In all my excitement at having experienced the gift-giving ceremony of the Spring Thanksgiving event with each one of the Valley bachelors, I forgot that I could not marry Skye yet if I wished to complete all the Mineral Town heart events... My brief moment of elation now has been crushed by the weight of my duty to write a COMPLETE guide...
Just joking about that, because in fact, every event has some value and I love experiencing as many events as possible in any Harvest Moon game. I therefore put my feelings for Skye in storage and went on to experience life as a single girl, triggering Rick's 3rd Heart Event on a rainy Saturday...
Actually, I am very glad I did. One gets a sense that Rick is pushy and interfering, that he lacks a sufficient sense of moral support for his sister Popuri, that SHE in fact is the victim of his officious meddling for the most part... until one experiences Rick's Blue Heart Event in Cute.
In More Friends of Mineral Town, one realises that poor Rick is burdened by too much responsibility at too early an age. I believe it is in his fourth heart event there that he lets his hair down a little, figuratively speaking, and is able to enjoy a carefree evening with you at Doug's Inn. His enthusiasm and appreciation of your sense of humour there is quite touching...
Well, if you have not played More Friends of Mineral Town, you probably will find little to like in Rick's behaviour in Forget-Me-Not Valley until you experience his Third Heart Event. After all, most of his dialogue is filled with anger against Kai and his determination to supervise Popuri's behaviour at every turn.
The Blue Heart Event begins no differently. Ruby has expressed an intention of cooking an egg dish for Rick. It is interesting that the old adage of 'bringing coals to Newcastle' does not apply either to Popuri or Rick. Although they LIVE at a Poultry Farm, both of them love eggs and any dish made with eggs. Rick's Most Favourite is a Spa Egg and Popuri's Most Favourite dish is Omelet Rice.
Rick suggests that you join him for dinner and you greet his idea with pleasure. Ruby is delighted to accommodate an extra guest. She is in the process of beginning to prepare the meal when Popuri arrives on the scene.
Ruby tells Popuri that she is making her favourite dish for dinner without stipulating the dish. Those of us who have courted Popuri in the original HM DS know that it is Omelet Rice that is on the menu...
Popuri immediately offers to help cook the meal. Rick is very upset by this turn of events and proceeds to tell you that the dinner will be ruined by his sister's participation, that she will make many mistakes, correct none of them and ultimately serve a nightmare... so much for his hopes of enjoying one of Ruby's delights!
At this point, you may be rather disgusted with him for being such a killjoy and having such a low opinion of his sister. Wait, though...
Ruby will be impressed by Popuri's thoughtfulness in offering to help and will welcome her with open arms. As they prepare the meal, however, Popuri will prove Rick's fears to have been well-founded as she first adds too much spice, then vegetables that have not been cooked properly and finally refuses even to taste the dish before serving it, repeating again and again that everything is 'fine'...
When you eat your food, you will be poisoned by it, although you will not pass out, nor will you be rushed to Dr. Hardy for any antidote. It does not appear to have any lasting negative effects either on SR or FR... Even so, the poison icon will appear above your head...
You say nothing of this and Popuri is absolutely oblivious to the result of her carelessness. Furthermore, Ruby herself appears to think that all is well.
Outside the door of the kitchen, Rick will ask you if you have been affected badly by the food. When you attempt to reassure him, he correctly will assume that it is kindness alone that motivates you. He will thank you for being so considerate and thoughtful towards Popuri and confess that he cares greatly about his sister.
It is an event that truly offers a little window to Rick's soul...
You do have a choice during the event, after Rick's pronouncements of doom and gloom, to leave... If you choose this option, you will speed out of the room, sparing yourself a poisoning, but Rick's heart level will drop to purple again and he will be hurt and perplexed by your actions, despite the fact that he did everything in his power to warn you against Popuri's cooking!
My own question is: how could Ruby not have tasted the food herself and how could she have allowed it to be served if it actually had the power to poison a guest???
Never mind, though. The event serves its purpose which is to demonstrate that Rick, far from being the insensitive lout he appears sometimes, actually knows his sister better than we realise and is acting to protect her from her worst excesses...
There is another aspect to this event that deserves a quick mention. It emphasises the importance of Cooking in Harvest Moon. So many Harvest Moon games include very detailed and rich 'recipes' or cookbooks. Very often, the 'Most Favourite' Gift for an individual will be a cooked item. Many events focus on cooking or eating. There are many Festivals in Harvest Moon that are centred on food. The Cooking Contest in FoMT/MFoMT, Rune Factory and Harvest Moon DS/Cute DS is an example, but it is not the only Festival that focuses on food. There are Egg Festivals in other Harvest Moon games, including Magical Melody. An Innocent Life has a number of Festivals that require your character to provide specific crops or ingredients, and indeed, the Christmas Festival involves the preparation of a special Cake. In many Harvest Moon games, the Year End and New Year Festivals are your sole opportunity to acquire special ingredients needed to complete your Cookbook... You are not required to complete your Cookbook in Harvest Moon games but it is an enjoyable and sometimes challenging goal.
