Starting Off Slowly?

Nintendo DS [ Game Guide ]
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harvesting_sprite
Pick Potatos, not boogers
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I just picked up this game, I wanted to revisit my older HM games but haven't tried GB and it seems different. I'm finding the game very slow paced at the beginning, granted I'm only on day 7 and just had my first Bazar which was fun. Any tips for first time players of this game? Do other people find it starts off a bit slow at the start? Anything I should keep in mind or consider? (PS I'm playing as a Boy).
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Aramini
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First time player? :P Well, of course it starts slow for everyone. You have to wait for the Bazaar every week to sell something and you have to plan your crops well so they grow in time for the Bazaar. Granted, you can still sell to Raul's and i guess that could be a better idea during the beginning because it gets you enough money to buy better seeds at the Bazaar. But you could choose not to and upgrade the Bazaar faster by selling your items in it.

When you're playing for the first time, make sure you focus a lot on the Bazaar because it's where you get most of your items. It only comes once a week so if there is any person's birthday, you can wrap their present and get extra points so it's good to plan ahead.

It doesn't really matter is you play as a boy or a girl. It's basically the same storyline with different marriage candidates. I guess you should use a lot of your money on the more important things such as animals and such because they provide a lot to sell. And if you get enough money and are lazy like me, to meet the Bazaar's uhh...earning standard or something at like 75% is going to be really hard. But since you have money, stock up on Lloyd's goods and sell them all at your next Bazaar.

Mmnkay, you dont need to do it like that. But it worked for me. :)
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harvesting_sprite
Pick Potatos, not boogers
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Aramini wrote:First time player? :P Well, of course it starts slow for everyone. You have to wait for the Bazaar every week to sell something and you have to plan your crops well so they grow in time for the Bazaar. Granted, you can still sell to Raul's and i guess that could be a better idea during the beginning because it gets you enough money to buy better seeds at the Bazaar. But you could choose not to and upgrade the Bazaar faster by selling your items in it.

When you're playing for the first time, make sure you focus a lot on the Bazaar because it's where you get most of your items. It only comes once a week so if there is any person's birthday, you can wrap their present and get extra points so it's good to plan ahead.

It doesn't really matter is you play as a boy or a girl. It's basically the same storyline with different marriage candidates. I guess you should use a lot of your money on the more important things such as animals and such because they provide a lot to sell. And if you get enough money and are lazy like me, to meet the Bazaar's uhh...earning standard or something at like 75% is going to be really hard. But since you have money, stock up on Lloyd's goods and sell them all at your next Bazaar.

Mmnkay, you dont need to do it like that. But it worked for me. :)
Haha, thanks! I imagine like most HM games it would start of slow, I guess what got me is time goes by in minutes not intervals of ten so I found myself with a bunch of stamina left, done watering my crops, talked to everyone, picked up everything and then left with nothing to do and it was like 11:00AM! Thanks for your tips though :)
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Aramini
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harvesting_sprite wrote:
Aramini wrote:First time player? :P Well, of course it starts slow for everyone. You have to wait for the Bazaar every week to sell something and you have to plan your crops well so they grow in time for the Bazaar. Granted, you can still sell to Raul's and i guess that could be a better idea during the beginning because it gets you enough money to buy better seeds at the Bazaar. But you could choose not to and upgrade the Bazaar faster by selling your items in it.

When you're playing for the first time, make sure you focus a lot on the Bazaar because it's where you get most of your items. It only comes once a week so if there is any person's birthday, you can wrap their present and get extra points so it's good to plan ahead.

It doesn't really matter is you play as a boy or a girl. It's basically the same storyline with different marriage candidates. I guess you should use a lot of your money on the more important things such as animals and such because they provide a lot to sell. And if you get enough money and are lazy like me, to meet the Bazaar's uhh...earning standard or something at like 75% is going to be really hard. But since you have money, stock up on Lloyd's goods and sell them all at your next Bazaar.

Mmnkay, you dont need to do it like that. But it worked for me. :)
Haha, thanks! I imagine like most HM games it would start of slow, I guess what got me is time goes by in minutes not intervals of ten so I found myself with a bunch of stamina left, done watering my crops, talked to everyone, picked up everything and then left with nothing to do and it was like 11:00AM! Thanks for your tips though :)
You're welcome :lala: I find myself with a lot of stamina left too. So when it's like that and you get the fishing rod in summer, its good to fish and catch bugs to pass the time and sell for extra money. Or, you can try your luck and jump into any place with water to get things like sea urchins, empty cans, branches, or if you're lucky, gold ore. It's also good to cook things and now, I realized its kinda important to get the cow and chicken because once they start producing, you can buy cooking materials(i think it was the frying pan..or the pot...) when you upgrade to the 25% completed. It's not hard to do that and if you farm A LOT you can reach it by the third week of Spring. Once you got that 25% a lot of what you need is there for you and you can start to make pudding which sells for i think 800g or 700g at full stars. That's where the importance of the number of cows and chickens starts playing its role. You can make A LOT of pudding with a lot of animals. So yeah~!
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You should always pick up anything, even weeds, and catch all the bugs you see.

Things are a bit slow in the beginning, but it's really fun once you get farther into it too.
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harvesting_sprite
Pick Potatos, not boogers
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Okay thanks for the tips, I'm in Summer now and finding the game is picking up nicely. However I noticed the characters dialogue doesn't change even when the heart colours rise for the girls???
Cherry Blossom
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It does change.

You just have to talk to them in their homes.
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harvesting_sprite
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Oh well I noticed it changed when I talk to them inside yes, I just meant that they still same the same things both in and outside regardless of relationship/season.
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Aramini
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Well, i think it has to be in their rooms at like...late at night. That's how it happened to me. Like, late at night when Freya or Antoinette are at their rooms, their dialogue changes. I think it depends on hearts but i guess you already know that. How 'bout the bachelors? Did their's change yet?
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Mizukithepanda
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Trust me, later on in the game, once you have several animals and multiple crop fields, you'll find that there's barely enough time in the day to get things done. (And chances to upgrade your watering can are so few and far in between. ;A;)

In addition to what everyone else has said, it's also a good idea to utilize your windmills and your kitchen to refine/cook everything you grow/produce. In particular, it's great to familiarize yourself with the single ingredient recipes, as they'll give you a slight to moderate boost in profit without the hassle of extra planning.

A few things you may want to consider growing or purchasing as soon as possible would be the first field expansion, chickens, a cow, and tea trees. Tea trees are extremely profitable, easy to maintain, and produce leaves from spring to fall. The leaves are also easy to refine into other, more profitable items. Take Spring Tea Leaves for example. On their own at 5 stars, they're worth 1120G each; however, if you refine those leaves into Green Tea, they're worth 1340G apiece, and if you further refine those cans of Green Tea into cans of Matcha Tea, they're worth 2950G a can.

Another thing I might suggest for when you get to winter, is to save all of your ore stone instead of smashing it as soon as you see it. What you get out of an ore stone is random, so if you save it and smash it in the morning after you've saved, you can just reset until you get something that's worth money. I've seen people have a really hard time staying afloat during the first winter because they couldn't make enough off of their animals and foraging alone. Abusing ore stones is a great way to prevent that.

And yeah, people's dialogue only changes when they're in their homes or bedrooms. They have stock phrases set for pretty much every other place and occasion that never change no matter how well you've befriended them. Honestly, I wish they had more to say. :/
HMDSPrincess919
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It's been forever since i've played, but I remember it being super-slow when I started off. You find yourself with a lot of down time, but you've just got to learn to utilize it. Everyone above me has given great advice, but remember to do what's works for you.

The only thing I really have to add to our list of recommendations is to occasionally go "diving", which is when you jump into one of the rivers. You can occasionally get good items this way (several people have found gold, but i don't remember if I did or not...i know i found bronze) just remember not to do it too much because its taxing on your stamina. Oh and sell EVERYTHING! Even weeds. Cooking recipes are usually the best, but when your short on ingredients (trust me you will be...) those weeds,rocks, etc. can help in a pinch. But you probably know that by now. :)

One of the best lower grade items i sold was lumber/material stone. People bought those like hot cakes from me, and I had no real use for them in the beginning.

The dialogue gets better as you become better friends with people, but it's still limited. Sorry. If you REALLY want it to change make sure you're in that person's house (preferably their room) and just keep talking to them because it'll eventually change. I had to do that with Antoinette.
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harvesting_sprite
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I'm now on Summer 28, been reading all your posts. The game HAS picked up quite a bit, I don't find myself as mindlessly bored as I did first starting out. Also, some villagers are finally getting a heart and I have livestock and such now so it's getting better.
I'd love to get my watering can upgraded, but it seems so much work just to do it, and Felix hasn't sold the Cat Training toy so my cat is rendered useless at the moment and I still have to carry my chickens out myself. Also, now that I can't catch the Comma Butterfly it's getting a little harder to woo Freya (who I decided to pursue) who has been sitting at a Purple Heart for, well, ever now. All things aside I still haven't met the Bazar quota but I am at the 25% so progress is being made. I want to get through this game up until my child is full grown but it seems eons away haha.
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Aramini
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harvesting_sprite wrote:I'm now on Summer 28, been reading all your posts. The game HAS picked up quite a bit, I don't find myself as mindlessly bored as I did first starting out. Also, some villagers are finally getting a heart and I have livestock and such now so it's getting better.
I'd love to get my watering can upgraded, but it seems so much work just to do it, and Felix hasn't sold the Cat Training toy so my cat is rendered useless at the moment and I still have to carry my chickens out myself. Also, now that I can't catch the Comma Butterfly it's getting a little harder to woo Freya (who I decided to pursue) who has been sitting at a Purple Heart for, well, ever now. All things aside I still haven't met the Bazar quota but I am at the 25% so progress is being made. I want to get through this game up until my child is full grown but it seems eons away haha.
If you're still having troubles with upping to 50%, then might as well start to expand your fields. Once you get to 50%, though, things there get a bit fun(imo). But basically, you gotta just plant a lot of the crops that take like 4-5 days to grow and put fertilizer on them. Then take crops like tomatoes and plant a few rows of them because they really help you out. Dedicate a half or one whole field to expensive crops because they don't grow fast. That's what i did and by autumn of Year 2, i was well into 50%. ANOTHER THING!! Chickens and cows are like...my foundation. Even though they are a pain to take care of, they provide a lot. I think 5 star cow milk was like....200-400g i forgot but as i said, combine that with a 5 star egg, you get 700-800g worth of pudding if i remember correctly. and sheep's wool is the best. i think 500-800g for one that isnt processed and 1100g for one that is. I forgot if it's 5 star or not. Sorry if the prices aren't accurate. But that's because i haven't played the game in a while and kinda stopped on my 3rd year where everything went by too fast.
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harvesting_sprite
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Oh thanks those are great tips! I recently bought a sheep and a cow, they're still young though so they're not producing much but I have four chickens and their eggs have been profitable. I am still at 25% Bazaar, just started Fall but my field is filled with crops so I'm hoping that will help!

EDIT:
I have a few questions since I recently played today:

I was saving up some flowers for next years flower festival but they've gone rotten. Will villagers no longer accept them now? (I had been keeping them in my storage but still managed to go bad)

Is there no faster/easier way to upgrade my watering can? I know I need materials and the Windmill but it just seems so daunting to have to do that and it takes me forever to water all my crops.

I still find myself struggling to make much over 20-30k at a Bazaar. Is that normal for Fall of the First Year? I grow plenty of crops and have four chickens. My one sheep just started to produce wool but my other sheep and two cows are babies still and too young. The only reason I ask is because I want to get more storage, get another field, etc and I don't even make 30k at the Bazaar after I buy animals and such.

That's all I can think of for now, thanks!
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Aramini
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harvesting_sprite wrote:Oh thanks those are great tips! I recently bought a sheep and a cow, they're still young though so they're not producing much but I have four chickens and their eggs have been profitable. I am still at 25% Bazaar, just started Fall but my field is filled with crops so I'm hoping that will help!

EDIT:
I have a few questions since I recently played today:

I was saving up some flowers for next years flower festival but they've gone rotten. Will villagers no longer accept them now? (I had been keeping them in my storage but still managed to go bad)

Is there no faster/easier way to upgrade my watering can? I know I need materials and the Windmill but it just seems so daunting to have to do that and it takes me forever to water all my crops.

I still find myself struggling to make much over 20-30k at a Bazaar. Is that normal for Fall of the First Year? I grow plenty of crops and have four chickens. My one sheep just started to produce wool but my other sheep and two cows are babies still and too young. The only reason I ask is because I want to get more storage, get another field, etc and I don't even make 30k at the Bazaar after I buy animals and such.

That's all I can think of for now, thanks!
Q1: I think all things still go rotten. I don't think you can hold items for more than a month but i really don't know since i dont hold things for more than a month XD. Did you upgrade your storage because items last longer when they are upgraded...not space wise. You can give them rotten flowers...but the just wont like it XD.

Q2: No...There's no other way but to wait. The watering can has to be put into the windmill to upgrade it. There's no other way.

Q3:Yeah, i guess it's pretty normal during the first year. I'm at 1st year summer(restarted my game) and the most i can make with 1 field, 2 grown cows, 3 grown chickens, and dishes i buy at Joan's store is...i guess around 20,000....but that's because i bought pots and pans to make pudding and stuff. And I pick up a lot of mushrooms and stuff. Cooking shiitake mushrooms is really good and it sells better. But that's just me. I save up a lot of my crops and sell the next week. I don't forget to restock up on expensive crops. Just follow the tips above and you should be able to make a little more. I dont know...summer imo is the most profitable season crops-wise.
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