Basic Gameplay

Mini-Guides as Pages
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The detailed guide for each aspect of the game will be found in the other tabs above the posts.  The posts basically consist of my game journals.

Please refer to the Pages (Tabs) for Shop Lists, Item Value Lists, Characters Guide, Memories Guide and so on.

Basic Icons
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One of the most important icons on your screen is the Wheel Cog in the top right, indicating your Settings Menu.  It is here that you can save or load any file or return to the Title Screen.  You can save or load at any location or any time of the day.  This is particularly useful when you are in the Mine where you can find the ladder first, then reload to find it instantly without using much energy.  Another good use of this is when fishing.  If you do not catch any fish for awhile, simply reload.

Note, however, that when you load a file, you will find yourself usually at the entrance to the screen where you saved your game last and not at the precise location where you saved.

The other icon that is absolutely vital is the one in the bottom left.  This shows two different icons.  One is the 'Talk' Icon and the other is the 'Tools' Icon.  Whenever you talk to people, obviously you will use the Talk Icon.  To use ANY Tools, as well as being able to collect any item from the ground, you need to switch to the Tools Icon.

Note that in this game, you NEVER choose a tool.  The appropriate tool will be chosen for you automatically.

Upgraded Tools
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Upgraded Tools have different actions from the basic tool.  Where the Watering Can is concerned, you will have the ability to hold more water and use it on more squares.  100 is the upgraded amount for a Silver Watering Can and 200 for the Gold.  Where the Hammer is concerned, you will have the ability to break larger rocks.  Medium Rocks can be broken by a silver hammer and large by the gold.   I recommend that you upgrade all your Tools to Gold as early as possible in the game.

Crops
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Seeds are purchased individually and each occupies one tilled Square.  Crops should be watered daily unless it is a rainy day.  Every Crop matures at a different rate.  The Crops you will receive may be regular quality, Great Quality or even a Hybrid type.   If you fail to water crops on a sunny day, you may find that they are withered the next day.  This, however, is a random result.  Failure to water does not slow the growth of any Crop and you still will be able to harvest it at the same time as if you had watered consistently.  I have found that it is the Crops that are closest to maturity that tend to be chosen to wither if you fail to water them.

I do not know yet if the proximity of Weeds affects the quality of a Crop.  Fertiliser does improve your chance of obtaining a better harvest.  The Compost that you collect from the Chicken Coop and Barn can be used as Fertiliser but only AFTER you Water the Crop.  Regular Fertiliser can be used only after watering the Crop.

Reasons to Farm
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There are a number of reasons to grow a large variety of Crops as in any Harvest Moon game, but what you have to decide is how to proceed early in the game when your energy is limited and tools have not been upgraded yet.

The shipping value of any Crops, including Giant Crops and mutations is limited, so that is not much of an incentive.  You do need to ship a lot of Crops for Memories linked to farming achievements.  The other two reasons to grow crops are the most important:

First, Crops represent the 'Most Favourite' Gifts for many Characters.  It is possible to grow every Crop in any season if all you want to do is give them out as gifts.

Here is a list of a few:

Broccoli: Emily's Most Favourite
Celery:  Naomi's Most Favourite
Green Pepper: Gareth's Most Favourite
Onion:  Hanna's Most Favourite
Pumpkin: Tabitha's Most Favourite
Strawberry:  Most Favourite both of Catherine and Harvest Goddess

The other reason to grow a large number of Crops is in order to create the Mutations.  You will receive your first Mutations probably as Rewards for experiencing Memories.  Often these are Seeds but they can be the actual Crop as well.  One of the goals in this game is to unlock all Mutation Seeds so you can buy them from Sam.  This is done by shipping specific numbers of a Mutated Crop.   It can be anything from 10 to 20...

I was able to unlock Red Pepper Seeds by shipping 8 or 9 of them.  I was able to unlock Mystic Herb by shipping about 10 of them.  It is easier to discover the total required if you sell them to Sam instead of shipping them.    Shipping and selling to Sam appear to be identical in terms of Rewards in this game.

One of the reasons you need to unlock the first Mutations is because they in turn can create their own Mutations.  In other words, there are two generations of Mutations.  If you receive a first generation Mutation Seed as a Memory reward, you can create the second generation from it randomly but ONLY IF YOU GROW IT IN THE RIGHT SEASON!

Mutations ARE season-specific.  Some require a specific Fertiliser application as well.  I was able to create a Giant Squash from a Squash seed in the first Summer, but given the fact that I only had a couple of Squash Seeds (not yet unlocked), it was a very lucky result.


Trees
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Trees are planted as Seedlinga and occupy a single square.  You need to till one square to plant a seedling.  I do not know yet how much space needs to be left between trees but I always give each Tree 9 squares.  The game does state that they should not be planted too close together, so I suggest the traditional 9 squares for each.  You need not water Trees once they have been planted.  In fact, you cannot water them.

Upgrading Tools
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Your Farming Tools can be upgraded.  An upgraded Watering Can holds more Water.  An upgraded Hoe tills more squares.  An upgraded Hammer smashes larger Rocks and an upgraded Axe cuts larger types of Wood.  You cannot upgrade your Fishing Rod.


Making Money
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You make money by shipping or selling items.  Any item that can be shipped can be sold to Sam when his stall is open, but do note that there are Memories that are linked specifically to your Shipping Totals as follows:

Lots of Crops
  Ship 500 Crops

Lots of Flowers
  Ship 500 Flowers

In like fashion, there are Memories for harvesting every type of Crop and every type of Flower as well as Mining, Fishing and Cooking Memories.

Clever Cook
  Cook 100 times

Cunning Collector
  Pick up 100 items

Fishing Fanatic
  Catch 100 Fish

Mining Master
  Mine every kind of Ore and Gem

What I do not know is if there are special little events that are not Memories that are unlocked or activated by other activities such as 100% collection.

The best way to make money is by mining.  Time passes slowly in the mine and as long as you follow my cheat by saving each time you reach a new floor, finding the ladder, reloading and then hitting the square that has the ladder immediately, you should be able to reach Floor 100 in the first Spring.  The more valuable Gems are below Floor 50 so save your energy a little until you reach that floor if all you need is cash.  You will find, however, that specific items are needed to upgrade your House that are found on the first floors, such as Glass to be made into Glass Material.

Upgrading your House
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There are a number of reasons to upgrade your house as early as possible.  You cannot unlock the Bobcat or Dog as pets unless you have the first upgrade.  You cannot marry either.  


Care of Crops
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You are told that you need to water your Crops on a daily basis.  I performed a little experiment early in the game and found that, not watering between 8 Spring and 11 Spring, the Crops all withered only on the 11th, even though every day was sunny... so you do have some leeway here.  I do not know if Crops that have not been watered daily have a less likely chance of being Great when harvested.  I do know they only can be Great when grown in their proper season, although you can grow any Crop in any season.

Always remember that Mutations are season specific.  Look at my Crops Page for details.

Fertiliser exists.  You can purchase all sorts of Fertilisers from Iris or use the Compost made by your Animals.  It will increase the chance of obtaining a higher quality of harvest, according to the game itself.

Animal Care
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Animal Care is a little more involved than simply dumping food in the trays but again, the Tools you need will be used automatically when you go to the Animal.  You can interact daily with any type of Animal for heart responses.  Note that even baby Animals need 1 portion of Feed every day.  I need to experiment to see if they will feed themselves if you take them outside.  Mature Grass may be required to feed the Cow and Sheep.  In other Harvest Moon games, the Chickens would find their own food... I imagine worms and such.  Will have to see if this occurs in Seeds of Memories.  You probably need Fences to keep them from straying.  I need to confirm this as well.

According to the game itself, however, you let them out by ringing the bell outside their barn and they will return at night when you ring the bell again.   They will be 'angry' if you forget to bring them inside at night.   Like any Harvest Moon games, they will be affected by rain and should not be let out to graze outside when the weather is not fine.

When purchased, your Animals all will be immature, so buy one Chicken, one Cow and one Sheep in the first week of Spring if you can.  Cooked Dishes made with Eggs and Milk are high in energy.  I therefore purchased two Chickens immediately.

The Chick takes about a week to mature.  I daresay Cow and Sheep take about a fortnight but will count the days and confirm this.  I bought a Horse as well as soon as I had sufficient cash as it has to grow and when grown, will allow you to move faster.

Pets
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You can have pets in this game.  The Bobcat you see in the evening on the path to the Mountain can be tamed, but you need a Big House before you can bring it home to stay.  Dogs are sold by Hunter but only when specific requirements are met.


Energy
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Stamina is critical in any Harvest Moon game.  You can work better in good weather and will not lose your Stamina as quickly.  Stamina is given as heart icons at the top left corner.  Full regular Stamina is 5 Hearts but you will have another icon of a smiley face that shows how well you are.  Best is golden face with a smile.

If you go to bed after 1.00 a.m., you will not awaken at 6.00 a.m. and may not awaken with full 5 Stamina.  It depends on the time you go to bed and your condition.  Going to bed between 1.00 a.m. to 2.00 a.m. will cause you to awaken at 7.00 a.m.

The Spa or Hot Spring can restore ALL stamina and you can visit it more than once in any given day.  It does take time to recover your Stamina there.

Foraging
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Items found in the wilds cannot be found on a daily basis, but only every few days.  They include Bamboo Shoots, Flowers and Fruits from Trees.

Memories
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Events in this game are 'Memories' and you will find a list of them in your Menu.  Introduction Events are Memories and give an item or items when activated.  Each of the Eligible Girls/Bachelors has a series of 4 Heart Events that are Memories as well.  Other Characters have their own Memory sequences, usually three in total, not counting the Introduction Event.  I have created a mini-guide for Memories and will try to include the items that accompany each.

Festivals
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Attending Festivals will raise the heart levels of EVERY ONE.  Giving a person a Gift he/she likes will rais affection but although a person will react badly verbally to a disliked item, it may not decrease affection levels.

Early Goals
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Apart from the goal of making Friends, growing all Crops and Trees, mining for every type of item, fishing for every type of Fish, collecting and cooking all Recipes and foraging in the wilds for all items, an early goal should be the purchase of a Big House.

The Big House will allow you to store items, as it comes with a Refrigerator and Drawer, and it will allow you to have pets as well as marriage to an Eligible Girl or Bachelor.

You will need a total of 85,000G, 40 Hardwood, 10 Glass and 5 Mithril to purchase it.  When purchased, it will be built instantly in a little event with Brutus.

Note that Mithril and Glass are processed items and you need 3 Mithril Ore for each piece of Mithril and 3 Glass Material for each Glass.

Hardwood is obtained randomly from stumps and from the round Pink Trees.  The Pines yield Softwood.  Whenever you cut a stump, you may receive either Hardwood or Softwood. When you cut a Tree, the nature of the wood depends on the type of tree but the AMOUNT of Wood you receive always is random and varies from 3 to 5.  If you do not wish to chop the wood yourself, you can buy each piece from Sam for 100G.