Part 4: Hi, I’m Donnel

Update 4: Hi, I’m Donnel

Welcome back. It’s finally not a holiday, so we can get to meeting the rest of the townsfolk, as well as actually checking out some of the shops. There’s a fuckload of dialogue in this one, so I’ve split it into two updates although it’s just one day. (I promise there will actually be gameplay soon.)



It’s raining today.



That means I don’t have to water these crops today. Good. More RP for me.




Today we can actually enter “Parts”.



Or uh, we could, if I knew what “time” was.




I passed the time by tilling some more squares until this happened!

We’re Level 2 in Farming now. Higher levels in the Farming skill will cut the RP costs of things like using hoes and watering cans. Most skills do that to their corresponding actions, but there are some special skills as well. Though we won’t have to worry about that for a long time.



It’s around 8:00 or so now, and the fields are looking far more tilled. Donnel, however, is getting the urge to explore.



This little path is east of Mist’s house.



There’s a cave! But Donnel is terrified of dark spaces. It’s okay, Donnel. You’ll get there.



Or maybe he just read the sign.



Well, good to keep that in mind, I guess. However, for the first of many times in this update, Donnel’s socialization senses have kicked in. There’s an easy to miss townsperson who needs to be aggressively greeted.



Pretty much as far west as can be travelled from Donnel’s farm, we find this lady.



I hope you like this line.



Jesus that’s not a necklace that’s a cage on your neck

: Is there a reason that I should be?

: My name’s Sharron. I’m always searching the Kasimir Ruins. The townsfolk always seem to be frightened of the fact that I’m always alone in this kind of place.

: It’s not a bad thing to be into ruins. It’s kinda mysterious.



I think it’s less the Ruins thing and more your gray pupil-less eyeballs, Sharron.

: Ha ha ha!



Oh. Well, uh, bye.



Let’s just go to PARTS.





This man spins around. It’s very cinematic and hard to capture via screenshots, so please rotate your monitor/phone to achieve the desired effect. Thanks.



: What! Daddy, those ones go here. How many times do I have to tell you?! You’d be lost without me!

I think we see who the true mastermind behind the PARTS is.



: I’m Donnel.

: It’s a pleasure to meet you, Donnel! Where are you staying?

: I’m staying at Mist’s farm.



Donnel is regretting so many actions right now.

: What do you mean, ‘suckered’?


: Let me guess. She told you, “I think you have talent,” right?


: Hey, how did you know that?

: I know because that’s what she says to everyone!

Oh fuck it’s a Ponzi scheme. The ol’ Amnesiac Ponzi scheme.

: Well, I didn’t have anywhere else to stay, so I’m grateful she took me in.

: Since you’re staying at a farm, you could probably use some supplies. My house is an item shop, so feel free to stock up on things.

: Thanks.





So, instead of directly selling crops, we can just dump them in those boxes by our house and Rosetta will sell them for us. We can also dump garbage in there if we just want to mess with her.



: No. My name is Donnel.




: Thank you.

: Say, where are you staying at, Donnel?


: I’m renting a farm outside of town.



: Is something the matter with her?

: No, no. Of course not. Just a bit strange, is all.

Stranger than the Ruins Cage Neck Woman?


: Sometimes it’s hard to figure out if she’s being serious, or just spacing out.

: Ha ha...Yeah, I think I know what you mean.

Well, that’s enough PARTS for one day. Now that we’ve discovered Mist’s dastardly schemes, let’s go to the Library and read up on the local indentured servitude laws.





: Perhaps you should read a book sometime.

Don’t make fun of Neumann’s inability to open his eyes.

: Ha ha ha!




Oh boy I hope you’re ready for some Fantasy Names for real life animals.

: Okay, sorry to disturb you, Russell. It was a nice distraction for me.

Do they...hate each other? I can’t tell.



: Hi, I’m Donnel.

: Nice to meet you. So you must be the one who came to Mist’s farm.

: Yes.

: We also sell books here at the library. We have a variety of interesting titles, so please drop by now and then.



Oh shit, Donnel can be a wizard.



: I...work at the library…

(Oh boy I’m not looking forward to transcribing this character’s dialogue.)

: Hi, I’m Donnel.

: Oh… so you’re the one... who came to Misty’s farm…

: That’s right.

: I thought so… Will you be in town long?

: I’m not sure yet, but I’m in no hurry to leave.

: I see… Well… I look forward to seeing you around…

: Thanks.

There are also children here. Donnel is a friend to all children.







: My name’s Donnel.

I was considering doing a “My Name’s Donnel” counter for this update, but I figured that joke would get old fast. Also the last time I did a counter I managed to fuck up counting.

: That’s a nice name. It’s nice to meet you, Donnel. You know what? I like to collect all kinds of stones. Hee hee! If you find any good ones, give ‘em to me, okay?

This seems like a good place to note that, like in a lot of these games, you can give the NPC’s gifts to raise their affection levels towards you for various benefits. They all like different things. Cecilia likes rocks.




Alright, that’s enough talking to random kids. (For one screenshot.) Let’s check out those magic books.



Right now Russell only sells one book, Teleport. It’s expensive as shit for now.

Magic in Rune Factory costs a portion of your RP, and is infinite use once you’ve purchased it.



: I’m Donnel. And you are?

: Nicholas. Nice to meet you.

: Nice to meet you, Nicholas.

: So, where are you from, Donnel?

: Actually, I don’t remember… Right now, Mist is letting me stay on her farm.

: Really?

And that’s the end of that conversation.



The Hot Springs are here, but again we are stymied by time. Honestly, the opening time for the Hot Springs being so late sorta hamstrings its usefulness, but I’ll talk about that more once we can get in. For now though, Neumann’s farm is next door.





: No, I didn’t see him today.

: Right...Okay, sorry to bother you.

Sabrina starts to head out of the store.











...Huh.





Okay, I swear these shots are not out of order. He just shouts this. The script for Rune Factory is a little wonky sometimes.



: Ha-ha-ha! You’re the one that came to the fabled Mist’s place.

: It’s nice to meet you.

: Oh yeah, that place of yours is cramped and falling apart, eh? Let me know if you ever need any home improvements! I’ll make a home from that house!

Hoo boy, this is the big grinding spot. Let’s see what Neumann wants for that.









Holy fuck. For reference, every one of those logs you saw on the farm? That’s 1 wood. There are some faster ways, but no matter how you slice it, this is going to take a long time. Tom Nook, eat your heart out.





Rune Factory is getting real on you here.



...Can we trick him?



Damn, we nearly tricked him with our 100G.



Neumann also sells some ingredients. They’re mostly overpriced and we’ll be able to make them ourselves eventually anyway. That thing on top is Monster Feed, but we’ll be able to make that even cheaper and easier soon.



: Nice to meet you too. I’m Donnel.

: Ahh, you’re the one who came to Mist’s farm, eh? It’s all over town.

: So it seems.

: It must be hard to lose your memory. I hope you can get it back soon.

That’s nice. Next up is Godwin’s house.



Hell yeah

: I’d like the festivals involving food to be held at the Sainte-Coquille home again this year. I hope they’ll be grand affairs!




: Work hard, think of how you can help the town develop.

: Of course I will, Mr. Mayor. Okay I have to go now.

There’s no punctuation there in the script either. Jasper has no time for commas.





: I wonder what I can do for the town.

: Thank you, Felicity. I’m always happy that you are thinking of our town. But for now I want you to put your health first and get better, okay? I don’t want you to overdo it.

Felicity is sick with some mystery fantasy disease. She still has a job, though, so she’s apparently pretty tough for someone withering away from magic malaria or whatever.

: Okay, I got it.

Let’s greet the mayor.





: Ah, you’re the guy who came to Mist’s farm, eh? I’d like to give you a big Kardia welcome!


: Thank you very much.

: I hope you stay in the town for a long time.

As someone pointed out earlier, Godwin’s similar look to Dracula makes this sound pretty shady.

Now, Godwin’s house serves a gameplay function. To get into the various caves (Dungeons), we’ll need passes from him, like that sign said. Let’s try and get one.





: Ah, passes to caves, eh? I’m the one who issues them. Since there are monsters in the caves, I don’t issue passes to just anyone.





So we have our first concrete objective. To get into the first dungeon, we’ll need to till 100 squares of field.

That seems like a good stopping point for now, so I don’t flood this with screens. Next time, we’ll finally finish up the town exploration and start preparations for Carmite Cave.