Sunshine Islands has many of the same characters as Island of Happiness and the general rules of farming are the same but the introduction of a number of new pets and wild animals is a marvelous addition.
Sunshine Islands embroiders upon some of the themes of Magical Melody and Tree of Tranquility, two Harvest Moon console games. In Magical Melody, your character could use a Pig to search for Truffles. A Pig can perform a similar favour for you in Sunshine Islands. In Tree of Tranquility, you could befriend a variety of wild creatures who then might bring you special gifts. The wild animals on Animal Island, when befriended, may give you with special items as well.
In Sunshine Islands, you have a task of raising a number of Islands that sank beneath the sea. Each Island that you succeed in raising gives new options and introduces you to new characters. Mushroom Island is one of the Islands that you must raise. Here you can find a wide variety of wild mushrooms and it is here that Shea has made his home. When you have shipped 100 Mushrooms, you will experience a special Event on Mushroom Island. 'Gannon's Secret' is one of the secrets of Sunshine Islands in the form of a Pig who will find Mushrooms for you.
Animal Island is another one of the sunken Islands that you can raise. Wild Animals there include Ducks, Rabbits, Badgers, Mice, Sparrows and Monkeys. For all the players of AWL and AnWL who wished they could interact with the wild animals encountered in Forget-Me-Not Valley, Sunshine Island now gives that opportunity on Animal Island.
Here is Gannon's Secret, your introduction to your new Pet Pig:
Showing posts with label Truffles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Truffles. Show all posts
Friday, October 30, 2009
Saturday, September 6, 2008
The Witch Princess and Toadstools in Island of Happiness








One of the most colourful characters in Harvest Moon is the beautiful if mischievous Witch Princess. To my delight, she is one of the characters in Island of Happiness. As in HM DS and Cute DS, she never leaves her Hut in ordinary circumstances. She is a voracious reader, an expert in herbs and a collector of teddy bears. In Harvest Moon DS, if you wished to court her successfully, you had to allow 50 of your Animals to die, rather a cruel requirement for any Animal lover.
In IoH, there is no such requirement.
Screenshots include some of the Witch Princess' ordinary dialogue at different times of day, the remark she makes once you marry, the interior and exterior of her charming Grimms' Fairy Tale style hut and her favourite item, a Toadstool, growing wild in another area of the Forest. Toadstools can be found randomly throughout the map during the Autumn season. Throw one into your Seed Maker to make Toadstool 'seeds' that can be grown on a pallet to the right of your farmhouse. When you have shipped 100 Shitake, you will unlock Toadstool 'seeds' at Chen's Market, although they are not that useful as you can grow only 8 different Mushrooms on the pallets at any point in time. One Toadstool growing there is sufficient to meet ordinary needs, especially as they grow in the Wilds so profusely.
Once planted on a pallet, Mushrooms of all varieties will continue to grow through all seasons, including Winter. They are found in the Wilds, however, only in the Autumn season.
In terms of growing fungi, it is the Matsutake that is most needed. You will not find more than one or two in the Wilds in any Autumn season. They are the 'Truffles' in other Harvest Moon games and are even more rare on the map in Island of Happiness. You will unlock the seeds at Chen's Market by shipping 100 Toadstools, but it is far easier to gather one from the Wilds in Autumn, pop it into your Seed Maker and then throw those seeds on one of your pallets.
Even though Matsutake is the most valuable variety of Mushroom, the humble Shitake is the most useful in terms of Cooked Dishes. Even in your first Autumn, you should be able to cook 'Grilled Mushrooms' and 'Foiled Mushrooms' and 'Steamed Egg Custard', three simple recipes that feature Shitake. They are wonderful cooked dishes in terms of Energy recovery early in the game. It therefore is a good idea to convert a couple of Shitake to seeds to grow on the pallets throughout the year.
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