Part 18: Helping out the little guys.

Alright, time to finally cross one of these rainbows and take a look at these new locations! The area on the left side of the map (Sunny Peak, Clover Elementary and Tiptop Fair) all lead to…



The scenic Acorn Trail! We’re actually around the middle of the area here, but the lower half loops around. So before we explore this screen, let’s make a quick circuit around the southern area.



Indeed, there are three exits from this next screen, the left and right ones forming the loop. There’s also some very important hamsters in here.



I got separated from my friends! Waaaah!



The three of you, hmm? Sure, we’ll find your pair of missing friends.



While the Hambini hang out on the left side of this screen, there’s also someone further right.



The Djungarian Choir members are… ♪missing!♪

Choir?

Uh-huh! We sing… ♪together!♪ But I can’t sing all alone. Ummm, if you see any members, can you call them for me?

Can you guess how many choir members there are, readers?





Now that we’ve spoken to these two and can therefore gather up their friends, let’s head down the left path.





Hey, it’s that game with the glass plates from the aquarium, only with lilypads. It too takes about a minute due to waiting for platforms to line up, and doesn’t pay very well for the time invested. Play once and move on.



Hey, a nice little Japanese garden! It has bamboo fountains, stone lanterns and everything.



I want to draw a picture, but it’s so loud, I can’t.

What a troublesome crab!

What a troublesome crab indeed.



Let’s scare the piss out of it!



Ha ha! Now that it’s quiet, I think I’ll draw a picture.

Wow! It’s great that you can draw pictures!

Ha ha! You think so? I can give it to you, but… I know! Have you met the Sticker Hermit yet? He’s a mysterious hamster who is rarely seen! But if you get me his autograph, I’ll trade you.♪

If you remember way back at the end of update five, we actually did see the Sticker Hermit in Clover Elementary. He leaves after the storyline visit to the school though, so we’ll have to find where he does his hermiting.



There’s a small house in this area, but the porch is in desperate need of repair.



Patch up the panels with holes when they flip over, don’t touch panels with crabs on them. This is the only sneaky trick to this minigame, where you’d need to know in advance where to stand to get that bit of candy.



There’s way more holes than you need to win, so you could afford to take a moment and grab it.



Did you guys fix it? Nice work! Now that it’s fixed, I feel like cleaning all of it! Leave the cleaning to me!



Ohhh, so you want to compete with me, do you, mister?!

Oh, it won’t be a competition.



Howdy’s gonna wipe the floor with ya!

Bad jokes aside, this game is a good example of risk and reward. You want to pick up candy, but doing so kills your speed. How much can you grab without giving up your victory? (It requires alternating A and B to move though, which isn’t always fun.)





Your sidekick?!

Sorry, but who beat who just then?



Heh, looks like the crab went running back to its owner. Come to think of it, that must be a fairly small crab if it’s smaller than a hamster.



What’s wrong?

Oh, it’s just I can’t tell which carp are mine. Say! Will you help me look for it?

Ah, how would we ever know we were in Japan without a koi pond?



Huh? Oh, actually my markings are shaped like glasses. Uh...forget it. I’ll do my best.



This matching minigame is fairly easy, unless perhaps you have trouble with the ones with three red splotches.



the rare cherry tomato I see over there? I want to eat that cherry tomato! How can I get it?



Oh, that’s right! The members are looking for me. I need to hurry. See ya.



Good thing we had Tomy-T’s cherry tomato, or who knows what might have happened to that poor frog. Oh, and that rainbow is where the Tiptop Fair connects to this area.





Ah, we’re already done with this little circuit. Now, let’s take a peek down the centre southern path.



Hu… Hu… Here we go again.

What’s wrong?

I haven’t...hic...been able...hic...to stop my hiccups. Hiccup! What’s wrong with me?

Oh man, isn’t that just so annoying?



No worries, bud.



What do you want? I was just resting in the shade. Huh? The other members are looking for me? Oh, no! I have got to go! Thanks for telling me about it.

And with that, we’ve found the two missing Djungarian Choir members in this area. The other two are in the other new location, which is why I chose to come here first (so I could tell them they were being looked for).



There’s nothing else on the screen except for this barrel. It must mean something.



Huh… Guess not.



And yet, when we leave the room… Hmm.







Waaaaaaaaah!

!!!!!

Waaaaah! The barrel that I took such good care of...waah...is broken. I worked so hard to build this barrel.

Ha ha! Don’t get so worked up! We’ll make you another barrel!

Huh?! Really? You’ll fix the barrel? Thank you!



This screenshot is here purely because I really like this line.

The thing is… fixing a barrel is too hard for me to do alone. I need someone to help.



Have we properly established that Panda fixes things yet? Because aside from Nail the Rhythm, I think all of his minigames have involved fixing things.



Pictured: Several massive pauses where I change which button on the keyboard I’m hammering at with my index finger. Also, it seems that most of the time, only one of these two are actually working on the barrel.



I...I’ve never been treated so kindly. I’m touched! Yeah!♪

Well… You see, the truth is… I was the one who broke your precious barrel. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything.

I see. Hmmm… But you tried really hard to fix it, so it’s OK!

Uh, you’re a very kind hamster.



Crisis caused and then swiftly resolved! That concludes our business on the south end of this map, so let’s head up to the Clover Elementary rainbow and explore further.



Ah, here’s another thing that’s fairly distinctly East Asian. (Not just Japanese.)



Right, honey?♪



Wherever we go, we are always together. Right, darling?♪

That’s why we’ll never lose a three-legged race.

Wow! Darling, you are so cool! You look so cool, I want to see more of you looking cool!♪

Ehehe.

Words cannot convey the sheer amount of and I’m feeling, having to type this up. They’re laying it on a little bit thick, don’tcha think?

Hmph! What’s with the lovey-dovey? Huh… Actually, I’m kinda jealous. Bijou...me...lovey-dovey…

Hey! You two look like you’re close! How about racing against us?

Hamtaro, let’s race them together!

Sure! Let’s do our best!



Poor ol’ Boss. The three-legged race itself is like Howdy’s minigame from earlier, except that you’re avoiding rocks instead of being tempted by candy. This one gave me a hell of a time on my first playthrough, up to the point where I was tempted to use a walnut on it.

This time? Got it first try.



No, not at all! You looked fabulous when you were trying that hard.

Huh?! Really?! Ehehe.



My thoughts exactly, Hamtaro.





Also this.



I’m going to have a refreshing sweat today, too. If you train your body, you’ll become a handsome guy like me! Ha ha ha.

Ah! That book! That’s a book I haven’t read yet! Ummm...will you let me read that book?

Ha ha! Now that’s the attitude. However! Do you have the strength to just lift this book?



Just barely. Also, catching that with your head has got to do awful things to your spine.



I have learned so much.



How about it? You want to form a team with me?

A...ha. I appreciate the thought, but… but… I prefer to use my head instead of my body. I’ll pass.

Your head is part of your body, Maxwell. But still, you did a pretty good job just now.





After plucking a few carrots, it looks like another kid has managed to get themselves stuck somewhere high up.



Easily fixed!



The butterfly flew away! Leave me alone!



Oh, Mama. What’s wrong???

Ah, of course. The kid was completely oblivious; didn’t even know he was in danger.



If it’s OK, will you take this?



Just another of those stickers that I’m sure would make sense on context, but on their own…



Going south from the mother and son leads us to a ‘Danger! Falling apples’ area. We actually cannot make a party that can do every minigame in Acorn Trail in just one visit; the non-repeatable ones mean that we can manage it on subsequent visits, but we had to leave Oxnard out (who handles this minigame).



Heading north at the intersection instead puts us on the trail of the Sticker Hermit!



Perhaps this pointless obstruction is why that hamster can’t find where he wants to be.



And here we are, the Sunny Peak rainbow. This is the north end of Acorn Trail… But what’s this door about?



It slides right open for us, but if you don’t meet the requirements for entry, you’ll read the notice on the door. It basically says that if you don’t have at least 200 out of the 451 different stickers, you aren’t allowed inside.

This was the first place I came during my first playthrough. How many stickers did I have? 199. Yes, seriously. This time, I have 282.







...For a hermit, he’s certainly made the place look nice. Also, he appears to have a guest.



Ah! This is the sticker I wanted. I’m jealous. What? Huh?! You’re looking for the Hambini? Oh, no! I was lost in the stickers, and I didn’t realise.



No worries, little guy. As you may have guessed, the other Hambini member is also in the second new location.



I just remembered! I have a favor.

Hmmm, you’ve got a favor to ask?

I was asked for an autograph from the Sticker Hermit.

My autograph? Aren’t there some real curious hamsters? Here, take it.

Thank you.

Ho ho ho! I guess I’ve still got what it takes! Mmmmm, come visit me again.



Excellent, one soon-to-be-traded autograph.



If we talk to the Sticker Hermit again, he’ll grade our collection’s completion and give us some basic tips for finding more.



The first time we do so, he also gives us the only sticker mat that we don’t either start with or buy in stores. Neither of the new areas have stores, so it’s only Rainbow Land’s which we need to visit now.



One trip to get Oxnard and prepare for the other area later…



Just a thought, but maybe you shouldn’t be standing around under an apple tree.



Eat the apple, Oxnard. (Why yes, that reference is low-hanging fruit! )



I’ll bet that this was hard to get! Thank you so much! Here! Your picture. Take it.



Delivery!♥ gives us some insight into how Postie delivers the mail, and makes for the last thing we can do in Acorn Trail before retrieving the other petite hamsters.



So, it’s time to take the Sparkle Coast rainbow to the other new locale! (Yes, this is going to be another long update.)



Let’s take the sights, strut down the boardwalk and have some fun at Sea Spray Park. This area is connected to the four locations on the right side of the map, and it’s about the same size as its counterpart.



Good vegetables at great prices! Want a radish? Oops. I’m so overstocked I can’t line up my vegetables. Hey! Can you help me arrange my vegetables?

...Is that some kind of innuendo?



I really, really hope it wasn’t.



Actually, this minigame is all about getting a straight-ish stack of boxes. It seems fairly forgiving so long as you don’t try to go full-on Leaning Tower of Pisa.



...Is that melting butter on a sunflower seed? Well, I’m sure someone’s tried it before.



But I guess they’re too lively because they tend to go crazy. How about you guys helping me out?



The punnily-named Fishing Well is like the seed-eating game Oxnard played last update, but there’s only one place the fish are being thrown from, and no loss of traction. Also, we seem to have found where all the Cappy minigames were hiding.



Really! My help here is always so slow. Every burger place makes burgers quicker than we do here!



We’ll help you.

Yeah? That’s great! So, who’s going to help me?



You’d be perfect since you already have an apron on!



Once Howdy picks out three items correctly from the lineup, it refreshes the lot with some new foodstuffs. There’s a fair selection of possibilities.



They’re very popular with girls. Whoa. Oh! Ahh!





C’mere, you. Also, perhaps you should use a little less helium.



And you didn’t even pop the balloons! Thank you so much.♪ Here’s a gift.

In exchange for not letting the balloon seller float away, we get… a one-star sticker. What a cheapskate.



The current is very strong, so children can’t ride alone. I’ll guide you. I just hope I remember the way… Ha ha!

Can we put our trust in this guy?

He does seem kinda shady… But it’s not like we have a choice.



Canoe Crossing is relatively simple; mash A to go forward, move up and down to avoid crashing into any poles. The only wrinkle is that the current is constantly pushing the canoe down toward the bottom of the screen, so you have to be careful about keeping your course steady if you want the candy.



Once we’ve done it once, heading back here lets us choose whether to play again or just cross between these screens without playing. The reverse course is its own distinct game though, so I do it once for completion’s sake.



Where did they go?

The other kid says:

You like ham-and-seek? Well, I don’t! They all hide in weird places, and I can never find them.

So, there are two hamsters hiding here somewhere, but they’re too good at hiding to be found fairly. Ergo, we’re going to cheat. How do you cheat at ham-and-seek? Well…



I bet the smell is just too much for you to handle, isn’t it? Though, I don’t think kids would understand.



Hey! You guys! Will you broil them for me?



Oops, I think someone forgot to change the background for this one! That, or the boardwalk suddenly became a lot more grassy.






I’m starting to get hungry… Oh, no! I was still in the middle of ham-and-seek.

See, this is how you cheat at ham-and-seek. You lure the other players out of hiding!

Huh? The other members are looking for me? Oh, no! I have got to go! Thanks for telling me about it.

That’s three out of four missing choir members now. Odds are that either the fourth will be the other ham-and-seek player, or the second missing Hambini will.



The hamster on the bench over there has been sleeping for a while. Is he sick?

Just below the broiled corn stand, this police officer seems concerned about one of the park’s patrons.



Said patron takes a fair bit of poking to get him to wake up. You have to talk to this hamster four times to make him get up and moving, whereupon he realises he’s been sleeping through an intended date.





I don’t think we can even hold a tenth of that, mate. Although I haven’t had a chance to check that fact, what with how expensive it’s been to clear out all those stores.



We’ll leave that hamster to their highway robbery for now, and pass on going along this rainbow. This one goes to Flower Ranch, back behind the shed where the chicken minigames were.



Instead, we’re going to head to the southern part of this area.



Good thing we woke that guy up and managed to salvage his date, or we wouldn’t be able to cross the gap.



The other side of this park is a bit bigger, so let’s poke around. (The crying kid can be cheered up by Pashmina. There’s another hamster nearby who needs Stan’s dance moves to cheer them up.)



Straight south is the rainbow over to Ticky-Ticky Park, which is how you might get to the seedslinger without bringing that trampoline to where it’s needed.



There’s the Super Hopscotch game further to the right, which strikes me as a little bit odd.



It has no bugs to avoid, and Bijou jumps at the slow speed Pashmina used in her first few rounds of Hopscotch. The course seems to be about the same length too, so I’m not sure what exactly is ‘super’ about it. You can play it in both directions at least.



Pay ten seeds, try to win thirty. Or just go pick up a whole bunch of seeds from any number of other areas.



...Huh. That mermaid statue looks oddly familiar. Still, we’ve got more to explore before we worry about strange interactable-looking statues. Let’s head up north.



Doesn’t it look cool? It’s my favorite hat.

I’ve never seen a hat like that! I’m totally jealous.

What? You want to see this hat? Uh...sure.



Oops! We’d better go fetch that for him. Also, nice touch that the portrait changes when he loses the hat.



Just a quick stop at the juice bar here first, I think.

But I’m out of fruit now. What a situation! Because there are customers here, I can’t leave to get the fruit.

Where can we find the fruit? We’d be happy to get it for you.

Really? Really? That would help me! The pier splits Sea Spray Park into two different areas. On the other side, there’s another Sea Spray Park. You can find a fruit stand there. You can get my fruit from that lady.

The pier in question is where we used that boat as a stepping stone. I hope we don’t have to come up with 10,000 seeds though.



Especially since the lack of juice is ruining this old couple’s date. Apparently there’s lots of dating going on here at the park.



But...I want the fruit juice.

Ah, and there’s some extra motivation. Guess we must be looking for the last Hambini with our ham-and-seek game.



There’s another statue here, and a path to the east. Let’s finish exploring before we take care of the juice problem.



There’s a couple of holes here that the lady nearby is worried about, but fixing them…



...does not lead to gratitude.



Hmm. Suspicious.



Huh? There used to be four here. Where did they go?

Ah, sounds like something we can fix. And probably should, because the left-most statue is blocking the path north. (Speaking of paths, that’s the Hamstarr Manor rainbow in the corner there.)



she’s not here. And it’s past the time we agreed to meet.

Maybe she decided to ditch him.

Mmmm, this really is a problem. Where’s your girlfriend?

She lives under an apple tree on Acorn Trail. Huh… Did something happen to her?

Given what we saw earlier… I’d say the odds are pretty good.



Setting that aside for the moment, we’ll return the Mermaid-Ham statues to their rightful places and be allowed onto the last screen of the area.



Did all of you find them? What good Ham-Hams. As a token of my thanks, please take this sticker.







The final screen has a rock and some sunflower seeds laying about, but the only things of real interest are the last Hambini and the wayward hat. The latter is what draws the former out of hiding.



You have to pick up the hat before you’ll get anything out of him.

What? You’re looking for the Hambini? I was so into ham-and-seek that I forget. Thanks!



You found it for me! Thank you.♪ Yeah.

There’s no point to returning the hat beyond it being the right thing to do, but why not? Now, on to other matters…



Then, if you beat my quiz, I’ll give them to you. Well? Will you try my quiz?

It sure beats paying for them, so you’re on.

Oh, hohoho! Then let’s go! Watch carefully.



Okay, that’s it.♪ Of the fruits you just saw, one of them was spinning. Which one was it?



Wow, that question was poorly phrased. What he actually means is, out of these four options, which one appeared amongst the spinning fruit? It’s the kiwi.



Here, take this. As promised, here’s the fruit. Say hello to the juice vendor for me.



You certainly can’t say these descriptions are inaccurate, can you? (Please do not tell me if there is entirely fruitless ‘fruit juice’ being sold somewhere.)



Now I can make and sell my juice. Thanks again for helping me.



And then there was fruit juice.



picture near the pier. I was in a bad mood, but I’m doing much better now.

I’m happy that you’re happy.

Picture, you say? Hope you don’t mind if we take a look around for it.



Oh, that’s right! The members are looking for me! Now that I’ve had some juice, I think I’ll go. See ya.

And now all the wayward little hamsters have been gathered up! We just need to go back to Acorn Trail to hand them some invitations… Oh, and check on that guy’s date.





We’ll just pick up this Howdy & Dexter picture that Old Lady Ham dropped, and be on our way. (The picture is invisible, but she said it was by the pier.)



What are you doing over there?

This apple fell and I can’t get out! I can’t move such a big apple. I want to go to Sea Spray Park! What should I do?

Yeah, sure, but what a tasty-looking apple.

Is there a hamster who can move this apple?



Nice one, Oxnard. “Yeah, you’re trapped in your own home, but this sure looks tasty.”



Thank you! You saved me. Here’s a token of my appreciation. Take it! See ya.



...Ohh, Salia is supposed to be like a seal or something? Durr.



ie. Let’s go watch someone else’s date like this is Ham-Ham Heartbreak all over again.



My boyfriend waited and waited for me all this time.

I’m glad I trusted you and waited.

Me, too! I’m glad to have met you!

Ha ha!

Hee hee!

Where do you want to go for our date?

Mmm, I can’t decide! Hamstarr Manor sounds fun… Sparkle Coast’s aquarium sounds great, too.

It doesn’t matter where we go, as long as we’re together!

Hee hee!



It was our pleasure, really. Hope you two enjoy your date!



Now, let’s finally… finally hand out the last of these invitations.



How can I thank you? ♪Re mi fa!♪ I’ve heard of a place called Rainbow Theater. I bet if we were able to sing there, ♪we’d be happy!♪



Luckily for these pint-size performers, we happen to have some invitations left.



♪See ya!♪

And then there were three.



The Hambini are back together! Thanks. Now that we’re all together, want to play somewhere?



I’m sure it will be fun.





We’ve handed out every single one of the forty invitations that Bo gave us, so next time…



We’re going to take the train back to Rainbow Land, talk to everyone we invited and enjoy the show! Don’t worry, I promise not to keep you waiting too long…