The Delight is in the Details... Murrey's Birthday

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In most Harvest Moon games, the goal simply is to create a good life for oneself and to make a contribution to the village or place in which one lives. One isn't punished actively if one fails to remember a birthday but I personally love to remember every individual's birthday with a special gift he or she likes.

In the first two seasons of gameplay, one of my personal goals is to raise every individual's friendship level to maximum. In HM DS and HM Cute DS, maximum friendship level is 255 FP. Having done that, the birthday gift bonus of 5x the ordinary 'value' of the gift becomes irrelevant but I still try not to forget any one's birthday.

Thursday, 29 Autumn is Murrey's birthday. I have had him at 255 FP for quite some time now and have experienced most of his events, including the two with the Gourmet.
My main preoccupation today was Grey, who visits the Valley only on Thursday and whom I have at Blue Heart level now. I wanted to make certain, therefore, to experience his Third Heart Event.

Having done that earlier in the day, I was free to concentrate on Murrey. In general, Murrey can be found near the Goddess Spring in the morning and at the Villa in the afternoon. At night, he returns to the Goddess Spring.

Today, however, I did not find him at the Villa. Although I created a Schedule of Movements for HM DS, I had not expected I would need it and in fact, decided simply to search for Murrey... I remembered that Thursday was the day when he visited the Blue Bar in the evening, but where did he go today after he left the Goddess Spring? It took me a few minutes to find him... in the kitchen of the Inner Inn!

Yes, I should have remembered that Thursday was his day to visit the Inner Inn... I could have waited until evening to present him with his gift at the Blue Bar, but in finding him in the kitchen, I was able to experience some of his most amusing dialogue.

Murrey stands in a corner in Ruby's kitchen. One suspects that he thinks he is 'hiding'. In 'A Wonderful Life', Murrey often will raid your own storeroom and kitchen for food. He doesn't consider it to be theft. He feels that any food storage exists for his benefit in a way. Even so, his forays sometimes are clandestine.

In Ruby's kitchen, Murrey will tell you: 'Here's where the most food falls, and it's the tastiest too! Are you going to get some food too, Freya? Don't take Murrey's share.'

That appears to be his new theory of existence. Food simply 'falls' like manna from heaven...

I gave him his 'Most Favourite', an egg and he duly confirmed that it was indeed his birthday, thanking me politely for the gift. He is more enthusiastic about eggs when it ISN'T his birthday, actually but the egg would have increased his FP by 45 points rather than 9 if it were not at maximum.

Food, food, Glorious Food in Harvest Moon DS

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Cooking and food in general are the subject of great interest in Harvest Moon games and Harvest Moon for the DS is no exception. There are a number of events, some quite hilarious, that deal with food either primarily or peripherally.

More than one Heart Event deals with food and/or cooking. Marlin's 3rd Heart Event occurs at the Blue Bar and results in your character drinking too much and having to be carried home, either by Marlin or by Griffin, depending on the response you give.
Skye's 2nd Heart Event involves a diversion created by the delicious odour of Curry... Curry Rice is the centre of Carter's 3rd Heart Event as he seeks to escape it. In Leia's 3rd Heart Event, you are asked to be her 'taster' for a new fish dish. Ruby's 150 FP Event involves a mistake in seasoning on her part. This is an event that occurs on Thursday in both the 'boy' and 'girl' versions of the game, by the way.

A number of Heart Events involve Ruby's kitchen. You will share a meal with Griffin in his 3rd Heart Event and with Carter in his, unless you fail to confirm his small deception.

Murrey, however, probably has the greatest number of events associated with food. There are events with the Gourmet, one of which is included in a previous post. In one event, Van will offer you a rare delicacy but Murrey will take your place at the counter and instead of giving it to you, Van mistakenly will hand it to Murrey. (That event is included both in the 'boy' and 'girl' versions of the game.

Too much food is the subject of an event between Van and Vesta. They will become quite rude to one another as they bicker over the subject of weight. The event will end with a challenge: they decide to participate in a contest to see who can lose the most weight before their next meeting.

Knowing how to cook greatly, whether your character is male or female, always increases your chances of winning the hearts of every one, but especially of any one you would like to marry. In many cases, an individual's 'Most Favourite' gift is a cooked dish. Completing your Recipe Book always is one of the subsidiary goals in any Harvest Moon game.

Knowing the dishes that each individual loves or detests is extremely important. Giving a character a cooked dish that he/she hates is as bad as giving an ordinary item that is disliked.

Knowing the value of food items in terms of Stamina and Fatigue is vital as well. Your character needs to know which items will restore the most energy... Every item, whether raw or cooked, has different effects in terms of Stamina and Fatigue. Some items actually will increase your Fatigue.

Kai is a character whose appearance is based on food. In the summers, he will open a stand on the beach.

Many of the Festivals in Harvest Moon games are centred on food. Special items such as Rice Cakes and Buckwheat Flour are obtained most easily at Festivals. In some Harvest Moon games, the only method by which to acquire these items is by attending the appropriate Festival. In Harvest Moon DS, the New Year Festival, the Cooking Festival, the Beach Festival, the Harvst Festival and the Year-End Festival all are devoted to Cooking and Eating.

Food and Cooking play an important part even in games like Rune Factory and 'An Innocent Life'. Part of the challenge and enjoyment of any Harvest Moon game is learning how to cook, finding rare ingredients and completing your Cookbook.

When two Eccentrics Meet: Murrey and the Gourmet

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Two classical eccentrics meet and exchange more than pleasantries in Harvest Moon Cute. An event between Murrey and the Gourmet will occur when you exit the Sprite Company Tree, provided Murrey is at 200 FP. It is highly entertaining, albeit brief.

At 10.00 a.m. I exited the Sprite Company Tree to experience an event between Murrey and the Gourmet.

Murrey and the Gourmet were standing in front of the Goddess Pond facing one another.

Gourmet: What the heck is that food?
Murrey: (!) Murrey's meal.
Gourmet: (...) No, I'm asking what the name of that food is.
Murrey (with cross hurt): Like I said, Murrey's meal!
Gourmet: (...) What a ridiculous sounding name...
Then: But, what is this tempting smell...? Please. Will you let me eat some?
Murrey (with cross hurt): Never. It's Murrey's meal.
Gourmet: Please. I'm begging you.
Murrey: (...) Just a bite.
Gourmet: T-Thank you very much.
He grabs it and devours it.
Gourmet: G O O D
Gourmet: This food was definitely tasty. I'll try making it at home.
He saunters off.
Murrey:(?) What a strange person.

When two food fanatics collide... It was very sweet of Murrey to allow the Gourmet to take a bite of his food and now apparent, given the Gourmet's great girth, that he has a psychological problem where food is concerned. To deprive a homeless man of his food, after all, is almost outrageous. When one looks at the size of the Gourmet's mouth, moreover, one has to suspect that a single bite would encompass an entire meal!

I believe that Murrey's succulent meal had to be made from all the gifts I had given him recently to boost his FP quickly to 200 points!

This event existed in the original Japanese boy version of Harvest Moon DS.