Rune Factory 3 Part #5 - Tutorial Quests R Us

Part 5: Tutorial Quests R Us

Tutorial Quests R Us

Music: Town (Dawn)

Link, that's not how you sleep on a bed. Maybe you really did hit your head that hard.

These are all the skills I got yesterday. In order:

Water: Increases damage and reduces RP consumption of Water spells. Raises RP, INT, and Magic Defense.
Earth: Same as Water skill, just with Earth magic.
Love: "Your skill with love". Reduces RP consumption when a wooly(once Link can do that). Has the same stat and magic use bonuses as the other magic skills. Yes, Love is a type of magic in this game.
Farming: Reduces RP consumption of farm tools, and raises HP and RP.
Searching: Raises RP and INT slightly.
Walking: Raises HP, RP, and VIT.
Sleeping: Raises HP, RP, STR, INT, and VIT.

You really want to keep on top of your skills so your stat growth & max HP/RP keep up. Most of that will come naturally as you play, but sometimes it can benefit you to branch out a bit just for easy skill xp.

A quick look at the calendar shows the Bean Throwing Festival is coming up this Friday. Unsurprisingly, it involves throwing beans.

Link explored most of the town yesterday, but never hit up this one room in his own home. It's from the stair opposite the one that leads to the fields.

Shara, it's 6 in the morning. Why are you awake? Why are you in our house?

Strap in kids, the fourth wall is going on vacation.

This is the Trophy Room. When you accomplish certain things, trophies will appear here.

When I do certain things? Like what?

You know, I'm not really sure. I guess you'll just have to experiment and find out!

Okay!

This room is also connected to the Labyrinth World.

You can take on a labyrinth solo, or friends can join you locally over DS Wireless Play.

You can compare your scores with those of other players over intendo Wi-Fi Connection. Try to be the best! Let's see...What else is there?

If it's too easy right now, change it to hard. Play around with it and find a difficulty that feels right! Well, that's all I have to tell you about this room.

I got it. Thank you!

See you later!

We can't use the Labyrinth room yet, the ranking room is flat-out unusable since Nintendo WFC shut down, and I don't want to change the difficulty right now. What a useful area of the house.

At least Link can admire his two trophies.

If I knew how to use this Transform spell, I think I could go in here.

This is plot gated. I'll show it off later.

Sometimes growing crops can wither, but watering them fixes it. If you fail to water them, they turn into withered grass, which has some applications but generally isn't worth killing a crop over.

I picked up some cabbage seeds yesterday, and between those and the pink turnip seeds from foraging drops, Link's spent most of his RP already. It'll be fine. Probably.

There's nothing in the mailbox, but Sherman has a request on the bulletin board. This is another tutorial quest that unlocks a basic farm tool, in this case the axe.

Unfortunately, he's standing pretty close to the board.

Hey, I saw your request on the.bulletin board.

Oh, Link! I simply MUST not gorge myself with Seafood Gratin!

Ah...

You need a pot to make Seafood Gratin, and you won't need fire for the pot...So you can't make more stews if you had more fire power!

I don't believe so.

So I don't want you to bring me 9 Wood.

Ah...

You shouldn't be fine even when you don't have a Wood. Because this axe isn't a gift for you!

Sherman, you're fabulously wealthy. Couldn't you have given me a non-rusty axe?

Use this axe on a branch to make Wood!

I see.

By the way, if you lose it, you can't buy one from the weapon shop.

Ummm, So they do sell them?

Then please don't chop up lots of branches!

So he wants me to chop them up, right...?

Oh, you can't also throw items to hand them. But please don't be careful that someone else doesn't catch it. Because they won't think it's not a present!

I-I see...

So, Link. Bad luck!

Umm...thanks.

There's not much point in throwing items to people unless you're dragging them along to a dungeon, where you might want to throw healing items at them. But the option's there!

Chopping wood is a pretty low-key activity, so I do a round of socialization first.

Good morning to you too, Monica.

Umm...

Link's not that ugly!

I'm sorry.

I told her she was too slow at bagging, so now she just makes all the customers bag their own supplies!

Well, that's one solution.

Eat your vegetables, Rusk.

Delicious fish and a happy sister! That's all I need to be satisfied! Now, if I only had a cute...Actually, never mind!

Find a life outside fish and your sister, Carlos.

Go back to Rune Factory 1, generic NPC.

People shouldn't use the words love and hate so casually.

Huh? Why not?

You should only use powerful words.like that when you don't mean it.

Uh, right. Gotcha. (What is she saying? Man, it's not worth the effort to figure it out.)

Stop eavesdropping on villager conversations, Link.

I'm so busy.

Oh, yeah. Sorry...

I'm so busy. Why isn't anyone paying attention to me?

Huh?

I've got an idea! A stroke of true inspiration!

Really?

Yes! I just need to find a way to paint the moon! Maybe with a really tall ladder...

Um...good luck with that.

Let's sneak around the crazy elf and get that wood chopping done before she decides to coat Link with glitter or something.

Hit branches & stumps, wood comes out. Simple.

Until I forget that I was almost out of RP & that chopping wood actually takes a fair chunk of it earlygame.

When your dumb ass gets KOed, you'll wake up back in the clinic. Normally you get charged, but Marjorie waives the fee this time.

Marian and Collette are friends for some reason. Maybe it's Collette's attempt at being memorable?

Mmmm...

Looks good, doesn't it?

Uh...that doesn't look good at all!

Link continues the conversation anyway, because he forgot what hints are.

Hey, Raven.

I don't like talking to people...

Huh...?

If you get near me, you'll become cursed, too...

...?

I got most of the way to the goal before dying, and scarfing down some medicinal herbs lets me get the last two lumber without incident.

Looks like I should've made it with Ironleaf instead of Turnip.

Why would that make a difference?

Ironleaf is a flower you can throw at enemies to cause damage. No, really.

...

Now I can't eat Seafood Gratin!

Umm, that's good...?

This isn't much, but it isn't for you. Please don't take it.

Thank you very much. Right...?

Yes, that's not right.

Ummm...?

Well then, I won't ask you again some other time.

Ah...

It turns out I misremembered and Blaise just gives you the kitchen counter for free. You still have to buy all the other kitchen tools, though.

Nah, I got plenty of spares. Gotta get my practice in, right? But just to clarify, you can only cook with your bare hands on a Kitchen Counter.

What if I want to cook more complex dishes?

You'll need other cooking appliances. You'll have to buy those separately.

I'll have to keep an eye out for those, then!

Okay, I'll deliver the Kitchen Counter to your house!

Sounds good!

The intial set of appliances isn't too pricy, but I have no reason to buy them now.

I thought I wanted Charm Blue for my bath today...but it turns out I felt like Toyherb instead!

Uh, what are you even talking about?

Can we buy Pia some sanity?

Welcome! Are you going to buy something?

Uh, maybe...I'm not...

Well, if you're not going to buy anything, you can always look! Looking's free, after all!

That's true.

But a lot of people end up buying. something after they take a look, so I recommend it!

Um, I'll think about it...

That might work better if you actually had things for sale.

(Sakuya's store only sells materials you've shipped, so there's no eligible items yet)

Is that why it's so hot?

I'm snooping around the blacksmith for Reasons.

The food left on the table all day is not the Reason.

There we go. It's Raven's diary.

Umm...'A strange man appeared today. He says he doesn't remember anything about his past. That's awfully suspicious...' Suspicious...?

Gaius' diary is less informative.

I spend the rest of the day clearing the field, which is productive but less than exciting to read about. Have a kitchen counter instead.

The Toyherbs and first batch of Pink Turnips are ready today. I sell most of them but hang on to one of each for gifting/hoarding/other future purposes.

One of the turnips drops a higher-level bag of seeds. Score!

Today's request is from Gaius. Spoilers: It's the mining tutorial quest.

I swing by the flower shop on my way to the blacksmith, and Shara has a surprise for us!

A little cologne can make a big difference.

I don't own any cologne.

Just come by any time I'm tending the store and I'll choose a scent for you.

You'll choose?

Of course! Is there something wrong with that?

Well, a guy's cologne is kind of a personal decision, don't you think?

Tee-hee. Don't worry. I'm a professional!

Shara will now have a random cologne on offer once a day. Each cologne provides an additional boost with a specific set of villagers. The villagers in question will have dialog about how good we smell before proceeding to their normal conversation.

Today's scent is:

Has to smell better than two-days-with-no-bath farm sweat.

If you get a rune, it will replenish some RP and raise a skill level. If you get a rune spirit, it will replenish some RP and raise one of your stats a bit. If you don't pick them up quick, they'll disappear, so keep an eye out for them.

In other words, Link's farm is intended to be the titular Rune Factory. I actually got a rune this morning, but I ran into it too quickly to get a screenshot.

Wells does not appreciate my attempt at an early morning nap.

Um.

There's a raccoon in Privera Forest? Well, I'm not really interested. I usually never go over there.

The cologne smelling like fish would explain why Carmen likes it.

I heard that raccoon was messing around with my statues in Privera Forest! What a jerk!

This raccoon sure is a big fucking deal. It must be a slow news week. Aside from a mysterious amnesiac showing up and moving into the tree house, I mean.

Eek. So, baths feel so great.

...

Ah, baths feel great. They're nice.

Ummm...

I really have no witty commentary for Pia. I mean, what else is there to say? She's...Pia.

BREAKING NEWS: Raven spotted with a facial expression other than scowling.

...

What are you thinking about?

Shara's flowers...

Oh, yeah. They're pretty!

Flowers reflect the personalities of those that grew them...

Huh? What do you mean...?

Never mind.

Raven's actually a decent character, it's just a slow burn to get her to open up to you.

Do you think you could get some Iron for me?

Sure!

You'll need a hammer to mine for it, though. Here, use this one.

Really? Are you sure?

Yeah, it's no problem. Anyway, to mine for ore, you're going to want to hit the gray rocks you see in Privera Forest and other dungeons.

Gray rocks, you say?

These are different gray rocks than the ones on our farm. You'll see.

Yeah, gray rocks. Oh, also, you can mine with any kind of hammer, even those used for battle.

You can also use swords instead of sickles! But generally you want to stick to using the purpose-made farm tools, since they do the job faster.

I see...

Oh, and if you accidently lose your hammer, we have lots of them here at the shop.

Great! Thanks!

Well, I'm not going to give you a new one for free.

Uh, so I have to buy a new hammer from you if I lose this one...?

Yes. So I suggest not losing it. Thanks for your help!

Just don't think too hard about how we're going to break rocks with a wooden hammer.

Some colored grass can only grow in certain seasons! But we carry all of them in our store! Convenient, eh? I'll be waiting for you with my syringe!

Uh...what?

Uh, it looks like you're headed in that direction to me!

It looks like you're already in the diner to me!

While I'm here, let's check out the recipe bread. The only one of use right now is cooking bread, but that'll change.

Each recipe bread has a chance of being (thing) Bread+, which gives us more recipes than usual when we eat it.

I'll be stuffing Link's maw with recipe bread off-camera, since there's a ton of recipes to learn.

That stupid raccoon ate my Rice Ball! Without food, I'm gonna wither away...

Eat your vegetables, Rusk.

But you don't like any vegetables, right?

Of course not. I'm a pastry chef.

Enough fucking around. Let's mine some iron.

This isn't the right part of the forest, but it's got a nice view.

Welcome to the first dungeon, Privera Forest. Here you see a deadly Wooly, waiting to murder us.

It takes all of Link's stealth abilities to sneak around this cunning foe so I can show off the farm plot. The various dungeons have plots scattered around that you can grow crops in, just like the main farm. Why would you want to farm all the way out in a dungeon? Because each one counts as a different climate, letting you grow out of season crops more easily. Privera Forest always counts as Spring for farming purposes.

Monsters will keep spawning out of these gates until we destroy the gate itself.

I accidentally kill the Wooly while whaling on the gate.

Lucky drops! Earth crystals are one form of elemental crystal, semi-rare drops that can be used to enhance weapons & armor. Clippers are used to trim wool from Woolies, and the Woolies carry them around for...some...reason...

Mining rocks located.

I kind of get my ass handed to me. I'm good at this game, I swear!

Half the problem is that I'm not a fan of long swords, and the slow attack speed is a killer this early on. I pick up a hammer so I can use something I'm more familiar with.

I also get a shield so I have actual defenses, and detour to the bathhouse so I can get my HP & RP back.

Um.

I used to dream of sailing the seas when I was younger. The smell of the ocean breeze, fishing in the open sea...sounds great, right?! Well, I ended up becoming a fisherman, which isn't so bad. I mean, I can still fish, right?

300 gold is a steal for a full heal, honestly.

After beating on enough Woolies to get a skill up, I get this too!

I learned the axe and hammer dash attack! Attack after a running start to perform a spinning attack!

This is going to be the bread and butter of multi-enemy fights for a while. Hits multiple enemies, knocks them back, sometimes stuns them for a bit. What's not to like?

This early on, way too much of our mining yield is going to be scrap metal(which is as useless as it sounds). I end up getting a single piece of Iron out of the rocks here.

Gaius, it's almost 10:30pm. Maybe you should go to bed.

Wait, you've been working this whole time?

Yeah. I think I'd fall asleep instantly if I put my hammer down.

Heh, well, I don't know about THAT...

...

Since you got this iron for me, though, I can keep going for a while longer. Thanks.

You're welcome.

Now, I should give you something in return for your help.

Why don't you give him your hammer...?

Mine? Why mine?

A newer hammer would be an.improvement over what he currently has...You'd like Gauis' hammer, right...?

What? Uh, sure...I mean, if it's being offered...

I don't mind. Here you...

He's fine...He just fell asleep...

Uh...did he really fall asleep because he let go of his hammer?

Gaius has a one-track mind when he's forging. It's all he can think about. That's why I always try to make sure that he runs out of materials when it's time to go to sleep...

Ah! So he stayed up too long because I gave him the iron to use.

Yeah...

I'm sorry.

Don't worry about it. It's not your fault.

Thanks. I guess I shouldn't take his hammer from him.