 AP or higher
3rd Heart Event, aka Blue Heart Event
Location: Go north along path from Vesta's farm towards Carter's Tent
Time: 8.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon, except Tuesday, Part I: DO NOT TRIGGER ON
SUNDAY!!!
10.00 p.m. (preferably 11.30 p.m.) to midnight, Part II, cannot experience on
Sunday night
Requirements: Skye must be at 20,000 AP or higher
Added requirement for Part II: Flora and Carter BOTH must be inside the Tent
4th Heart Event, aka Green Heart Event:
Location, Part I: Walk from crossroads across the bridge towards Vesta's farm
Time: 6.00 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. on Friday, except Winter Season, Part 1
Location, Part I: Vesta's Farmhouse on Friday, except Winter Season, 10.00
p.m. to midnight, Part II
Requirements: Must be a sunny Friday, not in Winter; Skye must be at 30,000
AP or higher
N.B. Heart Events usually are four in number. There is no Green Heart Event
for any other Bachelor
5th Heart Event, aka Yellow Heart Event:
Location: Lobby, Inner Inn
Time: 11.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. on sunny Wednesday, Part I
10.00 p.m. to midnight, Part II
Requirements: Must be sunny Wednesday, Skye must be at 40,000 AP or higher
1. Introduce yourself to EVERY character in the Valley even if you do not give them all gifts. (This is a necessary step in obtaining a Fishing Rod as well as you must introduce yourself both to Galen and Nina if you wish to experience that event.)
2. Go up the wide staircase towards Romana's Villa on any sunny night between 10.00 p.m. and 11.50 p.m. and Skye's 1st Heart Event will trigger, introducing you to Skye.
3. Do NOT expect to find him the next day as he never appears in the Valley on the day following any of his Heart Events.
4. Go to the Valley exit at 10.20 p.m. on the next sunny night to find him at the earliest time and give him any toiletry (sun block, lotion, whatever) from the Excavation Site to boost his AP by
+300 points and change your outfit daily to boost his AP by an additional +200 points, giving you an increase of +700 AP per day with Skye.
Once you have met Skye in his First Heart Event, he will be found in the Valley on any night when the weather is fine. He enters the Valley between 10.10 and 10.20 p.m. I usually entered Vesta's house at 10.10 p.m., equipped a toiletry in my items slot, then walked outside to waylay Skye as soon as he entered the Valley. His dialogue is romantic when he is on this screen and when he is on the screen with the Waterfalla and Goddess Spring. His path will take him west across the bridge and north to the Goddess Spring where he stands until dawn. His dialogue actually changes according to heart level when he is on the screen with the Waterfall and Goddess Spring and is heart-stopping in some cases.
All of his events, apart from the 1st heart Event are in two parts. You set up the event in the morning by going to the right location and agreeing to participate. If you do not agree to participate, you will lose FP with the villagers involved but you still can change your mind and participate in Part II of the Event.
Part II of every event occurs at Skye's usual time frame, between 10.00 p.m. and 11.50 p.m. but weather requirements are different where Skye's Heart Events are concerned. I experienced both his 2nd Heart Event and his 3rd Heart Event on rainy days. I experienced the 3rd on a sunny day as well, but I think the 2nd actually may require rain.
The most difficult event in terms of Part II is the Third Heart Event or Blue Heart Event because Part II requires the presence both of Flora and Carter in the tent between 10.00 p.m. and 11.50 p.m. On Tuesday, Flora will be out until late. On Sunday, Carter does not even enter the tent until midnight strikes, making it too late for Part II of the event to trigger. My advice: if you walk into the screen that contains the Excavation Site on Tuesday or Sunday at a time when it would trigger Part I of Skye's Blue Heart Event, reload your game without saving! Just wait until the next day... It is his most romantic heart event and it is sad if you miss it.
If you DO miss Part II of ANY of Skye's Heart Events, it will not prevent you from experiencing the next Heart Event or from marrying him. You only NEED to experience Part I but it is Part II that increases his AP.
Marrying Skye: You cannot propose to Skye in the ordinary way by flourishing the Blue Feather. There is NOTHING ordinary about this bachelor. You can show it to him but he will mutter something about your interest in other bachelors. Do not fret. Go home and go to bed with the Blue Feather in your rucksack. (If you are not ready for the marriage proposal because you wish to experience other bachelors' heart events first, just stow the Feather in your toolbox and the Proposal Event will not trigger.)
If the Blue Feather is in your rucksack, Skye will come to your house in the night and you will have the opportunity to give him your heart with the Blue Feather.
There are complete details about all aspects of courtship and marriage, including the schedule of all heart and rival heart events for every bachelor in my Courtship and Marriage Guide at:
[link=http://faqs.ign.com/articles/861/861637p1.html]Harvest Moon Cute Courtship and Marriage Guide[/link]
It includes the recipes of all the 'Most Favourite Items' for each of the bachelors. Skye's Most Favourite is Finest Curry, but you can make do with Toiletries from the Excavation Site instead until you have a Kitchen and a Pot (rather cruelly the last utensil offered by the Shopping Channel).
Skye is the only bachelor with five Heart Events. The additional Heart Event occurs at Green Heart level.
How to Make Skye's Most Favourite Dish:
Finest Curry
Ingredients:
Rainbow Curry
White Curry
Burnt Food Frying Pan
Burnt Food Pot
Burnt Food Oven
Burnt Food Mixer
Burnt Food Steamer
Burnt Food No Utensil
Utensil: Pot
N.B. Use a Weed to make any Burnt Food Dish rather than wasting good
ingredients.
To make Rainbow Curry:
Ingredients:
Curry Rice
Blue Curry
Green Curry
Red Curry
Yellow Curry
Orange Curry
Purple Curry
Indigo Curry
Utensil: Pot
To make White Curry:
Ingredients:
Rice Ball
Curry Powder
White Grass
Utensil: Pot
To make Curry Rice:
Ingredients:
Rice Ball
Curry Powder
Utensil: Pot
Schedule of Skye's Heart Events
1st Heart Event, aka Black Heart Event
Location: Walk from Main Path to Romana's Mansion
Time: 10.00 p.m. to midnight, any day
Requirement: must be sunny day
2nd Heart Event, aka Purple Heart Event
Location: Blue Bar
Time: 6.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. on Monday, Part I
10.00 p.m. to midnight, Part II
Requirements: Must be a rainy Monday, Skye must be at 10,000 AP or higher
3rd Heart Event, aka Blue Heart Event
Location: Go north along path from Vesta's farm towards Carter's Tent
Time: 8.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon, except Tuesday, Part I: DO NOT TRIGGER ON
SUNDAY!!!
10.00 p.m. (preferably 11.30 p.m.) to midnight, Part II, cannot experience on
Sunday night
Requirements: Skye must be at 20,000 AP or higher
Added requirement for Part II: Flora and Carter BOTH must be inside the Tent
4th Heart Event, aka Green Heart Event:
Location, Part I: Walk from crossroads across the bridge towards Vesta's farm
Time: 6.00 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. on Friday, except Winter Season, Part 1
Location, Part I: Vesta's Farmhouse on Friday, except Winter Season, 10.00
p.m. to midnight, Part II
Requirements: Must be a sunny Friday, not in Winter; Skye must be at 30,000
AP or higher
N.B. Heart Events usually are four in number. There is no Green Heart Event
for any other Bachelor
5th Heart Event, aka Yellow Heart Event:
Location: Lobby, Inner Inn
Time: 11.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. on sunny Wednesday, Part I
10.00 p.m. to midnight, Part II
Requirements: Must be sunny Wednesday, Skye must be at 40,000 AP or higher
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Natsume Cat and Island of Happiness
***********************************************************************
O.K. Island of Happiness is here now, accompanied by a wonderful Natsume Harvest Moon cat. Here's a photograph of the Harvest Moon Cat. I always have preferred cats to dogs and was thrilled when HM DS gave players a cat as well as a dog, even though the poor creature had no real function. My new Harvest Moon cat will sit beside me as I work and lend me strength and inspiration. I always loved black cats but have to admit I love cats of almost every colour.
I feel schizophrenic now. A part of me spent the past fews weeks longing for the point where I would be able to start and play my own permanent Cute game, to marry Skye and live happily ever after with him, farming, fishing and mining to my heart's content, after successfully fulfilling every goal in the game....
Of course, there is another part of me that is eager to experience Island of Happiness...
As Island of Happiness still is in pre-release stage, however, I shan't be able to post any information or screenshots of the game.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Marriage to Kai in HM Cute DS is a Joy
Were I not so madly besotted with Skye, I have to confess I would be thrilled with the prospect of living happily ever after with Kai in HM Cute DS. His response to the marriage proposal is everything any girl could desire. He has an open, generous heart, a sunny disposition and... AND... for all of us who ever wished that a husband or son would help us with the farm work, Kai enthusiastically displays his intention to become one with you in every respect. He is a model husband and no one could be more romantic and affectionate.
The irony in HM Cute DS is that Kai is the first bachelor from Mineral Town whom you can bring to full red heart level. Although he only visits your village in the summer season, Cute is the one game where this signifies the chance for more encounters than you can have with any other Mineral Town bachelor! The other Mineral Town bachelors visit only one day each week. Thirty days in succession each Summer means that you easily can marry Kai in your second year, provided only that you propose to him before the end of Summer.
The following has been included in my Courtship and Marriage Guide for Cute which should be uploaded by IGN tomorrow I believe. It is the full text of the proposal and wedding events with Kai:
At 6.10 a.m. on Monday, 27 Summer in my second year, I show Kai the Blue Feather.
Kai: (!) .... Is this for me? Let's talk at your place, Freya.
Now we are in my house and the beautifully evocative Mineral Town heart music plays.
Kai: F-for real, Freya?
I nod and flourish the feather again. Kai displays a big red heart.
Kai: I'm always so happy whenever you stop by. In fact, others come by all the time, but none cheer me up like you. What I'm trying to say is... I really love you, Freya. Now that you know how I feel, of course you know I'll say yes! We'll always be happy together, Freya. As husband and wife!
I display a big red heart now.
Kai: Wow, it just hit me that once we're married, we can be together all the time. You don't know how happy that makes me. Just thinking about our future gets me so stoked.
We both display big red hearts.
Kai: When should we have the ceremony? Does a week from now sound good?
I nod.
Kai: Awesome. In a week it is. I'll close up my stand and go tell my folks if there's time before the wedding. I don't think they can come to the wedding though. I should really go see my parents when I get a chance.
I nod and he leaves.
It is 6.10 a.m. on Monday, 27 Summer of the 2nd year.
The wedding would then occur on Tuesday, 4 Autumn.
We would find ourselves at the beach with the wedding march playing.
Thomas: I, Thomas, will now begin this honourable marriage ceremony.
I will now ask the groom. Do you swear to love Freya forever?
Kai's face (ching) across the screen.
Kai: You know I do.
Cheers.
Thomas: Good. Now the bride. And do you promise to love and cherish Kai, as long as you both shall live?
My face (ching) across the screen.
I nod and we both display big red hearts, facing one another.
Kai: This is the happiest day of my life! Let's take the world by storm!
I nod and we move towards one another, then face Thomas together side by side.
Thomas: I now pronounce you man and wife.
Cheers from the crowd.
Harvest Goddess: (Freya, Freya.)
Me: ?
Harvest Goddess: (Dum dum dum dummmm. Congratulations. Here's my present for you.)
The bells toll, the screen goes white and then... credits scroll black and white towards the centre...
Tuesday, 5 Autumn at 10.00 a.m.: Kai and I are facing one another across the table.
Kai: Today you and I are husband and wife. It feels so good to say it.
I display a big red heart.
Kai: Oh yeah, let's think up some nicknames. That'll liven things up. Just call me Kai. What should I call you, Freya?
Me: Tesora.
Kai: Don't forget to respond when I call you that.
My thoughts: Tomorrow begins our new life together!
6.00 a.m. on 6 Autumn:
Kai: Morning, Tesora! I'm doing ranch work. I never thought I'd be doing this.
I give him his Most Favourite Item, otherwise known as the MFI.
Kai: It's a Pineapple! For me? Thanks, Tesora.
After noon at home:
Kai: Oh, Tesora. Thanks for your hard work. It's great having a family. That's exactly what I think.
N.B. The only bad habit Kai has is his tendency to use the outdated slang term: stoked. He says it frequently during times of great emotion! Despite this small flaw in his personality (and some may not consider it so at all), Kai is one of the strongest male characters in Harvest Moon. He is independent, with a good sense of self-esteem, hard-working, responsible and yet has an incredible sense of adventure. He is disposed to be open and friendly to every one and yet can stand up for himself when he meets hostility from any one.
After my temporary marriage to Kai, I waited at the entrance to the Valley at 10.10 p.m. as usual to see if Skye would appear and how he would greet me. His dialogue was the same after my marriage to another as it was before marriage, but what made me realise that I never could stay married to Kai was the fact that Skye no longer displayed a deep red heart, nor in fact any heart at all for me... Without a moment's hesitation, once the marriage information had been documented for Kai, I reloaded the game back to the point where I still remained unmarried and true to my beloved Skye.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
New General Guide for PSP Harvest Moon Boy and Girl
If you look at the right side of this page, you will see that I have written some preliminary guides for Harvest Moon Boy & Girl. It is not really the way I would have liked to have covered these games, as I feel that I am forced to do everything in some haste... Nonetheless, I hope they will be helpful to players. I will continue to add to them as well as updating every guide.
In terms of HM Cute DS, I now have completed a Recipe Cookbook Guide (as well as my own Recipe list in the game itself), have completed the Calendar guides for the first and second year, and have written most of my General Guide and Courtship and Marriage Guide for that game. IGN will not publish these until the game officially is released on 25 March.
Natsume will send me 'Island of Happiness' later this month. That is very exciting, but there is a part of me that perceives it as a sort of consolation prize for losing my 'Cute' game! Nevertheless, I knew I would lose it ultimately when I first began my journey with Skye... Life is transient in any world, I suppose. The wonderful thing about Harvest Moon is that one always can begin a new life... Like other Harvest Mooon fans, I plan to do that on my own cartridge of HM Cute DS after 25 March.
In terms of HM Cute DS, I now have completed a Recipe Cookbook Guide (as well as my own Recipe list in the game itself), have completed the Calendar guides for the first and second year, and have written most of my General Guide and Courtship and Marriage Guide for that game. IGN will not publish these until the game officially is released on 25 March.
Natsume will send me 'Island of Happiness' later this month. That is very exciting, but there is a part of me that perceives it as a sort of consolation prize for losing my 'Cute' game! Nevertheless, I knew I would lose it ultimately when I first began my journey with Skye... Life is transient in any world, I suppose. The wonderful thing about Harvest Moon is that one always can begin a new life... Like other Harvest Mooon fans, I plan to do that on my own cartridge of HM Cute DS after 25 March.
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