Unhappy Baby Animals

Any player of Harvest Moon games will be aware of the necessity of keeping animals happy by feeding them and not keeping them outside in bad weather conditions. In a game like Harvest Moon DS or Harvest Moon Cute DS, the fact that you can have many Bird Barns and Animal Barns can make Animal Care a little more complex, as you must remember to enter EVERY barn to feed animals and perform whatever tasks are needed. If you have four Bird Barns and three Animal Barns and they are in different parts of the field, it is not difficult to forget one...

You can hire a Sprite Team to care for your Animals but as you only can hire one team at a time, you may wish to hire a Team for a different task such as Watering or Fishing.

When not fed, animals first become Unhappy and then Sick. Once an Animal falls sick, you will be obliged to purchase and use Animal Medicine in order to cure it. If you do not feed an animal for even a single day, you run the risk of having a Sick Animal on the next day in Harvest Moon DS and Cute DS. Sick Animals when not medicated usually take more than one day to die but they will die ultimately if you do not medicate them.

The reason for this post is not to write about these basic facts but to share a more subtle aspect of animal behaviour in Harvest Moon DS and Cute DS.

When an Animal is born on your farm, you then will have both Mother and Child. If you sell the Mother while her offspring still is a baby, the baby MAY become Unhappy. This is a random effect but it is rather touching. I have experienced it more than once myself. I therefore try not to deprive a baby animal of its parent if possible. Once the Animal is an adult, the relationship between parent and child apparently becomes more distant, but when the Animal is a baby, it needs its mother!

The Star Festival and Griffin

Spending the Festival with Griffin and Muffy means an evening of drinking. No food whatsoever is offered but drinks are displayed in generous number. In fact, watching Muffy and Griffin together, it is obvious that they are made for one another. I did not feel guilty at all at the prospect of spending the Festival with Skye instead...

It is only Carter actually who appears to dread the prospect of spending the evening alone with your rival if you refuse his invitation!

The Star Festival and Marlin

If you spend the Star Festival with Marlin, you essentially spend it with his family at Vesta's farmhouse. Every one is warm and friendly but there is very little romance to the occasion. Vesta will remark, however, that Marlin seldom invites any one to the house, making you feel rather special.

Curiously enough, only one place has been set at the table. Farmers have a reputation for their great hospitality, for large tables groaning with food. The single piece of cake displayed on the tiny table is rather surprising in the circumstances.

The Star Festival and Gustafa

Oddly enough, spending the Star Festival with Gustafa is a rather interesting event. I did not choose to do so in the end, as I was determined to spend it with Skye but I did experience it temporarily.

I was the only girl there, by the way. Gustafa organises an event that includes all the men in the Valley without family there. Cody and the Twins are his guests. He apparently invited Daryl as well but Daryl was unable to come for some unspecified reason. No one but my character is aware of the presence of a mermaid in Daryl's Basement, and I said nothing...

Gustafa serves pizza and wine to his guests at his rather bohemian gathering, then offers to play a song for you while you eat. Any excuse to perform!

At first, I was very uncomfortable, expecting Kassey to hit on me as usual, but he behaved himself and in fact, it would have been a fairly decent party if I had not promised myself that I would spend the evening with Skye.

Skye and the Starry Night Festival

Although my primary reason for keeping the Blue Feather stashed in my Tool Box since Skye reached red heart level was to be able to experience all the Starry Night events with each and every bachelor and Magical Girl, it ultimately was Skye as always who made the event truly magical for me. If I had proposed to him last week, I would not have experienced this marvelous event with him as a single girl... Married couples do celebrate the Festival but in a slightly different fashion.

I met Skye on the path as usual and much to my delight, he mentioned the Festival and asked if he could celebrate it with me at my house. Of course I agreed. The day seemed to last forever... I was too excited to do much beyond the necessary chores. Even if I had to wait longer before I married him, meanwhile I still could enjoy the incredible romance he brought into my life and heart on occasions like this one.

Of all the bachelors, it was only Skye who appeared to consider the Festival a romantic event. When I went to the door at 6.00 p.m., my heart was pounding. Sad to say, I had not prepared any food. When the Witch Princess and Leia had mentioned the lack of food on my table, it had not bothered me in the least. I laughed it off. When Skye brought it to my attention, however, I was utterly mortified! How could I not have prepared a proper celebration for the man I adored?

Skye, however, was WONDERFUL! He confessed that he had brought his special curry mix in case of such an eventuality. In similar circumstances, the Witch Princess and Leia had offered to cook the meal for me. Skye, on the other hand, suggested that we cook curry together. Never before in all my life had the possibility of cooking curry, of all things, appeared so completely romantic!

It was as romantic a situation as any maiden could have hoped to experience... Ah, how I long for the day when I shall be free to marry him at last. Is it THAT important to experience all the Mineral Town Heart Events??? I must be a guide writer first, though, and a player second. I must put aside my longing for Skye temporarily and continue to perform my duty by continuing to court the Mineral Town bachelors...

Leia and the Star Festival

If you have Leia at Green heart or higher, she will ask you if she can spend the Star Festival at your house. If you agree, you need to attempt to leave your house at 6.00 p.m. or later on the night of 24 Winter in order to trigger the event.

She will tell you that Daryl brought her 'in return for some food' but ask that you take her home. The idea that Daryl would perform in return for food makes him sound like some sort of animal, rather than an eccentric scientist... Why should Daryl not have been invited to join you in any case? The Star Festival essentially is a family festival and Daryl would be considered the closest Leia has to family in the Valley.

This event is very much the same as the event with Leia in the original HM DS but in that game, you were a boy and strong enough presumably to carry a hefty mermaid in your arms. In Cute, the idea of carrying Leia all the way back to Daryl's basement is a little daunting... but you are not given any alternative presumably.

As with the Witch Princess, when Leia asks about food, she will discover that you have prepared none at all and she will be forced to cook for the occasion. The results are not displayed on the table. The screens go dark before the food actually materialises!

The Star Festival with Rock

If you accept Rock's invitation to spend the Star Festival with his family, yu must go to the Inner Inn at 6.00 p.m. on 24 Winter. You automatically will be taken to the kitchen where you will find Ruby at the cooker and Rock at a table laden with apple pie and grape juice. You may be slightly uncomfortable at the underlying hostility that seems to exist between Ruby and her son. Faced with his usual enthusiasm and lust for life, she essentially will ask rather sarcastically if HE made any contribution in terms of labour... Rock will shrug off the question, saying it isn't important whether or not he did and suggest that every one simply enjoy the Festival.

It appears that Ruby is growing weary of supporting and caring for her adult son... If you marry him, she will be shocked but rather relieved that some one is willing to take over the burden of his upkeep. Frankly, I find Rock's insouciant attitude quite attractive and would be happy to choose him if, as in 'Another Wonderful Life', my choices were restricted to the three original eligible bachelors. As the Mineral Town bachelors and Skye have been added to the mix, however, Rock's standing in my list has fallen somewhat and he now is placed third below Skye and Grey...

My only question about the event was the whereabouts of Nami. I rather expected her to be included... Faced with her absence, I assumed then that she had spent the evening with Gustafa but when I later experienced the Festival with Gustafa, Nami was nowhere to be seen.

The Star Festival with Carter

As in the original Harvest Moon DS, when you spend the Starry Night Festival with an eligible girl or bachelor from the Valley, you basically spend it with that individual's 'family'. It is not so much a romantic event as it is a family event but you will not be extended an invitation unless girl or bachelor is at Green heart level or higher.

If you are interested in Carter in Cute, therefore, you will be invited to the tent to spend the Festival with Carter and Flora in the same way as you would have spent it in the original HM DS.

Carter will welcome you jovially and suggest a discussion of ancient civilisations. Flora will demur, declaring that you will NOT be interested in the subject. If not interested in the man's life work, why on earth would you marry him???

Although I personally am VERY interested in ancient civilisations, I am not particularly eager to marry Carter and thus will leave that possible dilemma to other girls... Meanwhile, I did spend a pleasant evening in the tent before I reloaded to experience the event with some one else.

Flora actually made wonderful cakes for the occasion. Well, she SAID she made them, but they seemed far too professional compared to her ordinary cooking attempts... I think she had help from Ruby, but no one ever will admit that. Cake was served with Large Milk.

The Starry Night Festival

Finally, the eve of the eve of the Starry Night Festival has arrived. In other words, it is the 23rd day of Winter and today is the day on which one must organise any social plans for the Starry Night Festival. 24 Winter can be equated somewhat to Christmas Eve in our world. It is on this night that Thomas Santa will make his way down the chimney to place a gift in your Yule sock, provided you have one hanging from the hook on your wall.

Before this, however, it is an opportunity to spend the evening with the bachelor or Magical Girl who has won your heart...

Pursuant to my usual strategy, I intend to spend the Starry Night Festival with each of the bachelors and Magical Girls in turn.

I began with the Witch Princess, now at Orange Heart level. With her customary forthright manner, she basically asked me for an invitation to my farmhouse. I gave it graciously and awaited her arrival the next day.

The Festival begins at 6.00 p.m. If the Starry Night is to be spent at your farmhouse, you actually must exit your farmhouse at 6.00 p.m. in order to initiate the event.

At 6.00 p.m., I left my house and found the Witch Princess at the door. She was as ebullient as ever, only slightly disappointed to discover I hadn't prepared any food for the occasion.

She then offered to make me some of her 'special witch food'. It was almost enough to persuade me NOT to marry my darling Skye and to propose Best Friend status to the Witch Princess instead. After all, what could be better than a life spent sharing 'witch food' with a real Witch Princess, and one as beautiful as she is mischievous?

The delightful madcap Witch Princess

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When Harvest Moon DS first was released, I was as entranced by the mischievous Witch Princess as I am about Skye in HM Cute. The only problem there was the necessity that you kill 50 of your livestock in order to satisfy her marriage requirements.

Even so, I remained rather attracted to her... and find her fully as enchanting in Cute. She is the ultimate rebel against conventional society and some of her pronouncements are hilarious.

When you attain Orange Heart with her, she will tell you: 'Nice to see you, Freya. Let me know if you die. I'll bring you back with my potions.'

She made a similar offer in the original Harvest Moon DS... As helpful as she may be here, how on earth are you supposed to let her know if you are dead?

Her glee when she receives a piece of Chocolate Cake at the Winter Thanks-Fest, a gift that formerly was intended only for boys, is fully in character. If she did not require the death of so many beloved animals, I would not hesitate either to wed her or make her my official 'Best Friend'. Unfortunately, although this is possible in the original Japanese version of Cute, it is not possible in the upcoming Natsume English edition of the game.

Incidentally, whenever she gives you her special gift, she will tell you that it has no value, but this is a small misrepresentation on her part. If you carry her gift or the gift of the Harvest Goddess in your rucksack for a full day and night, you will gain points towards the next level of your Farming Degree.

Triggering Skye's Marriage Proposal Event

XXX OOO XO XXX OOO XO XXX OOO XO XXX OOO XO XXX OOO XO XXX OOO XO

When you have Skye at 60,000 AP or higher, you need not propose to him at all. Simply having the Blue Feather in your rucksack automatically will trigger the Marriage Proposal event! The logic of this is clear: he is coming to your house to STEAL the Blue Feather away from you. This is what he states in the event itself.

Skye is not motivated by greed or a desire for profit. The reason why he plans to steal the Blue Feather from you is his fear that you will use it to propose to some one else!

It is only if you have the Blue Feather in your Rucksack, however, that he will KNOW that you own one. If it is in your Tool Box, the event will not trigger. If you attempt to propose to Skye yourself by flourishing the Blue Feather when you meet him anywhere in the Valley, he will say: 'Are you gonna give your love to some one else, Freya?'

This is a hint, of course. Skye fears a rival for your affections. Rather than accepting your marriage proposal if you display the Blue Feather on the road, he immediately will leap to the conclusion that you intend to propose to another.

He therefore will come to your house and leave one of his signature notes, telling you of his plan to visit you to 'steal your heart'.

In fact, it is the Blue Feather that he plans to steal as, beneath all his bravado and easy charm, Skye considers himself to be a 'no good thief' without any value as a spouse. It is up to you to convince him otherwise.

This is the stuff of classical romance. In fact, there are many courtships in Harvest Moon games that depend on your ability to boost the self-esteem of a bachelor. In Mineral Town, there is Cliff, a boy who is painfully shy and who is consumed by doubts and the tragedy of his past. There is Grey, staggering beneath the burden of his grandfather's high expectations and his own desire to create something worthy. Marlin is tormented by the spectre of his physical weakness and his need to prove himself a 'real man'. Griffin and Carter both are very conscious of their age and fear that you would prefer a younger man...

Skye's lack of self-esteeem will not be manifested until he reaches a fairly high level of affection. His Chick-Beam always is at hand to protect his freedom should you decide to side with society against him. In his Yellow Heart event, he will be surprised if you choose to support him against your neighbours, allowing him to escape.

Whether or not you flourish the Blue Feather in a meeting with him, the presence of it in your rucksack will trigger the Marriage Proposal event, provided Skye is at 60,000 AP or higher...

Having married Skye, I forced myself to reload the game BEFORE the Marriage proposal Event occurred and then stored the Blue Feather safely away in my Tool Box to prevent the event from triggering again at this point.

I still meet him on the road at night to give him a gift so that he will not lose heart... when I have experienced all the Mineral Town Heart Events, I will return the Blue Feather to my rucksack once more in order to trigger Skye's Marriage Proposal Event...

It is VERY difficult to continue my single life now, knowing that I could marry Skye simply by placing the Blue Feather in my rucksack again...

I have to remind myself that my primary duty in any Harvest Moon game is farming not romance, but the endless cycle of feeding and caring for my many animals day after day while awaiting the Starry Night Festival is onerous when all I can think about is SKYE!!!

Life without the Fishing Bonus in Cute

Players of early editions of the original Harvest Moon DS were blessed with an exploitation that occurred in the game in Winter whenever one hired the Fishing Team. Quite randomly, but regularly, the Fishing Team would deposit a billion in gold into total earnings at the end of the working day. One need not have rescued more than two of the Team members in order to experience this largesse.

With the Fishing Bonus, one would have more than enough money to purchase the Island when the New Year rolled round. Thomas would come to the door, offering to sell your character an Island. This all would occur before the second day of Spring in your second year of the game, provided you had hired the Fishing Team in Winter.

In fact, you could get the billion gold bonus again and again...

Well, the Fishing Team Bonus was eliminated from later editions of the original Harvest Moon DS game and it apparently has been eliminated from Cute as well. Having hired the Fishing Team from the 1st day of Winter, I am nearing the end of the season and have not experienced ANY large deposits of gold in my total earnings.

I had expected nothing different, to be honest. The Fishing Bonus made the game far too easy. So how does one make enough money to be able to trigger the Island event on the 1st day of Spring???

There are a number of ways to do it, but all involve intensive labour. Harvest Moon, after all, is a game that extols the philosophy of diligent, hard work.

The best way to make the money, in my opinion, is by finding Mythic Stones in the Third Mine. In order to do this, you have to invest a fair amount of money in the game to transform a full set of Cursed Tools into Blessed Tools. Removing the curse from a Blessed Tool costs 100,000G. That effectively means that you need to spend 600,000G in order to obtain a full set of Blessed Tools.

The Blessed Tools are worth the price, however, even without the added bonus of the appearance of Mythic Stone in the Third Mine. With the Blessed Tools, one can accomplish anything. The Mythic Tools are even better, but one can do anything with the Blessed Tools that one can do with Mythic Tools, although it will take a little longer.

For example, there are some clusters of boulders outside the Excavation Site. With a Mythic Hammer, one can smash ALL of them in a single stroke, netting 15 pieces of Material Stone daily. With a Blessed Hammer, one must deliver two strokes, one for the left and one for the right, netting 9 pieces from the right side and 6 from the left.

In fact, it is a good idea to collect ALL the Material Stone one can once one has either the Blessed or Mythic Hammer. One needs 999 pieces to build a Basement, after all...

The other two large deposits are in the middle of the field south of the Excavation Site and next to the first Hot Spring tot he right of the Circus grounds. Smash all of these daily for a total of 43 pieces of Material Stone.

Harvest Moon is a collection game, after all. If you make the rounds of the Valley stone deposits daily, you will have enough Material Stone for a Basement in 23 days without ever smashing a small stone... There is a considerable difference in the price of any construction project if you are able to provide the Material Stone yourself... Gotz charges 200G for each piece of Material Stone.

In Harvest Moon DS and Harvest Moon Cute DS, construction of many buildings offers a choice of materials, including Fodder! You can order Bird Barns, Animal Barns, Maker Barns, Mushroom Sheds and Basements made of Fodder, Wood Lumber, Material Stone or Gold Lumber. A Pond and any House Expansion require Material Stone, however, without any option to use cheaper materials.

The danger of building from Fodder or Wood is similar to that in the old tale of the Three Little Pigs. Any storm can blow the house down, killing all occupants. If you are building the structures as a temporary measure in order to rescue Harvest Sprites, go ahead and use Fodder, as long as you make certain to control the weather until you finally decide to sell the animal occupants and demolish the buildings.
You will need a total of 5 Bird Barns to rescue Woohoo and a total of 3 Animal Barns filled with adult livestock in order to rescue Red Ribbon. Once the Sprites are rescued, you can sell the animals and order demolition of the extra buildings if you wish. Remember, though, that many Sprites are rescued through Animal Care and the shipment of ranch products. You can rescue them faster if you have many animals. Sprites are rescued when you ship 300, 500 and 1000 eggs, wool or bottles of milk. Sprites are rescued when you shear sheep 100, 300 and 700 times with the Touchglove. In like fashion, Sprites are rescued when you milk cows using the Touchglove 100, 300 and 700 times. Sprites are rescued when you pet, brush or speak to your animals 50, 350 and 900 times. Sprites are rescued when you use the Touchglove to pet your animals 50, 100, 300 and 500 times. Sprites are rescued when you wash your animals with brush and Touchglove 50, 100, 300 and 500 times... Well, you get the idea.

Use of the Touchglove in ANY of these activities can be very hard on your DS, by the way. I ruined one DS solely through use of the Touchglove in HM DS, and it had to be sent to Nintendo for repair! I now use a screen protector and a pen stylus always. Furthermore, once I have rescued all possible Sprites, I use the Touchglove very sparingly, only raising the heart level of a single Animal in each category in order to be able to win the Festivals, produce the best product and breed to the next level. It is not worth the wear and tear on the DS to do more than this.

To be honest, I was rather sorry that the Touchglove requirements had been retained for Cute. It is my least favourite aspect of Harvest Moon for the DS. One can hire the Sprite Team to perform Animal Care and Animal Ranch product collection, however, and their efforts will raise animal heart levels for you.

Returning to the original subject of this post, however, it is far more difficult to raise enough gold in Cute to be able to afford the Island on the 1st day of the second year than it was in the original Harvest Moon DS. If I were playing a game that I would be able to KEEP, I would do it, but as this cartridge must be returned to Natsume ultimately, I am not certain it would be worth the effort... As it is, I collect and ship at least one piece of Mythic Stone through the Can Food Maker each day for 30,000G as well as shipping whatever jewelry I find in the Excavation Site on my way out of the mines. With ordinary expenses for building projects and the blessing of various Cursed items, I am not saving as much money as I otherwise could if I were obsessed with the Island purchase. Certainly, I will have sufficient savings when the third year rolls round without making superhuman efforts.

As the first Winter draws to a close, I still am trying to talk myself OUT of the effort of making sufficient gold to trigger the Island purchase scene at the start of the second year. I originally told myself I wouldn't bother to collect a full set of Blessed Tools in a game that ultimately would be erased... and yet, I did.
I originally told myself I wouldn't bother to rescue any Sprites above the total of 60 required to rescue the Harvest Goddess, and yet I continue to rescue Sprites...
I originally told myself... well, a leopard cannot change its spots, and I am an obsessive, thorough player by nature. I play the best game I can irrespective of its ultimate fate.

In fact, there is one more 'exploitation' that has been eliminated from Cute, making it more difficult to become rich early in the game. Van no longer will buy Blessed Accessories or the Accessories you purchase at the Casino. In the original Harvest Moon DS, you could sell Accessories to Van for a very nice profit. In Cute, Accessories cannot be sold.

When one reviews the essential nature of Harvest Moon DS and Harvest Moon Cute DS, however, one realises that it makes more sense NOT to allow a player to accomplish everything in the first year. After all, the game lasts 255 years!!!

The Thanksgiving Festival and Skye

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As I am obsessed with Skye, I cannot neglect his response to Chocolate Cake on the occasion of the Winter Thanksgiving. As always, you must meet him between 10.00 p.m. and midnight somewhere on the road between the entrance to the Valley and the Goddess Spring. Give him a piece of Chocolate Cake and he will say: 'Hehe. I'm happy to get something from you, Freya. Thank you!'

Fairly straightforward for Skye, really. I have discovered that he becomes rather more shy with me as his heart level increases.

A couple of days after the Winter Thanksgiving, his heart level reached deepest red at 60,000 AP. I had the Blue Feather in my rucksack, as I have been going through 'temporary' weddings with other bachelors. I decided to show it to Skye to see what he would do.

Much to my consternation, he asked me: 'Are you gonna give your love to some one else, Freya?'

I hoped that was merely a preliminary remark, rather like Griffin's first response to my proposal, which was to ask if I were teasing him... but no! Again and again, flourshing the Blue Feather, Skye merely responded with his fear that I would give my heart to some one else!

I was very distressed by this. I take any romantic setback in Harvest Moon very seriously. One lavishes so much attention on the game that one makes a considerable emotional investment in every courtship... Skye, I have to admit, really has made an impression on me. I was overjoyed when I was able to trigger his Fourth Heart Event, despite my inability to experience Part II of the Blue Heart Event due to Carter's drunken meanderings...

I finally admitted defeat and went to bed disconsolately. Could it be that it was because I had missed Part II of his Blue Heart Event? I could not imagine this being the case... why would subsequent Heart Events have triggered if I no longer were eligible to marry him?

In the middle of the night, I had my answer to the puzzle. I was awakened by the Heart Music.
Me: (!)
There's a note here.
'Tonight I'm going to steal your heart away.'
'Yours truly, Phantom Skye.'

How romantic! And yet, I was a little taken aback... I had no intention of marrying Skye this early in the game, BEFORE I had a chance to experience the Starry Night Festival with all bachelors and the remainder of Mineral Town bachelor events.

Even so, I decided to let events take their course. My desire for Skye could not be contained...

At 10.00 p.m., I left the house to search for Skye. I was unable to find him at the entrance to the Valley, nor could I find him at the Goddess Spring or at any of his usual haunts. I finally gave up on it and went home to bed.

I was awakened abruptly again by the Heart Music, with a sense that Skye was near.
When Skye appeared, I was given a choice:

Give him your heart.
Don't give him squat.

How could I resist? Of course, I gave him my heart, flourishing my Blue Feather.

A most romantic scene followed...

A week later, we wed by the Goddess Spring. The Harvest Goddess appeared to ring the bells for us.

Now I had a real problem, however. I didn't want this to occur in reality at this point. I therefore reloaded and this time, did not show him the Blue Feather. Even without making a proposal, I experienced the same event...

Was there no way to avoid an early marriage to the love of my life??? Had I been TOO clever???

I finally hit upon a possible solution. I stashed the Blue Feather in my Tool Box before I went to bed.

My ploy worked! The game treated the situation as though I did not have the Blue Feather yet. Skye's red heart did not diminish but the event with his note did not trigger in the night.

I do not know how long I will be able to resist him, though. He is utterly romantic, both before and after marriage, although he sleeps quite late. Once you are wed, he will stay in bed each morning until 10.00 a.m.! Even so, when he finally awakens, he will say the loveliest things to you...

I am returning now to my single state, in anticipation of the Starry Night Festival, but the memory of Skye's proposal and the joy of finding him in the Big Bed in my house is inexpressible. At your private wedding ceremony, he will refer to himself as a 'no-good thief' but I cannot agree. He makes my heart sing.

The Winter Thanksgiving Festival and the Magical Girls

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In Harvest Moon Cute, you can court the Magical Girls as well as the bachelors but the actual 'Best Friend' status instead of marriage has been eliminated from the English version by Natsume. On the Winter Thanksgiving, Chocolate Cake given to one of the Magical Girls will be accepted as a Thanksgiving Gift and raise the AP of the girl by 1000 points in the same fashion as it will affect any bachelor.

Only the Harvest Goddess oddly enough will not acknowledge the Chocolake Cake as a special gift but will consider it an ordinary offering like any other.

Leia: Oh! A Thanks-Fest present? You're thoughtful, Freya! Thank you! I'll give you some in Spring.

Witch Princess: A Thanks-Fest present for a boy? It's mine now! Hahaha! OK, that was mean. I'll give you something in Spring.

Keira: ........................
................................
...........................hum

You will say: 'I think she likes it' and it raises her AP by 1000 points so it obviously had the desired effect on her.

I wonder if the Magical Girls will bring me Cookies at the Spring Thanksgiving if I remain unmarried...

More Winter Thanks-Fest Responses

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In my previous post, I dealt with Rock and Gustafa and their responses to a gift of Chocolate Cake at the Winter Thanksgiving. Here are the responses of Griffin, Carter and Marlin.

Griffin; Is it okay to give me this? Come again. I didn't do it this year. I'll prepare for next year...

Carter: Oh, it's Winter Thanks-Fest. And I didn't even give you anything. Sorry...

Marlin: ... It's for me? I'm sorry I didn't get you anything this year...

As you can see, all these bachelors are slightly embarrassed by a gift from me when they failed to give me Cookies at the Spring Thanksgiving. If I do not marry before the next Spring Thanksgiving, I will be visited by each and every one of them bearing the gift of Cookies...

The Romantic Festivals of Winter

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In Harvest Moon Cute as well as the original Harvest Moon DS, two of the Romantic festivals in the game occur during the Winter season. First, there is the Winter Thanksgiving or Winter Thanks-Fest, occurring on 14 Winter. This is the day when girls give Chocolate Cake to the boys they like. It is a 'return gift' ideally for the gift of Cookies given by the boys to the girls at the Spring Thanksgiving Festival on 14 Spring.

In your first year in Cute, you cannot have any bachelor at a high enough level to give you Cookies on 14 Spring. Your first opportunity to celebrate the Thanksgiving Festivals will be on 14 Winter. Bake Chocolate Cake and give it to every bachelor to raise AP by 1000 points for each.

In my own game, I could have proposed marriage and been accepted by any of the ordinary bachelors of Forget-Me-Not Valley since the delivery of the Big Bed on 26 Fall, but I wish to experience all Romantic Festivals with each bachelor as well as completing all four heart events for the Mineral Town bachelors.

Furthermore, the bachelor I intend to marry ultimately is Skye, but not until I have experienced ALL heart events for ALL bachelors as well as Leia's 4th Heart Event in Spring. She is at red heart level now as well.

The Spring and Winter Thanksgiving Festivals in Japan (and Harvest Moon) are the Japanese equivalent of the Western St. Valentine's Day celebration. In Japan, it is divided into two separate celebrations, one for women and one for men.

In any case, here are the responses of two of the Forget-Me-Not Valley bachelors to the gift of a piece of Chocolate Cake on 14 Winter.

Rock: I thought you'd give it to me, Freya. Thanks. Look forward to the spring!
Gustafa: Oh? The Winter Thanks-Fest? Thank you. but I haven't given anything to you this Spring, Freya. I'll remember next year.

The Importance of a Well-Stocked Larder in Harvest Mooon

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I will publish posts about marriage to the remaining bachelors soon but I wished to write about something more general first: the importance of keeping a well-stocked refrigerator and shelf in Harvest Moon games.

There is a reason NOT to ship everything in Harvest Moon. Even though you won't be able to purchase a Kitchen in the first Spring, store some Spring crops and Spring wild grasses in your rucksack until you are able to transfer them to a Refrigerator. You will need EVERY item at some point to complete a recipe.

I wrote previously about the useful nature of Weeds and Junk Ore in creating Failed Dishes. In terms of ingredients, EVERY type of Wild Grass is vital in creating valuable dishes such as Rainbow Curry, Ultimate Curry, Finest Curry and Elli Leaves.

In Spring, you will be able to find two types of Wild Grass: Yellow Grass and Orange Grass. A beginner may look at the description of Orange Grass and think it is an item that is useless because it has no effect on Stamina or Fatigue. Well, consumed raw it is useless, but it can be used to create Orange Curry, a necessary ingredient in Rainbow Curry.

In Summer, you will find many different kinds of Wild Grasses, including Red Grass. Red Grass consumed raw is poisonous. Again, a beginner may consider it wrongly to be useless... but it can be used to create Red Curry, a necessary component of Rainbow Curry.

Rainbow Curry is a popular dish in its own right but beyond that, it is an ingredient both in Ultimate Curry and Finest Curry.

Furthermore, Spring Crops should be saved not only for use in recipes when you do have a kitchen because you will not be able to buy Spring Seeds in any season other than Spring. The same holds true for every Crop, apart from the seeds sold at the Casino Window, available throughout the year.

Remember that, once you have a Seedmaker, any Crop can be transformed into Seeds. Furthermore, once you have a Basement and the appropriate Sun, you will be able to grow crops year-round.

Every item has value... whether as a gift to win some one's heart or as an ingredient in a recipe. Never mistake a low shipping value for the ONLY value an item has.

I have included three photographs of my Refrigerator in the first week of Winter in my first Year. As you can see, I have every crop from every season, as well as all Wild Grasses. I have all types of Curry and every type of Failed Dish. The lone Big Fish at the bottom of the last 'page' is the gift from Mukumuku. I am a sentimental player. I always keep gifts from individuals. The rest of my Big Fish are on another 'page' but I wish to keep Mukumuku's gift separate. It is stored at the end of the last 'page' of Refrigerator items so the kitchen will not use it in cooking a recipe that uses a Big Fish...

These photographs are from HM Cute DS but the original Harvest Moon DS is the same where items are concerned. I will try to take some photographs of my old FoMT and MFoMT games as well in future. They do say a picture is worth a thousand words...

One final point: players often ask me how I can rescue 60 Sprites in my first year or marry some one before the end of the first year. Well, time is relative in Harvest Moon. I choose to play my games very slowly, to wring the maximum amount from each day of gameplay. Some players race through the seasons and years. I like to experience every event possible, to perform every task, to make every day COUNT. That is how I do everything 'so quickly'. It really isn't quick at all in terms of 'real time'! I can spend many real hours on a single Harvest Moon day.

If you marry Marlin

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If you marry Marlin, you have married a man who wants to be convinced of his own strength more than anything. At the wedding, he will declare that he always will protect you.

His entire manner undergoes rather a sea change when you speak to him the morning after the wedding, however. He takes on rather a cowboy accent, telling you: 'I guess you and I are hitched now, by golly!' He then suggests: 'How 'bout you and I change up our names a bit?'

What on earth has happened to him? Is he feverish perhaps, thinking he is a character in the Wild West? I was very glad that I had not married him in any permanent sense, but only as a test... After that, he simply will tell you each morning that he is glad he married you without too much cowboy lingo...

If you marry Rock...

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If you marry Rock, you will have a husband who adores you but who will not give you any practical support in your daily life. Nonetheless, if one can live on love alone, Rock is the man for the job!

At the wedding, he will exclaim how lucky he is. At home together in the morning, he will tell you that he dreamed of you in the night. 'You said that you really loved me in my dream,' he will tell you. Very romantic indeed.

If you marry Carter...

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If you marry Carter, you will experience a rather sweet moment during the wedding when he will declare that his happiness is indescribable. At home, however, he will remind you of the age gap when he suggests that you create a 'snazzy' nickname for yourself. One doesn't encounter THAT word often in this day and age...

His greeting to you each morning and his advice not to work too hard are perfectly acceptable if neither lyrical nor romantic... He obviously is a decent man who cares about you, although his first love always will be his work.

My Valentine's Day Treat

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I promised myself I would do this on St. Valentine's Day. After all, what better way to celebrate the Day of Lovers than by experiencing a wedding in Harvest Moon? The only problem for me is that it is an experience fraught with a small degree of terror, as I always am afraid I will save the game by accident and be forced to live with the consequences! You see, I have all the ordinary Valley bachelors at deepest red heart level but do not intend to marry any of them. My heart is set upon Skye and I don't wish to marry him even until I have experienced all the Mineral Town Heart Events. I expect that my REAL wedding will have to wait until Spring...

Meanwhile, though, I need to begin to LOWER the Valley bachelors' hearts again so that I can set them up with my rivals in Spring for the Second Rival Heart Events. Before I do that, however, I would like to document their weddings. I have proposed to each of them and documented the proposal events, but a wedding is more involved. One must wait a week after the proposal in order to experience the wedding.

As I have three Bird Barns and three Animal Barns packed to the rafters, I either have to SELL all the animals before I sleep through the week or allow them to fall ill and deal with the repetitious Sprite announcements that something is wrong in the barn. Well, the course of false love runs no smoother than that of true love.

So far, I have experienced a wedding with Carter and one with Rock. I still need to experience the other three...

Weddings with any ordinary Valley bachelor basically are very similar. They occur at the beach and EVERY ONE attends. The configuration of the audience is a little different for each but the ceremony follows the same ritual, with the Harvest Goddess ringing the bells as a gift to you after you both pronounce your wedding vows to Thomas. The credits then roll.

You find yourself afterwards at your table in your farmhouse with your spouse. He will suggest that you choose a nickname for yourself but not for him. After that, you will see a little message to the effect that:

Tomorrow begins our new life together.

You will be taken directly to the next morning where you will be able to discover the way in which your spouse will speak to you every morning...

For those who are playing the original 'boy' version of Harvest Moon DS, the details of weddings are very similar. As you can see, the Harvest Goddess is one of the main participants in the ceremony. You therefore CANNOT marry until you have rescued the Harvest Goddess by rescuing 60 Harvest Sprites.

For the many players who ask which bachelor will make the best husband, I will post a little about each...

Warning about Thomas' Winter Event on 2 Winter

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On 2 Winter, unless you are in the midst of a terrible snowstorm, Thomas will appear at your door at 6.00 a.m. to request a random item from you. He is an inveterate gambler, you will discover, and each year will wager that he can obtain a random item, proving to the Mayor of a neighbouring town that HIS village is better... The fact that he is NOT Mayor of Forget-Me-Not Valley does not bother him in the least. He is quite happy to obtain the item from you instead of the rancher of Mineral Town, who apparently turned him down...

Now, the item he requests will be random and will change each time you load the game, so I recommend that players save their games BEFORE they exit the farmhouse on 2 Winter. You might consider this to be cheating in a way, but the fact is that the game does not play fair here.

In HM DS (boy version), the Mayor actually may request a Golden Egg as the item he wishes you to provide. There is NO Golden Egg in HM DS, although it is an item that can be obtained from a Chicken who wins the Chicken Festival in Friends of Mineral Town and More Friends of Mineral Town. If, therefore, the Mayor requests a Golden Egg, you are completely out of luck and it is beyond your power in ANY year to obtain a Golden Egg.

In Cute so far, the Mayor has asked me for Orange Marmalade (unobtainable in the first year), Green Pepper (cheap and easy if you stored some from Autumn), White Grass (I have it, but as if!!! I need it for Skye's Finest Curry), Diamond (too valuable), Bracelet (too valuable) and Matsutake (well, valuable, but I'll do it... I'm getting tired of this. It's worse than haggling with Van!)

If I had not saved my game before I left the house, I would not have been able to haggle with the Mayor by reloading the game over and over... Purists may be against it, but frankly, why should I be punished for not being able to give the man an Orange Marmalade in the first Winter? There is no way that your Orange Tree, even planted early in Spring, would yield an orange in the first year.

The Value of Rubbish in Harvest Moon

Are you disgusted when you smash a rock and find a piece of Junk Ore instead of a gem? Do you become impatient with all the weeds that spring up constantly on every plot of land during Spring, Summer and Autumn? Are you disappointed when your fishing efforts net an old boot, a fishbone or an old tin instead of a Big Fish, Pirate Treasure or Fossil of Fish? Don't be! Every item in Harvest Moon can be utilised in a positive fashion. Every piece of rubbish has some value.

Obviously, you can ship any item of rubbish that you find but its shipping value is fairly minimal at 1G.

Old tins and fishbones are an acceptable gift for the Witch Princess. Her AP will increase by 300 points and her FP by 3 points when you give her a fishbone or tin. Do NOT make the mistake of giving her an old boot, though. She is quite particular when it comes to the rubbish that she values.

Apart from this, however, weeds, junk ore and rubbish can be extremely useful. In Spring, Summer and Autumn, collect and store weeds for cooking. There are a number of recipes that require a weed as an ingredient. You may make some of them only once but there are other recipes that you may wish to make again and again.

Oddly enough, the recipes you may wish to make most are the 'Failed Recipes'. They can be made using ANY ingredient that cannot be made or combined into a dish successfully... but why should you waste ingredients with shipping values? Use a Weed, a piece of Junk ore or rubbish to make the six 'Failed Dishes' required as ingredients in Ultimate Curry, Finest Curry and Elli Leaves. It is during the Winter Season especially that you may value the Junk Ore and rubbish that you obtain, as weeds cannot be found in Winter. I usually save 99 in my shelf for this purpose but it is good to know that supplies of Junk Ore are inexhaustible in ANY season...

Not that I wouldn't be willing to use the most valuable items, even Mythic Stone, to create Failed Dishes to use in Finest Curry designated for Skye, but why do that when a piece of Junk Ore or Weed will have the same result?

That legendary evil beast Mukumuku...

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Poor Mukumuku!!! Described as a 'legendary evil beast', he can be found in the Valley only during the Winter Season. He is a Yeti, an 'Abominable Snowman', but in fact is the sweetest, most innocent creature one ever could encounter... but Daryl doesn't think so! Daryl is determined to capture the evil beast...

This conflict between the two characters is nothing new. In 'A Wonderful Life', Daryl's greatest ambition was the capture of Mukumuku. There were a number of events in the game wherein Daryl tried one sort of bait after another in an attempt to lure Mukumuku into captivity. He never succeeded.

Your character, on the other hand, can establish a close relationship with the Yeti very easily. Simply give him a flower and you will raise his FP by 9 points. In fact, the 1st day of Winter is Mukumuku's birthday. It is your first opportunity to meet him as well. He will appear at a position near the Goddess Spring at 4.00 p.m. each day in Winter. Give him any sort of flower to raise his FP. On the 1st day of Winter, you will find him at 32 FP. Giving him one flower will raise his FP to 77FP as it is worth 5x its ordinary value. Give him two more to raise him above 100FP.

Even without raising his friendship level, you can experience his first event on 1 Winter by entering and exiting the Sprite Company Tree. You then will experience an event involving Daryl and Mukumuku...

It is the first installment in HM Cute of the historial conflict between the two... Daryl attempts to capture the 'legendary evil beast', determined to use his own strength rather than the bait his 'ancestor' used in 'A Wonderful Life'.

(There is a strange little twist in the game wherein all characters supposedly are the descendants of their identical 'ancestors' in previous games. I prefer to think of them as the same characters myself... after all, they have the same appearance, the same names, the same Likes and Dislikes and the same histories.)

It is a little laughable to consider Daryl in the role of strongman, especially if you have experienced his Goddess Spring event with Flora, and witnessed his utter defeat at her hands! As one might imagine, Daryl is no more successful in capturing Mukumuku than his 'ancestor'.

If you raise Mukumuku to 100 FP on 1 Winter by giving him flowers on his birthday, you will experience another event with him on 2 Winter when you exit your farmhouse.

You will experience the first of Thomas' Winter Request events as well... In the case of Thomas, he will come to your door requesting a random item in order to win a wager with the 'Mayor of a neighbouring town'. Give him the item he requests in order to obtain a piece of Golden Lumber AND rescue a Sprite.

In the case of Mukumuku, if you have raised his FP to 100, he will appear at your door with a gift: a Big Fish! It is a very brief encounter but rather sweet. If you are interested in experiencing all of Leia's events, give her the Big Fish, as it is her Most Favourite item. You should try to have her at Yellow Heart level at least by the end of Winter, as you then will be able to catch a Bottled Message for her with a mystrile fishing rod in Spring.

The Bottled Message can be caught only if you have a fishing rod at mystrile level and only if Leia is at Yellow Heart level or higher. If you have been visiting her regularly with gifts, you should have her at Orange Heart level by the beginning of Winter, well on her way to deepest red... Remember, even in Cute, you can 'propose' to any of the Magical Girls and have a 'Best Friend' instead of a spouse.

There are more events with Mukumuku, but they will be covered later...

N.B. The second photograph shows Mukumuku at his regular position near the Goddess Spring and at your first encounter with him, when he will be at 32FP. Freya gives him a Blue Magic Grass flower to raise his FP instantly to 77FP on his birthday.

With Winter comes Snow, Mukumuku and Finest Curry

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Ordinarily, I would not be too excited about the advent of Winter in Harvest Moon, although I do love the beauty of fallen snow, contrary to the small white lie I told Kai in his Heart Event... I was obliged to declare Summer to be paramount in my list of seasons, when in fact I prefer Spring and Autumn... (I do hope Kai hasn't any sort of access to my journals!!!)

In any case, in Harvest Moon Cute, I eagerly awaited Winter, counting down the days, because Winter brings White Grass, an ingredient required in Finest Curry. Why should I care so deeply about Finest Curry? Only because it is Skye's Most Favourite. It happens to be Cliff's Most Favourite as well, but I doubt I will squander it on him more than once. The Mineral Town events move at such a snail pace that I am resigned to the slow rise of affection there. I have Cliff at Purple Heart now, but must engineer a rainy day in order to experience his Purple Heart Event. I deliberately rejected a prediction of rain actually for Saturday, the 1st day of Winter in order to be able to give Skye his first taste of Finest Curry tonight. Skye does not visit the Valley ordinarily in bad weather, although he will make an exception when he is on a 'job'.

When I gave the first Finest Curry to Skye, my heart skipped a beat. He actually blushed and stammered, quite unlike the smooth-talking 'player' he attempts to show the world at large. 'F-Finest Curry!! It is for me? You are like a goddess!'

Ahhh... How can I resist this lovely creature? I experienced Grey's Blue Heart event two days ago and my old fondness for him was kindled anew as he proclaimed his deep admiration for Carter and all those who 'chase a dream'. Although he declared that his ambition was merely to become a respectable blacksmith, I happen to know his SECRET ambition, which is to create beautiful jewelry. In fact, in Mineral Town, he once gave me a piece he had created himself...

From my old MFoMT journal:
Grey: Actually, there is something I want you to have.
Me: (?)
Grey then threw a blue brooch at me.
Grey: I hope you like it...
Grey (with tear): I made this on my own secretly from Grandpa. I'm not nearly as good as him, but still it's a good achievement for me. I made this for you. I want you to have it. I just wanted to make sure you like stuff like that, you know? I hope you like it.
Grey left hastily then, evidently wishing to avoid any negative response from me, although he should have realised I would have thrown myself into his arms and kissed the darling boy! The silver brooch he made is gorgeous!

END OF QUOTE.

So you see, there is a sweet history between us, but I still expect I shall choose Skye in the end... In my next life, however, I daresay I'll choose Grey once more. I have many lives to lead and many marriages to make...

This entry was supposed to be about Skye, not Grey! I'm all over the place today, aren't I?

In fact, I wished to speak of all the reasons why Winter can be an exciting and fulfilling time.

First, there is the White Grass which allows one to make Finest Curry at last. Then, there is the appearance of Mukumuku, sometimes known in the world as the Yeti or Abominable Snowman, but in fact, one of the sweetest creatures to walk the land.

With Mukumuku's arrival, you will be treated to a number of events that can occur only in the Winter season. I will devote a separate post to Mukumuku but suffice it to say now that the first of his events can be experienced even BEFORE you raise his friendship level at all. All that is required is that you exit the Sprite Tree after 4.00 p.m. on the 1st of Winter or any sunny Winter's day.

It is a very amusing event, with a long history known to those familiar with 'A Wonderful Life'. It will be the subject of my next post.

N.B. Note the sorry state of Skye's AP as it appears on 1 Winter before the gift of the Finest Curry. Skye's affection is at 44000 AP and 255 FP before the Finest Curry was accepted. When accepted, it will be at 44800 AP 255 FP. This is due to the fact that I was unable to experience Part II of Skye's Blue Heart Event long ago on a Sunday night... Carter's fault, because he lingered on the road until midnight.
Not experiencing Part II cost me a 1000 FP penalty simply because I did not trigger it and another 3000 AP that would have been gained if I had triggered Part II of the Event AND given the correct response in the course of the event. That means effectively that Skye's AP would have been at 48000 AP tonight before the gift of Finest Curry and at 48800 AP afterwards. With Finest Curry, therefore, it will take me 5 days longer to bring him to full red heart level!

This is moot, really, because I shan't marry Skye until I have experienced all four heart events for each of the Mineral Town bachelors... Those five days become meaningless in these circumstances. Even so, I feel it useful to point out the penalties incurred when you do not trigger both parts of one of Skye's events. It will not prevent you from marrying him ultimately, but it will slow you down considerably.