Let me tell you, I never thought I would walk into a used bookstore in Brisbane and come out with a copy of the Japanese strategy guide for Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town! The bookstore in question touts over a million titles, but way at the back of the building is about a half a shelf dedicated to Japanese language titles, 75% of which are dictionaries and random Western novels translated into Japanese. But lo and behold, smushed in between all these lackluster titles was a real gem! It set me back $7, and though I didn’t own the game at the time (more on that later), I was more than happy that my husband urged me purchase it (we actually left the store and came back!).
Upon opening the cover and turning to the first page, it immediately becomes apparent that the guide was well loved by its previous owner (though it remains in otherwise immaculate condition):
What are these notes for? Why, they’ve listed the ingredients to make a cake! I love when people write in their books, but I don’t think I could bring myself to write in any of my strategy guides… Even if it were in pencil, I just wouldn’t ever feel it looked “right” anymore. Probably because I’m anal about that sort of thing. But when it’s a record of a previous owner, I love it! Plus pretty much all Japanese have awesome handwriting.
The majority of the book is rather standard fare: It details how to get your farm started, the variety of festivals and when they occur, and most importantly of all… how to woo the ladies. But above all, my favorite pages of the book are the first five or so, which depict in the most adorable comics the basic premise of the game and the various tasks related to farming you’ll engage in over the course of the game.
Be nice to your chickens, cows, and sheep, and they’ll provide you with eggs, milk, and wool! I’ve never seen a chicken so happy to lay an egg.
Check out the wide variety vegetables available over the course of the year! Our protagonist sure likes fantasizing about them. (left bubble with eggplant: autumn, middle bubble with tomato: summer, right bubble with lettuce: spring)
And finally, I’ve saved the best for last:
Check out all the various events that happen throughout the year! Hey, wait a second… Harvest Moon condones cock fighting? They may call it the “chicken festival,” but I think we all know what’s really going on there.
In closing, I must ask you: What is a strategy guide without a game? Nothing, that’s what! That’s why I made sure to get my hands on a Japanese copy of Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town as soon as humanely possible. My dear Twitter friend in Japan managed to find me a pristine in-box copy for an extremely reasonable price! Pictures coming in a post tomorrow.
I have Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town Japan edition too! I had to convince the lady in the Japanese duty free (in Japanese, no less) that no, I wasn’t going to play the game outside of Japan (which is technically the rule or something so she say!)
Also, I’ll buy this from you! Deal? Deal! 😀
Wow, you’re super fast, Matt! (feels odd calling you by your real name now :P)
That Japanese duty lady sounds pretty strict… I always bring tons of games back with me from Japan and I’ve never once had a problem with it! Isn’t the rule more that you’re not supposed to play it on a system that isn’t Japanese? I can’t believe a Japanese person wouldn’t be allowed to bring their GBA out of the country, hahaha.
And fat chance! I’m super proud of this find 😀
Great booklet! 😀
However, there is no law to stop you from playing some games outside of Japan, more than anything it is a business strategy, to allow the game to also be sold in foreign markets without losing sales, and simply because they are very jealous of their products… :]
Hi Pix3l! Thanks for your comment 🙂
Well, it’s very clear, with region-locking and warning labels on games, that distributers don’t really want people from different regions buying games that aren’t published in their region. That doesn’t stop me, though! I figure if it really were *illegal* then sites like Play Asia wouldn’t be allowed to operate. And thank goodness for them! Otherwise it’d be very hard for me to get my hands on all these Japanese titles.
You’re welcome 😀
In fact it is not illegal, but if they want, they could make game export a not permitted practice, as Sony did with another site like Playasia some time ago…
Now I want to make my own strategy guide. Cuuuute!
some of cutest artwork I’ve seen
Somewhat related Anne but…
I’ve actually considered turning my little map scribbles and notations for Dragon Quest 1 and turning them into a little art project.
I should do that.
Coming back in here I think I should clarify that this girl was speaking at the speed a normal Japanese person does (ie fast) and my comprehension of Japanese was the same as it normally is (ie slow), so I think she was dumbing things down to try and get the point across.
That point is likely that yes you’re not meant to play these games on non-Japanese systems. In hindsight I shoulda just said I have a Japanese 3DS rather than argue with her in my non-native language for ten minutes.
And by argue I mean with lots of smiles. Scary courtesy, those people.
Alois – That sounds like an awesome idea! I haven’t really seen many fan-made strategy guides (and I know that’s not exactly what you’re talking about making but whatevs) but after that Mother 3 fan guide, anything’s possible! I’d love to see more people doing fan projects for games they love. I mean, art/walkthroughs are one thing, but I’m all about things you can hold in your hands! Do a walkthrough zine! 😀
Adam – Glad you like it! It really is adorable.
Matt – It’s ok, but thanks for clarifying 🙂 Either way she was being surprisingly strict about it, I’ve never had a problem and I always bring games back in my suitcase. Was that the first and only time you’ve encountered trouble for it?
Oh, this really is wonderful, Anne. I love those comics! So cute 🙂 Kind of makes me want this game — which I’ve never played, of course. Also, it reminds me that I have to pick up a copy of the N64 version of Harvest Moon. I really like the looks of that one!