I’ve been told that Puzzle de Harvest Moon isn’t really worth the money to play. There don’t appear to be that many gameplay videos of it on YouTube (I only saw two, and one was being played in fast motion the whole time), so I couldn’t effectively judge for myself. Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming, on the other hand, looks like it could be fun (a sort-of-sequel to that game that takes place in the Island of Happiness universe). The Harvest Sprite does most of the work, and all I’ve got to do is make sure that he harvests the crops growing out of control by sliding them in place so that he can water them. Sounds simple enough.

Category: Video Games
Author: WillyFourEyes
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Tags: harvest moon, island of happiness, nintendo ds, puzzle games

The decision to pick Julia as my Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness bride was a simple one, really. She’s always friendly, doesn’t seem to have too many issues, and up until I gave her the blue feather, was an only child living with her mother in a barn. Now, the Julia/Mirabelle (no last name) family has grown in size by one after a town-wide wedding and a credit roll (?).

Unfortunately, there’s still more work to be done around Cloud Ranch…I still have 17% of the game left to discover. In fact, I’ve gone through almost two years in game time and haven’t lost anything to storm damage (*crosses fingers*). I also want to try and raise enough money to build a greenhouse…though I hope that I won’t be the only one doing barnyard chores now that I’m married. At least when I married Melody in Rune Factory, she gave me a bag lunch every time I woke up (though I could no longer use the bath house…I guess that was the trade-off).

Category: Video Games
Author: WillyFourEyes
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Tags: harvest moon, island of happiness, julia (island of happiness), marriage, melody (rune factory), rune factory

Back to Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness for a moment…

I finally have all areas of the island unlocked for everyone to discover, though I can’t pick anything in the jungle due to it currently being winter in my game. This also makes for limited mining opportunities, since grass (the most plentiful health recovery item) is unavailable at this time of year. The good news is that I can fish to my heart’s content, which means that I can easily score points with Lanna (too bad for her I’ve already decided to marry Julia…). Chelsea, the last one to arrive on the island (and the character you play as if you decide to be a girl in the beginning), is easy to get on your good side, as she doesn’t have any particular likes or dislikes, though it takes a while to get her since talking to her is the only real way to boost her friendship rating. Maybe I’ll try going for her on a different playthrough to see what happens.

Category: Video Games
Author: WillyFourEyes
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Tags: harvest moon, island of happiness, julia (island of happiness)

And now, back to Island of Happiness…

When we last left our hero, he was trying to decide between Julia and Natalie as his bride. Now that he has both girls at the highest heart level (red), it’s all a matter of picking one to receive the famed Blue Feather. Unfortunately, even with a heart level at red in this game, there’s no guarantee that she’ll say yes (I tried twice with Natalie, once right after bringing her into the red, and then again a week later, and she said “she wasn’t ready” both times). I have the “wife’s bed” in my house, and that’s usually the clincher. I wonder if I have to make another upgrade to it, like putting in a bathroom?

Category: Video Games
Author: WillyFourEyes
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Tags: harvest moon, island of happiness, julia (island of happiness), natalie (island of happiness), romance

The cogs in the wheel of love in Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happines spin faster and faster still. Before, it looked like Natalie was on the fast track to becoming my bride, as she’s got the most hearts out of anyone so far (nine), with Julia (eight) and Lanna (seven) trailing closely behind. At this point, though, I’m leaning closer to picking Julia, as she seems to be easier to find gifts for than Natalie. Julia will accept any kind of flower, but Natalie only seems to really like the white Moon Drops, which only grow in the spring. The game also says Natalie likes fruit, though I’m having trouble getting my peach and apple trees to grow in time to bear fruit. On the other hand, I can get Julia happier by giving her the eggs and milk I get from my chickens and cows every day.

There’s also the little matter of “heart events”, which have popped up in my Harvest Moon games I’ve played since Back to Nature on the Playstation, and help get your friendliness with the girls (boys if you’re playing as a girl) up in a hurry. I’ve viewed three each so far for Lanna and Julia, and only two for Natalie. (I have seen any for the Witch Princess yet, but she just arrived on the island). Chances are, I may wind up giving my Blue Feather to Julia in the end after all…unless I can figure out how to trigger Natalie’s third event.

Category: Video Games
Author: WillyFourEyes
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Tags: harvest moon, island of happiness, romance