Part 1: Tutorials & Trees

Tutorials & Trees

Intro video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5weD6fKOXSY
(The main character can turn into a sheep monster. I'm not considering this spoilers because the game makes no effort to hide it either.)


Let's get this show on the road.


It's raining.


Specifically, it's raining sheep.



What are you doing all the way out here in town...?
Oh no...it looks like you're hurt...don't worry...I'll take care of you...

Mystery girl drags mystery sheep inside, which doesn't escape the notice of this old guy.



Yes, it is.
What's it doing in my house?!
He's hurt! I need to help him!
Well, you coulda done that somewhere else! What'd you go drag it in here for?!
So I should've just left him outside in the rain? Anyway, I'll take care of him myself. I won't let him bother you.


And so he gets dragged upstairs, because she's apparently never heard of carrying.

There you go. You should be okay for the night.

The night passes, and one flash of light later...



Wait! Where the heck am I?!



Hmm? Who's that?



...



I don't usually see you around here by the tree.
...
Oh! Hello there! I don't believe we've met. What's your name?
Huh? My name...? ...
Is something wrong?
Yes...I can't remember my name.
You can't remember your name? Why not?
I...I can't remember who I am...my name...where I'm from...
Do you mean you have amnesia?!


The game tends to put sweatdrops/anger marks/question marks/etc over the sprites to get away with a smaller number of facial expressions add context. It's usually not a big thing.

Oh no! What should we do?! Wait! I've got an idea! Raven, could I ask you for a favor?
A favor...?
Yes. I'll explain in a bit.



How about...



Micah is the default name. We'll stick with that for now, since there's one other thing to name coming up semi-soon.



Oh! What an intrepid name!

I don't think you know what that word means.

Intrepid...I...I don't know about that...
Now, Raven, about that favor. Could you take Micah to the Sharance Tree?
What? Me?
Yes, you. Could you do that as a favor to me?
...okay...
Tee-hee...thank you very much, Raven. Well then, I'm going to go back to my house to see my grandfather. I'll come by to see you in a bit, Micah.
All right.



This way...
Um, I guess I should follow her...





: Wow, what a huge tree!


The top screen now has a map and some other info on it. Most of it is self-explanatory. The SP is just the season indicator for Spring. In the grand tradition of Harvest Moon-alikes, each season lasts a month, and each month is 30 days.

But enough about that, let's start exploring.


Spoilsport.





This is amazing! I can't believe it!
...



Yes. My work is done.
Why did you bring me here?
I was asked to. Now that I've done so, I'm leaving.
*pant pant* Sorry for making you wait, Micah!
Don't worry about it! I wasn't waiting long!



It's very...unique. I've never seen a house inside of a tree before.
Great! This is where you're going to be staying, so I'm glad you like it!
Yeah, since I'll be staying here, it's a...wait, what?! Staying here? What are you talking about?!
Oh? Didn't I say? You're going to be living here now, Micah!
Wait, when did we decide that?! I don't remember that conversation!

A pretty reasonable reaction to "yeah, I've unilaterally decided you're living here now". We don't know who this girl is, whether we can trust her, or what the mortgage payment is on this literal tree house.

Exactly! There's a lot of things you don't remember! You don't even know who you are, or what you're doing here!
Yeah, I guess you've got a point there...
Also, I think that there must be a reason you ended up in this town, Micah.
A reason?


I kind of doubt that.

A-anyway, are you sure I can really live here?
Of course! I even got permission from my grandpa!
Your grandpa?
Yes! My grandpa is the mayor of this town! So don't worry about it, and make yourself at home!
Thank you very much.
Oh, I'm Shara, by the way. And that's Raven over there. Let me welcome you to the town of Sharance.
Nice to meet you...
Nice to meet you too, Raven!

For the record, I'm cutting out at least half the ellipses the game is throwing at me. I'm leaving in most of Raven's because they fit her dialogue.


Nah, let's not, I can do it in a tenth of the time you will. There's a chest we can shove items and tools in, a fridge we can shove edibles in, an empty space where we can install a kitchen counter to cook with, a diary we can save in, a bed we can sleep in, and a calendar to track festival dates & birthdays. (With Shara not-so-subtly telling us about her & Raven's birthdays, Spring 11th and Spring 29th respectively)



Let's go downstairs next.
Hm? What's downstairs?
You'll see.



Please, after you.




So are you guys importing all your food right now? Because it looks like your lazy asses haven't been farming at all.

Only under this tree, huh?
Yes! The fields are a little overgrown, but you can consider cleaning them up as part of your rent!
Uh, it looks like that's going to take a while...


See? This is why you don't trust random girls insisting you should move into a suspiciously empty tree house.



Thanks!
Both of those items should come in handy. Also, since we're here, why don't you try tilling the field some?
Sure.




Eek! It's a monster!
Get back, you two!



Shara! Do you have any weapons?



Please defeat that orc!
Leave it to me!


Orcs are not exactly strong enemies, even outside the tutorial. If I wasn't fumbling around with screenshots I wouldn't have taken much damage at all.



That was incredible!



Yeah, I feel bad too...but what's this "Forest of Beginnings" you're talking about?
Oh! Well, I've only read about it in books, so I don't know the full details, but it's supposed to be a world where only monsters live.
So when you defeat a monster, they return to the Forest of Beginnings?
Yes. The tools and weapons we use are imbued with magic. This magic allows us to send the monsters back to the Forest of Beginnings unharmed.

Except for the various body parts they drop for use in crafting recipes. But other than that, 100% unharmed!

Is that right?



Shara, go somewhere safe!
Okay!




These are all our weapon choices; I'll explain them as I show them off later. For now, I take the hammer.




That doesn't seem very safe. Unless you're trying to break Micah's legs.


You saw that already in one of the hoe screenshots. Spam B, attack faster, yadda yadda.


Again, not super hard other than me wasting time grabbing screenshots. In the future I'll just record video and take battle screenshots from that.



Micah. Thanks for the weapon! Who are you?
I'm Gaius. You're pretty strong.
Thanks!
Heh, you should thank Raven. She came to get me when she saw the monsters.
Oh, is that right? Thank you, Raven!
...
Um, did I do something wrong?
Don't worry about it. That's just the way Raven is. Anyway, I'm going to head back to work. I work at the weapon shop in town. Feel free to stop by. See ya later, then.
Thank you very much, Gaius!



No, I'm fine.
Still, I can't believe those monsters attacked all of a sudden...
Does that happen a lot around here?
No...quite the opposite, in fact. The monsters around here are mostly gentle. But lately, I've heard rumors of violent monsters attacking people. Maybe there's a connection...



You think so?
Yes! I was surprised, actually! Those monsters looked pretty strong!


This decides whether we play normal or hard mode, although it can be changed later. I stick with normal for now.



Thank you very much.
Well, you're good with a weapon, but how about farm tools?


Mercifully, this is one tutorial we can skip. For those unfamiliar with Harvest Moon-alikes: Use hoe on soil. Plant seed in soil. Water seed until full grown crop emerges. Repeat to earn more money.


Seriously, it's fine, I can do this.

: Anyway, these are for you, Micah. Here are some seeds and money.


These are flower seeds. Tradition says you're supposed to give me turnip seeds. Are you even trying, Shara?

Thank you very much!
Open the pause menu to view the seeds you got. Just press Start to open the pause menu.
Press Start to open the pause menu! Got it! I'll try it later!
Oh! I almost forgot!
What?
I forgot to explain RP.
RP?
Yes, it's very important. On the Touch Screen, there are two bars, HP and RP, in the upper left corner.



I don't see anything there.
You just can't see them now! You'll be able to see them once we've finished talking!



When you use tools, you will use up RP. RP is your Rune Points, the energy of your body! If you run out of RP, then your HP will go down. HP is your Hit Points. When your HP runs out, you'll faint. Working hard is good, but don't work so hard that you pass out!
Got it!
Well then, let's choose a name for your farm now.
A name for the farm? You mean I get to name it?
Yes, of course. This is your home now, after all!
Okay, I'll name it...


Sharance is the default name, which coincidentally hits the character limit of 8. But we can do better than that! Probably.


It's voting time! Pick a name for our protagonist and our farm.