Thursday, January 31, 2008

Inspiration from a Fan

Hi Freyashawk!
I haven't actually used your guides yet, but I'm a fan of the Harvest Moon games, although I only know a few of them yet, and I just wanted to congratulate you for your work.
You must have spent so much time on them...
Anyway, I found a serious problem on them.
When I start reading, either your guides or your stories, I can't stop anymore, so I lose so much time! Hehehe...
Well... keep doing this great job you started!
Love from your fan
Lucy

Dear Lucy,
Your email inspires me to continue!

Monday, January 21, 2008

Married to Flora...

Hello Freyashawk it's me again with a giant grin on my face today!
Thanks to your Courtship guide and a site's Harvest Sprites guide,I have gotten married with Flora! I am very happy and have started a new life with her but still dedicate myself at my farmwork and other work. In my other file,I shall marry Leia...or I might not. I'm still deciding hee hee!
I have a blue heart with the Harvest Goddess but doesn't matter much because I'm not marrying her.I have Leia at green but I'm still deciding to marry her or not....
I think maybe Leia,Muffy,Celia or Lumina! Well I just did this email as a thank you mail but I think I'm talking too much!
Tee hee!I wish you the best of luck and thank you for everything!

Warm Regards,
Natalie

My response: After reading your email, I had a giant grin on my face too... It always is a joy to hear that my guides have helped some one achieve happiness in Harvest Moon!

Saturday, January 19, 2008

An amusing thank you...

Thankz for doing what u did for idiots like me on
MoFMT!!!

o 0 o 0
- FaTiMaH -

We all may be idiots sometimes where a game is concerned... Once we know the answer to a problem, it usually is very simple, but until we do, it can appear insurmountable!

Friday, January 11, 2008

Chronicles of Narnia for DS

Hi there

I have just printed off your rather excellent guide to this DS game in the hope that I can help Edmund find the White Witch - having lots of trouble at the moment!

I smash the three ice statues, kill the anklebiters, goblins etc but cannot get past the iron staves at the top neither can I find a way up to the White Witch from the Red Dwarf's Peak. You say in your guide you enter through a "narrow defile in the north" but I have been stuck at this level for three days and cannot see a way through.

Any specific instructions and/or screen shot would really really help me as I think this is a fabulous game and am quite desperate to get on and keep playing. I got my DS for Christmas and this is the one game that has really captured my imagination!

Thanks for all and any help you can give me in working out this problem.

Best wishes
Milly

My response:

Dear Milly,

There is a cave entrance blocked with stakes on that mountain that actually is a dead end. Disregard it. It is most frustrating! It originally was intended to have a purpose but in the final version of the game, that purpose was deleted but the visuals were left untouched. I spent about a month trying to unlock it after I completed the game without success. I finally spoke to my contact at BuenaVista about it and he told me the sad truth. I should have been less stubborn and contacted him sooner but I always like to try to solve everything myself in a game when I am working on a guide.

As far as the real path is concerned, it is rather difficult to explain... it is right in front of you actually! I myself have 'lost' the path many times simply because it is not very clear visually but it is right there. It has been two years since I last played this game, but you simply carry on climbing the mountain. Are you stuck sort of halfway up the mountain?

It is a glorious game... in fact, I wish I could play it again. If you continue to have trouble, let me know and I will look for my own copy and try to walk you through it.

Good luck!
Freyashawk


Actually, when Milly found the path, she described it very well:
Hi Freyashawk

Thank you very much for your reply.

I have indeed "found" the path after using my up and sideways (left) button simultaneously, otherwise I would just slide down the path and have to climb up the vine continuously - very frustrating!

Anyway, you are quite correct it is a simply glorious game and I am enjoying playing it so much that my console needs charging approximately once every day!

Thank you once again for your kind reply.

Very best wishes
Milly

Innocent Life

Appreciations! you rock! big time...I saw your other guide...and may I just say...its the best one ever...and I thought gamefaqs had all the good stuff when it comes to strategy guides...yours were specific...they should all be like you...prosper!

-JC

Innocent Life

Hello Freyashawk~

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your email. Kellen was so upset and depressed last night. I let him read your email and you have him feeling better about everything. I must say this was especially nice of you. I know you are busy and not many people would take the time out to help a young boy.
He said he may wait a couple of days - (I think it's like his mourning time.) and then start over with the advice that you have given him.
I will check where we originally found you to see if you accept donations for all the work you put into this to help others succeed. It means a lot to us.
Thanks again~
jane and
Kellen

This was a response to an email I wrote:

Dear Jane,

It isn't silly at all to care about Harvest Moon. One of the reasons I love the games so much is because they engage the heart as well as the intellect. The entire purpose of any Harvest Moon game is to persuade the player to care about others and to work for the benefit of every one and not only his/her own personal success or gain. In Harvest Moon games, you develop strong emotions for your friends, your animals and in some games, your spouse and child.

Please do tell him not to be discouraged. We all have been forced to start a new game for various reasons and even I have lost an old game once or twice when the system had a glitch or corrupted a file! I cannot overwrite my old Harvest Moon games though, because I still am involved with the characters I created and my farms! I often have bought a 2nd cartridge simply in order to be able to start a new game without losing an old one.

On the PSP, though, you have the advantage of being able to create files in at least 9 or 10 slots. I advise him, when he starts his new game, to save frequently in more than one slot at different points in the game. That way, if anything goes wrong, he will have a slot with an earlier version of the game and will not lose everything!

Innocent Life is a wonderful game, but it is one of the Harvest Moon games that has time limits. Most of them do not! Many Harvest Moon games are not win/lose. Even Innocent Life, after you 'win' the game, allows you to continue with your farm indefinitely. It is only if you fail to avert the volcano and save the Island before the third year that you will lose your farm.

Harvest Moon games are quite complex and one of the reasons I write detailed guides for these games is to allow players to play without anxiety and to have more fun by being able to unlock all options and secrets. It is sad when you lose a file or game, but it does help in any future game that you know what to avoid!

Best wishes for the New Year,
Freyashawk


N.B. As of yet, I never have received any payment for my guides. Friends have urged me to sell hard copies of my guides, but I would not wish to deny ANY player access to my work. On the other hand, perhaps donations would not be a bad idea...

Rune Factory Thanks

Freyashawk, I just wanted to thank you for all you have done for all Harvest Mooners around the English speaking world. I found your walkthrough for Rune Factory unbelivably thorough and helpful. I also found your walkthrough for another Harvest Moon (I cant remember which one) helpful. Anyway, before I start to prattle I might as well give you the gist of this email: Thanks for all your help.
Matt

Do you use your own guides?

I want to say thank you for giving us day to day guide about Harvest Hoon DS. I
have a question though. Do you like memorize all the dates/the events or do
you go up and look at the internet?
-Jennifer

My response to the question:
Dear Jennifer,

My guides ALL are based on my own game journals. Whenever I play any game, I keep a detailed journal. In fact, that was the basis of my very first game guide for FoMT. I then decided that a calendar would be a good idea to help me remember events and birthdays. That was the basis of my first Events Guide...

So to answer your question, yes, I do use my own guides! It is one of the reasons I created them in the first place. Whenever I find something helpful in my own games, I use it to create a new type of guide... My General Guide is a good source for players who never played the game before. The Events guides are good even for advanced players because they can remind you of an event or birthday that you may have forgotten. There is so much to remember at any given moment in Harvest Moon!

I don't go to the internet though. I have the guides on my computer.

Good luck!
Freyashawk

From Melody

Freyashawk,
Ive been playing Harvest Moon for a pretty long time, but, never really took in all the details of the game. I would tell you everything I did, but I do not want to waste your time. This is the least I can do to thank you for your wonderful guides that have helped me so much.
Thank you again!
Yours Sincerely,
Melody