Part 20: The picnic is next week.

Update 19: The picnic is next week.



Hey, folks! Now that all the round-up work is done, it’s time for us to head on back to the Clubhouse and find out where our heroes are going next.



Harmony’s conversation is still the same as ever… aside from the fact that we’re going down to the woods today.



But first off, there are a couple of things we need to take care of. We haven’t been back here for quite a while, so we have two love boosts’ worth of Ham-Chats to learn.



Tran-Q, everybody. We earned this one way back when we matched up the blue-tailed soccer player with… the slightly clingy girl.





This heroic pose was the result of seeing the Ham Rangers show with the little ghost, appropriately enough.



Just one more thing to do, now. We haven’t been back to the rubrub room for a while, and Hamtaro only has room for 50 rocks in his bag. So… Time for a look at some new gems!





We actually bypassed the animation for having a yellow love meter while polishing rocks, which is the upper one here. The lower one is what we're up to now.



Ooh, pretty.



As well as finding three-star gems, we can also go past this third stage (blue->red->gold) and uncover the four-star stuff… The top-tier gems will have to wait until we get the last of our love meter filled, though.






There’s a nice haul of precious stones to be had, and I managed to find a half-dozen pearls too. (Sidenote: Remember the five rocks we got from Ghost Night? Those are guaranteed to be diamonds. )



A couple of fossils managed to appear…



…As well as a few more of the odd stones. Storm Stones are actually quite hard to find, which can be annoying later. (There will be a point to these… eventually.)



Anyway, enough of that. Let’s go explore our new locale.



Ah, the Wildwoods. The music here may not be the strongest track this game has, but it’s nice and atmospheric.



There’s three different ways to go, right from the start, so… Let’s go east first.



Okay, seems like this is the way to where the locals live. That old hamster is blocking our way, though…



We’re having a wedding here today, and the village is very busy.

Ah, that’s reasonable enough. Despite listening in on everyone’s romantic moments, our heroes aren’t quite at the level of random wedding crashers yet.



We can’t begin the wedding until he arrives… All we can do is wait-Q.

Ah-ha! A new problem to solve, nice and early. Perhaps Spat kidnapped them… Hmm, who knows?



Still, we’re not going to find out by just hanging around here all day. Let’s continue exploring.



There’s another place to look into right here, though sadly we can’t read the sign outside.



…Huh. Okay, not what I was expecting to find out in the woods.



My husband is always working on the oddest inventions…





…I take it you were a fan of his before you married him, then?





Still, seems this lady really is devoted to her husband. I bet she’s the only reason he remembers to eat, and all that stuff.



Let’s see what he has to say for himself.



…the woods!! I’m currently engineering a device that will hurl hamsters farther!



If I can perfect this, I’ll be known as the Edison of the hamster world! Oohoho! What an honor! Mmmuahaha… I must be going!



Right, he’s obviously a little bit mad. Travel by ‘hamapult’? What next, travel by cannons?



Moving with our exploratory efforts, we head west off of the first screen…



…into another fairly nondescript piece of woodland. However, it does allow me to show something off.



You see, the Wildwoods are chock full of mushrooms, each of which has three possible reactions to a good Tack-Q. Some will throw out sunflower seeds to be collected…





…others will throw out purple powder that make our heroes cough…





…and the remaining ones send out spores that give them a good giggle.



If we move northward from our mushroom-sampling area, a bird cries out and makes Hamtaro look around.



There doesn’t seem to be anything to do except lookie at some strange fruit, though.





Moving southward instead, Hamtaro and Bijou pass by a muddy bog…



…and into some-thing’s living area, by the looks of things. There’s nobody here at the moment, but best not hang around and wait for whatever it is to come back. There’s an exit to the east, so let’s head that way.



Oh dear… This certainly can’t be good.



Spat’s icon actually vanishes from the map screen after we see him and Cappy together, so he’s left the Wildwoods for somewhere else. Curious…

Oh, this is Cappy by the way. He’s one of the younger hamsters, and a big hat enthusiast.



His wide-eyed sprite is also a little weird. I’m pretty sure that we shouldn’t be able to see the upper part of his eyes through his hat, art team.





…Oh dear. Please tell me Spat hasn’t made our friend into his fanboy.



Cappy, quit being weird.



This really under-appreciated hamster says it. His name’s Spat. I think it’s catchy, so I’m gonna say it, too, pfpth! Pffpptthh!

This is going to be an awkward one, I can tell.



I made a hampact to buy this really rare hat from Spat. It’s an acorn hat. Do you know it?



Hmm… Do we know someone with an acorn hat?

…



Ah, right! Seedric, back on Sunny Peak! This must be why we didn’t do much with him before, despite him having a name…



This agreement of Spat’s is starting to look incredibly suspect, somehow.





Quickly finishing up our exploration of the Wildwoods, we have two screens that lead back to the starting area… but when you’re standing close to the large rocks in each, music drifts in from somewhere up above.



Still, we can investigate the source of the music a little bit later. A quick trip to Harmony confirms that Spat’s moved to Sunny Peak, so we’d better go check on Seedric.





Ah, it’s been a while since we’ve been here. Not entirely because of my update schedule slowing down, either.



The spot where Seedric was gathering acorns is a little different on this visit; there’s a hole amongst the grass now. Let’s investigate.





Spat seems to have a talent for knocking Hamtaro over.



Don’t you have anything better to do? Meddling Hams, pfpth!

Foiling your dastardly schemes happens to be a very worthwhile pursuit, Spat.





And I definitely wasn’t thinking about stealing Seedric’s acorn cap to sell it! No, I wasn’t. It never crossed my mind.

Oh, yes. You’re the very picture of innocence, what with the whistling and incredibly specific denial.



Pfp… pfpth!!!

See ya soon, Spat.



Three… two… one…





Eeyup.



We should probably go check that out, since Spat’s already left the area.



Sweet, a hidden hot spring! Guess that’s why Seedric is wearing that towel on his head.



I decided to take a dip in this hot spring, but then my acorn cap just disappeared!! Noooooooooooooo!





…Over-reacting much?





Yeah, we had better straighten this out. Somehow, I don’t think Seedric will cheer up without his hat.



We can still enjoy a quick dip in the hot spring, though.



Oh, and we can do this.





…Alright, then. Is there anything else in the hot spring?



Ah, much better. This Ham-Jam serves as the background music for this one area, and it sounds pretty cool to me.





The last thing we can dig up from the sands is a rock with a guaranteed Ammonite inside, so it’s time to head on back to the Wildwoods.



Seems that the deal is already done by the time Hamtaro and Bijou get there, though.



Cool, isn’t it? It’s unreal!



Yeah… Somehow, I’m not so sure about that.



Hmm, let’s try Bizzaroo first.



This acorn cap? Heh heh… This is made from real acorns! Spat’s undeniably cool to let me have a hat that is just so darn cool!

…I wonder how Spat would feel about having Cappy look up to him like this. He didn’t want to be friends with us before.



Now, how about we try mentioning how cherished that acorn hat must be, to have Seedric blubbering like that?



…Hmmm…



…

I love Cappy’s sprite right here, by the way.



…finders keepers, right? … … …



I’m afraid not, little guy. We’re trying to be nice here, remember.



I want you to do what’s right and give it back to Seedric.



Mmm-hmm. C’mon, let’s go clear up this mess.







…Looks like we’ve got a runner, ladies and gents!





And indeed we do, although cutscene stupidity has us stop and let him run off with each new screen.



Until, well… Things go a little bit pear-shaped.





Oh no… What now?



Unh?!?



…If he was hunting for eggs using a cage, we may not be dealing with the sharpest tool in the shed here. Still, he did manage to catch one… Not that he knows it!







Oh, Bog.







He may not be clever, but just look at the guy. He’s got a big heart.



Ha ha ha! Sorry!

It’s okay, buddy. We may be able to help you out…



But first, we require a little jolly cooperation.



Oh, right. We need to explain things a bit more.



That hat was stolen from another hamster named Seedric.



Stolen!! Thieves bad!!



…Oops. I get the feeling we may have just made a big mistake.



Daaa!



Well, at least he’s enthusiastic.



And that, we can use.



Works for me, bud. Worked on Hamtaro and Bijou, too.

One chase around the woods later…



Yes, Bog. You great.

Let me out! This isn’t fair! It’s mean! This hat is mine! I won’t give it back!



Heh… Alright, what should we do now?



Perhaps a more emotional appeal will work. After all, Cappy loves his hats too.



That’s right. Seedric… He’s been bluhoo ever since Spat stole his acorn cap. It’s true. We just want to return it to its rightful owner.

Umm… …Aww… I guess you’re right…



…Ok. I’ll give it back.

Finally, we’ve made some real progress.



I know! Hamtaro, would you take me to meet this hamster?

Hmm, I don’t know…



Ah, one of those. Alright then, let’s go.



Please let him out of the cage!





There we go… Thanks for the help, Bog.









I’m sure that Seedric’s waiting for us!



Time to walk back over to Sunny Peak, I guess…



Naw, only fooling. The game’s very good about its scene changes.



…simply had to bring it back.





…Smooth moves, Seedric!



Without this, I…I…I’m…at a loss! Anyway, thanks oodles and oodles!





You did a good thing, Cappy!♥

Heh, and he only took a little persuading.



I’m glad I did what you asked me to, Hamtaro.

You got there in the end, buddy.







I love hats! How do you think I knew just how much you love this acorn cap?

!!!



You know, I don’t really venture outside the Let’s Play subforum for fear of what I might find. Is there a place on Something Awful to talk about nice hats?

I'm...I'm so surprised. You're Cappy, right?





It’ll be a hamboree!

Better call everyone over, then.



Well, at least we managed to create another fine pair of friends today; even if they are bonding over a mutual love of hats.



This calls for a celebration, I think. Have a drink of milk on me, folks.

Hope to see you all next time, when we'll probably go give Bog his hot spring egg as a thank-you gift.

Bonus video:

We're all about Tran-Q and Smoochie.