The Star Festival and Griffin

Spending the Festival with Griffin and Muffy means an evening of drinking. No food whatsoever is offered but drinks are displayed in generous number. In fact, watching Muffy and Griffin together, it is obvious that they are made for one another. I did not feel guilty at all at the prospect of spending the Festival with Skye instead...

It is only Carter actually who appears to dread the prospect of spending the evening alone with your rival if you refuse his invitation!

Griffin's Marriage Proposal Event

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Here are some photographs from my Marriage Proposal to Griffin. His declaration that 'getting marriage at this age is a little embarrassing' was a little off-putting, frankly! My real reason for not going through with the engagement, however, is to allow Muffy to marry him.

Friendship Levels can be found in Dialogue

Even if eligible bachelors and girls did not display their heart levels in bright, bold colours, you could tell where you stood with any individual by his/her conversation. This is true both in Mineral Town and Forget-Me-Not Valley. In each case, however, you must discover the location and time when you can speak to a person in order to assess heart levels.

In Harvest Moon DS and Harvest Moon Cute DS, you can buy a Love Bangle at the Casino window and wear it whenever you speak to any individual, but in Mineral Town, you have to judge most individuals, apart from eligible spouses, by their conversation.

Even in Forget-Me-Not Valley, however, it is interesting to speak to individuals at every level in order to obtain the maximum information and enjoyment of the game.

I know I have written other posts about this, but I wished to share some of the things that bachelors in HM Cute will say when they are madly in love with you.

For example, when you speak to Marlin at Vesta's house, his dialogue will not vary, but if you find him at the Storeroom, his conversation will change as his affection for you rises.

As Marlin is shy and inarticulate at the best of times, it is not so much his conversation as his expression that will indicate his state of mind. At red heart level, he will blush fiercely as he says, 'Oh, I was just thinking... It's okay, don't worry about it.' It would be evident to the least sensitive of women that he has been thinking about YOU at this point.

The dialogue both of Carter and Flora will not change if you encounter them in the Tent, but when you speak to them in the Excavation Site, you will obtain an indication of their feelings for you.

Carter at orange heart will say: 'I work much better with you by my side, Freya.'
Flora says, 'Oh Freya... I've been waiting for you. It's so much fun digging with you, Freya. You're my best friend.'

Meet Muffy in her bedroom and her dialogue remains constant. Griffin's dialogue changes in his bedroom only according to his FP level but not his AP or Heart Level. It is when they are behind the counter of the Blue Bar that you really know where you stand with them.

Muffy at maximum FP of 255 will tell you: 'I've never had as good a friend as you, Freya. I hope we stay the best of friends.'

Griffin at red heart becomes touchingly lyrical when he says, 'You're like the sun, Freya. When you come to the bar, everything just lights up.'

I suppose one shouldn't forget he is as much a musician and poet as Gustafa, although he hides HIS light under a bushel most of the time, unlike Gustafa. Few are they who have heard Griffin play...

One of the earliest events involving Griffin's hidden musical talents occurs in 'A Wonderful Life'...

My Worst Day Ever by Popuri

Two events experienced in Harvest Moon Cute DS prompted the following short story by Popuri of Mineral Town. In Popuri's own words:

My Most Worst Day Ever
by Popuri

I always wanted to be taken seriously, you know. In the old days, in Mineral Town, my brother Rick wouldn't let me do anything important. My Mum and brother and I run the local Poultry Farm in Mineral Town. I grew up loving chickens and everything to do with chickens. Rick loves them too. I think my Mum wouldn't have been involved with the business at all except that she had to take charge when my father left.

My Mum isn't well, you know. She is very pretty and fragile and very romantic. She still hopes my father will return someday. Zack is madly in love with her but he hasn't a chance really because of that.

Anyway, Rick is in charge of the Poultry Farm really in Mineral Town but he has given me the chance to run the business we have in Forget-Me-Not Valley. So now I am in charge! I get to take all the orders for chickens and ducks and I am in charge of the Festivals too! I decided I should visit the Valley on my day off every week so that the people there would get to know me and because Takakura promised to teach me how to run the business.

So you can find me in the Valley every Sunday now. Of course, when I decided to visit the Valley every Sunday, Rick decided he had to tag along to spy on me! I hate that about my brother. He's really a sweet guy at heart but he is so interfering and he doesn't like Kai at all. I am mad about Kai and I definitely am going to marry him one day, no matter what my brother says or does to try to stop me.

There's another reason to go to the Valley in the Summer. Kai has opened a new stall on the beach there. He stays at the Inner Inn all Summer now. When Rick and I go to the Valley on Sunday, we stay at the Inner Inn too. Well, there isn't much choice. It's the only place that takes guests but even if there were others, I don't think any one would choose to stay anywhere else. The food at the Inner Inn is fantastic. Ruby is the best cook ever. In fact, Ann from Mineral Town is studying cooking with Ruby. Ann goes to the Valley on HER day off to visit Ruby and learn how to cook. If you visit the Valley, you will see that almost every one from Mineral Town will be there on one day or another! If it weren't for the fact that people visit on different days of the week, Mineral Town would be almost like a ghost town now.

So anyway, I go to the Valley on Sundays and Rick follows me there. Can you believe that he and Kai have to sleep in the same room??? It has to be awful for Kai. All Rick does is tell every one how much he hates Kai! Kai has got to be the sweetest, most easy-going guy in the world. In fact, sometimes I think he's almost too sweet and easy-going because he's friendly to every one and that means all the girls too.

Last Sunday, it was raining in the Valley and that gave me a chance to corner Nami in the kitchen of the Inner Inn. I think Nami is the coolest girl ever. I wanted her to teach me how to be cool. After all, Takakura teaches me how to run a business on Sunday mornings. I thought maybe I could take a class from Nami on how to be cool like her.

I almost thought Nami was trying to avoid me though. It was impossible to find her until it rained that day... but you know what she told me? I couldn't believe it. She told me that she used to be just like me 'back in the day' and that all I had to do to become just like her was to BE MYSELF!
Can you believe it? That's so easy!!! So watch out world because Popuri is going to be the coolest girl ever one day!

Anyway, THAT rainy Sunday wasn't the worst day ever. It was TODAY that was the worst day ever for me.

It started out beautiful. Freya came to see me at the guest room of the Inner Inn at 6.00 a.m. as she does every Sunday to give me a chocolate bar. I absolutely LOVE chocs. We're becoming great friends because she never forgets to give me a chocolate on Sunday. That, and the beautiful weather, made me think it was going to be one of the best days ever.

I went to Takakura's house at after 8.00 a.m. as usual to learn about business. He tells every one now that I am a great student and that Chicken Li'l's is bound to be successful because of me. You can imagine how that makes me feel! Takakura isn't the sort of man who goes easy on any one just to be nice. He tells the truth... so there, Rick! You're going to have to start admitting that you were wrong about me, because I'm doing a good job with the business.

In fact, I have to be honest and say that Rick has said one or two good things about me recently. At the Duck Festival this year, he praised my work. He thought I did a good job of running THAT Festival. The Chicken Festival is coming up tomorrow. You'd think I had enough to worry about without having to go through the worst day of my life the day before the Festival!

It was such a lovely day that Takakura told me to take a break, get some fresh air outside. I thought I'd go up to the Waterfall and Goddess Pond. It is such a beautiful place, as pretty as our Goddess Spring in Mineral Town. All the girls from Mineral Town like to visit the waterfall when they come to the Valley. I usually don't get to spend much time there because of my classes with Takakura but today I was free to enjoy it.

I got up there and who should I find there but the two kids, Kate and Hugh. 'Goody!' I thought. I love to play with kids. In Mineral Town, I often make mud pies with May and Stu and we have wonderful games where I'm the Mum and I pretend that they're my kids. They love to play with me. They say I'm so good at make-believe that they almost forget I'm not a kid like them.

So I thought I'd have a great time with the Valley kids too. I was so excited. As soon as they saw me, though, they called me 'Old Lady!'. I told them I wasn't an old lady but they didn't listen. Both of them got into it, calling me 'Old Lady' over and over. The little boy even said, 'An old lady is an old lady after all.' I couldn't help it, I started to cry... and then I thought, why should I put up with this??? I told them I was going to leave and guess what? They didn't even try to stop me. They didn't even say they were sorry and they didn't try to stop me from crying OR leaving. So that was the first bad thing that happened in the worst day ever. It was 10.00 a.m. when that happened.

You'd think I'd need the rest of the day to pull myself together and recover from that horrid experience. I thought to myself that going to the beach would be the answer, that I'd find Kai there and he could console me and give me something sweet to eat. I love his shaved ices, especially on a hot day and it was growing warmer...

So I walked down to the beach to see Kai. I knew he'd be surprised to see me, because usually I don't have time to go to the beach on Sunday. Oh, he was surprised, all right! And so was I!
Guess what I found when I got to the beach? I found that little flirt Muffy with MY Kai, standing all cozy together by the water. He wasn't even behind his counter where he was supposed to be!

I couldn't believe it. I said, 'Ahh! Kai, what are you doing?!'

He replied: 'What? I'm just talking to Muffy.'

All innocence, Kai... but I knew better!

I cried: 'Liar! You two are acting way too friendly!'

Muffy muttered something about it being a terrible misunderstanding but I know what that little flirt is like! She's always batting her eyelashes at every boy in sight. She's had more boyfriends than we have chickens on our farm!

Well, she left in a hurry. She knew I wouldn't have let her off easy if she had stayed. I knew she had come to the beach just to see MY Kai and not because she wanted to order food from him either. Muffy's always on a 'diet' of one kind or another. She talks about it all the time, that and her make-up. People sometimes think I'm empty-headed but I'm not. I'm a serious businesswoman, I am! Not like Muffy who can't even mix a drink properly without Griffin's help. She 'works' at the Blue Bar, but I don't think she does much work. She certainly can't be trusted to mix the drinks. Griffin does all that. She just stands there looking helpless and pretty. Yes, she is pretty in her own way although she wears as much make-up as a clown. I can't see how Kai could be attracted to a girl like that.

So Muffy ran off as quickly as she could and what did Kai do then? Did he try to comfort ME?

No, he was totally thinking about Muffy.

He cried: 'Hey, wait...'

I was furious with the both of them.

'I'm not done talking!' I exclaimed and finally got his attention!

Kai, of course, acted as though he hadn't done anything wrong.

He protested: 'What? We were just having a friendly chat.'

Right! I'll believe that the day that Van drops a hundred pounds or Murrey turns up in a tuxedo.

All I could say was: 'W-Waah...'

For the second time, I was in tears. So much for finding comfort at the beach.

I couldn't bear another moment. It has been the most worst day of my life and I still have to get ready for the Chicken Festival tomorrow.

Back at the beach, I could hear Kai, still protesting: 'What? Jeeze!'


'My Most Worst Day Ever by Popuri' by Freyashawk
based on Popuri's Event at the Waterfall with Hugh and Kate on Sunday, 6 Summer at 10.00 a.m.
and Popuri's Event with Muffy and Kai at the Beach on Sunday, 6 Summer at 11.20 a.m.

'If you can catch me... I'll tell you anything you want.'

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The 2nd Heart Event with Skye is as provocative as the first. Skye's events are a little more complex than most other Heart Events in Harvest Moon as most of them are in two separate parts. You basically are given a notice of his impending visit early in the day and then are required to return between 10.00 p.m. and midnight to experience the second and main part of the event.

The 2nd Heart Event occurs at the Blue Bar. Muffy and Griffin are induced to leave by the tempting odour of curry, oddly enough... Skye then enters and immediately works his charms on you.

'We meet again, my darling Freya,' he exclaims. 'Do you believe that fate has drawn us together?'

Respond in the affirmative and he will be pleased. Respond instead that 'I'm here to catch you,' and his heart will plummet to black level again.

Whatever response you give, he then will shoot you with his powerful 'CHICK-BEAM', a burst of white light that will paralyse you temporarily.

Interestingly enough, you then will have a couple of opportunities to restore his heart level to purple if you made the mistake of declaring that you were there only to catch him...

You will be able to choose between asking him questions about himself or remaining silent. Choose to ask questions and he will be delighted.

Finally, however, he will declare that it is best for him not to tell you too much as: 'if I simply tell you, it will take the mystique out of our relationship.' He then offers the ultimate challenge: 'If you can catch me, I'll tell you anytying you want.'

When he hears the voices of Muffy and Griffin in the distance, he excuses himself. Muffy and Griffin will return and Muffy definitely will be a little put out that she missed the thief! When she tells you that she is sorry that she 'just left you all alone', one has the feeling that much of her disappointment is due to the fact that she missed the thrill of being a target of Skye's CHICK-BEAM.

The Real Scatterbrain: To Muffy's Rescue!

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Many of the 'girl' versions of Harvest Moon include an event where ALL the girls in the game get together for one reason or another. In More Friends of Mineral Town, all your 'rivals' will descend on you one morning, asking that you cook their favourite dishes for them one by one.

In Harvest Moon Cute for the DS, the event where all the girls come together is Muffy's 200 FP Event. When you enter, she will be in a state of panic and ask you to beg every girl in the Valley to come to her rescue. You obligingly will do so, only to discover that her 'emergency' is one involving her make-up!

Nonetheless, despite the very different personalities of each girl and her private opinions regarding make-up and personal vanity, each will do what she can to give Muffy the advice she seeks. It is interesting to discover the depth of caring and friendship that can be achieved with your 'rivals' and their friendship with one another, even if you are courting the same man. There are a couple of moments in specific Harvest Moon games where a flash of conflict can assert itself. For example, in one of Ann's Heart Events in the boy version of Harvest Moon DS, Muffy and Ann almost come to blows over you! On the whole, though, there is a great deal of tolerance and affection in Harvest Moon for others, even when they are eccentrics like Murrey.

Your character will be given three options when Muffy asks YOU for help. Your choices are:

You can't hide the years.
Massage your face.
Put on lots of makeup...

One of these responses will raise Muffy's FP by 20 points. Another will drop her FP by 20 points and the third will have no effect whatsoever. I will leave it to you to work out which response is the best one in the circumstances.

Girl Talk in Harvest Moon Cute

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One very charming aspect of Harvest Moon games in general is the friendship that develops or exists between girls who actually may be rivals for the affection of the eligible bachelors. Even if you are courting Griffin, Muffy always will be delighted to see you at the Blue Bar.

In both the original 'boy' version and the new 'girl' Cute, old friendships exist between Valley girls and Mineral Town girls and there are a number of events that illustrate this. Celia and Karen are close friends and Karen in fact spends every Tuesday morning in Celia's room. As any one who knows Karen well might expect, she likes to spend her evenings in the local bar and on Tuesdays, can be found at the Blue Bar. Mary and Lumina are rather unlikely close friends, and Mary spends Monday mornings in Lumina's room and Monday afternoons in the parlour listening to Lumina play the piano. On a rainy Wednesday afternoon, Elli can be found at the piano, although she is not as close to Lumina as Mary.

The events that occur require 100 FP level for the girls involved.

If you walk into Celia's bedroom on Tuesday morning, you will experience an event between Karen and Celia. The two girls assert the general 'coolness' of their home villages, and there is an odd moment when Karen suggests that there is 'too much style' in the Valley! Karen ultimately is willing to admit that Forget-Me-Not Valley is equal to Mineral Town in this respect and the event ends with an invitation to visit Mineral Town from Karen to Celia.

If you go to the Blue Bar on Tuesday night, you will experience an event between Muffy and Karen. Like many events in Harvest Moon, this one gives a sly hint to players who have not discovered the possibilities at the Excavation Site.

Muffy admires Karen's new earrings and Karen confesses that she found them at the Excavation Site but that she became quite filthy in the process, as she had to 'dig' for them... Muffy does not like the idea of getting her hands dirty and at the end of the event, she will ask you if you might be willing to help her obtain a pair...

There are other events later in the original 'boy' game that involve Mary's talents as a writer and Kate's admiration both of Lumina and Mary. I have yet to discover if they have been included in Cute.

Incidentally, for new players of ANY Harvest Moon game, the exit from the village always is nothing more than a 'tease' where your character is concerned. Whether it is Mineral Town, Forget-Me-Not Valley or the village in Magical Melody, your character NEVER will be able to leave, no matter how great his/her success and how high his/her friendship levels with every one. Other villagers may come and go freely but your character is not allowed to emulate them in this respect.