All Birthday Gifts in Sunshine Islands

This is a video tutorial I wished to make for some time, but my laptop had become too slow to allow me to make ANY videos at all without devoting at least 12 hours to the project.

In any event, I finally decided the video was long overdue, whatever the price... It contains a complete list of all possible Birthday Gifts that you can receive in Sunshine Islands. When any item is a 'Most Favourite Gift' for the individual who gives it to you, that item is capitalised.



Birthday Gifts usually are worth at least 500 FP if 're-gifted' and therefore, the video provides some useful information about three Favourite items for each of the Characters as well as showing the advantages of befriending EVERY ONE on the Islands.

Streamlining your Gift Routine in Animal Parade

This is a question that one may ask in any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game, although there usually is a wider variety of Gifts with different values in Harvest Moon than in Rune Factory. 'Most Favourite Gifts', whether there is but one for each Character or a fairly good selection as in Animal Parade, have a higher point value in terms of increasing Love and/or Friendship but how significant is the difference in terms of a timeline?

In a game like Animal Parade, Heart Levels tend to increase rather slowly compared to some other Harvest Moon games. Even so, when progress in terms of the main plot is added to the equation, the rate at which Friendship/Love increases actually make sense.

As long as you have not neglected an individual completely, you should find that most Characters will reach 3 Hearts at the same time that you need 10 Characters at 3 Hearts in order to ring the Purple Bell, which is the 5th Bell, otherwise known as 'The Bell of Happiness'.

Giving Characters 'Most Favourite Gifts' as opposed to 'Favourites' did allow them to reach 3 Hearts faster, but the difference in time was not that significant.

If you are the sort of player who concentrates solely upon one Eligible Girl or Bachelor, then you probably will give 'Most Favourite Gifts' to that individual on a daily basis, experiencing all Heart Events at the earliest possible moment in order to marry as quickly as possible. If, however, you wish to advance the Heart Levels of EVERY Character, it may make more sense to give simple Favourites rather than Most Favourites on a regular basis to EVERY ONE.

One reason for employing the latter strategy is the need to organise a Rucksack rather like Father Christmas every day to deliver Gifts to every one. Even with the largest expanded Rucksack, a player may find it difficult to carry specific Most Favourite Gifts for every one.

On the other hand, by carrying a stack of Herbal Tea, a stack of Sakura Seashells, a small stack of Cocktails, a couple of Boiled Eggs and whichever Shellfish is currently in season as well as a small stack of seasonal Flowers, you can achieve a 'single heart' response from almost every one. There are a few exceptions, but almost every Character will be very happy with one of the above. One of the more difficult Characters to please may be Phoebe, but both she and Bo will be more than happy with the Gift of a Mushroom (White, not Common). Even this streamlined selection of Gifts will occupy 7 slots in your Rucksack, but if you attempt to add specific 'Most Favourites' for every one, you will find it to be a task of herculean proportions. Another problem is the burden it places on your memory. It is difficult enough to remember all your Chores. If you add the necessity to pack your Rucksack with a dozen different items as Gifts for individuals, you may go a little mad with the strain.

If there are nine Characters who love Herbal Tea, it is far simpler to remember this list than to assign a different item to each of nine different individuals.

Finally, although it is better to grow, collect or cook your own Gifts, there are times when it is convenient to know which Characters love the least expensive items on sale at local shops.

For example, there are quite a few Characters who will accept Remedy happily. Remedy is sold at the Choral Clinic for 180G. Likewise, there are quite a few who love Coconut Cocktail or Raspberry Cocktail, the least expensive Cocktails on sale at the Brass Bar for 200G. If you arrive on Toucan Island without any Gifts for Samson or Sue, it is good to know that both will be pleased to receive Pineapple Juice, sold at the Pineapple Inn for 160G.

By making Sakura Seashell and the Shellfish that are found at the Beach very popular with a large percentage of Characters, however, there really is no need to spend money in order to make friends. You can begin immediately in Spring with a daily routine of collecting items such as these and handing them out as gifts. Herbs are accepted as well if you cannot afford the Pot you need to make them into Herbal Tea.

The photograph shows Julius' Response to one of his Most Favourite Gifts, a Rose. Although a Rose will elicit the burst of hearts that indicates the highest point value, he will respond to a simple Herbal Tea with the single heart that denotes a Favourite. The point value difference is not that significant at the end of the day.
Furthermore, simple 'meeting and greeting' DOES have a point value. With Characters at 2 Hearts, again and again I have raised their Heart Levels to 3 with a simple Greeting, obtaining thereby their Wishes before I ever gave a Gift to any one that day.

Sunshine Islands Characters Video Guide

I spent almost three days compiling the following video which gives all the Characters in Sunshine Islands, their Birthdays, Most Favourite Gift and an Easy Gift for each. My laptop kept rebelling, making the process much more frustrating than it ought to have been. Added to that, I insisted on doing the research to find the 'Most Favourite Gifts' of some of the new Characters. As you can give only a single gift each day, this involved ENDLESS travel via Teleport Stone,as well as cooking various expensive dishes without ever saving the results as my character has not reached a point where she can spend gold like water yet... All I can say is 'Thank God for the Teleport Stone!' Otherwise, the research would have been far more time-consuming than it was.

Some 'Most Favourites' should have been obvious, but I experimented with a few non-starters before I realised that, as a self-confessed 'treasure hunter', Lily NATURALLY would love Pirate Treasure more than any other item. The joy I experienced when my theory proved to be correct made it all worthwhile. Even so, I could have lived through another season perhaps in Sunshine Islands in the amount of time I spent on this project. I only hope it will prove useful to players.



I do have some misgivings about a few of the 'official' Most Favs from Island of Happiness with respect to Characters in Sunshine Island, and will continue to try new items on these individuals. It always has been my understanding that the true 'Most Favourite Gift' elicits a response that is unique to that item. Cheese is given as Mirabelle's Most Fav. and Yogurt is given for Julia, yet almost any Ranch Product will elicit the same Response from each of these Characters. This leads me to believe that these items are worth +500 Points rather than +800 Points.

Later: I discovered that my misgivings with respect to Julia were well-founded. It is not plain Yogurt but Superb Yogurt that is her Most Favourite.

Julia for Superb Yogurt: Superb yogurt! This really is as good as they say. Thanks!

Is a difference of +300 Points truly significant in the general scheme of things? Not at all. In fact, the only vital aspect of ANY Gift in Sunshine Islands is that it produce a Response that is accompanied 'with music'. A gift that is worth only +300 Points will be received 'with music' and you actually can raise any Character to maximum Heart Level without giving many Gifts at all, provided you 'Meet and Greet' the individual daily.

Basic Rules of Gift-Giving in Sunshine Islands

Using Taro as a primary example, this video gives the basic rules of Gift-Giving in Sunshine Islands. In many respects, it may be useful to players of Island of Happiness as well, although there are differences between the two games, mainly in terms of the rewards for Gifts and increased Friendship Levels.

Characters who appear in both games do tend to have the same likes and dislikes in both. Taro is a pivotal Character in Island of Happiness as it is he who will give your Character his/her Fishing Rod. In both games, speaking to him each morning will give your Character an infallible prediction of the weather for the next day.



N.B. I usually publish the link to the actual video as soon as it is created by YouTube, but often the video has not been processed fully at that point in time. If you try to access the video and receive a message to the effect that it is 'unavailable', it simply means that YouTube has not processed it completely yet. Wait half an hour, then try again. Thanks!

Comprehensive Calendar for Rune Factory Frontier

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I have created a new comprehensive Calendar for Rune Factory Frontier similar to those I created for FoMT/MFoMT long ago. It includes Crops and Constellations for each season as well as Birthdays and Festivals. A 'Most Favourite' Gift as well as an 'Easy Gift' have been included in brackets for each individual on his/her birthdays.


Calendar of Birthdays and Festivals

In any Harvest Moon/Rune Factory game, a Calendar is almost indispensible. Knowing when Festivals are due to occur and the birthdays of every individual in your village can increase the strength of relationships and bring you closer to marriage with the girl or bachelor of your dreams.

Calendar Dates

There are four season in a year and they follow the traditional wheel with Spring as the first, Summer the second, Autumn the third and Winter the fourth season. Crops can be grown in all seasons except Winter on your Farm. In Winter, you can grow Crops only in the Dungeons.

As in other Rune Factory games, the week has only six days rather than seven. The first day of any week is a Holiday, followed by the traditional Monday through Friday order.of the days. There is a Calendar beside your Diary Table in your farmhouse, but very few items will appear on it at the start of the game.
The following is a complete Calendar of Festivals and Birthdays with a Most Favourite Gift as well as an Easy Favourite Gift listed in brackets for each individual. Crops and Constellations for each Season are listed as well for easy reference.
If and when you give a character a gift on his/her birthday, the birthday will appear on the Calendar. At approximately 4 Hearts/Friendship, a character can be persuaded to confess his/her birthday. When this occurs, the date will be added to the Calendar even if you did not celebrate it previously with a gift.


Complete Calendar of Festivals, Birthdays, Crops and Constellations


Spring:

Spring Crops:
Single Harvest Crops: Turnip, Cabbage, Potato
Multiple Harvest Crops: Strawberry, Cucumber
Spring Flowers: Moondrop Flower, Toy Herb, Emery Flower, Cherry Grass, Lamp Grass, Blue Crystal
Spring Fruits: Cherry
Spring Constellations:
Turnip Constellation: between 6.40 p.m. and 7.50 p.m. (Mist’s Wish for Turnips granted by falling star)
Serpent Constellation: between 9.00 p.m. and 10.50 p.m. (Rosetta, Intelligence Increase)
Crown Constellation: after 12.40 a.m. (Selphy, Constellation Books)
1 Spring: New Year’s Festival (after 1st year)
Celebrate the New year. Rice Cakes are the present of choice.
‘Rice Cakes’ are termed ‘Mochi’ in Rune Factory Frontier. New Mochi is smashed with a Hammer on a special platform at the Square after 9.00 a.m. You can obtain a ‘New Mochi’ from Rita after 9.00 a.m. at the Public Square on 30 Winter. Smash it at the Square on 1 Spring to create 5 Mochi. Give these as New Year Gifts to individuals. (Responses and value in terms of LP/FP will vary by individual). You can bring your own New Mochi if you wish as well to make more Mochi or you can make the Mochi in your Kitchen using a Steamer.
2 Spring: Kross’ Birthday (Cat’s Tail, Warrior’s Medal)
8 Spring: Nolan’s Birthday (Wine, Strawberry)
11 Spring: Melody’s Birthday (Relax Tea, Wild Coloured Grasses)
17 Spring: Brodik’s Birthday (Apple Pie)
19 Spring: Sainte-Coquille Festival
Hosted by Bianca. She orders, I cook.
Will occur only after Bianca and Tabatha become permanent residents of Trampoli
This is a festival sponsored by Bianca in which you must guess the name of displayed dishes correctly. The prize is 5 Dishes of one category of Cooked Dishes.
22 Spring: Turner’s Birthday (All Ores except Scrap Iron)
26 Spring: Cinnamon’s Birthday (Magic Crystal, any raw Fish)
27 Spring: Candy’s Birthday (All Fruit Juices, Apple Pie)
29 Spring: Foliage Festival (after 1st year)
Give flowers to those you’re indebted to. Found out when Eunice was distributing flowers.
Give Flowers to Eligible Girls in the 1st year before Festival is set. In subsequent years, give flowers to all residents.

Summer:

Summer Crops:
Single Harvest Crops: Onion, Pumpkin
Multiple Harvest Crops: Tomato, Corn, Pineapple
Summer Flowers: Pink Cat, Fireflower, Ironleaf, Clover, Green Crystal
Summer Fruit: Orange
Summer Constellations:
Elephant Constellation: between 6.40 p.m. and 7.50 p.m. (Bianca, Diamond Quest)
Wooly Constellation* between 9.00 p.m. and 10.50 p.m.(Tabatha, Monster FP)
*You must have a Monster with you when you ‘find’ it.
Buffamoo Constellation: after 12.40 a.m. (Anette’s ‘Anonymous’ Letters)
1 Summer: Beach Opening
Start your summer at the beach. Don’t forget your bathing suit!
Festival begins at 10.00 a.m. at the Beach with Melon Pinata. Before 10.00 a.m., you can experience Events in the Changing Room with the Eligible Girls. The Eligible Girls who attend the Festival and who are found in the Changing Room on 1 Summer varies from year to year and game to game. Eunice will not participate unless she has lost weight pursuant to your own character’s encouragement.
6 Summer: Danny’s Birthday (Silver, Quality Cloth)
8 Summer: Bianca’s Birthday (Diamond, Jewelry such as Pendants, Rings)
Note that Bianca ordinarily is not impressed with specific items but will accept certain‘decent’ Accessories. She will scorn knitted Accessories, however and will respond to the gift of a Fan in the same fashion.
13 Summer: Lute’s Birthday (Chocolate)
15 Summer: Uzuki’s Birthday (Golden Hairpin, any Sashimi)
23 Summer: Erik’s Birthday (Garlic, Dried Fish)
25 Summer: Ganesha Cup Boat Race
May the best sailor in town win.
The Boat Race is held at Lake Poli. You can ask any girl at high heart level to accompany you. Steer your gondola over items in the water for various effects. Hearts result in an increase of speed if and only if an Eligible Girl is with you in the boat.
27 Summer: Stella’s Birthday (Four-Leaf Clover, Toy Herb)
30 Summer: Pumpkin Festival
Every one put on a pumpkin masque. Started by some one saved by a pumpkin-headed monster.
You will be able to buy a ‘Pumpkin-Head’ yourself from Rosetta in Summer to wear as headgear in combat. You may be able to forge your own Pumpkin Head once your Pumpkins mature. (You actually can give Headgear such as Pumpkins to Eligible Girls and they then will wear them but they will not change OUT of any Headgear until you give them a new item. Every one automatically wears a Pumpkin Head on the day of the Festival so there is no need to hand them out yourself…)

Autumn:

Autumn Crops:
Single Harvest Crops: Spinach, Carrot
Multiple Harvest Crops: Yam, Eggplant, Bell Pepper
Autumn Flowers: Charm Blue, Pom-Pom, Noel Grass, Red Crystal
Autumn Fruit: Chestnut
Autumn Constellations:
Hat Constellation: between 8.00 p.m. and 8.50 p.m. (Melody, Magic Skill)
Broom Constellation: after 12.40 a.m. (Eunice, Cooking Skill)
1 Autumn: Mist’s Birthday (Emery Flower, Turnip)
3 Autumn: Selphy’s Birthday (Sandwich, Rice Ball)
8 Autumn: Kanno’s Birthday (Cake, Magic Powder)
12 Autumn: Tabatha’s Birthday (Oatmeal, Rice, Flour)
13 Autumn: Harvest Festival
A time of thanks. Give veggies to people you’re indebted to.
Give Vegetables to Eligible Girls for boost in heart level and to all characters after the 1st year.
17 Autumn: Eunice’s Birthday (Mont Blanc, any Flower) *
*Do not give any Sweets, including her favourite Mont Blanc, if she is trying to lose weight!
21 Autumn: Rosetta’s Birthday (Roasted Yam, Strawberry, Hot Milk)
25 Autumn: Coming of Age Day
There is an annual treasure hunt to commemorate the day.
Many ‘false’ items will be located throughout Trampoli. See the Festivals section of this guide for details. Continue to look for the real item even if another individual pronounces himself/herself the winner. In the first year, you may wish to keep the Golden Turnip yourself to convert it into Seeds instead of taking 1st Place. In subsequent years, you can cheat by giving a Golden Turnip you have grown yourself to win a cheater’s prize in the form of a Toy Sword.
30 Autumn: Sea Surf Day
The day the Spirits prepare for hibernation. If Whale Island eclipses the sun, bear it.
Make Hot Milk and give it to every character in Trampoli to celebrate this Festival.
After your victory in the Era of Disconnect, speak to the Whale to discover why the sky is dark on the last day of Autumn. When you inform Stella of the reason, she will announce a new Festival in honour of the Spirits who give their blessings to Trampoli.

Winter:

Winter Crops:
Single Harvest Crops: None
Multiple Harvest Crops: None
Winter Flowers: None
Winter Fruit: Apple
Other Seasonal Items: Dried Fish
Winter Constellations:
Hairpin Constellation: between 6.40 p.m. and 7.50 p.m. (Uzuki, Weapons Skill)
Cross Constellation: between 8.00 p.m. and 8.50 p.m. (Lara, HP Increase)
Fish Constellation: after 12.40 a.m. (Cinnamon, Fishing Skill)
1 Winter: Lara’s Birthday (Chocolate Cake, Strawberry Jam, any Jam)
4 Winter: Anette’s Birthday (Pumpkin Tart, Strawberry, any Fruit)
7 Winter: Quiz Contest
Test your knowledge against others and come out on top!
There are ten questions, with a ‘commercial break’ in the middle of the Contest. It can be quite hilarious. There will be four contestants, including your character and each is represented by a different fruit. For each correct response, a piece of fruit will be placed on the ground. The winner ultimately will obtain all the fruit from each character’s correct responses. If you lose the Contest, you may receive ‘Fried Pike’ instead of the Consolation Prize of Int. Vitamins that is announced when YOU win the Festival.
8 Winter: Ganesha’s Birthday (Demon’s Blood, Any Ore)
19 Winter: Hotpot Convention
Every one in town brings an ingredient for one giant hotpot!
Some ingredients will result in a ‘good’ hotpot but others in a ‘bad’ one. Most Fish will have a good result. Many vegetables, however, will result in a ‘bad’ hotpot, including Carrots and Yams.
15 Winter: Minerva’s Birthday (Flop, Chestnut)
22 Winter: Rita’s Birthday (Wine)
23 Winter: Iris’ Birthday (both of them!) (Tomato Juice)
24 Winter: Night of Holies (aka Starry Night Festival in Harvest Moon)
This is the night designated for the formal Winter Date in Rune Factory Frontier. Meet the Eligible Girl at 9.00 p.m.
29 Winter: Marco’s Birthday (Curry, Curry Powder)
30 Winter: Year End Festival
Reflect on the past year and prepare for the next.
Go to the Public Square after 9.00 a.m. to speak to Rita. She will give you a ‘New Mochi’. This is the item that you will need on the 1st of Spring if you wish to pound Rice Cakes at the Square. Rice Cakes are ‘Mochi’ in Rune Factory Frontier. They, like New Mochi can be made in your own kitchen or at the Public Square only on New Year’s Day.


The times given for 'finding' each Constellation err on the narrow side rather than encompassing a larger time span than would be accurate. As you can see, any 'late night' constellation actually CAN be viewed before 1.00 a.m., but you must be quick to press 'Return' afterwards if you wish to go to bed before 1.00 a.m.

I included this screenshot primarily for the time displayed at the top. It is almost impossible to see the Constellation properly because of the Runeys that dominate the view! As you will note, however, the Fish Constellation CAN be 'found' without 'staying up late' to the point of being forced to oversleep the next morning.

Quick Video Guide to Birthdays in Rune Factory Frontier

Here is a Quick Video Birthday Guide to all Characters in Rune Factory Frontier. For each Character, I include his/her birthday, Most Favourite Gift, other Loved Gifts and the Most Detested Item.



It may not be quite as much fun as the videos that contain actual dialogue from the characters but it is filled with useful information about all the Characters.