Flora's Hot Spring Event in HM DS and Cute DS

I have had so many emails from players about this that I finally in desperation decided it merited a post of its own.

There are two ways to unlock the first Hot Springs in the original HM DS. The default method is by having a child. Most players prefer to unlock the option earlier, however, by experiencing Flora's 3rd Heart Event in HM DS and her 250FP event in HM Cute DS.

This event is one and the same in both games. Here is the schedule:

3rd Heart Event, aka Blue Heart Event: walking from Vesta's farm to Waterfall on any sunny day except Sunday, 11.20 p.m. to 12.00 a.m.

Note that you must enter the screen walking from the windmill area north towards the tent.

The prerequisite in the original HM DS actually has more requirements simply because you must experience all heart events in order and therefore must have experienced the first two before you can experience the third. In Cute, the only requirement is that Flora must be at 250FP.

Please pay careful attention to the time given in the schedule. A player once told me he could not experience Flora's Blue Heart Event even though he had been to the right location at 11.20 in the MORNING every day... The event occurs late at night, not in the morning. Go there between 11.20 p.m. and MIDNIGHT!

I had thought that one could unlock the first Hot Springs by having a baby both in the original HM DS and in Cute DS, but I personally never waited that long in either game. I always try to trigger all events as early as possible. It is possible that, because Flora's Event in Cute is based on FP rather than AP and therefore can be experienced both before and after your marriage, that it is the only means by which the 1st Hot Springs can be unlocked.

If I ever have a chance to play a new game of Cute again, I shall have to avoid raising Flora's FP to 250, have a baby and see if the first Hot Springs are unlocked by any other Event as in the original HM DS. Meanwhile, if any player would like to confirm to me that the 1st Hot Springs are NOT unlocked by an Event (apart from Flora's 250FP Event) at any point after having a baby in Cute, I will add the information to my Guide.

The Crisis of an inveterate Packrat...

Without being too specific, there is a game in the Harvest Moon series where one can own and place more than one Refrigerator and Cabinet in the house at any given time. Most players probably will not find this prospect particularly exciting, but I am the sort of person who collects items 'for a rainy day' (or the possibility of a Rainbow...) and I was delighted to be able virtually to double my storage capacity by using more than one Refrigerator. It is not pleasing aesthetically and I certainly wouldn't want to invite any guests to visit. It reminds me a little of my Animal Crossing home where I had the most magnificent Mansion and the rarest of items, but no floor space! I couldn't move for all the rare insects and fish cluttering my rooms, not to mention my own personal collection of rare art objects and souvenirs of alien visits.

The problem with having more than one Refrigerator and Cabinet, I am discovering, is much the same problem one has in real life. I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING!!! I have to open each Refrigerator to search through the shelves, then open each Cabinet, often wasting my most valuable real life asset, which is TIME.

As I often warned players of HM DS and Cute who spent hours upon hours in the Casino winning Medals, you do have to spend REAL TIME doing it and that time is limited. If you spend all your real time gambling, even if you come out of it a virtual millionaire, what happens to your farm and your social life?

So here I am, spending far too much real time searching through my Refrigerators and Cabinets. I thought I was extremely clever to discover that the game would allow me not only to have more than one of each but to actually use them all at the same time. Like a miser who delights in his gold, I love to see my rare items... and actually am surprised sometimes to find an item that escaped my recollection in a slot somewhere, but it is slowing me down considerably.

A lesson here? Well, it's the same lesson I have tried to learn in vain in my real life. Clutter may be impractical but it appears to be a part of my intrinsic personality at this point. I often store items that are worth a considerable sum in Harvest Moon when I actually need money simply because they are rare and I like to be able to look at them. That is a minor form of insanity, I know.

So here

Harvest Moon and the Environment

Out of a hundred emails I receive containing questions about Harvest Moon, at least a quarter of these tend to be desperate appeals for help because the player gives gifts that an eligible girl or bachelor loves and yet, his/her AP keeps going back down to zero!

The reason for this, as I have stated again and again in my Guides, is because the Harvest Goddess who watches over the land is very strict with respect to littering. She has taught her people not to throw items recklessly into the roads, into the seas and rivers or anywhere else... In almost every Harvest Moon game, you will find rubbish or trash bins in the Village Square and in your own house. In some Harvest Moon games, you actually can ship rubbish items such as old boots and empty tins to obtain a little extra income. What you MUST NOT DO is throw the items on the ground or into any body of water.

If you 'catch' an old boot with your Fishing Rod, do not throw it back into the water. Take it to the nearest rubbish bin or ship it... or if you are playing a game that features the little girl May, you can give it to her as a gift and she will be thrilled with it. (She is one of the few individuals who actually LIKES rubbish, apart from the Witch Princess in HM DS and Cute who likes some rubbish items but not others. You can give the Witch Princess your empty tins and fishbones, for example.)

In some Harvest Moon games, you can pull weeds on your own land and toss them aside without incurring any penalties but in Harvest Moon DS and Cute DS, throwing even a weed onto your own field is considered littering. The Witch Princess may give you her own gift of rubbish if you toss 10 weeds, but although you have been given that dubious award from her, you will lose AP with eligible bachelors/girls! Do not drop or throw ANY item on the ground or water ANYWHERE in Harvest Moon DS or Cute DS. Affection WILL decrease when you do...

In some games, it is only the affection and/or friendship of individuals within a specific radius that will decrease when you litter. In others, the effect will be general.

It may be useful to add a note here about throwing a small fish into the ocean in order to catch the King Fish. You must do it if you wish to catch the King Fish in question, but it WILL be considered littering and you will lose affection/friendship in every Harvest Moon game when you do it. Make certain to remedy the loss as quickly as possible... that's the best you can do.

In some games, you actually can go to Confession at the local Church and be absolved for the 'sin' of littering. This is worth doing, actually, if you either have dropped an item by accident or have been forced to throw a small fish into the sea to catch the King Fish. Those players who, when trying to give a favourite item to an individual, have dropped it by accident when the intended recipient has moved away suddenly will lose not only the item and the benefit of the gift but be punished with a littering penalty! We've all experienced this, I expect... I usually reload in such cases, even if I am forced to relive an entire morning...

All Characters Events in Cute

I spent almost the entire morning today transferring the text of all Characters events from my own Cute game journals to my Characters Guide for Cute. The expanded guide should be uploaded by IGN shortly. I dislike the term 'random events' as events in Harvest Moon seldom are random in nature. Almost every event will depend on a variety of requirements which, once met, will allow the event to trigger. I therefore prefer to refer to these events as Character Events.

In Harvest Moon DS and Harvest Moon Cute DS, almost all Character Events are based on Friendship level or FP. There are events that will trigger when a character reaches 100 FP, 200 FP and 250 or 255 FP respectively. These events often have weather and seasonal requirements as well but once all requirements are met, the event WILL trigger.

Some events, like Galen's Fishing Rod Event, Flora's 250FP event and Nina's Stocking Event actually unlock new options. Others simply provide background information on the characters in the game. All events provide points towards your characters' Farming Degree.

The text of all Heart and Rival Heart Events is given in my Courtship and Marriage Guide for Cute and I therefore did not duplicate this information in the Characters Guide. The Characters Guide includes the text of all Events that are neither Heart nor Rival Heart Events.

I did not have sufficient time to cross-reference my 1st Year Events Calendar Guide to add information as to precise date and time of each event to the text section of the Characters Guide. For the date, time and location of any Event included in the Characters Guide, refer to the Calendar section of the 1st Year Events Calendar Guide.

Magical Melody for the Gamecube and the Wii

As more than one player has asked about this, I thought I had best write about it here.

In many respects, Magical Melody for the Gamecube and the Wii should be very similar and my guides for the original Gamecube version should be applicable in most situations but there is one very big difference between the two versions: you cannot play the game as a girl if you have the Wii version. If you wish to play as a girl, you need to purchase the original Gamecube version. Remember that Gamecube games can be played on the Wii, but you will need the 'classic controller'.

One more time: Rules for Heart Events and Rival Heart Events

This information is given in ALL my Courtship and Marriage Guides for every Harvest Moon games, but in the past month while I have been away from home, I received 1000 emails with game questions and many of them ask the same questions about Heart Events, so although this subject is covered both in my guides and in earlier posts on this site, I will deal with it once more.

There are two kinds of Heart Events in Harvest Moon games: Heart Events and Rival Heart Events.

Heart Events occur between your character and eligible girls or bachelors and when your character responds correctly, advance YOUR courtship. Rival Heart Events are events that occur between the eligible girl/bachelor and your rival. Your character is not involved in those events actively but simply witnesses them. When triggered, rival heart events advance the courtship of your RIVAL.

The usual number of Heart Events in a game is 4. The usual number of Rival Heart Events is 4 as well. In most cases, all four Heart Events can be experienced in the first year of gameplay, provided you have reached the minimum heart level required for each.

Heart Events usually occur at the following heart levels: Black, Purple, Blue and Yellow. The eligible girl or bachelor must be at least at the required heart level in order to trigger the Heart Event. If he/she is at a higher heart level, you still can trigger the Heart Events. In other words, you can have the eligible girl/bachelor at deepest red heart level (60,000 AP) and STILL experience all four of the heart events, including the Black Heart Event.

YOU MUST EXPERIENCE ALL FOUR HEART EVENTS IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO MARRY A GIRL/BACHELOR. You can propose to any girl/bachelor if you have the Blue Feather, but YOUR PROPOSAL WILL BE REJECTED EVEN AT RED HEART LEVEL IF YOU DID NOT EXPERIENCE ALL HEART EVENTS WITH THAT GIRL/BACHELOR.

All heart events must occur in the proper order. It is impossible to 'miss' any heart event! You can experience them in ANY year of the game. My guides tend to give the earliest possible date at which any Heart Event can be triggered but you can experience ALL of them later... No time limit for heart events.

All Rival Heart Events, on the other hand, cannot be experienced in the first year. Harvest Moon games tend to load the deck in favour of your character, giving you at least four years to win the hand of the girl/bachelor before there is any threat from a rival. The first Rival Heart Event can occur in the first year, even in the first week of the game, but the second Rival Heart Event cannot occur before the beginning of the second year. The third Rival Heart Event cannot occur before the beginning of the third year and the fourth and final Rival Heart Event cannot occur before the beginning of the fourth year.

It is only the Fourth Rival Heart Event that will kill your chance of marrying an eligible girl or bachelor. If you experience the Fourth Rival Heart Event of any eligible girl or bachelor, their marriage will occur a week later.

That is written in stone. Experiencing the first three Rival Heart Events, however, will not prevent you from marrying the eligible girl/bachelor. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO, TO PREVENT THE FOURTH RIVAL HEART EVENT FROM OCCURRING IS TO RAISE THE HEART LEVEL OF THE GIRL OR BACHELOR TO RED. ONCE ANY ELIGIBLE GIRL/BACHELOR IS AT RED HEART LEVEL, THE FOURTH RIVAL HEART EVENT WILL NOT TRIGGER.

Why should any player wish to experience rival heart events? Well, one reason is that every event gives the player points towards his/her Farming Degree level. Another reason is that you only can marry one eligible girl/bachelor in any Harvest Moon game. If you wish to allow the other couples to marry, you need to experience all four of the Rival Heart Events in order to trigger their wedding.

Remember: all four of the Heart Events can be triggered even if the eligible girl/bachelor has reached red heart level. The colour designation of any Heart Event simply represents the minimum level at which that event can be experienced. The colour designation of the Rival Heart Events, on the other hand, represents the MAXIMUM heart level at which that event can be triggered.

Heart Levels in Harvest Moon DS and Cute DS are:

Black Heart: 0 to 10,000 AP
Purple Heart: 10,000 to 20,000 AP
Blue Heart: 20,000 to 30,000 AP
Green Heart: 30,000 to 40,000 AP
Yellow Heart: 40,000 to 50,000 AP
Orange Heart: 50,000 to 60,000 AP
Red Heart: 60,000 AP and above

In most cases, the Four Heart Events correspond to the following levels: Black Heart or 1st Heart Event; Purple Heart or 2nd Heart Event; Blue Heart or 3rd Heart Event; and finally, Yellow Heart or 4th Heart Event.

There is one exception to this in Harvest Moon Cute DS: Skye, a maverick where any rules are concerned, is the only bachelor with five heart events. He therefore has a Green Heart Event that occurs at 30,000 AP. His Yellow Heart Event is his 5th and Final Heart Event.

The rules concerning the requirements for heart and rival heart events actually follow logic if you think about it. A Rival Heart Event shows that the eligible girl/bachelor is interested in the rival. If you have brought the girl or bachelor to deepest red heart level, he/she no longer will have ANY interest in your rival. You can sit back and relax, concentrating only fulfilling all the other marriage requirements and making certain that you experience all the Heart Events for the girl or bachelor you wish to marry. Red heart level simply means that the heart of the eligible girl/bachelor is yours exclusively. It does not mean that your proposal will be accepted.

For example, in most Harvest Moon games, you must have expanded your house twice, have the bachelor/girl at deepest red heart level, experienced all the Heart Events and have purchased the Big Bed as well as the Blue Feather in order to be able to propose successfully to the man/woman of your dreams. In Harvest Moon DS and Cute DS, there is an added requirement: you must have rescued 60 Harvest Sprites, thereby automatically rescuing the Harvest Goddess. Without the blessing of the Harvest Goddess, NO marriage can occur.

My Heart Event and Rival Heart Event Guides, otherwise known as the Courtship and Marriage Guides, include individual sections for each of the eligible girls/bachelors in any Harvest Moon game. In these sections, you will find a list of the likes and dislikes of that bachelor/girl, the Most Favourite Item (gift with the highest value in terms of boosting heart level) as well as a complete schedule of all Heart and Rival Heart Events for that girl/bachelor. A section at the end of each of these guides includes the text of every Heart and Rival Heart Event. The reason I do this is to allow a player to make certain that all the events have been experienced. Some players become confused between Heart Events and Rival Heart Events. If any doubt exists, all the player has to do is consult the text section of the guide.

One final point should be mentioned concerning the Blue Feather. In many Harvest Moon games, the Blue Feather usually becomes available when at least one eligible girl or bachelor reaches Orange Heart Level or 50,000 AP. This is not a high enough heart level for marriage, however. You still have to increase his/her level to red before your proposal will be accepted. If you have not experienced ALL Heart Events, your proposal will be rejected even at red heart level until you HAVE experienced all Heart Events for that girl or bachelor.

Skye is the only bachelor who has a Green Heart Event. For most eligible girls or bachelors, no event will be triggered upon attaining Green Heart level or 30,000 AP. This often is forgotten by players, as all other Heart Events simply require an increase of 10,000 AP. Going from Black to Purple is an increase of 10,000 AP. Going from Purple to Blue is another increase of 10,000 AP. Going from Blue to Yellow, however, represents an increase of 20,000 AP. Going afterwards to Red Heart level is another increase of 20,000 AP although, once again, there is no Orange Heart Event. What is triggered at Orange Heart Level is the ability to acquire a Blue Feather, a necessary accompaniment to any marriage proposal.

There are Harvest Moon games that do not follow this system strictly but most of them do. If you have any further questions, feel free to send me an email or post a comment here.

Good luck with your courtship of the girl or man of your dreams!

Freyashawk's Return

Good morning, every one! I returned home late last night to find 1000 emails containing game questions in my box (overflowing in fact, with AOL refusing to cram even one more into the postbox) but thought I had best publish a quick post here first to let every one know once more why your emails have NOT been answered during April. I had very little access to the internet during most of April. Now I hope to be able to answer all emails once again, while continuing to work on the upcoming Harvest Moon game for the DS and soon, the upcoming Wii game for Harvest Moon.

I missed my fellow Harvest Moon fanatics, but feel a bit overwhelmed by 1000 emails!

Announcement about Game Questions

I'm afraid I will have limited access to the internet for awhile and therefore will not be able to answer game questions for a couple of weeks perhaps. Links to all my guides are included on the right side of this page.

The Character you play in Cute

When you begin Harvest Moon Cute, DS, you have the option to choose between the Mineral Town character from 'More Friends of Mineral Town' and the girl character from Forget-Me-Not Valley in 'Another Wonderful Life'. Essentially, the game appears to choose your appearance according to the predominance of bias towards one or the other.

I tried many different permutations and here are the results of each from my own game journal:


Harvest Goddess: Dum-da-da-DAA! I'll be asking you some questions. Remember that your character's appearance will change depending on how you answer. Well, let's get started. Which do you primarily play, GameCube or Game Boy Advance?

Game Cube
Game Boy Advance
Both

GBA

Do you like blonde hair?

Love it.
It's okay, I guess.
Not really.

Love it

How about ponytails?
I guess I like them.
Pigtails are better.
Not really.

Not really.

Now be honest, which do you like the best?

Mineral Town character
Wonderful Life character
I don't really care.

Mineral Town character.

O.K. Your character's appearance has been determined.

You will get straight blonde hair with the character from MFoMT.

Which do you primarily play, GameCube or Game Boy Advance?
GameCube
Do you like blonde hair:
Love it
How about ponytails?
I guess I like them

Which do you like best?
I don't really care.

You will be the character from MFoMT with long blonde hair.



Which do you like best?
I don't really care.
Both
Not really
I guess I like them

You will be the character from Another Wonderful Life with red hair.

If you answer:

Both
Not really
Pigtails are better

Again, you will be the character from Forget-Me-Not Valley in Another Wonderful Life.

The Ultimate Walkthrough for Courtship of Skye

Here are the steps to take if you wish to court and marry Skye (and who wouldn't?):

1. Introduce yourself to EVERY character in the Valley even if you do not give them all gifts. (This is a necessary step in obtaining a Fishing Rod as well as you must introduce yourself both to Galen and Nina if you wish to experience that event.)
2. Go up the wide staircase towards Romana's Villa on any sunny night between 10.00 p.m. and 11.50 p.m. and Skye's 1st Heart Event will trigger, introducing you to Skye.
3. Do NOT expect to find him the next day as he never appears in the Valley on the day following any of his Heart Events.
4. Go to the Valley exit at 10.20 p.m. on the next sunny night to find him at the earliest time and give him any toiletry (sun block, lotion, whatever) from the Excavation Site to boost his AP by
+300 points and change your outfit daily to boost his AP by an additional +200 points, giving you an increase of +700 AP per day with Skye.

Once you have met Skye in his First Heart Event, he will be found in the Valley on any night when the weather is fine. He enters the Valley between 10.10 and 10.20 p.m. I usually entered Vesta's house at 10.10 p.m., equipped a toiletry in my items slot, then walked outside to waylay Skye as soon as he entered the Valley. His dialogue is romantic when he is on this screen and when he is on the screen with the Waterfalla and Goddess Spring. His path will take him west across the bridge and north to the Goddess Spring where he stands until dawn. His dialogue actually changes according to heart level when he is on the screen with the Waterfall and Goddess Spring and is heart-stopping in some cases.

All of his events, apart from the 1st heart Event are in two parts. You set up the event in the morning by going to the right location and agreeing to participate. If you do not agree to participate, you will lose FP with the villagers involved but you still can change your mind and participate in Part II of the Event.

Part II of every event occurs at Skye's usual time frame, between 10.00 p.m. and 11.50 p.m. but weather requirements are different where Skye's Heart Events are concerned. I experienced both his 2nd Heart Event and his 3rd Heart Event on rainy days. I experienced the 3rd on a sunny day as well, but I think the 2nd actually may require rain.

The most difficult event in terms of Part II is the Third Heart Event or Blue Heart Event because Part II requires the presence both of Flora and Carter in the tent between 10.00 p.m. and 11.50 p.m. On Tuesday, Flora will be out until late. On Sunday, Carter does not even enter the tent until midnight strikes, making it too late for Part II of the event to trigger. My advice: if you walk into the screen that contains the Excavation Site on Tuesday or Sunday at a time when it would trigger Part I of Skye's Blue Heart Event, reload your game without saving! Just wait until the next day... It is his most romantic heart event and it is sad if you miss it.

If you DO miss Part II of ANY of Skye's Heart Events, it will not prevent you from experiencing the next Heart Event or from marrying him. You only NEED to experience Part I but it is Part II that increases his AP.

Marrying Skye: You cannot propose to Skye in the ordinary way by flourishing the Blue Feather. There is NOTHING ordinary about this bachelor. You can show it to him but he will mutter something about your interest in other bachelors. Do not fret. Go home and go to bed with the Blue Feather in your rucksack. (If you are not ready for the marriage proposal because you wish to experience other bachelors' heart events first, just stow the Feather in your toolbox and the Proposal Event will not trigger.)

If the Blue Feather is in your rucksack, Skye will come to your house in the night and you will have the opportunity to give him your heart with the Blue Feather.

There are complete details about all aspects of courtship and marriage, including the schedule of all heart and rival heart events for every bachelor in my Courtship and Marriage Guide at:

[link=http://faqs.ign.com/articles/861/861637p1.html]Harvest Moon Cute Courtship and Marriage Guide[/link]

It includes the recipes of all the 'Most Favourite Items' for each of the bachelors. Skye's Most Favourite is Finest Curry, but you can make do with Toiletries from the Excavation Site instead until you have a Kitchen and a Pot (rather cruelly the last utensil offered by the Shopping Channel).
Skye is the only bachelor with five Heart Events. The additional Heart Event occurs at Green Heart level.


How to Make Skye's Most Favourite Dish:

Finest Curry

Ingredients:
Rainbow Curry
White Curry
Burnt Food Frying Pan
Burnt Food Pot
Burnt Food Oven
Burnt Food Mixer
Burnt Food Steamer
Burnt Food No Utensil
Utensil: Pot

N.B. Use a Weed to make any Burnt Food Dish rather than wasting good
ingredients.

To make Rainbow Curry:

Ingredients:
Curry Rice
Blue Curry
Green Curry
Red Curry
Yellow Curry
Orange Curry
Purple Curry
Indigo Curry
Utensil: Pot

To make White Curry:

Ingredients:
Rice Ball
Curry Powder
White Grass
Utensil: Pot

To make Curry Rice:

Ingredients:
Rice Ball
Curry Powder
Utensil: Pot



Schedule of Skye's Heart Events


1st Heart Event, aka Black Heart Event
Location: Walk from Main Path to Romana's Mansion
Time: 10.00 p.m. to midnight, any day
Requirement: must be sunny day

2nd Heart Event, aka Purple Heart Event
Location: Blue Bar
Time: 6.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. on Monday, Part I
10.00 p.m. to midnight, Part II
Requirements: Must be a rainy Monday, Skye must be at 10,000 AP or higher


3rd Heart Event, aka Blue Heart Event
Location: Go north along path from Vesta's farm towards Carter's Tent
Time: 8.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon, except Tuesday, Part I: DO NOT TRIGGER ON
SUNDAY!!!
10.00 p.m. (preferably 11.30 p.m.) to midnight, Part II, cannot experience on
Sunday night
Requirements: Skye must be at 20,000 AP or higher
Added requirement for Part II: Flora and Carter BOTH must be inside the Tent


4th Heart Event, aka Green Heart Event:
Location, Part I: Walk from crossroads across the bridge towards Vesta's farm
Time: 6.00 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. on Friday, except Winter Season, Part 1
Location, Part I: Vesta's Farmhouse on Friday, except Winter Season, 10.00
p.m. to midnight, Part II
Requirements: Must be a sunny Friday, not in Winter; Skye must be at 30,000
AP or higher

N.B. Heart Events usually are four in number. There is no Green Heart Event
for any other Bachelor

5th Heart Event, aka Yellow Heart Event:

Location: Lobby, Inner Inn
Time: 11.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. on sunny Wednesday, Part I
10.00 p.m. to midnight, Part II
Requirements: Must be sunny Wednesday, Skye must be at 40,000 AP or higher

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...

Always Meet All Characters in Harvest Moon!

There is a general requirement in Cute that you must introduce yourself to a character before you will be able to experience any events with him/her. Skye is one of the few exceptions as his First Heart Event introduces him. Even so, if you have not introduced yourself to Lumina, Skye's First Heart Event will not trigger.

In my own games, I always meet every character within the first or second day of the game, so I never had any problem triggering Skye's First Heart Event. It was only when a player wrote to me to say that the event would not occur for her that I realised a prior meeting with Lumina could be a requirement.

In fact, this was the case. When I suggested it and she tried it, the event occurred without any problems.

This information will be added to my guides for Cute, but for players who have had the same problem, I thought a post might be in order.

It does not really amaze me that most of the emails I am receiving about Cute ask about Skye. The Harvest Moon fan base is mad about Skye, but then, so am I.

Another dreamy bachelor in Harvest Moon

Without saying too much or giving out information that I shouldn't, I have to express a little enthusiasm for a new bachelor I met in an upcoming Harvest Moon game. I never liked cowboys much, but this guy is VERY handsome... those who are attracted to Skye in Harvest Moon Cute DS could find this bachelor rather appealing as well.

Characters come to your farm for their first introduction and are announced as though a new chapter in a book is beginning. It is VERY attractive visually. In any case, this bachelor is the local Animal Trader. I haven't explored his personality. From the description of a man of few words, I expect he will not be as articulate and smooth-talking as Skye, but there is an air about him that makes me want to get to know him better...

After over a week with only one bachelor in my 'village' who reminds me very much of Rick, even to his relationship with his sister, I am excited by this new possibility.
It is a game for the DS by the way.

How to find Skye!!!

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I am SO embarrassed. I apparently never made it clear in my Courtship and Marriage Guide that you meet Skye for the first time by experiencing his First Heart Event.

I have received a possible deluge of emails from players today who have been wandering the paths of the Valley searching for Skye in vain... As a matter of fact, I believe I did that myself in my first game, so I should have been aware of the danger of not stating very clearly that his First Heart Event is your first meeting with him.

Skye really does break all the rules. Ordinarily, you must meet an individual before you can experience any event with him/her. Skye of course, is an exception to THIS rule as well as many others.

Walk up the staircase towards the Villa between 10.00 p.m. and 11.50 p.m. on any sunny night and you will meet Skye for the first time in his First Heart Event. AFTER that, you will find him at the entrance to the Valley at 10.20 on sunny nights. He then crosses the bridge and walks up to the Goddess Spring where he stands until dawn.

By the way, you never will see him the night after one of his Heart Events, but the following night, he will resume his regular path...

There is another anomaly about Skye that may be worth mentioning. Between his First and Second Heart Events, I did find him once on the path between Turtle Pond and the Blue Bar. Once he 'hit' the Blue Bar in his Second Heart Event, though, I never saw him anywhere but on the path that leads from the Valley entrance across the bridge and then north to the Goddess Spring.

Natsume Cat and Island of Happiness

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O.K. Island of Happiness is here now, accompanied by a wonderful Natsume Harvest Moon cat. Here's a photograph of the Harvest Moon Cat. I always have preferred cats to dogs and was thrilled when HM DS gave players a cat as well as a dog, even though the poor creature had no real function. My new Harvest Moon cat will sit beside me as I work and lend me strength and inspiration. I always loved black cats but have to admit I love cats of almost every colour.

I feel schizophrenic now. A part of me spent the past fews weeks longing for the point where I would be able to start and play my own permanent Cute game, to marry Skye and live happily ever after with him, farming, fishing and mining to my heart's content, after successfully fulfilling every goal in the game....

Of course, there is another part of me that is eager to experience Island of Happiness...

As Island of Happiness still is in pre-release stage, however, I shan't be able to post any information or screenshots of the game.

Map Guide for Harvest Moon DS and Cute DS

When a player emailed me with respect to the little Walkthrough for the first week in Cute, bewildered and out of her depth completely, I had a sudden inspiration. I have written 'map' sections in previous guides actually, so it is not entirely new for me, but I think that a little walkthrough of the Valley itself could be useful, with brief descriptions not only of the buildings but of the people inhabiting them and the best gift for each. I have a Characters Guide that does that, but that is organised according to the person rather than the location.

An hour after I began this post, I wrote a new 'Map' section for both my General Guide and my 1st Year Events Calendar Guide. The updated versions of both guides should be uploaded to IGN later today.

For any one who may need the information NOW:

Your farmhouse basically stands almost in the centre of the Northern part of the Valley. The path that leads south from your farm goes to a place where a number of paths meet. I term this the Crossroads. To the right of the Crossroads is a bridge that crosses the river from west to east. The river effectively cuts the Valley in half.

On the western side of the River, you will find the following:

Your Farm

Northeast of your farm:

The Goddess Spring: This is where you will find the Harvest Goddess after you have rescued 60 Sprites. Drop an offering into the Spring to persuade her to appear. Her favourite offering is a strawberry. Many of the villagers go to the Goddess Spring when the weather is fine. You can find Hugh, Rock, Muffy and Cody here on a regular basis. Below the Goddess Spring is:

The Sprite Company Tree: This is where you will find all Harvest Sprites. There is a reception area where you will find Guts, Jet and the postboxes for every Team. To the left of the reception area is a large pot where you will find the Baby after you have rescued 60 Sprites. Feed the Baby and ultimately he will grant wishes for you. Guts is the Sprite who organises the Sprite Labour force for you in exchange for medals. Jet sells special items from the counter, including Accessories, Records and the Harvest Moon cards. The most important Accessories are the Necklaces that are offered when your tools have been upgraded to the next level. The highest Necklace is the Mythic Necklace. In the northern wall of this chamber is the entrance to the Casino. Here you will find three gaming tables and a window where you can purchase medals as well as exchanging them for prizes. It is here that you can buy special crop seeds, the Teleport Stone, the Love Bangle and the Truth Bangle as well as the Red Cloak. When you have purchased the Red Cloak, the Godhand and Miracle Glove will be offered. Many events occur when you exit the Sprite Company Tree so visit often!

The 2nd Hot Spring: This will be unlocked when you have used the 1st Hot Spring 100 times for an hour each time.

South of your Farm:

A Row of Homes consisting, from left to right of:

Wally's house: here you will find Wally, Chris and Hugh
Grant's house: here you will find Grant and Kate
Hardy's Clinic/House: here you will find Hardy and, on Wednesdays, Elli and Trent from Mineral Town

Northwest of this row of homes, you will find a wide stairway leading north to:

Romana's Villa: here you will find Romana, Sebastian and Lumina and, on Monday mornings, Mary from Mineral Town
Witch Princess Hut: here you will find the Witch Princess

Directly south of the row of three houses, on the other side of the same path, from left to right are:

The Blue Bar: here you will find Griffin and Muffy
The Inner Inn: here you will find Ruby on the ground floor, Rock and Nami on the second floor and the two guest bedrooms on the 2nd floor where Mineral Town visitors stay
The Girls' guest bedroom is on the left and here you will find Karen on Tuesday, Elli on Wednesday, Ann on Friday and Popuri on Sunday
The Boys' guest bedroom is on the right and here you will find Trent on Wednesday, Grey on Thursday, Cliff on Saturday and Rick on Sunday
To the left of both guest rooms in the corridor, you will find a wooden Orange crate. It is here that Van has his stall on every day that ends in 3 or 8, beginning with the 3rd day of the season and ending with the 28th day.

South of the Crossroads, you will find the following:

Daryl's house and laboratory: here you will find Daryl on the ground floor and Leia the Mermaid in the basement. The basement will be locked until you have 100 FP with Daryl.
Gustafa's Yurt: here you will find Gustafa

Gustafa's Yurt is on the right side of a path that leads south from the crossroads and has a view of the river from the western shore. Daryl's house is on the left side of this path and can be reached from another path that leads south from the Blue Bar.

Turtle Pond: this is almost directly south of Daryl's house. It can be reached from either of the paths that lead from north to south.

The Beach: this is at the southern edge of the Valley. The entrance is below Turtle Pond. Most Festivals occur at the Beach between 10.00 a.m. and 5.50 p.m. The exceptions in terms of time are the Fireworks Festival, which occurs from 6.00 p.m. to 8.50 p.m. and the Year End Festival which begins at 6.00 p.m. and ends at 11.50 p.m.

If you go west from Turtle Pond, you will find a caravan park and, a little northwest of that, a tower on stilts. You can reach this area as well if you take the path that leads south from the Blue Bar.

In the Caravan, you will find Cody.
In the Tower, you will find the Twins, Patrick and Kassey. They make fireworks. You have to climb a rope to reach their home.

Cutting the Valley in half is the River. At the top of the river is a Waterfall. Behind the Waterfall is a secret Field named the Super Field. Boulders on either side prevent access to the Super Field until you are able to claim the Legendary Sword on the 255th floor of the 2nd Mine. In Cute, you will not be able to claim it until ALL 6 tools are upgraded to Mystrile. In the original HM DS, you can claim it if your experience level is at Mystrile even if all the tools themselves have not been upgraded. To remove the boulders, equip the Legendary Sword, stand next to a boulder and press the 'A' button. Note: You do NOT use the Legendary Sword here as a tool. You can use it as a tool inside the Mines to defeat Dark Creatures, however.

You can cross the River by means of a bridge in the centre of the Valley. When you have destroyed the two boulders on either side of the Waterfall, you can take a path there above the river to cross from west to east.

East of the River are the following, from North to South:

At the far North:

Carter's Tent: here you will find Carter and Flora, living chastely together in separate sleeping bags

The Excavation Site: here you will find the four Mines, but only when they are unlocked. When each mine is unlocked, an entrance will be created in the northern wall of the Excavation Site. It is at the Excavation Site that you can dig for jewelry that ships for 2000G and can be sold to Van for up to 3250G.

A path leads south from Carter's Tent to some Windmills. Below the Windmills is another crossroads of sorts. You can continue south along the path or you can take a path that leads from the bridge to the exit from the Valley. From the windmills, you will see the exit on your right and the bridge on your left. YOU NEVER CAN LEAVE THE VALLEY!!! Other residents come and go from the Valley, but your character never can visit Mineral Town in this game.

If you go west from the exit towards the bridge, you will find Vesta's farm. In fact, on the northern side of this path, from left to right are:
Vesta's Storeroom: here you will find Vesta, Marlin and Celia in the early evening when Vesta sells seeds, including the seasonal seeds sold at the Supermarket, tree saplings and Mushroom seeds (spores really).
Vesta's Home: here you will find Vesta, Marlin and Celia

On the south side of this path you will see Vesta's fields. Her crops always are ripe and ready to harvest, even on the first day of any season, which can be rather annoying!

There are two paths actually that lead south from here. One is the path that continues south from the Excavation Site. The other is a path that begins south of the bridge and skirts the river.

If you take the path south of the Windmills, to the right you will find:

The Construction Site owned by Barney's Circus: After your child is born, Barney will move into the Valley and you will find his huge colourful tent on this site.

The 1st Hot Springs: this must be unlocked by an event with Flora when she reaches 250 FP.

The tomb of your character from FoMT or MFoMT if you insert a GBA cartridge to unlock the visitors from Mineral Town.

To the left is Galen's house, more easily reached by taking the path that leads south along the river's edge.

Take the path south from the bridge to find a little hill on the right where Galen's house stands. If you take the path south from the windmills, the hill will be on the left.

Galen's House: This is where you will find Galen and his wife Nina. Both are pivotal characters. Galen will give you a Fishing Rod if you visit him on a sunny Saturday between noon and 1.50 p.m. and make certain that no tool is equipped in your tool slot. Nina will knit you a Yule Stocking if she is at 255 FP and you visit her on a sunny morning in Winter to give her a ball of yarn. Note that she needs YARN, not wool so you will need the Yarnmaker.

Obtain your Horse on 3 Spring in HM DS and Cute DS

I have added a brief Walkthrough for the first week of the game to my 1st Year Events Calendar Guide for HM Cute DS but the updated version of the guide may not have been published yet by IGN. I believe I should add one to my 1st Year Events Guide for the original Boy version of HM DS as well. It offers many useful tips to make the game easier for players.

One of these is a way to obtain a horse on the very second day of the game. You need to spend a little time in the Excavation Site digging for jewelry, but you should do that anyway!

On Monday, 2 Spring, the day on which the game begins, the Supermarket will be open but you will have only 500G which should be spent on seeds. Never mind that. Van will come to the Valley on the 3rd to open his stall on the 2nd floor of the Inn. There you can sell jewelry from the Excavation site for up to 3250G each.

Do not forget to buy at least one item from Karen's Supermarket each day it is open for the first 10 days in order to rescue the Sprite who runs the Shopping Network.

When Tuesday arrives, you can obtain the horse from Takakura by shipping 1000 items. This is easily done as follows:

Buy Bird Feed from Popuri and dump it in the shipping container. You can carry 99 portions of Bird Seed in every empty slot in your rucksack. Even though you will have only 18 slots in the small rucksack, it will not take long to ship whatever amount of Bird Feed is required to bring your total to 1000. As soon as you throw the 1000th item in the bin, you will rescue a Sprite. Go into your house then and when you exit, Takakura will be at your door with a Horse.

It's as simple as that. Even after investing in the Bird Feed, you should have more than enough money to order the first Bird Barn from Gotz.

The horse is not really that useful once you have a teleport stone but until Sunday, 8 Spring when the Casino is unlocked, the horse will make your life MUCH easier!

Unlike some of the other Harvest Moon games (FoMT/MFoMT and Harvest Moon Boy & Girl come to mind), the horse can be ridden anywhere outdoors on the map. Riding the horse will cut your transportation time in half until you have the very useful teleport stone.

Strategies for Tool Upgrades in Harvest Moon

It was when I played Harvest Moon Boy & Girl that I realised that the strategy one should employ when upgrading any tool in Harvest Moon varies from game to game. The best strategy in Harvest Moon DS and Harvest Moon Cute DS is the worst strategy in Boy & Girl. The reverse holds true as well.

In Harvest Moon Boy & Girl, ANY tool upgrade takes three days to complete. This effectively means that you will be deprived of the use of that tool for three days. This being the case, upgrading your tools level by level is the worst strategy to employ as it means that, in the long journey from Basic level to Mystrile level, you will be deprived of each tool for a total of 12 days! That is a significant amount of time. Furthermore, the price for an upgrade remains the same, no matter how you choose to order it. In other words, it is the LEVEL of the final upgrade that determines the cost, not the number of levels that are contained in the upgrade.
Thus, upgrading a basic tool to mystrile level costs the same as upgrading a Gold Tool to Mystrile. Whenever Saibara makes a Mystrile Tool, it costs 5000G, whether he starts with a basic or a gold tool.

The best strategy in Harvest Moon Boy & Girl where tool upgrades are concerned, therefore, would be to upgrade to the highest level possible in a single order, depriving yourself of the tool only once for a period of three days. When you choose to upgrade each tool will depend on the usefulness of the tool at any given time. Obviously, the best time to upgrade a Watering Can to mystrile would be the Winter season when you have no need for it. On the other hand, you will find that a Mystrile Watering Can will be very useful throughout the growing seasons. You probably should give the tool to Saibara to upgrade to mystrile level as close to the end of the first Spring as possible, making certain that Harvest Sprites have been hired to do the watering. When your Spring crops have yielded their last harvest, there is no point in watering them further in any case.

To use the same strategy in Harvest Moon DS and Cute DS would be a mistake. In these games, the length of time needed to complete any upgrade depends on the number of levels by which the tool is upgraded. If you order an upgrade to the next level only, the job will take no more than a day. This actually means that your upgraded tool will be delivered to you the next morning at 6.00 a.m. If you made the order near the end of the previous day, you can use the tool before you order the upgrade, making any temporary deprivation totally insignificant.

There are necklaces that become available at each level of tool as well. If you skip a level or levels, you never will be able to purchase a necklace for the levels you 'missed'. Even though the cost will be greater if you order an upgrade from Grey for each level, the benefits of never being deprived of your tools far outweigh the cost factor. Money is easy to obtain in Harvest Moon DS and Cute DS, even at the start of the game, because of the treasures you can uncover in the Excavation Site. The best strategy therefore is to ask Grey to upgrade each tool by a single level only each time you order an upgrade.

AP Tips for players of Cute

As Cute hits the shelves tonight, I realise that many players will be most interested in the romantic aspects of the game. This information is included both in my Courtship and Marriage Guide and my General Guide for Cute, but it may be worth posting separately here.

As stated elsewhere more than once, a daily routine of giving a Favourite or Most Favourite item as a gift to all bachelors is the best general strategy for increasing Affection Points, thereby raising heart levels.

There are some special actions and occasions whereby AP can be raised higher than it could be at any other time:

1. Change your outfit daily to increase the AP of every bachelor in the Valley (including any visiting Mineral Town bachelor) by 200 points.

2. On the occasion of the Fireworks Festival, speak to every bachelor at the beach to increase the AP of ALL bachelors who are there by 2000 points.

3. On the occasion of the Winter Thanksgiving, FIRST give a regular Favourite or Most Favourite Item to each bachelor and THEN give him either Chocolate or Chocolate Cake. A traditional recognised Thanks-Fest gift of Chocolate or Chocolate Cake will increase AP by 1000 points.

If you give a regular 'Most Favourite Item' as a gift first, the regular gift will increase AP by 800 points. A 'Favourite' will increase it by 500 points. If you THEN give Chocolate or Chocolate Cake, AP will increase by an additional 1000 points, making the total increase for the day 1800 AP or 1500 AP, depending on the item given. If, however, you give the Winter Thanks-Fest gift FIRST, AP will increase only by 1000 points and any items given afterwards will not affect AP at all.

4. On the occasion of an individual's birthday, given him a Most Favourite or Favourite item as a gift. The value of any item given on an individual's birthday is multiplied by x5. Bear in mind the fact that it is only the first item that will affect AP. Secondary gifts will affect only FP. If, however, you give a 'Most Favourite Item' to a bachelor on his birthday, its value will be 4000 AP as opposed to the usual 800 AP. This is quite a significant increase! Only bachelors and Magical Girls have Affection Points or AP, but an item given to ANY ONE on his/her birthday will have a value of x5 its ordinary value in terms of FP or Friendship Points.

5. When you have made a certain number of offerings to the Harvest Goddess at the Goddess Spring, she will offer to raise the AP of the bachelor of your choice. There will be two lists from which to choose, one for the Valley bachelors and the other for the Mineral Town bachelors. Rather inexplicably, Skye is not included in the list of Valley bachelors. The Harvest Goddess will raise the AP of the bachelor you choose only once. Further offerings only result in the High/Low guessing game and a gift of a random number of seeds of a randomly chosen level.

Trent's very endearing 4th Heart Event

Were I not devoted utterly to Skye, it would be easy to be seduced both by the 4th Heart Events both of Kai and of Trent in Cute.

The Doctor from Mineral Town actually conforms to a rather stereotypical Asian romantic characterisation of doctors as very serious, idealistic individuals who haven't the time to become socially adept, choosing instead to embrace a passionate devotion to humanity. There was a time in Western civilisation when doctors were depicted in much the same fashion but no longer. In any case, Trent's interactions with your character tend to focus on your character's health habits and diet until the final Heart Event.

At this point in the courtship, Trent has become so attracted to your character that he no longer is able to focus on his duty. He no longer even can take refuge in his usual health-related dialogue but is tongue-tied and blushes in your presence.

To make matters worse for the poor man, Elli and Hardy tease him gently about his condition. It is quite a charming event and as both Elli and Hardy intimate, only your character has the power to 'cure' what ails him.

If you do not acknowledge his state, he will be utterly crushed.

It is interesting to compare Elli's character in Cute with her depiction in Harvest Moon Boy & Girl and to note the differences in her attitude. Although she obviously bears the same love for her Doctor in both games, in Cute she graciously steps aside when she realises that the Doctor is interested in your character. In Harvest Moon Boy & Girl, on the other hand, she never loses an opportunity to stake her claim on his heart!

A life gone with Cute...

Well, my old Cute games no longer exist and the cartridge is wending its way across the land. I feverishly worked to experience as many events as possible before I lost all the rewards of my efforts and in fact, experienced all but one of the Mineral Town bachelor events before I overwrote the data with a new game. I did that simply because I could not resist the temptation to keep playing the game and the cartridge HAD to be returned.

In any event, I now have experienced all but Cliff's 4th Heart Event. All others have been added to my Courtship and Marriage Guide for Cute. It was more difficult for me to raise Cliff's heart level as quickly as the other bachelors, simply because Finest Curry is his Most Favourite Item. At first, when I had time to spare, all the Finest Curry I made went to my beloved Skye. In the last desperate days, I no longer had time even to make the stuff. I sold all but a handful of my animals and raced through the days. I was only a week away from Cliff's 4th Heart Event but the cartridge HAD to go.

I do have my own Cute cartridge now, though, and that one is mine and mine alone. Despite my exhaustion, I 'christened' it by beginning a new game. Having enjoyed the palatial doubly expanded house for a couple of years in my old Cute game, it is rather sobering to be returned to the tiny hut that one calls 'home' at the start of the game.

Compared to Harvest Moon Boy & Girl, though, life at the beginning of HM DS and Cute DS is a breeze. After all, when one can dig up infinite amounts of jewelry that ships for 2000G and can be sold to Van for 3250G, what financial worries can there be?

I rather miss the old Ranch Bonus Trick and the Billion Gold Fishing Bonus but they almost made the game TOO easy. I will not complain. I am about to meet Skye again for the first time. These events never grow old when they involve a character one likes or loves immensely.

Incidentally, I am going to devote a post to Trent's 4th Heart Event in Cute. It is surprisingly romantic!

Rick's 4th Heart Event is rather sweet as well, although he makes dreadful faces... I always thought Trent was very cute, even if his conversation was too fixated upon health issues. In the final heart event, he becomes VERY human though.

I still feel rather cheated by Grey's 4th Heart Event in Cute. They really could have made it a little more romantic I think. I really should not complain. It is the same writers no doubt who gave us the inestimable Skye...

N.B. You now will find three Guides for Cute on the right side of this page under the heading for Harvest Moon Cute DS. I will continue to update and in fact, intend to add more guides to the list as time permits.

Grey's 4th Heart Event rather disappointing in Cute

Those of us who probably would choose Grey as a husband if Skye did not exist may be disappointed by his fourth and final Heart Event in Cute. Grey's events tend to focus on tools and his exacting grandfather Saibara, but after experiencing Kai's heart-stopping Yellow Heart Event in Cute, I had hoped for something equally inspiring in Grey's final Heart Event.

Alas... I still am very fond of Grey and will choose him as the father of my child sooner or later (but Skye comes FIRST), but I would have wished for something more from Grey to dream about until then... He does blush rather charmingly and he does admit that you have given him strength to face the trials ahead, but... Well, I would have liked another gift made with his own hands, as in MFoMT and Boy & Girl.

I was thinking about the nature of commitment in Harvest Moon in my own games. When writing a guide, experiencing all Heart Events and even my proposals and marriage are not much of a commitment. It is only when I decide to live my life with some one and create a family that a true commitment is made. After all, one must be married for a fair amount of time in order to have a child with some one. I am not about to do that without saving the game, month after month...

I am looking forward to my first truly committed Harvest Moon Cute DS game with Skye. The cartridge on which I played for the guide had to be returned and the data wiped... Now on my own cartridge, I will be able to live a REAL life. (But not until I play Island of Happiness on a temporary cartridge that ultimately must be returned as well... There is great excitement in being able to play a game before it is released, but one makes sacrifices as well.)

Marriage to Kai in HM Cute DS is a Joy

Were I not so madly besotted with Skye, I have to confess I would be thrilled with the prospect of living happily ever after with Kai in HM Cute DS. His response to the marriage proposal is everything any girl could desire. He has an open, generous heart, a sunny disposition and... AND... for all of us who ever wished that a husband or son would help us with the farm work, Kai enthusiastically displays his intention to become one with you in every respect. He is a model husband and no one could be more romantic and affectionate.

The irony in HM Cute DS is that Kai is the first bachelor from Mineral Town whom you can bring to full red heart level. Although he only visits your village in the summer season, Cute is the one game where this signifies the chance for more encounters than you can have with any other Mineral Town bachelor! The other Mineral Town bachelors visit only one day each week. Thirty days in succession each Summer means that you easily can marry Kai in your second year, provided only that you propose to him before the end of Summer.

The following has been included in my Courtship and Marriage Guide for Cute which should be uploaded by IGN tomorrow I believe. It is the full text of the proposal and wedding events with Kai:

At 6.10 a.m. on Monday, 27 Summer in my second year, I show Kai the Blue Feather.

Kai: (!) .... Is this for me? Let's talk at your place, Freya.

Now we are in my house and the beautifully evocative Mineral Town heart music plays.

Kai: F-for real, Freya?
I nod and flourish the feather again. Kai displays a big red heart.
Kai: I'm always so happy whenever you stop by. In fact, others come by all the time, but none cheer me up like you. What I'm trying to say is... I really love you, Freya. Now that you know how I feel, of course you know I'll say yes! We'll always be happy together, Freya. As husband and wife!
I display a big red heart now.
Kai: Wow, it just hit me that once we're married, we can be together all the time. You don't know how happy that makes me. Just thinking about our future gets me so stoked.
We both display big red hearts.
Kai: When should we have the ceremony? Does a week from now sound good?
I nod.
Kai: Awesome. In a week it is. I'll close up my stand and go tell my folks if there's time before the wedding. I don't think they can come to the wedding though. I should really go see my parents when I get a chance.
I nod and he leaves.

It is 6.10 a.m. on Monday, 27 Summer of the 2nd year.
The wedding would then occur on Tuesday, 4 Autumn.

We would find ourselves at the beach with the wedding march playing.
Thomas: I, Thomas, will now begin this honourable marriage ceremony.
I will now ask the groom. Do you swear to love Freya forever?
Kai's face (ching) across the screen.
Kai: You know I do.
Cheers.
Thomas: Good. Now the bride. And do you promise to love and cherish Kai, as long as you both shall live?
My face (ching) across the screen.
I nod and we both display big red hearts, facing one another.
Kai: This is the happiest day of my life! Let's take the world by storm!
I nod and we move towards one another, then face Thomas together side by side.
Thomas: I now pronounce you man and wife.
Cheers from the crowd.
Harvest Goddess: (Freya, Freya.)
Me: ?
Harvest Goddess: (Dum dum dum dummmm. Congratulations. Here's my present for you.)
The bells toll, the screen goes white and then... credits scroll black and white towards the centre...

Tuesday, 5 Autumn at 10.00 a.m.: Kai and I are facing one another across the table.

Kai: Today you and I are husband and wife. It feels so good to say it.
I display a big red heart.
Kai: Oh yeah, let's think up some nicknames. That'll liven things up. Just call me Kai. What should I call you, Freya?
Me: Tesora.

Kai: Don't forget to respond when I call you that.

My thoughts: Tomorrow begins our new life together!

6.00 a.m. on 6 Autumn:
Kai: Morning, Tesora! I'm doing ranch work. I never thought I'd be doing this.

I give him his Most Favourite Item, otherwise known as the MFI.
Kai: It's a Pineapple! For me? Thanks, Tesora.

After noon at home:
Kai: Oh, Tesora. Thanks for your hard work. It's great having a family. That's exactly what I think.

N.B. The only bad habit Kai has is his tendency to use the outdated slang term: stoked. He says it frequently during times of great emotion! Despite this small flaw in his personality (and some may not consider it so at all), Kai is one of the strongest male characters in Harvest Moon. He is independent, with a good sense of self-esteem, hard-working, responsible and yet has an incredible sense of adventure. He is disposed to be open and friendly to every one and yet can stand up for himself when he meets hostility from any one.

After my temporary marriage to Kai, I waited at the entrance to the Valley at 10.10 p.m. as usual to see if Skye would appear and how he would greet me. His dialogue was the same after my marriage to another as it was before marriage, but what made me realise that I never could stay married to Kai was the fact that Skye no longer displayed a deep red heart, nor in fact any heart at all for me... Without a moment's hesitation, once the marriage information had been documented for Kai, I reloaded the game back to the point where I still remained unmarried and true to my beloved Skye.

Harvest Moon Gender Discrimination

There are those who claim Harvest Moon discriminates against women by not allowing the woman to continue her game after marriage in Harvest Moon Boy & Girl. I do not think it was a deliberate form of discrimination but probably based on a smaller allotment of time to the creation of the Girl version.

The Girl version is rather strange in many respects. Many of the Heart Events of the eligible girls in the Boy version have been retained in the Girl version for no apparent reason. It is almost as though the individuals who were responsible for making the decisions in the Girl version were not familiar with courtship rules in Harvest Moon. Furthermore, some of the events are backwards. One experiences Elli's Third Heart Event BEFORE one experiences her Second Heart Event when playing as a girl in HM B & G. It is as though they simply decided to include X number of events from the Boy version irrespective of the significance of those events...

I find it maddening that romance in HM Boy and Girl, both when playing as a Boy and when playing as a Girl is based on the individual with the current highest heart level. Perhaps it makes sense but I don't like it. I always tend to use Romantic festivals as a means by which to raise the heart level of the girl or bachelor who has the LOWEST affection for me at that point in time. In Boy & Girl, the game decides the individual with whom you will be allowed to spend the festival.

There is a point where gender discrimination does occur, however, and that is the Fireworks Festival. If you play as a boy and have all eligible girls at a decent level, you can invite any of them to join you to watch the show. It is YOUR choice for once. If you play as a girl, however, the game intervenes and controls your life. Only the bachelor with the highest heart level will give you the option of watching the event with him. I had both Grey and Cliff almost at orange heart level, but Cliff's heart level was slightly higher and thus, he was the one who asked. The first time I played the event, I thought it would be the same as the Boy version and refused Cliff, thinking I then would be asked by Grey, but refusing Cliff forced me to watch the event alone at the end of the pier...

It is curious that Cliff's heart level has mounted steadily, even though I stopped giving him items some time ago, realising that I could not experience any more Heart Events until he had the Winery job. I have given Grey gifts each day and yet, his heart level is slightly lower than that of Cliff.

It will be interesting to see if Cliff is at red heart level even before I have any opportunity to offer him the Winery job. I almost would be willing to wager that it will be, even if I never give him another gift.

N.B. In contrast to Harvest Moon Boy & Girl, the Fireworks Festival in Cute is an opportunity to raise the heart levels of EVERY bachelor, even those who do not give you the option to watch the display with them. Only bachelors with green heart or higher will give you an option to invite them to watch the display but all Valley and all Mineral Town bachelors will be at the beach with the sad exception of Skye. Even where a bachelor is at blue heart level and does not allow you to invite him to watch the fireworks with him, if you speak to him, it will boost his AP by 2000 points. What this means is that, for the day of the Fireworks Festival, you can boost the AP of EVERY bachelor apart from Skye by 4000 points, 2000 points of that for speaking to him at the Fireworks Festival and 2000 points for changing your outfit. What is interesting here is that you will not raise any bachelor's AP higher by choosing to view the show with him. ALL bachelors to whom you speak will have an increase of 2000 AP the next day for your action in speaking to them.

Will you brave a Hurricane for Love (or Perfume?)

One of the most fascinating and possibly complex events that can occur in Harvest Moon Boy & Girl will take place only if you allow a Hurricane to blow through the village. I am one of those players who controls the weather for the most part in the interests of my animals and crops. After all, you cannot feed your animals during any severe storm. Crops are destroyed randomly in any severe storm as well. The seasons of severe storms tend to be Summer and Winter in HM B&G. There are no crops in Winter, unless you have the Hothouse, which is a snow storm's first target, incidentally! In Summer, however, there are Pineapples, very expensive to buy as seed and more valuable when shipped...

It may be worthwhile, nonetheless, to experience one Hurricane during Summer, especially if you are a girl. The day after, if you enter the Beach area as early as 6.00 a.m., you will experience an event that involves Kai. Although it is not a true Heart Event, it has potential to raise his Heart level.

Kai only appears in Summer in Mineral Town. If you are courting him, you have a single season in which to do it each year. In the first year, if you experience the Confession Event, his first Heart Event, and admit to your identity, his heart will be at Blue level when he comes to Mineral Town in the Summer. Even so, it is virtually impossible to marry him in the first year, as it is almost impossible to raise him to fullest red heart level before the end of the first Summer. Even if you did that, you would not have both house expansions...

Nevertheless, the post-Hurricane event can boost his heart level and have an effect on other bachelors as well. The response that you make to Kai is critical here, as it can result in the acquisition of a very rare and potent item.

When you enter the beach, you will find a Bottled Message. Those players who, like myself, fished up the Bottled Message containing the Fries Recipe, will recognise the item instantly, although its contents are different in this case (or at least cannot be accessed as easily!)

Kai will appear. Here is the event with both responses. You be the judge...

Kai: Wow... a letter from overseas. Say, Freya... do you plan to stay in this village forever?

My choices:
Yes, forever.
I may leave some day.

If I choose:
Yes, forever.

Kai (unhappy): I see... So your farm comes first... Then... can I have this?

You will give it to him automatically.

Kai; Thanks. This is for you. Girls like this kind of stuff, right?

He hands me a bottle of perfume, then walks away. I am left alone on the beach with the perfume.

Perfume: Received from Kai. He called it a Love Potion!?

You cannot ship it but you can use it by showing it to Kai.

Kai: Aha! You liked it enough to put it on. That makes me very happy.

If I choose:
I may leave some day.

Kai: Really? So when the time comes, Il'll take you there!
Then: Just kidding. If that's the case, keep it. Maybe someday you'll meet the sender. I hope he's cool.

Kai walks away, leaving me with the bottle in hand. It is 6.20 a.m. on Saturday, 26 Summer, the day after a Hurricane.

If you give Kai the bottle later: What the...? Was I lookiing at it with longing eyes or something?

END OF EVENT

What is interesting about the bottle of Perfume is that you can use it again and again, and in most cases when shown to a bachelor, you will obtain a positive result. I believe it raises affection levels a little as well, except in the case of Rick.

Showing the perfume to Rick actually may LOWER his affection level a little.

Rick: You got it from Kai? You'd better throw that away. I don't even know what it is.

The other bachelors will respond in a positive fashion.

Doctor: My father used to buy perfume for my mother from the city. She loved to wear it all the time.

Cliff: I think it's very nice.

Grey: Wow, you look stylish.

And, as previously recorded in the event itself:

Kai: Aha! You liked it enough to put it on. That makes me very happy.

One of the great delights for me in Harvest Moon games is showing individuals an unlikely item to obtain their reactions. In every Harvest Moon game that includes a Blue Feather, I usually flourish it to every one, including Harvest Sprites, to see what information I can gain... Showing the perfume to all the villagers revealed some nuggets of fascinating history.

Players may recall that Aja, daughter of Duke and Manna, left Mineral Town never to return. Harris, the local constable and the son of the Mayor, is in love with her. You will experience a series of little events with him wherein he confides his love for Aja to you, writes her a letter and then receives one from her in return.

Other mentions of Aja occur with respect to the Winery and Duke's profligate attitude towards money. The winery is named 'Aja's Winery' but after Cliff accepts the job there, Duke and Manna begin to treat him as their son and even to contemplate an inheritance for him in the form of the Winery.

To return to the Perfume, however, and the role that IT plays... if you show it both to Duke and to Manna, you will discover that it is possible that Kai was her reason for leaving. If true, it makes Duke's attitude during Kai's Blue Heart event at the Inn a little more comprehensible.

Here are the responses:

Duke: Uh-oh. Kai gave you this, didn't he? Be careful with that guy. Aja decided to leave town because of him.

Manna: Wow, Freya, you have something fancy in your hand. May I? Oh, smells nice. It's a gift from Kai? Aha! He gets too friendly with girls, as you may now. It is a little problem in a closed community like our town. Duke tells me he is the reason Aja left here. Well, even so, it's Aja's decision.

(N.B. It is an act of true devotion to Harvest Moon to record Manna's conversation in any case, as she speaks very quickly and the text scrolls at an amazing rate. I usually have to listen to it a couple of times before I can complete the transcript.)

If you show the perfume to Harris, he will not BLAME Kai for anything but will refer to him as the sort of guy who represents a threat to his hopes.

Harris: I look at Kai and the other young men and they seem so stylish. That must be the kind of guys hanging around Aja.

Finally, what is the BEST response to make to Kai? Initially, one may believe that the reply that makes him happiest is the 'correct' one, but if you tell him that you may leave one day, you will keep the Bottled Message but not obtain the Perfume. If you confess your intention to remain in Mineral Town forever, he may not be as happy BUT after you have the perfume, you can 'wear' it for him every day, boosting his heart level a little each time you show it to him...

I personally will opt for the Perfume, if I choose to allow the Hurricane, and I think I should. The crops that are destroyed are chosen randomly. If I awaken the day after the hurricane to find that Pineapples have been taken, I can reload...

If it were possible to marry Kai in the first Summer, I might consider the larger initial boost to heart level that would be given by the response in favour of travel to be worthwhile. In the circumstances, though, the perfume certainly can provide the same boost to heart level, albeit more slowly and over the course of time.

Incidentally, in both the Boy and Girl version of the game, the Perfume can be given as a gift to any eligible girl. Even as a girl, when you show the Perfume to one of your rivals, you have the option either to give it to her or to keep it. If you choose to keep it, she will compliment you on the Perfume.

In the Boy version of the game, giving the Perfume to an eligible girl will boost her heart level.

A postscript to this: The perfume, like the Spring Goddess Gown and Grey's Necklace, only can be stored in the Fancybox. A true packrat, I love filling my boxes with special items...

With respect to this event, I experienced it the first and second times only for the sake of the guide without saving the effects, because I had not gone through the previous day properly. The previous day was the Fireworks Festival, which I will cover in a separate post. The Girl version of the game is VERY different from the Boy in terms of the Fireworks Festival and jolly unfair in my view. Very discriminatory towards our gender! In any case, you will be unable to save the game AFTER the Fireworks Festival as you are sent to bed immediately. I could not save again until I went to bed on 25 Summer. Guess what weather prediction I got the next morning: Another HURRICANE! Having lost 3 pineapple plants and 3 corn plants, not to mention a few tomatoes and onions in the first hurricane, I wasn't about to allow another, especially as there were no more benefits in the terms of special events, so I had to replay THREE days in order to obtain a different result in terms of the weather... I have to be honest and admit that I replayed once after losing 1 pineapple plant and 3 corn plants only to lose MORE the second time... by then I was too weary to struggle further with this event so I saved it.

If you are going to allow any severe storms, best not to allow them on the day following a festival that sends you straight to bed, but it was close to the end of the Summer season and I wanted to have Kai's hurricane event in my game...

HM DS and Cute DS are so much more generous in allowing one to save at any given point in the day and any location. I really hate having to replay entire days, not to mention three days at a stretch.