Check it out
A few days ago, the nice folks over at Rising Star Games sent over a rather unique goodie - a pop-up desktop garden, to celebrate the upcoming launch of their farming-come-life-simulators, Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar, and Rune Factory 3, which both launch at the end of the month. While it certainly wins the award for the most random thing we've ever had through the post, (beating the (fake) severed finger from a few years ago) we decided to try our hands at farming in real life, running a diary of our progress with the desktop PostCarden (do you see what they did there?), and a diary of our time with the upcoming Rune Factory 3, to give you a bit of a better idea of what it's like to actually play the game..
For those of you who don't know, Harvest Moon and Rune Factory make up a rather unique genre of farming/life simulation games - you play as a person who's trying to make a life for themselves by farming various crops and looking after animals. And when you're not busy farming, you'll be run off your feet socialising with the various villagers and helping them out, whilst looking for a spouse to eventually start a family with. While Harvest Moon is solely about farming and making friends, Rune Factory likes to mix it up a bit by adding a sort of role-playing game element - there are also dungeons to explore and monsters to fight alongside your farming.
Don't forget to check out Part One here!
Part Two, In the PostCarden...
Seemingly, watching cress grow isn't very entertaining - so much so, we had to deal with Maxwell's attempted suicide this morning. Opening the curtains in the town of Window Ledge, we found Maxwell was nowhere to be seen - and after accusing the cat of walking off with him, we found him, on the floor below the window, looking up at us with a dazed look in his eyes. Oh Maxwell - it's not that bad - look, they might even be sprouting a bit!
Luckily, the thought of his hard work finally beginning to pay off seemed to cheer the little guy up a bit. So much so, he decided to pop to the shops for a bit of retail therapy, returning later with a top hat and blushing a bit when we asked him why he'd been gone for several hours. We think he's been playing Harvest Moon/Rune Factory while we haven't been looking, and might have found himself a lady friend - although he won't tell us who.
It's amazing what a top hat can do for your mood.
Meanwhile, on Rune Factory 3...
While it's quite sunny in real life, it was tipping it down with rain on Rune Factory 3 - not that I mind too much though, as it means I get out of watering crops, and it also makes it a damn sight easier to find people, seeing as they just stay in their houses till it stops. Having got out of my crop-watering duties, I just did a quick whizz round the field and picked three Pink Turnips, promptly shipping them off for some cash.
Checking my post box, I found a request entitled 'Bring It On' from perpetually hungry Collette - heading over to her, she seemed more than a tad offended I'd assumed it was an eating contest. Instead, she decided we were to compete in a cooking battle, where we'd need to "use all our senses, skills and creativity" to tackle today's theme - which was 'Rice Ball'. Considering, up till that point, I'd never cooked anything on the game, I was a bit daunted - no less because I don't really know what goes into a rice ball in real life (bar rice obviously), let alone on a game.
Unfortunately, not all of Rune Factory's residents are sheep. It'd be more fun if they were.
First stop was the general store, where I bought anything and everything I thought I could feasibly need - three lots of Rice, three packets of Dumpling Powder, three bottles of Oil, three bags of Flour and a tin of Curry Powder (for creativeness!). Then I headed back to the Diner to see if Blaise sold a specific 'recipe bread' for Rice Balls - when eaten, recipe breads make you learn a specific recipe. Apparently, there's just general 'Cooking Bread' which teaches you stuff you can make in your kitchen - as I'd been hoarding six of them in my inventory, I promptly scoffed the lot, learning how to make Hot Milk, Butter, Squid Sashimi, Medium Yogurt, Pickled Turnip and (yes!!) Rice Ball.
Heading home, I found that to make a Rice Ball, all you need is a single portion of Rice, and you make it with your hands. Having successfully made two Rice Balls and one Failed Dish, I headed back to Collette to present my (hopefully) prize winning Rice Ball, for her to judge (seeing as she was both competing and judging).
Collette seemed rather insistent that I went first - and once I caved in and she tasted the delights of my culinary efforts, she decided there was no point testing hers because mine was "so good". Suspicious, much? As I left, she muttered something about "He'll never know I was just tricking him into cooking for me! Sorry Sarah, but a girl's gotta eat!". Sneaky.
I did get two Strawberry seeds for my trouble though, and I now have a rather stocked up fridge, so it's not all bad. Talking to Collette again later on, she told me how "Shara gave me a flower. I know what you're thinking. And yes it was SO yummy". She so crazy.
