Harvest Moon 64/Spring (Year 1)

Spring 3rd
As you wake up on your first day and eat your morning sushi roll, look around the room and make note of several things. First is the television. Turn it on by walking up to it and hitting. There are 3 different channels: one that tells you the next day's weather, one that gives help to beginners, and one that gives that months festival dates. Next is the book by the bed. This is not only used for saving and ending the day, but can also be used to check your current status and photographs or as a tutorial on how to use tools.

That out of the way, let's get started on your first (or third, as it seems to be) day. Outside, you'll see the mayor who wants to give you a tour of the town. If you are unfamiliar with the town, go ahead and take the tour, but it will take 2 hours out of the day. Either way, the first thing you want to do is to clear out the space in front of the shipping bin and till a 3 by 3 square. If you're extraordinarily lucky, you'll find a power berry tilling the soil, but don't count on it.

Leave your farm and take a right. This leads to a small clearing with a tent. Grab the edible herb and veryberry next to the tent, then head back to the farm. Throw the berry into the shipping bin and the edible herb into the dog's bowl. Run back to the crossroads and take the right fork heading up.

Welcome to East Flower Bud Village! The first building on the right is the florist. Head in and buy a bag of cabbage seeds. The next thing you need to do is to go around the town and meet everyone. Everyone but Rick, anyway. Rick's shop will be closed today- get used to it.

When you've met everyone, go back to the crossroads and take the lower left path to Green Ranch. Walk into the pasture to get your horse. Give it a name and it will be taken to your farm for you. When you're done with that, head back into the pasture and meet Gray, Ann, and their father.

If it's near dark, go back to your farm and plant the seeds in the area you tilled out earlier. You'll need to fill up the watering can at the pool in the lower right portion of the farm before you can water it, though.

Spring 4th
The first thing you want to do when you get up is check the weather. If it's raining tomorrow, then you won't have to water your crops, but you'll have to do less work or risk getting sick. Yesterday, we explored a little bit of Moon Mountain and today we will explore more of it. Water your crops (fill up the watering can at the pond near the bottom right corner of the ranch if you haven't already) and head out to the crossroads outside the farm. From here, go right and up the ramp to the vineyard. You'll see an animation where Karen storms out. If you leave the screen and come back, she may still be back on the ranch. Find Karen's dad and Kai and greet them. Then enter the house and find Karen's mom near the stairs and talk to her. When you've met these three, leave the vineyard and head to the very right at the crossroads into Moon Mountain.

Pick up the edible herb and veryberry near the tent, then talk to the fisherman. If you tell him you like to fish, you'll get the fishing rod. Your fishing percentage, or how successful you were at catching fish vs losing fish, is one of the things that you are graded on when your father shows up in Summer Year 2. For this reason, don't bother fishing just yet. Turn to the left and run across the bridge. If Karen's over here, give her a veryberry. Meet the carpenters over here (don't forget about the head carpenter, likely inside the shack) and run to the right. Go into the cave and find the harvest sprite (the little elf-like creature). Talk to him and give him the edible herb growing right next to him. You need to eventually become friends with the elf to save the vineyard, but don't worry about that now. Grab the medicinal herbs near the top of the cave, then leave. Run to the left, grabbing the veryberry near the carpenter's shack, then go up toward the Goddess Pond. There are more medicinal herbs and a veryberry here as well as some flowers. Put the berry, herbs, and one flower into your rucksack. Pick a flower and run back to your farm holding it in your hands.

When you get back to the farm, hit to bring up the menu. Trade the flower you're holding with a medicinal herb and toss it into the selling bin. Sell everything you have collected except the flowers and two veryberries (one if you found Karen already), then run into town. Back in Flower Bud Village, buy a second bag of cabbage seeds if you have the money. If not, come by tomorrow to buy it. Rick's shop is finally open, so greet him. Give the other flower to Elli in the bakery. Talk to everyone you didn't meet, then go into West Flower Bud Village. Go into the library near the top of the map and talk to Maria. Talk to her and give her the other flower.

Now that it is getting late, it is time to get some farm work done. Head back to the farm and water your crops. Clear out the farm until it gets dark at 6:00pm. When it is dark, go back to the bar and give the bartender and Karen a veryberry. Head back to the farm and if you still have energy, clear it out a bit until ten or eleven or until you're tired before heading back in to sleep.

Spring 5th
The following path through Moon Mountain is going to become your routine route for the first part of spring. Wake up and check the weather on the television, then head outside and leave the farm. Go right to the mountains and and follow the same route as yesterday, picking up the same things. This time, however, chop the stumps you see along the route with your axe. Grab the edible herb and veryberry by the tent, then go across the bridge. Chop the stump, then go right to the cave. Give the edible herb to the harvest sprite, then go up and grab the two medicinal herbs. Leave the cave and chop the stump there. Then visit the goddess pond, pick up the herb and berry, chop the stump, and grab two flowers. Stop by your farm and drop off the medicinal herbs in the shipping bin. Drop an edible herb into the dog's bowl, then head into town.

Give a flower to Elli and an edible herb to Rick (it doesn't really matter what you give to him and an edible herb is the cheapest. Visit Maria and hand her a flower before heading back to the farm. Water your crops, then go down to the watering hole and fill your watering can back up. Investigate the tree nearby to find a treasure map. Read what it says by putting the hand over it in the menu and pressing . Starting from the tree, clear a path one square wide from the tree to the other side of the farm in a straight line (it may help if you hit or ). When you've done that, run back up to the doghouse and clear a path straight down until it intersects the first line. Till the square where the two intersect 10 times to get the music box. When you become good friends with Rick (hopefully soon), he will fix this box and you will be able to give it to a girl for bonus affection points.

If it's before dark, clear out the farm a bit more. When it is dark, head to the bar and give a veryberry to the bartender and to Karen if she's there. When you're done there, go back to your house and go to sleep.

Spring 6th
Start your day with the routine item gathering trip through the mountains. When you gathered items and sold the medicinal herbs, head into town and buy a Turnip seed. The people who you need to flatter with gifts from high priority to low are Maria, Rick, The Bartender, Elli, Karen, and the Harvest Sprites. Whether or not you want to marry Maria, she should be the top priority. We have to get her to a pink heart by summer in order to get the firefly picture. Run through town giving everyone gifts (Rick's is closed today, so if he's not standing outside the shop, don't worry about him), then run back to your farm. Plant your turnip seeds and continue to water plants and clear out your farm until ten or eleven, taking a break only to visit the bar and give the bartender and Karen veryberries. The first batch of cabbages should be sprouting by now.

Spring 7th
Today, the mayor will be outside to greet you and tell you that tomorrow is the Planting Festival- not a really big deal. Consider today a normal work day. The bar and the bakery are closed today, so both Elli and the bartender will disappear. Rick will be in the town square in the morning if he feels like it. Make sure to give Maria and Karen gifts and spend the rest of the day clearing out the farm if you haven't done it already (don't worry about the weeds, as the just grow back. Focus on the stumps and rocks)

Spring 8th
What's going on today? The Planting Festival, of course! Follow the morning routine gathering items and put them all in the shipping bin. Water your crops and clear out the farm if you have the time, but make sure you get to the town square before 5:00pm or you'll miss the festival. At the festival, make sure to talk to everyone except Lillia twice. When you're ready, talk to Lillia. The game makes you automatically sleep and go on to the next day.

Spring 9th
Today is a normal work day. When you're in town, buy a brush for your horse. If you want to win the fall horse race, brush him every day and ride him as much as possible when he becomes rideable. Even if all you do is hop on then hop off, his heart level will rise a little bit. Continue giving to the regulars.

Spring 10th
You should have a harvest of cabbages and turnips today. DO NOT sell your cabbages. Sell all of your turnips except one. Give the turnip to the Mayor's wife, Maria’s mother, for a recipe. Instead of giving Maria flowers now, start giving her your cabbages. It's a total waste of money, but it's necessary.

Spring 11th and 12th
Continue gathering and selling items as well as giving gifts to the regulars. Buy another bag of turnip seeds and plant them. Soon, the bartender should be friendly enough with you to hand over the Doorway to Heaven wine. Once he does, you have no reason to continue giving him gifts and can take him off the list. Also around this time, if you have been giving gifts to him regularly, Rick will offer to fix the broken music box. When he does, you can give it to a girl by talking to her, but it must be the first time that day or she won't notice it. When you have give the music box away, go back to your farm and till the same spot 10 times to get another music box! Be careful, though. If you are in possession of more than one music box at a time, Rick will stop fixing them. So make sure that you don't already have a music box before digging up a new one.

Spring 13th and 14th
Normal work days. Rick should have offered to fix the music box by now. When he does, add a few new things to your daily schedule. After you have given away a music box and are back on the farm, go down to the spot where you dug up the music box and dig up another one. The next day, as you run through Flower Bud Village, stop by Rick's and have him fix up the box before visiting Maria. When you do see Maria that day, talk to her without a gift first to give her the music box. Then whip out a cabbage and hand it to her, in a sweet one-two love punch.

Spring 15th
Today you'll meet Basil. When you walk out of your house in the morning, he will introduce himself. From now until he leaves in the Fall, add him to the regular list. Give him a flower as much as possible. You need to be really good friends with him before he leaves so that he will give you a Power Berry next Spring.

You should also have a Turnip harvest around now. Sell all of the turnips and buy a bag of potato seeds during your normal route. Take a cabbage with you, because the library is closed today and you'll likely find Maria in the mountains while collecting stuff.