New Features on Harvest Moon Forever

After some thought, I have added a few new features to my Sites, including direct links to Harvest Moon and Rune Factory games sold by Amazon as well as a detailed 'Search' engine for this site at the bottom of this page. Another 'widget' of Amazon links is included at the bottom of the page as well, leading to some of my favourite literary Classics. (I will add to this one. At the moment, it contains only links to books by E. Nesbit.) The link to Harvest Moon and Rune Factory games includes the upcoming 'Hero of Leaf Valley'.

Unfortunately, where older Harvest Moon games are concerned, the prices on Amazon sometimes are higher than the original retail prices. I do not condone this particularly, but at least it does provide players who do not own the games with a chance to acquire them if they are willing to pay the price.

There should be 'buyer protection' for any products bought from Amazon sellers.

No Connection Possible between Rune Factory and Rune Factory 2

Some one asked if any connection could be made between Rune Factory and Rune Factory 2. Although I had a vague recollection to the effect that no connection could be made, I promised the player that I would confirm this.

I now have done so, using two DS systems with Rune Factory in one and Rune Factory 2 in the other. Neither when connecting DS to DS nor through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Centre will either system be recognised by the other. If I insert the same game in both systems, whether it is the original Rune Factory or Rune Factory 2, the other system will be recognised. Thus, there is no connectivity between the two games in the series.

As previously stated, I was fairly certain even without testing it that this was the case, but now I can state it to be so from personal experience.

Fishing for Wood in Rune Factory

Wood or Lumber is one of the most important items in any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game, as it is required for the many construction and upgrade projects that will contribute to your Character's success. You need Lumber for Animal Barns, house upgrades and in some games, for Maker Sheds and other buildings. Without an upgrade or sometimes two to your House, you often will be unable to marry.

In many Harvest Moon games, you can purchase Wood/Lumber from a local merchant as well as chopping branches and stumps to create it. The price may be high, but as long as the option exists, you always can sacrifice luxuries and other purchase options in order to buy the Lumber you need for the project dearest to your heart.

In Rune Factory, however, you cannot purchase Wood/Lumber from any one. With your original Axe, you will not be able to chop Stumps for Lumber either. This limits you to the branches that appear on your Field and untilled Fields in every Cave/Dungeon.

A question that many players ask, therefore, is how to obtain MORE lumber for the upgrades they desperately need. There are two solutions.

The first is by using your Fishing Rod. Branches are one of the items that you will 'catch' when Fishing in most Harvest Moon/Rune Factory games. In most games, however, they are little more than a nuisance. In Rune Factory, on the other hand, they are more than worth their weight in gold. Any 'branch' you obtain with a Fishing Rod can be thrown down onto your Field and chopped into Wood/Lumber. Fishing therefore can be a better source of Lumber than you may have imagined...

Note that branches are more plentiful in some locations than others. A location that is poor in terms of catching fish will be a treasure trove for Branches (and other rubbish items!)

The second method of obtaining Wood/Lumber is through trade. This is extremely tedious and requires another DS, but Wood/Lumber can be traded. Unfortunately, you cannot trade 'stacks' of any item in Rune Factory. You must place a single piece of Wood/Lumber in every slot and then make the trade. The recipient must have an empty slot in his/her rucksack for EACH. Items received in trade do not stack upon arrival. Unless you have an empty slot for each item, the trade will fail completely.

Incidentally, there is quite a big difference between the original Rune Factory and Rune Factory 2 in terms of Lumber/Wood and the difference probably stems from the difficulty players experienced in the original. In Rune Factory 2, many of the rewards for completing Requests on the Bulletin Board include 100 Wood/Lumber. This means that, if you steadily increase Friendship levels with all Characters and perform all Requests, you never should be at a loss for the lumber needed for every building projest or upgrade. In the original Rune Factory, you do not have an opportunity to obtain gifts of 100 Wood/Lumber from the residents of Kardia in any comparable fashion.

The original Rune Factory spans only a single generation and there is no reason why you should be in a hurry to complete the game. As long as you can obtain 100 Wood for the first Monster Barn, you will be in good shape to begin exploring Dungeons and increasing your levels so that you can unlock new dungeons. As Rune Factory 2 spans two generations, the initial gifts of 100 Wood/Lumber from other characters probably were intended to motivate players who might otherwise have been discouraged by difficulties achieving initial goals in the 1st Generation.

Moving forward too quickly in any Harvest Moon/Rune Factory game carries its own disadvantages. One could argue that your character needs Lumber quickly for the house expansion in the original Rune Factory, but the Small Kitchen actually is sufficient at the beginning of the first year. In Rune Factory, having a Recipe and the proper utensils to make a Dish is not sufficient to guarantee success. You must practice simple Recipes again and again in order to increase your cooking skills to the point where you will succeed at more difficult or complex Recipes.

In all three Rune Factory games that I have covered, players often ask me how to defeat a specific Boss, after having been defeated again and again when they have attempted battle. Usually, the real reason for the defeat is because their Experience Levels are too low. I may err on the side of caution, but when I go into battle, I usually have more than sufficient experience and skill to defeat my opponent. I always look for a Wolf for Transport in any Rune Factory game, but in Rune Factory Frontier, you will not be able to tame a Monster until your Skill Levels are within the required Levels for that specific Monster type. This means, effectively, that you must raise your levels a little before you venture onto the Whale's Fin to tame your first Silver Wolf. Everything in its own time...

Site for Favourite Harvest Moon/Rune Factory Events

Still recovering from the events of the past few days, my energy is very low and I am not certain how many contributions I can make at the moment to the Harvest Moon/Rune Factory universe. I did, however, discover a site I had created some time ago yet never promoted (evidently) for Favourite Events in Harvest Moon (or Rune Factory.

Favourite Events in Harvest Moon

I had hoped that other fans of Harvest Moon or Rune Factory would submit their favourite Event from any Harvest Moon/Rune Factory game. Any one who wishes to do so should send the piece to me in the body of an email and I then will post it on the site.

Foraging Tip for Harvest Moon and Rune Factory

I am playing a Harvest Moon game that is very similar to Island of Happiness and working on guides that will be available when the game is released. As in Island of Happiness, some items that are found in the Wilds are more common than others. In ANY Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game, however, you may note that there are specified 'drop' squares where items tend to appear. Keeping these squares CLEAR of any items will allow more items to appear. When the item is rather rare and is found only in a specific location, it can be vital to visit that location regularly if not daily in order to clear any other items from the spaces. Items such as stones and branches can be transformed into Materials for Building but even if you do not have time or a need to do that, pick up the stones and branches and stash them in your Rucksack. Doing so will clear all the potential 'drop' spaces, giving you a better chance of finding the rare item you seek on the following day.

This is true in Rune Factory as well as Harvest Moon. In any Rune Factory game, wild items can be found on tillable fields in the dungeons. Tillable squares can be cleared, ploughed and used to plant Crops but if you wish to continue to find wild coloured grasses as well as materials for building, you may wish to clear some fields in each Dungeon without tilling them. That way, you preserve a location for
branches and wild grasses to be 'dropped'.

In Rune Factory Frontier, Black and White Grass tend to be rare compared to wild grasses of other colours. They both can be found on your field randomly after a severe storm and throughout the Winter season. Set a tame Monster to the task of gathering them in order to collect as many as possible, and keep your field cleared of branches and stones in Winter in like fashion, with tame Monster labour. White Grass is an ingredient in Energy Drink X. It can be found in Urns in the Snow Ruins and in a Tower on the Floating Chamber of Whale Island randomly as well.

Harvest Moon or Rune Factory 2?

Two readers posted comments to which I would like to respond in an actual post. Both basically asked me my own personal opinion of the merits of Rune Factory 2 as compared to the original Rune Factory and other Harvest Moon games.

From the first reader: 'Recently I found myself with fascinated with the whole farming game genre. So, in your opinion which game is 'better' and explain why?

I'm conflicted of getting into the Harvest Moon series or the whole Rune Factory series.'

From the second reader: 'I also never even completed the first requests in Gen 2 for Julia, Barrett, or Herman... It just seems to me that you should have to complete some of these tasks in order to defeat the final boss and beat the game.

All that said, I can't wait for RF 3. I'm just wondering what your thoughts are on some of these things and on the game overall compared to RF 1.'

First, I would like to go on record once again in stating that I never played ANY Harvest Moon game that I did not enjoy thoroughly. I do prefer games that allow the player to 'live' his/her life without pressure of conforming to a specific timetable, but although 'Save the Homeland' and 'Innocent Life' both required the player to complete tasks in a specific time period, they nonetheless were wonderful games. This is ironic, in a way, because I am a player who tries to complete all goals at the earliest possible opportunity. Even so, I like the idea that a player can take one year to court and marry his/her heart's desire or take a decade to do it. That is very much like real life after all.

Where Rune Factory and Rune Factory 2 are concerned, I think that a player who is accustomed to traditional RPGs may not realise how much both games truly are part of the Harvest Moon genre.

Harvest Moon games are NOT linear in nature. RPGS tend to be fairly linear. Rune Factory and Rune Factory 2 have very definite plots and goals but the player is given almost total freedom to choose when, how or if he/she wishes to complete the story.

If you wished, you could stay in the 1st Generation in Rune Factory 2, living happily as a farmer in Alvarna, with only the occasional earthquake to remind you that there was a nebulous threat somewhere in the future. You could tame the Monsters who produce Ranch products, reach 10 hearts with every one in Alvarna and focus on growing the rare Crops rather than moving into the future. If you did this, you would be playing a classical Harvest Moon game.

I think this is where some players misunderstand the concept of Rune Factory. The plot and the combat aspects of the game are 'frills' in a sense. The fundamental game is Harvest Moon. 'Beating' the ultimate Boss isn't the purpose of this game, either in Rune Factory or in Rune Factory 2. The purpose of the game is to restore the farm and to create a decent life for yourself.

The player who feels a little cheated because he really did not NEED to make the most powerful weapons in order to defeat the Boss may not be aware of the role that 'Cookbooks' play in any Harvest Moon game. In a sense, Harvest Moon is based on completing Items Lists. You obtain or make every possible item in the game not because each has a distinct purpose in the sense of plot but because doing so represents 100% completion. In most Harvest Moon games, there are 'secret' items that are discovered by oblique means.

Many players of 'Friends of Mineral Town' and 'More Friends of Mineral Town' may not ever have known of the existence of 'X Wool', for example. The 'Gold' Crops in Rune Factory 2 are secret items. Recipes include them as ingredients but it may be only through exhaustive research and experimentation that players stumble upon them.

The 'Secret Concerto' in the 1st Generation is a clue that ultimately can lead you towards the 'Inquisitive Waltz'. There always are clues to the secrets in Harvest Moon games, although you have to pay attention. Sometimes it is nothing more than a single statement by a character at a specific heart level.

The plot is important in Rune Factory and Rune Factory 2 but ultimately, these games are about a world and the people who inhabit that world. Characters in Rune Factory 2 speak of individuals in the original Rune Factory. This is very typical of Harvest Moon where people who lived in Mineral Town would speak of Forget-Me-Not Valley long before players had any opportunity to experience an intersection between the two.

When I compare Rune Factory with Rune Factory 2, I detect more of 'Harvest Moon' in the sequel than in the original. There is so much quirky humour, sly little asides and detailed character studies in Rune Factory 2. Although it takes the player through two generations and therefore includes an incredible plot structure in its way, it concentrates more on the individual personalities of the characters in Alvarna than on the drama of the Caves. Rune Factory was more 'plot-driven' in a sense than the sequel.

All Harvest Moon games have a plot and definite goals. For example, in Harvest Moon DS/Cute DS, your goal is to rescue all 101 Sprites. This is not necessary in order to enjoy the game, but it represents the same sort of 100% completion philosophy that appeals to players of Harvest Moon. You really only need to rescue 60 Sprites in order to bring the Harvest Goddess back to the Valley, which is one of the requirements for marriage in HM DS/Cute DS. As previously stated, Harvest Moon is NOT linear.

Rune Factory 2 is one of my favourite games at this point, but it is difficult to rate Harvest Moon games. I adored Harvest Moon DS and Cute DS, because I loved the way those games combined the characters of 'A Wonderful Life' with the characters of Mineral Town. 'Island of Happiness' is another incredible game and may be the ultimate 'farming simulation' game, with its strict realistic requirements for crops and the ability to grow grains like rice. I loved the way Island of Happiness incorporated actual rice paddies into the farming experience.

For sheer beauty, however, I could not imagine any game more breathtaking than Rune Factory 2. THe original was exquisite but the sequel is even better. It is a world that constantly delights the eye. The music is wonderful and the landscapes are magical.

For a player who never played any Harvest Moon game before, however, I would be inclined to recommend something easier than 'Island of Happiness' for 'starters'. The farming and ranching aspects of Rune Factory 2 actually are easier for a novice than Island of Happiness. If you are not interested in combat at all, though, you probably should play Harvest Moon DS or Harvest Moon Cute DS. Either would be a fantastic introduction to Harvest Moon. If you like combat and the element of fantasy, then play Rune Factory or Rune Factory 2. I actually would recommend Rune Factory 2 above the original for a player who is more interested in simulation farming than in a traditional RPG. For the RPG player, the original Rune Factory is more 'true to form' but for any true Harvest Moon fan, I think the sequel is even better.

Easy Accessory Projects in Rune Factory 2

I believe I have discussed this in another post that deals with Lessons in the 2nd Generation of Rune Factory, but it may be useful, especially for Harvest Moon players with little experience in playing traditional RPG games, to continue this topic.

Rune Factory 2 includes all basic aspects of any Harvest Moon game such as farming, ranching, fishing, and mining as well as that of collecting items. The combat option, however, adds a new dimension to the 'collecting' aspect of the game.

Monsters who drop 'War Trophies' must be defeated in order to yield an item. They do not drop a Chest containing an item every time you defeat them, but it is a result that will occur periodically. Taking a Monster Ally with you into combat appears to increase your chances of obtaining War Trophies somewhat. It depends somewhat on the type of Monster as each has his/her own distinctive method of fighting. I have found the Wolves, both the Silver and Hunter varieties to be wonderful procurers of War Trophies in the Caves.

The purpose of this post, however, is to discuss Accessories rather than War Trophies.

A player with little experience of RPG games may underestimate the important of choosing the right weapon and equipment for combat in any given situation. He/she further may underestimate the need to raise experience and Skill Levels for the purpose of defeating Monsters (or taming them!)

Increasing skills in forging and creating Accessories are the key to obtaining the best weapons and equipment in Rune Factory 2. Although some weapons and accessories can be obtained by completing Requests, they are not the best that will become available to you provided you have sufficient skill levels to make them yourself.

A traditional Harvest Moon player with no RPG experience must learn how to interpret the descriptions of Weapons and Equipment in order to maximise success and minimise pain and loss.

For example, if you go to the Blacksmith to buy an Accessory, you may find the Field Gloves a little lacking in value if you do not pay close attention to your Statistics. After all, the item has zero Defence capability.

Field Gloves: Level 1, Defence 0
Protect your hands from blisters and calluses. No farmer should be without a pair.
STR up, BODY up

Is there any point in buying them, apart from their potential use as an ingredient in a Recipe to create something better?

In fact, by 'upgrading' the Field Gloves at your Workbench, you can make them into a rather marvelous Accessory in the early stages of the 2nd Generation.

You will find that there is an option to ‘upgrade’ basic items in the 2nd Generation. You can do this at the Forge or Workbench or you can trade over wi-fi with another player to increase the levels of your items. It is better to do it at your own Forge or Workbench for one simple but important reason: doing so will increase your own Skill Levels.

You will use materials each time you upgrade an item but the advantage in terms of increasing both Skill Levels and the power of the item itself are significant.

As the Field Gloves increases both Strength and Body, you will find the following effects with Level 7 Field Gloves. All it takes to upgrade the Field Gloves, by the way, is a single piece of CHEAP CLOTH.

Field Gloves: Level 7, Defence 6
Protect your hands from blisters and calluses. No farmer should be without a pair.
Increases STR and BODY: +5 STR +5 ATK +1 DEF +1 VIT

Another example of an easy upgrade is the ‘Cheap Bracelet’.
A Level 1 basic Cheap Bracelet has the following values:

Cheap Bracelet: 740G
Level 1; Defence: 1
Selling Price: 370G

Cheap Bracelet: Level 10, Defence 11

Each time you upgrade it at your Workbench, you will raise ALL values, including the Selling Price. You only need two pieces of Iron to perform an upgrade to this Bracelet. It is worth doing for the increase in your own Skill Levels if not for its own sake, although three upgrades to the Cheap Bracelet will increase its Defence point value to 4 and at the maximum level of upgrade, Level 10, as shown, it will give you 11 Defence Points!

When your Skill Levels increase a little, you should make upgrades to your Leather Boots. Only one piece of Bronze is required for each upgrade to the Leather Boots and each will raise your Defence by 1 Point.

Again, another reason for performing the Upgrades is to increase your Skills at the Workbench. Otherwise, you never will be able to make a ‘better’ class of Accessories.

Granted, a Silver or Gold Bracelet is superior to the Cheap Bracelet even before these superior Bracelets have been upgraded. It does require a far higher level of skill at the Workbench to create either, however, not to mention all the Gold and Silver in each.

Make maximum upgrades to the most basic low-level Weapons and Accessories to increase your Skill Levels as well as improving the only Weapons and Accessories available to you in the early stages of the 2nd Generation. As time passes, you will raise your Skill Levels to the point where you can create better items.

Meanwhile, Accessories with Defence Points really can make a big difference in combat. This may appear obvious to some, but all the emails I have received both with respect to the original Rune Factory and Rune Factory 2 have made it clear to me that a large percentage of players really are oblivious to the fundamental rules of an RPG game. They go into the Caves with a bsic weapon, no shield, and no Accessories and then wonder why their HP is reduced to zero before they can make any progress against their targets. Defence is as important in any RPG as your character's ability to Attack. Rune Factory and Rune Factory 2 may be 'Fantasy Harvest Moon' games with all the best elements of ANY Harvest Moon game, but they are RPGs as well.

First Generation Bestiary Guide

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Although there is little one can do in terms of the actual 'story' plot in Rune Factory 2 in the 1st Generation, I decided I should complete all aspects of my Guides before I moved onto the 2nd Generation. Two important aspects of the game are the acquisition of all necessary tools and a complete Bestiary. I have completed both now.

Monsters are a vital aspect of both Rune Factory games. They serve many purposes, from providing all Ranch products and acting as helpers on your farm to being a source both of transport and War Trophies. A War Trophy from a Monster often will be the object of one of the Requests on the Bulletin Board. Although the individual who makes the Request will tell you precisely where to find the War Trophy in question, it saves time and energy if you have saved items in advance in your Cabinet.

Knowing which Monsters will water crops and which will harvest them can be useful as well. If you intend to grow as many crops as possible both on your own field and in the plots in the Cave/Dungeon areas, it is most helpful to have a Monster working for you on your farm.

Monsters who neither produce any Ranch Products nor can be trained to work on the farm nonetheless may be useful companions in a fight. All Monsters can be commanded to accompany your character when he goes to any Cave/Dungeon and they automatically will fight by your side against both enemies and Monster Generators. Some Monsters are more powerful than others and some have far better attack strategies than others.


In the 1st Generation game, there is one Monster who will act as a Transport Animal, and in fact, it is one of my own personal favourites in the wild animal kingdom. You can ride a Wolf both in the original Rune Factory and in its sequel although the Monsters bear different names in each game.

The Silver Wolf whom you can ride happens to be one of the best fighters to have with you in combat as well. In the 1st Generation game, he is powerful enough to take out any Monster Generator with a single pounce. He can fell any Monster enemies with one or two blows. His attacks are very well-aimed as well. There are other types of Monsters who may be powerful but less adept at aiming their attacks precisely.

I have included screenshots of my best Silver Wolf. One shows the Monster Options Menu that appears when you have taken the Monster from the Barn. As you can see, one of the options for the Silver Wolf is to 'Get on its back.' Another screenshot shows my character riding the Silver Wolf through Cherry Blossom Square. The last screenshot shows both screens in the Trieste Forest Cave/Dungeon Area. Note that a detailed map of the Cave/Dungeon appears on the top screen. Among other things, it shows the location of any tillable land in the area.

When you are mounted, you neither can fight nor use farm tools. Dismount to use your Watering Can in any Cave/Dungeon area. The Monster will wait patiently by your side until you complete your chores. (Farm work is 'beneath' a Wolf!) As stated previously though, the Wolf is very useful even when your only purpose in visiting the area is to tend to the crops. He will take out the Generation instantly while you defeat the enemy it spawned, saving you time.

One cautionary note that I will make certain I include in my General Guide is the potential effect of combat on Crops. Using any weapon where a Crop grows may destroy the Crop as surely as if you used a Sickle on it. In the beginning of the game, when my attention was directed solely towards the threat any Monster posed, I inadvertantly destroyed a couple of my Crops by fighting the Monster on the plot where they were growing. If you do not have 9 squares filled with fully ripened Crops or Flowers, a Rune Point will not appear. By allowing my character to flail about with his weapons on the farming plot in the Cave or Dungeon, I lost a chance to create a Rune Point...

To be honest, in the 1st Generation, you may find that you have far more Rune Points than you can use. It is only later that you will be able to make every Rune Point count.

My Caves and Bestiary Guide now is complete for the 1st Generation game. It gives the name and specific location of each Monster, the time of day when it appears, a full description of its skills or Products and the War Trophy it drops.

Strategies for Using Runes in Rune Factory 1 and 2

Expert players will be aware of the dual use for Crops in both Rune Factory 1 and 2, but beginners may not be familiar with the system and may not understand how it works. Runes are tiny orbs of brilliant light that can be found on a plot with 9 fully ripened Crops/Flowers. In both Rune Factory games, your character's energy levels are determined by two factors: HP (Health Points) and RP (Rune Points). When your character's RP bar reaches zero, any use of tools will begin to consume HP. This is the most simplistic explanation and in fact, there are other uses for Rune Points, such as the casting of Spells. At the start of the game, however, it is mainly in order to preserve your HP that you need to keep your RP at maximum.

Only an entire 3 x 3 plot filled with fully-ripened crops will produce 1 Rune Point daily. If you harvest ANY of the crops/flowers in that plot, a Rune Point no longer will appear. What this means in effect is that you need to have a strategy with respect to the crops that you grow throughout the map.

A Crop grown in any of the dungeons/caves may be more useful sometimes as a source of Rune Points than for the product it produces. Keep the 3 x 3 plot of crops intact and it will continue to produce 1 Rune Point daily. This can be very useful when your energy is depleted while fighting monsters and smashing rocks for treasure.
Don't forget to continue to water the crops that are fully ripened in any field if you choose not to harvest them.

Crops in Rune Factory, as in any Harvest Moon game, ripen at different rates and have different values. A crop with a high shipping value should be grown for shipment. One with a very low shipping value can be grown for Rune Point production instead.

For example, in Spring in Rune Factory 2, you can grow Pink Turnips. (Regular turnips, I believe, are the equivalent in Rune Factory 1.) They grow very quickly and have a fairly low shipping value compared to some of the other Spring Crops. Although you may be in need of money in the first Spring, you still should keep some 3 x 3 plots filled with fully ripened Turnips or Pink Turnips in order to have access to Rune Points on a daily basis.

There is a question of timing as well when considering when to harvest a crop. If you wish to harvest the crop and ship it, you still should wait until the Rune Point it has produced can be used effectively and not harvest it at 6.00 a.m. when both energy bars are filled. In Rune Factory 2, for example, shipments are collected by Mana at 3.00 p.m. It would be a waste of a good Rune Point to harvest a 3 x 3 square of fully ripened crops of any kind at 6.00 a.m. Better to use some energy either in chores or fighting monsters, then replenish the energy with the Rune Point before you finally harvest the Crop prior to 3.00 p.m.

Remember that you need to have fully-ripened Crops or Flowers in all 9 squares of any 3 x 3 plot in order to produce 1 Rune Point. If one square ripens more slowly or if you harvest one or two of the plants, no Rune Points will appear. It therefore requires an 'all or nothing' strategy where harvesting is concerned.

There is one further consideration or potential complication in both games. If you wish to keep fully-ripened Crops/Flowers in your field on the farm, you cannot set any Monsters the task of harvesting your Crops!

The Incredible Potential in Rune Factory

I'm going to take a quick break from the Harvest Moon game I am playing at the moment to write briefly about Rune Factory as I have been receiving quite a few emails from players who have asked about the game.

Quite frankly, it is one of my very favourite games, inside or outside the Harvest Moon series. I studied sabre fencing and collect edged weapons in 'real life' and to be able to play a game in the Harvest Moon series that allowed me to forge and use my own weapons afterwards was the ultimate fantasy fulfillment for me. Furthermore, as some one who loves jewelry and designed some custom pieces at one time, it was very exciting to be able to make accessories at my forge in Rune Factory.

Rune Factory has incredibly beautiful graphics. The characters are some of the most attractive I ever have encountered in terms of their 'portraits'. The plot is compelling and you actually have the opportunity to become the 'saviour' of your country... but ultimately, it all works within the framework of the wonderful Harvest Moon philosophy: it is Nature who comes to your aid! When you defeat monsters in the mines, you do not slay them. Instead, you send them back to their original pure natural state, one that is not hostile. In essence, your sword frees them.

If you wish, you can tame the monsters and keep them on your farm instead of releasing them back to their original world. There are varieties of monsters who give you eggs, milk and wool. Other varieties can be ridden. I really loved being able to ride a monster who looked and acted like a wolf.

My General Guide as well as my Bestiary and Caves Guide gives detailed information about all the monsters and their precise location as well as the method by which each cave is unlocked.

My General Guide deals with all aspects of the game, including courtship, but as usual, I wrote little specialised mini-guides as well. Links to all my guides can be found on the right side of this page...

In the general excitement about Cute (which I share completely), it is good to remember that there are OTHER magnificent Harvest Moon games out there, and Rune Factory is one that was made for the DS, my own platform of choice.

N.B. The DS platform appears to allow games from any part of the world. Players in Europe CAN purchase the U.S. Natsume version of any Harvest Moon game and play it successfully. I am adding this note because Rune Factory has not been yet released in any European edition...

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.

HELP!!! ... Harvest Moon, Sims2 Castaway, MySims...

First of all, apologies to players for not being able to finish the Sims2 Castaway Guide yet... Christmas intervened. I will work on it this weekend and try to complete the Guide. I was thinking about writing another 'mini-guide' for the game as well that will list ALL plans for all items in the game. In this sense, plans would include items needed to create any tool, piece of furniture, building object or special item, any skill requirements and so on.

Having thought about it further, however, I realised that a player has no option to complete a plan until he/she unlocks the plan and it appears in the menu. A guide that includes all plans would be helpful only in the sense of letting you know what items and skills you would need ultimately once you unlock the plan. Is it useful enough to warrant the labour? I am not certain.

I realised this when a player emailed me about the plan for the Wedding Lei. The fact that it requires 5 Hibiscus and only a basic Crafting Bench and 3 Creativity is irrelevant if the player has not unlocked it as there will be no option for him/her to craft it...

Incidentally, as usual, the creators of The Sims have a rather wicked sense of humour. ALL my Sims developed gay or lesbian leanings as soon as I let them out of my direct control. I had intended to encourage a romance between a specific man and woman and had their friendship level at maximum. I switched control to another Sim and when I returned to proceed with the courtship, I discovered the girl being serenaded quite happily by another girl. This sort of development had occurred simultaneously between two of the males. The only pairs who had NOT developed any romantic feelings about one another spontaneously were those of opposing genders! Typical of The Sims!!!

Second of all, for all those players who continue to send me emails asking about the Mushroom Shed in HM DS, please refer to an earlier post on this site, where I gave detailed information about every aspect of mushroom-growing in the game. The information IS included in my General Guide for HM DS as well.

To all players who are looking for 5 Mechanical Skill Points in Sims2 DS, please refer to my General Guide where I list ALL Skill Points and the schedule and location for finding each of them.

To all players who need to know WHY they can't save their game in MySims for Wii, please look at my General Guide for THAT game. You will not be given an option to save until you have completed the 'comfy chair', the first item to be made in your Workshop. After that, you can save any time you wish and in more than one slot!

For any player who needs help with courtship or marriage in any Harvest Moon game, please refer either to my Heart Events and Rival Heart Events Guide or my Courtship and Marriage Guide for the specific game you are playing. My 'romance' guides list the likes and dislikes of every eligible girl/bachelor, a schedule of all heart and rival heart events, the actual text of each event and include sections with general information about the requirements for marriage.

Remember: links to the actual guides are included on the right side of this webpage. This site was created primarily to give players a quick reference point for ALL my guides rather than being dedicated to the little posts I write from time to time here.

To ALL players of ANY game, happy gaming during this holiday season. Look for updates to my guides, especially my most recent Sims2 Castaway and MySims Guides. I do intend to update my guide for Rune Factory as well, when time permits. I did not include the specifications for EVERY special weapon yet...

Cave Maps and Bestiary for Rune Factory

To the right of this post are sections devoted to specific games. Each Harvest Moon game has a section of its own, with all the guides I have written for that game listed beneath it. Some players apparently did not realise that links to the actual guides can be found on this site. In fact, the purpose of this page is to provide links to all my actual guides.

For any one who is playing Rune Factory, I would like to direct attention once more to the new 'Bestiary and Cave Maps Guide' for the game. I like to write 'text' guides rather than creating pictures because it makes the guide accessible to ALL players, even those with very elementary software. That is the reason I have created 'verbal' maps of all the Caves in Kardia. The Cave Maps give step-by-step descriptions of each cave, the position of each Monster Generator with details about the specific Monster it produces and the items 'dropped' by that monster. It includes the locations of all tillable fields, rocks that contain ore and underground water sources. I wrote this little reference guide in response to a number of emails from players asking for the location of a specific item. With this Guide, a player should be able to find the Monster that drops the item he/she needs instantly.

Furthermore, this guide should provide a resource for a player who finds himself/herself in a Cave without any more provisions and with low HP. By noting the location of all tillable fields, the player should be able to find a field that has wild items that could restore a little HP or cure poison. Remember that Medicinal Herbs and Orange Grass restore some HP. Antidotal Herbs cure Poison.

If you know the position of all tillable fields in a Cave, you can plan which crops to plant in order to be able to have access to runes on a regular basis. A field that is located deep within a cave may be useful when you are exploring that particular area but it is a good idea to grow crops near the entrance of every cave as well. That way, you can use those runes as a regular resource, whether you actually wish to explore that cave or not. I keep some Sweet Potatoes in the first chamber both of Carmite and Toros Caves for that purpose. If I need a rune quickly, I can nip into one of those caves to restore my RP. I chose Radishes and Sweet Potatoes for those locations because they grow quickly and are of little value as crops. It is better for me to keep them in the ground where they can produce runes daily.

I prefer to grow the crops that take more than a season to ripen further from the entrance. Crops will not die when they are not watered. They simply will not advance in their growth until watered again.

In any case, I hope the Bestiary and Cave Maps Guide will prove to be a useful resource to players. I use it myself when I need to refresh my memory as to the location of a specific Generator.

Neither Perfect nor a Saint

A comprehensive guide to any Harvest Moon game cannot be completed in a few weeks or even a month, especially if one does all the research as well as the writing personally. When I first began to write guides for publication on IGN, I included my email address as a matter of course, feeling that I wished to be 'accessible' to fellow fans of Harvest Moon if they had questions about the game.

Other guide writers as well as people at IGN advised me to remove my email address from my guides. I have been advised to delete emails unread if they did not ask questions that were NOT covered in the guide or to simply respond with a terse link to my guide page.

Instead, I tried always to answer all emails, even if the writer asked questions that are answered very clearly in my guides. Not one day passes even now without at least 20 new emails from people with game questions. I have counted more than 50 emails on some days.

I believe in courtesy and kindness, but I am growing weary of people who assume that my time is worthless and who are too lazy to read the guide. Instead of looking at the guide, they basically ask me to write a little personal mini-guide that answers all their questions. It would take me far more time to do that than it would take them to look up the answer in one of the guides that took me six months to write.

I still want to be accessible to players with game questions. I know what it is like to be 'stuck' somewhere, having tried everything I could think of doing without having any success in unlocking the next stage in a game. I enjoy the camaraderie of the gaming community and especially enjoy correspondence with other players who love Harvest Moon as much as I do.

So I shan't stop answering emails but I am going to ask for a little consideration from people who write them. Can you PLEASE write the name of the game you are playing in the Subject Title of your email? If you have written to me before, can you copy the correspondence into the body of your email so I can refer to it myself quickly? I can't be expected to guess which game you are playing or to remember every aspect of YOUR game when I am trying to write new guides of my own as well as answering emails from countless other players.

Especially where Harvest Moon games are concerned, it is extremely important that you give me the name of the specific game you are playing. There are many Harvest Moon games, and some of them feature the same characters as other Harvest Moon games. Every game is different, however. The method of making Butter in 'A Wonderful Life' is quite different from the method of making Butter in 'Rune Factory' or 'Friends of Mineral Town'. The method of obtaining a Yarn Maker in 'Friends of Mineral Town' is slightly different from the requirements of 'Harvest Moon DS'. I want to help you, but you have to help me a little.

If I were a Saint, would I patiently answer the same questions again and again without making any complaint? I thought about that, and although I always feel a little guilty when I am less than good-humoured with some one, I believe that I am right to point out these flaws in internet communication. After all, I am not the only person who writes guides and answers questions about games. For the sake of every one who is willing to correspond with other players, there should be a few common courtesies.

There are people who send emails without addressing the person to whom they are sent. They barge ahead with their questions without a greeting. They never thank the person for responding or for giving them the information they so desperately sought. 'Reply ASAP' they command, as if I am nothing more than a Harvest Moon answering machine who spits out answers to their questions.

Few people bother with proper etiquette in correspondence now but I have to say that I genuinely am touched by the players who write to me to thank me for the work I have done on my guides or who tell me that my guides have made all the difference in their enjoyment of the game. It is those emails that inspire me to continue.

And for the rest, please take a moment simply to try to understand that I can help you better if you help me. I created this website primarily to provide links to all my guides. The guides are here. Look at the right side of the page and you will find links to every guide I have written. These little posts are incidental. 'Harvest Moon Forever' was created to provide you with links to the actual guides.

Idealism in Harvest Moon

The unwavering idealism that underlies all Harvest Moon games never fails to touch my heart and soul deeply. Rune Factory demonstrated this beautifully in the 'Grand Finale' to the main quest.

Warning: Do not read this post if you wish to be surprised by the 'end' of the game.

Your character, a young man with amnesia, proves his worth, his valour and his essential compassion both for human beings and other species by taming monsters rather than killing them and ultimately refusing to use his weapon against his
arch-enemy because any weapon of his could kill a human being.

He then faces the entire mechanised Sechs Army in order to protect the town of Kardia although he believes the cause is lost, as the Sechs Army has mustered a hundred tanks against the small village of Kardia.

The great Dragon God, Terrable has been awakened by the machinations of the Sechs Empire in the hope that he could be used as a super-weapon against their enemies. Instead, Terrable confronts the army of tanks and breathes his 'fire' upon them.

What occurs then? Rather than being incinerated, the tanks are surrounded by plants!
The leader of the Sechs Army orders his soldiers to burn the plants in order to free the tanks but the soldiers respond that this would destroy the tanks themselves, as the tanks are completely entangled in the vegetation.

The 'great' Sechs Army then is forced to WALK back home, to the ridicule of the people of Kardia!

Throughout the game, characters remark upon the need to live in harmony with the earth and the importance of being aware and respectful of the power of Nature.

Rune Factory is great fun. The philosophical messages are delivered with gentle humour and yet, the game always remains true to the essential principles of Harvest Moon.

One aspect of Harvest Moon games that may be less than welcome to the more 'puritanical' Western players is the position that alcohol occupies in traditional Japanese culture and therefore in Harvest Moon as well. In every Harvest Moon game, there is at least one character who constantly extols the virtues of alcohol and Rune Factory has quite a few! There even is a peripheral quest that is centred on a bottle of rare wine named Rollabouti. Harvest Moon games usually include one girl who can outdrink the men in drinking contests.

When English editions of a couple of Harvest Moon games attempted to 'convert' alcohol to 'Milk', the results were rather absurd. Conversations warning against the strong properties of 'Milk' or telling children that they were not old enough to drink the stuff were rather bizarre, to say the least. Fortunately, Rune Factory in its English version has remained true to the original Japanese in this respect.

Like most Harvest Moon games, the game itself does not end with the credits. In fact, 'winning' the game usually merely unlocks new options. A devoted Harvest Moon player never needs to regret the act of completing the main quest as there always are more quests to discover and complete...

Note: For players of Rune Factory who have requested detailed 'maps' of the dungeons, I have created a 'Bestiary and Cave Guide' now that gives step by step descriptions of each cave and the locations of each Monster generator in the caves of Kardia.

Rune Factory and My Birthday

As it is my birthday today and there is nothing planned in terms of social events, I decided to devote the day to the creation of my most useful reference guide for Rune Factory, an Item List Guide. I mention this for two reasons. The first is that any one who is involved in Rune Factory may find the guide useful as it will provide all information with respect to the acquisition of any item in the game as well as the value of the item. The second reason is because, rather to my surprise, I realised that spending the day with Rune Factory, even if I am involved in the rather tedious drudgery of copying out 'Recipes' for items, is not a bad way to celebrate!

I always wanted to learn how to forge real blades and weapons. Unfortunately, when I had the money for it, I didn't have the time and when I finally had the free time, I didn't have the money. Creating and maintaining a proper forge is expensive and lessons in blade-making cost money as well. The days when an artist was willing to take on an apprentice for nothing more than the love of the art are gone for the most part. It has become a 'niche business' like any other.

There are some renowned contemporary female knifemakers, but I never became one of them, despite my great admiration for the art. Now, however, in Rune Factory, I can combine my Harvest Moon skills with the fine art of forging weapons and equipment. It is incredibly satisfying to forge a new magical weapon or to create a beautiful and powerful accessory, even if these items cannot be transferred to THIS world.

Rune Factory is more complicated than most other Harvest Moon games where 'cooking' and 'creating' items is concerned. You not only need the proper space and equipment in order to embark upon any new venture, but you need both the right ingredients and a certain level of skill. This makes Rune Factory particularly challenging.

In some ways, it reminds me of another favourite game of mine, Valkyrie Profile. In Valkyrie Profile, acquiring the right 'war trophies' did not in itself guarantee acquisition of a new weapon or piece of equipment. There were other requirements as well.

This is just a brief note en passant. I now intend to return to the forge, where I finally have amassed enough experience and skill to create a blade of surpassing beauty and power.

Clever Natsume! Frustration conceals a purpose...

Whenever I describe the most vital elements of Harvest Moon to any one, I try to stress the importance of patience, determination and the need to pay attention to ALL aspects of life in any Harvest Moon game.

I discovered a little trick recently in Rune Factory that allowed me to win the Egg Festival in the first Spring, but performing this trick successfully apparently is not simply a matter of purchasing an egg from a local shop. It is possible that, if the player does not have any friendship points with the monsters he/she has tamed, his character will not win the Egg Contest with the spurious egg. All my Monsters had at least 3 FP at the time of the Egg Festival.

Knowing the value of high Friendship ratings both with other individuals and with all tame Monsters (the Rune Factory equivalent of farm animals), I used the Brush daily on the Monsters. Friendship ALWAYS is as important as wealth and experience in Harvest Moon.

In all honesty, however, the value of the egg that is entered by your 'rival' may be set at midnight... I need to confirm this in another game. It is possible that, if the player who lost the Egg Festival had been able to reload his game BEFORE midnight, he would have won the Festival as I did...

In Rune Factory as in other Harvest Moon games, there is a use for each and every one of your tools and if you neglect them, gaining no experience, you will not be able to perform necessary tasks later in the game.

I was fuming over the particularly long delay in having my hammer upgraded to Level 3 when I realised once again how clever Natsume is in designing their games. By taking my hammer for a week (a festival and Holiday intervened to extend the required 4 day wait to a week), I was forced to concentrate more on my other tools, and to spend more time fishing and chopping wood, tasks I had neglected a little when new mines containing valuable gems and items were unlocked.

Although I stress the need to perform all activities on a regular basis in my guides for Harvest Moon games, I myself often am guilty of becoming too obsessed with a single goal. One cannot afford 'tunnel vision' in Harvest Moon. It always is a mistake to focus too much on a single goal or quest. If one is diligent with respect to every activity and interacts with every individual on a regular basis, the plot will unfold naturally and new options will be unlocked. It is only when one becomes frustrated that mistakes are made and new options overlooked.

That having been said, I was very glad when I finally was able to fetch my Level 3 Hammer from Leo's Smithery...

Cheating in Harvest Moon

Any one who has used my game guides knows that I do not believe in 'codes' or other types of 'cheats' but I am more than happy to find an 'exploitation device' within the game itself that allows one to succeed more quickly or gain an advantage.

Much to my delight, I found an early 'cheat' in Rune Factory. It is included in my General Guide, but for any one who reads my posts on this site, I will write about it here as well.

There are a number of festivals in Rune Factory as in other Harvest Moon games. In the first year, it is difficult to participate properly in any of the early festivals, apart from attending and speaking to the villagers.

The Spring Festival is the equivalent of the Spring Thanksgiving Festival, which is the Japanese 'Valentine's Day'. In Harvest Moon games, it is a day when boys give 'Cookies' or 'Chocolate Cookies' to girls they fancy. In almost every Harvest Moon game, one's character is unable to do anything for the girl or girls he likes in the first year as he will not have a kitchen nor an Oven in which to bake any suitable offerings. Rune Factory is no different in this respect.

The next Festival in Spring is the Egg Festival. In Rune Factory, there virtually is no hope of obtaining the 'Cockadoodle' who lays eggs before the Egg Festival in the first year, but I suddenly realised that there was a shop that sold small eggs. Without knowing what would occur, I bought an egg and stored it in my rucksack for a day or two before the Egg Festival.

On the day of the Festival, I went to the Town Square and offered my (purchased) egg to Jasper, the officiating judge. Much to my delight, he not only accepted my spurious offering as a genuine entry, but actually declared that I had won the contest!

Winning this contest is not simply a matter of pride. The prize is 5000g and an Empty Bottle! An Empty Bottle may not sound like much, but for those who are playing Rune Factory, it is worth its weight in gold, as one only can obtain health Recovery Potions if one has an Empty Bottle in which they can be poured.

By 23 Spring, 5000g may not be that significant, but another Empty Bottle really makes a difference when it means that one can take three Recovery Potions instead of two to the caves.

27 Spring is the day of the Cooking Festival in Rune Factory. As in most other Harvest Moon games, one must resign oneself to the certitude of failure in the first year, having neither kitchen nor appliances with which to cook anything, even a dish as simple as sashimi.

There is only one house upgrade in Rune Factory, instead of the usual two that are possible in some of the other Harvest Moon games but it is quite costly. As in all Harvest Moon games, however, all good things come to those who wait...

Part of the fun of Rune Factory is the addition of traditional RPG combat to Harvest Moon. I always love to fight monsters who drop 'war trophies' on occasion. In most cases, a chest can contain one of two or three different items in Rune Factory. War trophies in chests do not appear each time a monster is defeated, which makes it even more of a 'surprise package'. I never outgrew my love of wrapped gifts and chests in RPGs never fail to delight me even when they contain nothing more than a 'cheap bandage' or 'cheap cloth'. After all, the next chest could contain a special sword or crystal...

Rune Factory Guides Live!

Where guide-writing is concerned, I have had one of the most difficult weeks of my life, as my hard drive was wiped, destroying all my files. Although a technician supposedly saved the files to a disc beforehand, the disc proved to contain nothing more than empty folders for the most part.

Among the casualties were my notes and game journals for Rune Factory, as well as the preliminary draught of a General Guide.

Nonetheless, I have managed to work furiously to rewrite the Guide and it has been published now on IGN. You will find links both to a preliminary General Guide and to a reference guide for all Shops and Locations on the Map.

I consider it a personal triumph in a sense, although the guides would have been far better had I not been obliged to spend so much time writing information that previously had been included in my files. There were a few moments when I barely could stand the idea of doing it all again, especially when some of the work involved typing long lists of items and their values.

Rune Factory, however, is worth the effort. I consider all Harvest Moon games to be worth any amount of energy and time. It will be more fun when I can play the game without having to copy everything into my guides, but meanwhile, I hope other players will enjoy Rune Factory as much as I.

Rune Factory is a marvelous game. Like all the best Harvest Moon games, it requires a great deal of time, patience and determination. I have to admit that I love being able to wield a sword as well as farm, mine and fish!

Like all my guides, these will be updated regularly.

Havest Moon Philosophy

'Rune Factory' takes the essential philosophy of Harvest Moon to new levels. All Harvest Moon games embrace an animist view of the world but in many games, the interactions between humanity and 'magical creatures' is fairly limited, although one can court and even marry a magical girl in some games.

Interactions with Harvest Sprites often involve befriending them and learning their likes and dislikes. In all Harvest Moon games, ranching success depends somewhat on affection levels with the animals. It is not simply a matter of keeping them fed but of paying attention to them and spending a little time with them on a daily basis.

In 'Rune Factory', one cannot purchase farm animals. One must find them in the wilds, where they have become 'monsters'. One then must confront them and defeat them. Once defeated, however, one must establish a relationship with them, first by building a home for the monster and then by using the 'Friendship Glove' to try to persuade the monster to become a friend.

Tabatha, a maidservant who is a magical individual in disguise, tells the hero that: 'If you can get along with the monsters in the caves, you can become friends with them! If you have this friendship glove, you can become friends with them. Win it over and it may become your friend. But be careful, you may be attacked before you win the monster over.'

Then: 'The way to get along with something without speaking is through showing how you feel. Even if the monster hits you, you have to show it that you want to be friends.'

All Natsume games contain spiritual wisdom and a guide for players to follow in their real lives. One must be willing to deal with different personalities, to be patient with people who can be rude at first, but who ultimately display hearts of gold. One must respect the elderly and be kind to children. Listening to people and responding appropriately always is a vital element in Harvest Moon games. You can play the game without paying attention to the nuances, but you ultimately will wonder where you went wrong when you fail to obtain essential information and items!

In 'Rune Factory', the hero is both farmer and warrior. In every aspect of his life, he must work towards the good of the earth and the community. Learning how to maintain a balance in all things is the foundation of a hero's ultimate success in Harvest Moon. If he only is interested in wielding a sword, he never will be able to advance even as a warrior as the 'Runes' that restore energy are found only where crops are grown. If he is interested solely in farming, he never will be able to tame monsters that could provide him with eggs, milk and wool. If he neglects the other inhabitants of the village, he never will be able to acquire items and information that will allow him to attain his greatest ambitions...