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...