Harvest Moon: Magical Melody
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| Harvest Moon: Magical Melody | |
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| Developer(s) | Marvelous Interactive Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Marvelous Interactive Inc. (JP), Natsume (US) |
| Release date(s) |  November 10, 2005 March 28, 2006 January 26, 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing game Life simulation game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone PEGI 3+ |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo GameCube |
| Media | 1 × GameCube Optical Disc |
| System requirements | 57 blocks of memory |
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody (牧場物語しあわせの詩 for ワールド Bokujou Monogatari: Shiawase no Uta for World?) (Songs of Happiness for World) is a game for the Nintendo GameCube by developer Marvelous Interactive Inc.. It was released in the United States by Natsume, long-time producer of Harvest Moon games, on March 28, 2006.
A rival system has also been added to the game.[citation needed] The player's rival will compete for the magical notes, prizes in festivals, and the record for who makes the most money. In the English version players will also be able to marry their rival (whose name is always Jamie.)[citation needed] Players can buy furniture and arrange it like in Animal Crossing; however, there is no rating system.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay
Unlike most previous games in the series, Magical Melody players have two main goals.
Firstly, the player needs to woo and eventually marry one of the townspeople. Players have the option of choosing to have a male or female character, and they have a choice of eleven characters who they can marry (including the rival, Jamie). Jamie is always the opposite gender of the player's character, allowing all players to marry her or him regardless of the player's character's gender.
Secondly, players are enlisted by the Harvest Sprites to awaken the Harvest Goddess, who has been turned to stone due to being ignored by the townspeople. To do this, players have to gather musical notes by achieving different goals, allowing the player to create the titular magical melody.
The game also includes several minigames where four players can test their skills.
[edit] Marriage
To get married, the player needs the third house extension, the double bed, the blue feather, and the player's intended spouse must have 8-10 hearts. Once the player has enough hearts, the mayor, Theodore, will tell the player that the blue feather is at the top of the mountain. The player must then get it and give it to the one the player loves to be married the next day.
Other characters may fall in love with potential partners, as long as the main character has not already wooed the partner to 5 hearts. Though the characters and partners will never get married, it will be implied that they are in love.
While the male main character can marry Jamie or any other of the eligable bachlors/(etts)*, the game will not end if this happens. The main goal is to collect all 100 Music notes. Once a player gains half (50 out of 100) musical notes, the goddess will turn back from stone, and the game will "end" ( go to credits). Players will then, after the credits, be taken back to the start menu where they can reload their save file to where they last saved before getting married or before they got the 50th musical note. The player may then continue to play the game with their new bride (or groom) by their side.
[edit] Pregnancy and Baby
About twenty days after marriage, the female will wake up very sick. The player and the player's spouse will end up in Alex's clinic, where he will inform them that the female is pregnant. Both of them will then be sent home, and the player can carry on with their day as usual.
If the player's character is male, not much changes except for some of the things the female says. However, if the player's character is female, her stamina will drop faster throughout the course of the pregnancy.
About 60 days later, the female will again wake up very sick. The player and their spouse will again end up in Alex's clinic. Martha will make the male wait in the hallway until the baby is born. The male will be pacing around the hallway, and after a few moments a baby's cry will be heard. The male will rush over to the bed where the female is lying down, holding the new baby. The player will then be asked to name the baby (it can be named anything as it is genderless). Woody will then arrive and give the player a crib for the baby. The player, the player's spouse, and the baby will then be sent home and can carry on with the day.
In the beginning the baby is very small and cannot do anything. As it gets older it will start crawling. About a year after it is born, the player will wake up one morning and their spouse will be in a panic. They will end up in Alex's clinic, where the baby will take its first step.
[edit] Land
In this game, the "world" is the player's farmland. There are four different types of property: the player's, the townfolks', Jamie's, and land owned by no one. By pressing the ‘Z’ button, the land is automatically color coded. Blue represents player-owned land, yellow is a townsperson's land, Jamie's land is red, and free land is green. The player must choose where to live, a crucial decision that greatly influences the characters' life. There are three plots to choose from: land in the northeast close to the town, land near the river, and land by the sea. The town farm is rather small, but it is close to the town and is fertile enough to raise fine crops. The land near the river is of average size, so it is possible to raise animals, and the soil is fertile, so crops will grow. The sea farm is rather large, suitable for raising animals, but is the farthest from the town and infertile.
The farm the player chooses to start the game with may seem small after a while, so it is possible to buy more land from Woody. When the game first starts, only 2 plots of land may be purchased. They are whichever 2 weren't originally picked by the player. How much the player is allowed to buy depends on the player's relationship with Theodore. Once the mayor reaches three hearts, all the land will be purchasable at the Workshop.
[edit] House
The players' house interior is now "customizable" - it is possible to buy new furniture, put things in storage, and move things around. Like the previous Harvest Moon titles, the player can upgrade his/her house and buy extensions that make the house larger, but this requires lumber, which can be bought from the workshop or chopped. Chopped wood is added to the player's stockpile when he or she chops branches, which may be found on the ground or cut from trees. The second upgrade is only slightly larger than the first and comes in woody or green. The third upgrade is still only slightly larger than the second. When players get to the fourth upgrade they acquire a second floor. The fifth and last upgrade enlarges both the first and second floors. A second house may be built when the player has obtained enough land and money. Acquiring this will earn the player a musical note.
[edit] Town
The town of Flower Bud Village, where the game is set, is found in between the hills and the sea, bordered on the west by a lake. When the game begins, the town is fairly small, but new shops and characters will arrive in town after certain criteria are met, like participating in a festival or shipping enough of a particular item. The hub of the town is centred around Flower Bud square, where festivals are held throughout the year. The shops in town sell everything the player will need, including animals, seed, tools, and even furniture. Buildings are built on the player's property only by paying Woody to build them. Not every piece of property can fit every type of building, so purchasing additional property, also from Woody, may be necessary to have them constructed.
[edit] Tools
Like in Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, tools can be upgraded if the player has enough experience using them. The player can either buy them new at the Junk Shop from Ann's father Michael, which is rather pricey, or give the tool to Tai, the blacksmith, along with the appropriate ore. Tai takes several days to upgrade a tool. An upgraded tool either effects a greater area (eg. the watering can) or lowers the amount of swings required to complete a task (eg. the axe). All tools and items are kept in the character's rucksack. The first rucksack holds 5 items, but it can be upgraded so that it ultimately can hold 15. The only tool in Magical Melody not found in any other Harvest moon game is the Bonfire Set, which starts a fire that can be used to cook fish and some vegetables.
[edit] Mining
Mining is done either in Moonlight Cave behind Jamie's ranch, which is open all year, or the Lake Cave, accessible only when Sunny Lake freezes in the winter. The hammer is used to smash rocks and minerals to collect ores and gems, and the hoe is used to dig for clay and medicinal roots (pontana root). The caves are riddled with cracks, which when stepped on for a couple of seconds will drop the player down, or sometimes up, several levels. The deeper in the cave the player goes, the more valuable the gems and ore will be. Sometimes when smashing rocks the player releases trapped gases into the air, which, depending on the type of gas released, may have positive or negatve effects. On floor 100 of Moonlight Cave, the deepest floor, Tim will be waiting to give the player a Power Berry if he has moved into town (ship 30 rare ores). On floor 100 of the Lake Cave is the Underground Lake, where the musical note Underground Lake and a legendary fish are found.
[edit] Crops and trees
Crops and trees can be grown anywhere where there is soil. There are three types of soil: dry, moist, and wet (dry being the lightest and wet being the darkest). The wet soil is the most fertile, but the player can buy fertilizer to make dry soil moist and moist soil wet. This is accomplished by shipping 10 limestones, found in the first few levels of Moonlight Cave. In addition, crops can be grown on land that is unowned, but if a villager moves in to that plot of land the crops will be removed to make room. Each crop may be planted at different times of year and needs to be watered, depending on whether it is a spring, summer, or fall crop. Trees can be planted in any season except winter, but fruit trees only bears fruits in its respective season (each tree is a fruit tree except for evergreen and mora trees). In Spring, breadfruit, cabbage, turnips, potatoes, or strawberries may be planted (must ship 30 cabbages to unlock strawberry seeds) and very berries can be picked. In summer players can plant corn, tomatoes, onions, or cocoa and can pick oranges. In fall, they can plant eggplants, bell peppers, carrots, yams, spinach, or pumpkins and can pick apples, chestnuts, or grapes. No crops can be planted in winter.
[edit] Musical Notes
There are a total of 100 Musical Notes in the game, awarded for performing varied tasks and for different criteria being met. These goals are as varied as befriending townsfolk and wild animals, shipping a substantial amount of a particular crop or product, locating hidden items and even staying up all night. Finding 50 Musical Notes is required to awaken the Harvest Goddess from her stoney slumber.
[edit] Extensions
Extensions are bought at the Carpenter's shop from Woody, Kurt, and Joe. There are 5 levels of houses, and when the player upgrades his/her house, the player can change the color and texture. It is possible to also buy "extensions" for the players' property - such as a well, a watering hole (for filling the watering can), and a windmill. Note, however, that there are no extensions available beyond the fifth, despite some rumours to the contrary.
[edit] Wild Animals
All animals love getting food and attention - sort of like the townsfolk. When a player gets a wild animal's heart meter to six hearts (except for the dolphin, the mole and the frog) for the first time, that animal will pay him or her a visit at his or her house one morning, and he or she will receive a note. When players raise the dolphin's heart meter to one heart, it will allow them to ride on its back and explore an island abundant with rare fish found nowhere other than there. The animals include: cuckoos, ducks, monkeys, rabbits, raccoons, sparrows, squirrels, weasels, cat. The only pesky animal is the mole which will eat the player's crops. To prevent this, the mole can be whacked on the head with a hammer; and after doing so ten times, the player will receive a note.
[edit] Seasons
As with most Harvest Moon games, this game has four seasons. Each season has its own holidays, as well as the birthdays of characters. Each season only lasts 30 days. Crops that can be grown and the items that may be foraged change for each season, in addition to changes in the appearance of the village and in some cases changes in residency.
Whenever each season ends, all crops that are still growing will immediately die. Winter is a big exception as absolutely nothing can be grown in this season except for trees (they cannot be planted, only grown).
Special events also take place in different seasons. In Spring, it rains quite often, and there are a lot of herbs that can be foraged from the mountains. In summer, typhoons will take place randomly, and crops can be damaged. In fall players can dig up a rare mushroom called a truffle and find the rare bluemist flowers in the mountains that sell for 500$. Winter is the season with the most changes: Sunny Lake (which is east of the village) will freeze over and players can walk across it to access the Lake Cave. It snows a lot, preventing players from putting their animals outside. Most of the animals hibernate for the winter, so they will not be seen again until spring. One villager will leave for the winter, which is Basil. Most of the cultivated land will be destroyed and some fences will become aged.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Marriageable Characters
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody has by far the largest number of potential spouses, as all of the previous Harvest Moon games only had five (in one case, three).
- Ann is the daughter of the Junk Shop owner, and an inventor. She is exceedingly intent on inventing and mining for supplies in the caves, but is a touch careless, as evidenced by the explosions her inventions occasionally suffer.
- Alex is the village doctor and owns the clinic. He is who players will see if they overexert themselves and for certain plot events like pregnancy.
- Basil is a vagabond who studies plants. During spring, summer, and fall he may be found around the village, but in winter the lack of greenery causes him to leave until the 1st day of spring.
- Blue is a ranch hand in the employ of Hank, and Ellen's cousin. He is an expert on animals and gives the player much advice about raising them.
- Bob is another ranch hand at the Blue Sky ranch, though he is not related to the others at the ranch, but is Tim's brother. He is especially interested in raising and racing horses.
- Carl originally starts out as a waiter at the Moonlight Café who aspires to own and manage his own café. If the player befriends him this becomes a reality.
- Dan is a slacker who wanders into town and tries to find a way to make easy money. Ultimately he is hired as help at the Paradise Orchard and, apparently, loves soda.
- Dia is a recluse who lives at the Sanatarium to recover from surgery. After the player befriends her, it is revealed that she is fully recovered but wishes to remain to avoid her family.
- Ellen works at the Blue Sky ranch and is Hank's daughter and Blue's cousin. She is very interested in animals and desserts.
- Eve is Duke's niece and a waitress at the Moonlight Café. It seems she came to the village to bring her grandfather home to the city, but he was not into the idea so she stayed. If the player befriends her, she later reveals that her parents died in an accident.
- Gina is a nurse at the Clinic and the Sanitarium, and Dia's attendant. She knew Dia from when both were young and is like a sister to her.
- Gwen is Doug's niece and Terry's granddaughter. Like Eve, she wants to take her Grandfather to the city, but is aware of the futility of this idea, so she cooks at the Perch Inn.
- Jamie is the player's rival. (S)he is antisocial and extremely single-minded about helping the Goddess, though he or she ignores the harvest sprites and uses his or her own (undescribed) methods of aiding her.
- Joe is an extremely social worker at Woody's workshop. Aside from socializing and working he fishes.
- Katie is a waitress at Café Callaway, Carl's café. She appears to be younger than the other characters, as is remarked upon in the game, but is eighteen. She is a fanatic about desserts and specifically cakes.
- Kurt is a taciturn worker at Woody's workshop. When not at work, he tends to spend a great deal of time at the Sanitarium.
- Louis is an extremely shy scientist who works with Ann on inventions and theories.
- Lyla is a cheerful socialite who owns the "Hearty Lyla", a gift shop.
- Maria is the village librarian and is extremely calm and courteous.
- Nina is the daughter of Liz and works at the Spring Farm. True to her occupation she loves plants and especially flowers.
- Ray is an expert fisherman, but is somewhat socially akward, especially around girls.
[edit] Other Characters
These characters are not eligible for marriage in the game.
- Doug moves into the village soon after the first festival, and owns the Perch Inn. He has a strong work ethic and attempts to convince the player to have one as well.
- Duke moves into the village around the same time as Doug, and owns the Moonlight Café.
- Gourmet is a mysterious gourmand who occasionally appears at the Perch Inn and always appears at every food-related festival. His name is never stated, so either his name is in fact "Gourmet" or he is intended to by an enigma.
- Hank owns the Blue Sky ranch and enjoys drinking quite a bit. He is scatterbrained and forgets to give the character a harness for animals for a day after the first horse, cow, or sheep is bought.
- Henry is an artist who appears in the village and remains due to its potential for pictures.
- Liz is the owner of the Spring Farm. She is eternally cheerful and is never seen without a bright grin.
- Martha is an older woman who helps Alex at the clinic, and is the game's midwife. She can expand the player's backpack to hold five more items.
- Meryl is Ronald's granddaughter who moves in after the player befriends Ronald. She seems to have some deep dark secret that makes her very nervous around people. When the player befriends her and Tim, there is a cinema where the two children are lost and the player's character finds them terrorized by Jamie's dog. The player's character chases the dog away and gets a note for their heroics.
- Michael is the owner of the Junk Shop, and while not doting, worries about his daughter Ann.
- Nami is a vagabond, but apparently announces the weather forecasts on the television in-game. She first appeared as a potential spouse in Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. she also appears in the swimming festivable in summer.
- Ronald owns the Paradise Orchard. He is an extremely laid-back individual, which is doubtless why he hires Dan.
- Saibara is an old artisan, and works with clay. He does not sell anything, but befriending him will give players the opportunity to acquire clay goods.
- Tai is the village blacksmith and will upgrade the player's tools if provided with the right ore and some money.
- Terry has lived in the mountains for an extremely long time and is able to tell where any animal will be at a given time.
- Theodore is the mayor of the village. Befriending him is crucial for several plot elements, including marriage and buying more land.
- Tim is Tai's grandson and an explorer. He wants to make money by mining in the caves, but seemingly acquires junk ore, a useless metal, more often than not.
- Woody owns the workshop, and will upgrade the player's house and sell furniture and land.
[edit] Rare Items
There are several rare items in the game, fish and food. There are four types of fish in the game that are referred to as the fish kings, the rarest being the legendary Squid Prince which can be caught after a rainy day on the south side of the fishing island. The second rarest is the Jama Squid which can be caught at the 100th level of the Sunny Lake mine. The third is the Hunchen which can be caught anywhere in the Sunny Lake after a rainy day. The last one is the Right boot which can be caught in Moondrop River.
The rare food item is called Truffle, it can be dug up around the Mora trees that turn pink in the Spring. The pet pig can also help the player find the truffles. Another type of rare food is the Clam, which can be dug up at the beach with a hoe.
There are four rare berries called Power Berries--each one will raise the player's stamina meter. The first one can be found by winning the Moonlight beach festival, the second can be found by reaching the 100th level of the Moonlight mine, the third can be found by winning the pumpkin festival, and the fourth can be found by collecting 30 musical notes.
[edit] Trivia
- Five of the bachelorettes in town are from the original Super NES Harvest Moon. They are Ann, Ellen, Eve, Maria, and Nina.
Sheep given to those who pre-ordered the game. - The other five available girls are from the PlayStation 2 game, Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland. They are Gwen, Dia, Lyla, Katie, and Gina. In their previous game, none of these girls could be wed.
- Nami, who was one of the three bachelorettes in Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, appears in Magical Melody. However, she cannot be wed.
- Many characters in this game are from Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland, a game that departed from some of the traditions of the series. In particular, many fans found it disappointing that the girls from Save the Homeland could not be married. The inclusion of these characters in a more traditional Harvest Moon game was thus a source of excitement for fans.
- Players who preordered this game received a plush sheep as a bonus.
- Joe, Kurt, and Basil are from Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland. Basil was known as Parsley in Save the Homeland.
[edit] External links
- Official Site — Official site for Harvest Moon.
