The Twins in Rune Factory 2: One Birthday Gift or Two?

I was surprised when more than one player asked whether one Birthday Gift should be given to BOTH Twins or whether each should have her own gift. MARMALADE is their special Birthday Gift item and their birthday occurs on 29 Autumn. I had suspected that one Gift would suffice as their heart levels increase together, and they even share the same Mock Wedding Event with your character. I recently tested the result of giving each a gift on her Birthday, however, to make certain. Here is the little 'Event'.

All Birthdays in Rune Factory 2 and Special Birthday Gifts

This information is taken from my Rune Factory 2 Calendar Guide. It includes all birthdays both in the 1st and 2nd Generations with the special Birthday Gift Item for each character.

It is usually at 4 hearts that a character will confess his/her birthday in the 1st Generation, and it then will appear on your Calendar on the upper floor of the Farmhouse. If you fail to speak to the individual at that point, simply GIVE the special designated item to the character on the date of his/her birthday in order to have the date added to the Calendar.

At the start of the 2nd Generation, you will find the birthdays of all new characters on the Calendar immediately.

You may notice that Yue sells all the special Birthday Gift Items for every character in the 1st Generation. In theory, each character has a different item. In an early version, both Ray and Douglas shared 'Fried Rice' and NO ONE recognised Grape Juice as a birthday gift but in the current retail version, Ray responds correctly to Grape Juice as his designated Birthday Gift.

The reason why you can buy all items from you probably is because your character will not be able to cook in the 1st Generation. In the 2nd Generation, you should be able to cook and forge in your own Workshop. That is the only method by which to obtain the 2nd Generation items.

SPRING:

1 Spring: New Year’s Day
No festivities per se in this game.

2 Spring: Douglas’ Birthday (Fried Rice)
1st day of gameplay in the 1st Generation.

5 Spring: Barrett’s Birthday (Skipjack Sashimi)

9 Spring: Yue’s Birthday (Cabbage Cakes)

13 Spring: Flower Festival
Ask an Eligible Girl to accompany you to Cherry Blossom Square to gaze at the Cherry Blossoms. (1st and 2nd Generations, but in the 2nd, eligible candidates depend on your own gender)
16 Spring: Julia’s Birthday (Seafood Pizza)

21 Spring: Natalie’s Birthday (Fried Udon)

25 Spring: Eating Contest
This Contest is a mini-game. Press the Button repeatedly as quickly as possible to win this Contest.

27 Spring: Byron’s Birthday (Seafood Doria)

SUMMER
1 Summer: 1st Day of Summer

3 Summer: Leonel’s Birthday (Mixed Juice) (2nd Generation)

7 Summer: Monster Taming Contest
You must have a Pet Glove and a Barn as well as space for one more Monster in your Barn if you wish to participate. Timing is what will win this Contest. (Both 1st and 2nd Generations: in 2nd Generation, win a Monster Outfit as well as prize.)

9 Summer: Mana’s Birthday (Baked Sweet Potato/Grilled Yam)

12 Summer: Cecilia’s Birthday (Aquamarine Brooch)

15 Summer: Cammy’s Birthday (Hot Chocolate)

19 Summer: Dance Festival
Ask an Eligible Girl to dance with you in the De Sainte-Coquille Park Square
(In 2nd Generation, partners depend on gender of character)

23 Summer: Jake’s Birthday (Platinum)

25 Summer: Fishing Contest (1st Generation)
Herman will announce the variety of Fish that you need to catch. The largest fish entered will win.

25 Summer: Big Cook-Off (2nd Generation)
In 1st year of 2nd Generation, entry may be Seafood Pizza.

28 Summer: Alicia’s Birthday (Emerald Ring)

AUTUMN
1 Autumn: Adventure Contest
You must find the Item that Herman has placed somewhere on the map.
1st Year of 1st Generation: Amethyst hidden in farthest eastern corner of beach.
1st Year of 2nd Generation: Platinum hidden in area with little steps to the water in Frozen Cave area.

6 Autumn: Max’ Birthday (Snapper Sashimi)

8 Autumn: Ray’s Birthday (Grape Juice) * (note that, in an early version, he responded instead to Fried Rice)

13 Autumn: Harvest Festival
No festivities per se in this game.

15 Autumn: Gordon’s Birthday (Amethyst Ring)

21 Autumn: Egan’s Birthday (Stew)

25 Autumn: Monster Contest
Enter the Tame Monster with the highest Strength to win the Contest. In the 2nd Generation, the Handsome Armour Outfit will appear in your Wardrobe at 6.00 a.m.

27 Autumn: Rosalind’s Birthday (Hot Milk)

29 Autumn: Sera and Serena’s Birthday (Marmalade) (2nd Generation)

WINTER
2 Winter: Dorothy’s Birthday (Strawberry Jam)

7 Winter: Shooting Star Festival
Invite an Eligible Girl to watch the Shooting Stars with you at the Crossroads at 9.00 p.m. This is a romantic occasion.

10 Winter: Herman’s Birthday (Curry Rice)

15 Winter: Orland’s Birthday (Fried Sunsquid) (2nd Generation)

19 Winter: Mining Contest
Herman will ask for a specific Gem. Although the intention of the Contest is to measure the speed with which you can find it in a Mine by using your Hammer, you can take the Gem from storage and give it to him for a guaranteed first prize result.

21 Winter: Tanya’s Birthday (Ruby Ring)

25 Winter: Roy’s Birthday (French Fries)

27 Winter: Leann’s Birthday (2nd Generation) (Sapphire Ring)
30 Winter: New Year’s Eve
No festivities per se. People speak of the Year’s ending
* * * * * * * * * * *

Ray's Birthday Gift: Rune Factory 2 Anomaly

Each of the characters in Rune Factory 2 has a designated Birthday Gift item. It is only when given that specific item that the character will acknowledge it as a birthday gift on his/her birthday. On any other day, if given the same item, the character will confess that he/she loves it, but wishes it had been given on his/her birthday...

In the 1st Generation, Yue sells every item that is designated as a special Birthday Gift for characters in the game. Each individual has a different item, apart from Douglas and Ray and Grape Juice is the ONLY item that Yue sells that is not designated as a special Birthday Gift item for ANY ONE.

This is the reason why player, including myself, believed that Grape Juice was Ray's designated item. In the test version of the game, however, Ray responded to Grape Juice in the way he responded to any other ordinary item. This perplexed me... In fact, other players had noted that in their version of game, he made the same response and it was only FRIED RICE, the gift designated for Douglas, that elicits the special Birthday Gift response.

When given FRIED RICE on any ordinary day:

Ray: I love this, but I wish I had gotten it for my birthday, instead.

On his actual birthday, when given FRIED RICE: ‘It actually is my birthday today.’

I therefore modified the list to substitute FRIED RICE for the GRAPE JUICE previously believed to have been Ray's Special Birthday Gift Item.

Note on 26 March: A number of players now have confirmed that in the latest version of the game, Grape Juice IS Ray's designated Birthday Gift Item. I therefore will change the Guide to conform with this result. Truly, GRAPE JUICE should have been his Birthday Gift in the first place.

Special Birthday Gift Items for the 2nd Generation

I wrote a post previously that gave each of the Special Birthday Gift items for characters in the 1st Generation but thought that the list of the 2nd Generation characters and their Birthday Gift items would be helpful as well. This information IS included in my little Rune Factory Calendar Guide. Actually the Calendar Guide is one of my mini-guides, giving information quickly about a specific aspect of the game. Players may find it helpful to print it out, as it displays all birthdays with the designated Special Birthday Gift Item in brackets after the individual's name. (You will find the link on the right side of this page.)

The Birthday Gifts for each of the 1st Generation characters can be purchased from Yue. As most of these items are 'Cooked Dishes' or Accessories, I believe this was done in order to allow players to give them to the characters before they themselves had the ability to make items in a Workshop.

The 2nd Generation items are Cooked Dishes and Accessories but you will be obliged to make them yourself if you wish to 'gift' a 2nd Generation character. The list is as follows:

Leann, 27 Winter: Sapphire Ring
Leonel, 3 Summer: Mixed Juice
Orland, 15 Winter: Fried Sunsquid
Sera and Serena, 29 Autumn: Marmalade

A player asked how one could discover an individual's birthday in Rune Factory 2. In fact, in the 1st Generation, the character will tell you the date when he/she reaches a specific heart level. As soon as this occurs, the date will be added to the Calendar on the wall of your Farmhouse.

Where 2nd Generation characters are concerned, however, ALL their birthdays will be included on the Calendar from the start of the 2nd Generation.

As I explained in an earlier post, if you give the designated Birthday Gift to an individual on any day other than his/her actual birthday, you will be told that the character loves the item but would rather have it on his/her birthday.
You may notice that the items that Roy and Cammy loved best when they were younger children no longer are their favourites in the 2nd Generation. I still need to discover if the Special Birthday Gift item for each remains constant through both generations.

A similar situation occurs both in Harvest Moon DS and Harvest Moon Cute DS with respect to the characters such as Kate and Hugh who become young adults in the course of the game. Their favourite items change as they become more mature.

Special Birthday Gift Items in Rune Factory 2

In most Harvest Moon games, when you give an individual any item he/she particularly likes as a birthday gift, it will be acknowledged as such and heart levels in many circumstances increase far more than they would on any other day.

This is the case, for example, in HM DS and Cute DS, where a birthday gift of ANY item that is liked by the character will have its ordinary value multiplied by 5.

In Rune Factory 2, however, birthday gifts are treated a little differently from other Harvest Moon games. For each individual, there is only ONE item that will be recognised as a proper birthday gift. If you give the character any other item on his/her birthday, there will be no recognition whatsoever of it as a birthday gift.

This information has been included now in a special section in my Characters Guide but it may be helpful to post it here as well.

Here is a list of all characters and their responses:

Julia for Seafood Pizza: I don’t really want to eat something so fattening right now. If it were my birthday or something it’d be different.
ROASTED YAM for Mana:
Mana: I love this, but I would’ve preferred it on my birthday.
EMERALD RING for Alicia:
Alicia: I love this, but… I would have liked it on my birthday.
HOT MILK for Rosalind:
Rosalind: Thank you, Freya, but I’d hoped to get this on my birthday.
STRAWBERRY JAM for Dorothy:
Dorothy for Strawberry Jam: Thank you… I’d love to get this for my birthday…
AQUAMARINE BROOCH for Cecilia:
Ceci for Aquamarine Brooch; I really like those, but I’d prefer one on my birthday.
CABBAGE CAKES for Yue:
Yue: Oh, it looks delicious! Is that really for me? This would taste even better if it was my birthday!

Other 1st Generation Characters:
SNAPPER SASHIMI for Max:
Max: Thanks! But it really would have bene perfect for a birthday present.
PLATINUM for Jake:
Jake: Don’t give this to me when it’s not going to mean anything. You’re supposed to give it to me on a special day. Like my birthday, for example.
SKIPJACK SASHIMI for Barrett:
Barrett: What’s this, all of a sudden? Is that a present for me? That would be a perfect gift if you gave it to me on my birthday.
GRAPE JUICE for Ray: 'It's my birthday.'
RUBY RING for Tanya:
Tanya: Oh, that’s lovely. Is it for me? This is like… a birthday present, isn’t it!
FRIED RICE for Douglas:
Douglas: I love these, but I would prefer one on my birthday.
FRIED UDON for Natalie:
Natalie: I love this, but… I would have liked it on my birthday.
CURRY RICE for Herman:
Herman: (Much obliged!) Thaaaaaank you! Incidentally, I’d be really happy if you gave this to me on my birthday too.
Egan is Stew: This looks really good. It’s definitely the kind of thing I’d want to eat on my birthday.
AMETHYST RING for Gordon:
Gordon: You’re giving this to me even though it’s not my birthday? I’d enjoy it more then. Ba ha ha ha!
SEAFOOD DORIA for Byron:
Byron: Oh, this looks wonderful! What’s brought this on? It isn’t even my birthday! This would make the perfect birthday gift, though, wouldn’t it? Hah hah hah!
FRENCH FRIES for Roy:
Roy: Heh heh heh, that’s my favourite. Maybe some one will give it to me for my birthday…?
HOT CHOCOLATE for Cammy:
Cammy: That looks delicious! I’d love to eat that on my birthday!

Here is a little 'visual guide' I made of all Birthdays and Special Gift Items for each character:




If any one has noted a different response from Ray when he is given Grape Juice, please let me know. My information is taken from the test version of the game.

Finally, I need to make a public apology for a false assumption I made very early in the game. I should know better by now than to make assumptions in ANY Harvest Moon game based on previous games...

In my Characters Guide, I wrote that Herman liked 'all cooked dishes', basing this on his negative response to a raw ingredient, assuming that he would be like the Gourmet in other Harvest Moon games.

In fact, in Rune Factory 2, there are only a couple of items that ANY character truly likes, and only one item that is recognised as a birthday gift, as stated previously in this post.

Herman loves Pineapple Juice, for example. He will state: (Much obliged.)
Isn't this... a PINEAPPLE JUICE???). Are you giving this to me? Thaaaaaank you!

Another false assumption I made in the 1st Generation, as one could not cook at the time in order to TEST his statements, was that I believed Herman when he spoke admiringly about specific items such as Tomato Juice. In fact, if you GIVE him Tomato Juice, he will ask you what in the world he should do with it, which is his standard response to an unwanted gift! His warm recommendations, like the 'urban legends' he and Rosalind tend to spread at specific heart levels, must be taken with more than one grain of salt!



I intended to correct this aspect of the Characters Guide sooner, but it slipped my mind with my recent focus on the birthday items and the Bestiary and Caves aspect of Rune Factory 2. The Characters Guide will be updated PROPERLY today!