Nostalgic Harvest Moon: FOMT

As you saw on my Birthday blog, I bought ALLOT of Harvest Moon Games. I <3 Harvest Moon, Ever since I bought my first game when I was 14. Sure I was a bit to late to get the HM Franchise fanbus. But I never stopped loving this awesome stuff :D

My first HM was Harvest Moon Friends of Mineral Town. This was just before Victor Interactive Software was bought by Marvelous AQL and Rising Star Games came in the scene play when Harvest Moon DS came out. Coincidentally its also one of the few games who boxes I kept.

First of all this opening screen is just fun. I always get happy when I see this screen and hear the music. And before I go rambling. This game was full of glitches and typo's in the translation which adds to the fun. But I'll keep those to myself for people who stumble on to this blog. It kinda takes the fun out of it :) And a thing I am missing with this game is the connectivity with the DS version. They had it in the Japanese and American releases, But Rising Star took it out for some ungodly reason. And so a whole lot of fun extra's where lost for the DS version, I still haven't forgiven them for it.

I just remembered that this was before I used my usual HM name Kelleth... And look at how long I played this. 7 years in game time! Actually that's not allot... I blame Pokémon Sapphire! Seriously though. I did my best and this was the first game I was actually good on most if not all the activities.

 On this game I am married to Ann who ran the Hotel/Bar with her dad. She was also the most easy to catch lol I always found it fun to hang out there at late times. So it was easy to just drag a present along

Back then I had to much to do on the TheGoodLife Farm. But I took every damn chance to win every side events and festivals. I particularly liked cheating on the horse races to get lots of presents and money for the misses. :)

 *
When it comes to Horse Racing, enter your horse. On the day of the competition, bring your basket and save the game before entering the Rose Square.
You may bet in the first two races if you want, but you don't have to. In the third race, bet 99 times on your horse and when you win, buy 39 broaches and sell them the next day by leaving your basket in the square (it won't disappear). Remember that broaches are much more worthy than diamonds. - ING_Cheats
*

Also I found it funny that pretty much every cooking festival was a sure win when you managed to put a truffle in the dish. I actually enjoyed these standard festivals more then say the swimming contest in Back To Nature/B&G. And now that I think about it... That's why I dislike A Wonderful Life... Just 4 Festivals that weren't interesting at all. And why I loved the HMDS version so much because there where a ton of fun festivals to play out! Sure it keeps you away from the tasks on the farm... but look Fireworks! Who cares about farm work!?!

On the business side I got LOTS of things done. Like every member in my family having 10 hearts. And me having 9 of the power berries (I forgot which one I was missing) even the blue one. Sadly I never hit past the 1200000g. Which I needed to because I wanted to buy the open plot in town. And I don't think I'll ever hit the 50 anniversary to earn that home. lol

My animals though where doing great. I admit that could have done better with the sheep though and maybe let the animals out some more... As you can see quite a few chickens died of old age. So I renamed the chibby's with numbers and skipped 13. I never got that annoying with taking care if the animals like I did with the brushing thing in HMDS. But some days I just wanted to skip it and just hang out in Mineral Town.

The town is awesome. I love all the characters who all have lots of intertwining back stories and are just fun to hang out with. And I do love how the road on the left on the mountain leads to the Forget-Me-Not Valley from HM: A wonderful Life and HM: DS/Cute. Also there are no sea monsters in this game and Hanna does not get puppies in this game! :P I should have spend more time on the beach with Kai, But most of my time was spend on my farm, on the mountain and in the bar... Seeing a drunk Rick is terrifying.

Lets ignore the drunk Kai-beating poultry farmer and move on to my farm. Its pretty empty at the moment. I only have a line of strawberries which hopefully are harvest-able in the 2 days I have left. Also yeah the map is screwed up. You try to make a map from 16 DS screencaps. :P

At least I don't need to hoe down every square each day like I have to in Harvest Moon Boy & Girl or other certain games. As once the ground has been tilted no flash weeds pop-up randomly every damn day.  I can usually make up to 7 rows of crops on this field. The rest is grass for the cows and sheep

 Sadly I cannot grow anything right now.

Because my plants where already watered when I last saved

So I am stuck watching my crops grow. O joy...

I could cook. But then again I know EVERY recipe out of my head lol

 The cows, sheep and chickens have been tended to. Soooo all that's left is....

Sigh... fishing is fun. But not in spring. I never caught anything but trash in Spring!! Winter is for fishing! and that Image is correct! The fishes where trolling with the players! :P

What is fun though is mining, But this game has certain issues. I remember that no matter how healthy you are you always need to save each level. Because if you don't have any stamina drinks on you you'll out of steam in just a few levels down. And if you have a basket and fall unconscious you will be saved by the Doctor. No not that Doctor! I mean Doctor Trent! You wake up in the hospital. Like you normally do after passing out. But your basket is still on the floor you left it at! So you have to go back! Which fatigues you even more! So its best to avoid that and instead save like every level. Another reason for saving before hand is that once in a while you'll hit a dead end. And with that I don't mean level 255 of a mine. I mean that no matter at what level you might be, there's always a chance of not finding the stairs down and ending up with a blank field. So you are stuck and have to start over. But that's nothing, in HM: DS shit goes really tough! In those mines there's demonic chickens and other evil shit attacking you! You fight with basic garden tools, and they get tougher with every so level down! Who the hell do they think you are? Link!?!

So yeah... The mines are one of the reasons I still haven't gotten LV7 yet. I should really get back to playing soon and make that my first and foremost task. After that I'll maybe get to fish up some King Fish and hopefully get that house.

bachelorettes                                            

Aside from marrying Ann you can also go for: Popuri is the cute chicken-loving sister of the raging alcoholic Rick. She's a bit childish at times but wants to be taken as an adult. Even though she still wants your chocolate on the Pumpkin festival which is strictly for kids. I like her she's cute. ^_^ Karen is the daughter of the supermarket owner, she's a drunk like Rick who is of course her love interest. She fails at cooking. Mary: The shy daughter of a botanist and an housewife. She runs a library that holds allot her dad's books. Elli: The Granddaughter of one of the oldest residents of Mineral town. Who works for the Doctor... again Trent! Not that Doctor! She constantly worries about other people's health. And lastly the Harvest Goddess. Who aside from being hot isn't worth the trouble in this game. She's barely at your home (only for special stuff) and even if she was, she only got some character developments in the DS games from DS to Sunshine Islands and the Tale Of Two Towns. So that's about all the choices. Good choices And yet some how went for Ann lol

I can't really remember why I choose Ann as a bride. If I would to play it now I would have gone with Popuri. After playing older games through emulators I learn they changed allot about Ann in this game compared to the original where she (or her ancestor) was a blacksmith. I should try a starting a new save game one day.

Other Marriage Candidates:                  

Speaking of new games, here are a few of my other Marriage candidates. In HM:DS My bride was Muffy (also on AWL but I don't care). She's the same a Popuri in most ways. But unlike Popuri she doesn't have to put up with an annoying brother and a sick mother. Instead she lives with and hippy dude named Griffin who is awesome but at least twice her age... Next to her is Chelsea from HM: IH and HM: SI, a hard working day dreamer who falls in love with you because you work so hard on your farm. Seriously the gifts do zip here. She's cute though and worth the trouble. In Grand Bazaar my wife was Freya who is an hard working hotty who's barely in town. I remember choosing her because then I'd have more time catching bugs (which I ruled at) When I get started on playing the Grand Bazaar I actually bought instead of pirated I will probably choose her again or go for Emiko who is a mysterious lady who lives inside a water fall.

I actually hate Hero Of Leaf Village. Mainly because you need to run around just to be able to sell stuff. But I did manage to marry Alice. Who's basically the baddy of the whole story. But she's so cute xD. Next up is some one I wanted to marry but didn't after I decided to buy the actual game first instead of wasting my time with my R4. She is Nori from The Tale of Two Villages. She's not all that special but she looks cute and she's an tea addict like I am in real live. I am playing TToTT and I am loving it. Nori is definitely up next xD.  And lastly is Iroha! She is the black smith of Echo Village. She works hard and is really serious. I haven't really played the game yet. So I don't know much else about her And seeing how I still need to buy and 3ds and how Rising Star still is going to lay back doing nothing to the game for about at all, I doubt I am going to in the near future. Heck the 3ds is region locked. So I can't even buy one from America! Damn you Nintendo!!

O god, Muffy you are so adorable!

 Any way they aren't my all of favourite brides. I played a few other Harvest Moon/Rune Factory games. But Its better to keep the list short for this blog lol

Any way I really do feel like playing Harvest Moon: FOMT again. I want to play it anew and start over. But because I don't want to delete my old file I'll probably buy a new copy of FOMT. Till then I am happy with the other games I got :D

And that's about it. My Harvest Moon Blog is done. I wish that I could tell you more. But aside from this DS and AWOL I played most of the other Harvest Moon/Rune Factory games on Emulators for the DS and PSP. So I can't really count those as games I played lol. But as you can see on my birthday blog I am trying to buy them. (Even though its going to bite me in the back with toku stuff) And then I'll probably post another blog ^_^

All these images where taken from my own copy of Harvest Moon: Friends Of Mineral Town and my Bokujou Monogatari: 15th anniversary art book. All copyright goes to ©Marvelous AQL to ©Natsume inc and to ©Rising Star Games. And be sure to check out Ushi No Tane for actual HM details and info instead of random fanboy rambling.

Birthday Presents 2012

After putting it off to long here's the blog for my B-day presents
Books And Manga                                   

First of all are my Rosario + Vampire season II volumes 7 to 9 which I bought in one go. I've been loving this series since the start. I do hate the anime, But the manga is awesome. I hope to buy them all. And I am glad that I can pre-order without any trouble on ABC.nl. I can't wait till October for Volume 10!

 I got this book form my aunt and her boyfriend. At €48 this AWESOME thing was so expensive!! And worse is I used this stain glass shell thingie to weigh it down in order to make photo's. But I FORGOT THE LEAD!!. So now we need to go to the art store and get a really really really really soft eraser to get the marks off without actually damaging the awesome nostalgic art! *face palm*

 I got this along with the 3 Rosario+Vampire books. Its pretty cool to see Superman acting like a jack-ass. Its like the opposite of what people thought the original Superman was. One gripe though is that due to the publication error back in 37 the beginning of the first adventure is quite a few pages in the back. I knew this, but I forgot to start there any way lol

And lastly my sister Pauline got me a cook book. It will be fun to try stuff out but sadly the kitchen is a mess and I should first was some dishes.

Harvest Moon                              

From the money I got I got a bunch of games which are WAY to expensive here in Holland. Both of these where just about 21 shipped instead of 40... fuck you Dutch game stores! I have pirated the both of them and I enjoyed them. So I am glad that I am actually able to buy them now.

Another game that I have pirated was Frantic Farming. I love this game and I just checked I still haven't deleted it yet. So the fact that this thing is still in Britain till its paid off (paypal is trolling) or so doesn't bother me that much :)

 I've been wanting to get this game for a while now. And I did play it through the PSP store. but I wanted the actual copy so here we are. Just 1 problem though. The ass-hat who sold me this put up the complete version the next day. And that one included the Jewel Case and instruction book. Now I don't need directions with this game. But I do prefer having a jewel case to put the damn thing in. Worst is the dude pm'd me a day later with an apology and if I wanted the box. I told him yes and asked him to send me the e-mail so I can pay the extra costs. The bastard never pm'd me back. WHY ASK IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO FOLLOW UP ON IT!?! Don't buy anything from PowerUpVideoGames. A-holes
Other Games                 

 I also bought a Japanese copy of Pokemon Green. But for some reason it hasn't arrived yet. Which is weird since its from France. It shouldn't take more then a week. I hope everything is all right. And If it does get here I'll own all of the 4 gen 1 games.

 And the last game I got is Pokemon Platinum. Now I just need Pokemon Diamond to own all gen 4 games.
I haven't even started playing yet lol.
Dvd's                                               
These aren't really presents in the normal sense. the shop owner kept Dragon Ball separate for my birthday and gave Ultramaniacs for half price. I still paid for them. He just ensured I got them.

This aperently supposed to be part 1 of the Chinese Dragon Ball Dragon Box. But strangely all the copyrights to Toei have been removed from the descriptions. Combined with the fact that the first dvd won't allow my to flash through the openings and endings without constantly going back to the first episode gives the idea that this is a bootleg. Even though its quality seems pretty great.

As for Ultramaniacs. Same quality. but for some reason everything is still in Kanji. Even though the descriptions clearly state that its an dvd set made for Hong Kong audiences and has English subs (not as bad as Toku HK subs). I really like that I found this because I used to watch this stuff subbed back in 2004. and I never really finished it. Maybe because it wasn't Shonen or Sailor Moon or whatever. Any way now I can finish this! I just hope its not that bad.... If it is I'll send it to Cinwicked xD
And Also...                                                                  

For some reason this thing hasn't arrived yet either. I hope it does soon. Because I kinda regret getting it. Not because its not awesome, But because I did find it here eventually and it was just €10, €3.57 less then I paid.

Lastly I got a DX Shinken Red Key from Sayo in Japan. Way cheaper then I'd normally pay for it. And she also got me a Dragon Ranger Key too for the same price. Hopefully she shipped it yesterday. Be sure to visit her Ebay profile for toku stuff.


I got allot this year, And I don't need more lol. I just hope those last 3 things arrive soon :)

Dino Stegazord AKA DX Dino Killeroh

Another mecha I got in the box is the Dino Stegozord

I like the Stegazord. Even though its bulky due to the battery case and the ratchet mechanisms in the chest.

Despite those this thing looks almost as natural as the other Dinozords. Though I do not care for the fin gimmick on the back. Its really annoying when the button in the neck gets pressed out and the fins moves.

 Sadly I am missing the vital middle piece of the Drago Zord. Which forms the main body in zord mode and the spear in the Megazord mode.

One thing I am annoyed at with this Megazord are those legs. Like the new megazords it spread its legsto take in space

But that isn't the worst offender on this thing, Nope its the feet! which are long on both the back and front. combined with the fins on its back and the black parts on what are supposed to form the wings on the Drago Zord make this thing really fat. Normally I have space left on my shelf's but this thing takes up all that.

As for the combo. I can really form the Valkasaurus Megazord. I am missing the part that actually forms the wings on this thing. So it feels really incomplete.
Arm Switching!!                                     

Though arm swapping is fine. Not surprising since it was the gimmick of the show.

 But I do like it when it just looks wrong lol

 Finally! Abare Gokaioh!!

Though these keep popping off they do look funny xD

Okay this filler is done. Hope everything arrives so I can finally move on!

Dino Thunder Megazord aka DX AbarenOh(Ji)

With my Power Morpher I got two megazords, one of them is my Dino Thunder Megazord. Buying this box was a good choice. Seeing how I got an original morpher and a bunch off goodies for €30 from France within 4 days.

So Tyranno is pretty much complete. First I was worried that the batteries where rusted. Like the ones from the morpher where. But thankfully its not the case. 

I like this zord. Its one of the most poseable Zords ever. And though I usually keep it in Megazord mode, I do like to toy with it a little once in a while. The drill gimmick though. Not really a fan of it, Same reason why I did not run to the online stores to get a GoZyuJin. Also I keep hitting the button on the side. So I keep the batteries out.

Ptera is sadly incomplete. Because I am missing the helmet. So I am holding her in a kind of normal Ptera crawl mode. I do love this design.

But I am missing the helmet in this picture. So I am going to try and buy a new one sooner or later. Not much else to say about it.

Tricera is so awesome! I love that Bandai America kept the diecast horns and gripping effect. Even though it sometimes causes the head to pop-off for no reason. 

Overall though I do love the Triceratops Zord but I think this is an real improvement over that old tank lol.

The Dino Thunder megazord is cool. Though the tail part of tricera keeps getting in the way on the shelf. Either was I do love that I keeps some of its posing abilities. And the drill arm looks awesome. Then again It just doesn't fit on my shelf!

  And as I said. Its missing its helmet. So this should not be the completed mecha!

Instead I usually take Ptera off and make this dude which was only formed once if I recall correctly.

 AbarenOhJi 

Which is the formation of just Tyranno and Tricera. I can't even recall if it was in Dino Thunder. But then again all I remember from DT is Tommy being awesome. lol Any way this thing improves so much for me. For one thing the Tricera tail is out of the way. And this is a complete formation. Also it makes room for more mecha because the drill is out of the way on the right.

 MV made by TheIchipai  ©Toei LTD

That's pretty much all I got to say. Sad that I don't have a box for it. But then again this megazord is designed so be split up in tiny little pieces and that's pretty much how I got it. Its pretty handy. Any way next time I'll post some S.H.Figuarts or something Chinese whatever.

My Small Collection of Morphers

When I was young I never ever got a chance to buy a morpher. When I was older I never came by morphers because Bandai Europe was run by idiot trolls who stopped selling Morphers when Zeo Started!

Now though I got more then enough morphers in my collection. Like my Legend Mobirates I blogged about earlier. Or the Armor Hero stuff that don't work because they are bootlegs.

But the one I am most proud of is my normal Morhper which I bought in February (kinda forgot how long at it actually was lol) It came in a box with 2 megazords and some small stuff. But it only had the Mastadon coin. and of course its not a Dyno Buckler. Nope I bought Reprolables as soon as I got this thing. But first I attempted to fix its faults. For instance. The batteries in it where almost rusted away. And the red part under it was greasy a can of fat. I got 3 of the 4 screws off and cleaned one of the plates in hot water. One of the screws was broke when I bought it so I had to clean it by soaking and rubbing (giggity!) it. It worked out great! I even managed to get it working for a few days. But the sound started to decline and the lights arent even working properly. So I removed the batteries out of fear for rust. Any way I love this thing and I hope to get the 2013 morpher too!

Abaranger is one of those of which I kinda was disappointed at. For one thing Its the one from Mainland China and it doesn't work quite as good as the original and its American counterpart. Instead of making a Dino/Flying Reptile sound when opening and closing the mouth parts. It makes the sound when opening. And when you close it this thing will go in to call mode. This is annoying. You'd think the Chinese would get this right. Just switch around the effects. Or put call mode where its actually supposed to be, which is when the mouth is closed and you push the button!.

Next up are my SPD morphers. I got 2 normal ones and 1 Battlized morpher. They are okay but they could have been better. My first gripe is the sound. Dekaranger was pretty much one of the best Sentai's with their sound effects. And this is pretty evident with my Gokai Patrol Striker. But ALL of the SPD morphers are really really quiet. Bandai America failed there. Now my Battlized Morpher on the other hand is really good. But then again all I got with that is a small LED that goes on and off when you grab the throttle... Also Yes I painted my morphers. First just to fix some scratches. And then to make a Master Licence. and then to make my own morpher. Sadly I got disinterested in the painting stuff for the moment. So its been left for the mothballs.

My first morpher is the accelerator from Boukenger. Well from Power Ranger Operation Oversuck... Its not bad. But not worth the money I paid for it. Which was €18. Inferior plastic and an annoying piece of cardboard instead of the codes on the original. Sounds are okay. But I miss the Go Go Goooo~ part when you call for the Bouken vehicles.

Some Other Stuff                                                                  
And this is what else I got

As I was saying on the Legend Mobirates blog. I got this Ride & Go Machine in order to get the Red Buster Key without having to buy the DX Gobuster set which gets sold out constantly. 

Its a cool thing. But to be fair. I kinda leave it in the box most of the times. I shouldn't have put the stickers on either. I don't really like shelf fillers. And I have to many already.

Speaking of Keys. Here are my 5 Go Red Keys. Which I was planning to paint, Sadly I am being lazy at the moment. And I still need to find the right paint for some.

 And lastly something I got in the Box along with the Power Morpher. The DX Hurricane Hawk. I have no idea at all where the Shinobi Machines have gone. But I am glad its in here. This thing is so well made.  At first I could have sworn that the main body was made out of Diecast.

Sadly I don't have much use for it. Other then a display piece or to joke around with my Ninja Megazord. (which I should dust off) If I get a chance I'll buy a Storm Megazord complete that is. I don't really care if I have such a small thing two times.

Any ways. I'll be posting another Megazord from the box next. Bye :)