I think I've told you before that it was a mystery series that got me hooked to reading in general; maybe I'll go into a little more detail about that.
For Christmas or my birthday one year (I forget which), my grandma got me the first four books to a series called The Boxcar Children. The first book doesn't have too much mystery in it, aside from the mysterious grandfather the kids are running away from, but it caught me hook, line, and sinker anyways.
What kid doesn't get excited learning about the adventures of four kids living on the run and still managing to have a great time? Henry, Jessie, Violet, Benny, and Watch (the kids' watchdog whom they met in the woods) were just so appealing!
For years after reading those first four books, I would beg for more in the series. The original author has long since stopped writing them, but the series has been continued to include more than 100 normal books and goodness-knows-how-many special books. I now own several (and I mean SEVERAL) of those, and I borrowed even more from the library.
In the first few books, the children aged normally. Summer would come and go and the kids would solve a mystery, and the next book was the same with the kids a year older. But eventually, Henry, as the oldest, would have had to move away; so the problem of Henry leaving was solved by reversing all the kids' ages and keeping them permanently set there.
Henry forever after remained 14, Jessie 12, Violet 9 or 10 (I think 10), and Benny 6.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Rune Factory Pt. 16
Now that I'm talking talking about the details of each game, let's go over all the Rune Factory stuff in general.
I'd kind of like to try playing the first RF game again, just because I never made it very far the first time I played. I remember what a few of the bachelorettes looked like, but I probably only remember three names total out of all the characters, one of whom shows up in RF2.
Rune Factory 4 has been released, and I sort of wonder if my brother has it or is expecting to get it sometime in the foreseeable future. I think that, other than the second generation of RF2, it's the first game where you can choose your protagonist's gender. So that would be interesting.
Then again, I might choose to have my protagonist still be a boy anyways just because of my bad experiences with female leads in the Harvest Moon games. There were never any good potential love interests in those games.
But you've heard that rant already. And who knows, maybe RF will succeed in the one area HM seems to have failed me.
Anyways, either way, it'll be interesting to see the plot of this fourth game. The first, of course, I didn't play enough to get a grasp on. The second focused on the child's adventures. The third had a half-monster for a protagonist. What next?
Some of you are probably just dying inside because you know the answer and my ignorance is annoying. To you, I apologize. And respectfully, I end this post here.
I'd kind of like to try playing the first RF game again, just because I never made it very far the first time I played. I remember what a few of the bachelorettes looked like, but I probably only remember three names total out of all the characters, one of whom shows up in RF2.
Rune Factory 4 has been released, and I sort of wonder if my brother has it or is expecting to get it sometime in the foreseeable future. I think that, other than the second generation of RF2, it's the first game where you can choose your protagonist's gender. So that would be interesting.
Then again, I might choose to have my protagonist still be a boy anyways just because of my bad experiences with female leads in the Harvest Moon games. There were never any good potential love interests in those games.
But you've heard that rant already. And who knows, maybe RF will succeed in the one area HM seems to have failed me.
Anyways, either way, it'll be interesting to see the plot of this fourth game. The first, of course, I didn't play enough to get a grasp on. The second focused on the child's adventures. The third had a half-monster for a protagonist. What next?
Some of you are probably just dying inside because you know the answer and my ignorance is annoying. To you, I apologize. And respectfully, I end this post here.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Rune Factory Pt. 15
This post should wrap up Rune Factory 3's bachelorettes, and maybe even wrap up my Rune Factory series that's been going strong for about three weeks by now.
Earlier, I completely forgot to mention Marian, who is also a bachelorette living in town. I'll talk a bit about her before going to Kuruna.
Marian is a crazy witch-in-training, granddaughter of the witch who runs the local apothecary. Marian is wild and, sadly, rather incompetent; but if you ask her, she's great at what she does and her few "mistakes" are nothing to be concerned about. Yes, even though she blows up her best friend at one point, she faces it all with an attitude of "whoops, sorry; but you'll be fine! 8D" She carries with her an over-sized syringe that controls her magic, and she absolutely adores giving people shots with it.
Okay, now Kuruna, finally. Kuruna is a univir, which means she pretty much looks human except for the horn on her forehead and her much-longer-than-humans lifespan. She's the leader of the settlement in the desert, which is a sanctuary for anyone not human, so she gets to know Micah through his Wooly half and is clueless about his human half. Although Kuruna actively despises all things human, she does have a very secret obsession: human food. She tends to lose her dignity anytime she has a cake craving, and she sends Micah on a couple missions to snag her some of the beloved dishes.
Alrighty, that should wrap this section up. For now, at least. I'll figure out later if I can continue any Rune Factory stuff, or if I should start something new.
Earlier, I completely forgot to mention Marian, who is also a bachelorette living in town. I'll talk a bit about her before going to Kuruna.
Marian is a crazy witch-in-training, granddaughter of the witch who runs the local apothecary. Marian is wild and, sadly, rather incompetent; but if you ask her, she's great at what she does and her few "mistakes" are nothing to be concerned about. Yes, even though she blows up her best friend at one point, she faces it all with an attitude of "whoops, sorry; but you'll be fine! 8D" She carries with her an over-sized syringe that controls her magic, and she absolutely adores giving people shots with it.
Okay, now Kuruna, finally. Kuruna is a univir, which means she pretty much looks human except for the horn on her forehead and her much-longer-than-humans lifespan. She's the leader of the settlement in the desert, which is a sanctuary for anyone not human, so she gets to know Micah through his Wooly half and is clueless about his human half. Although Kuruna actively despises all things human, she does have a very secret obsession: human food. She tends to lose her dignity anytime she has a cake craving, and she sends Micah on a couple missions to snag her some of the beloved dishes.
Alrighty, that should wrap this section up. For now, at least. I'll figure out later if I can continue any Rune Factory stuff, or if I should start something new.
Monday, July 28, 2014
Rune Factory Pt. 14
Let's continue to introduce the available bachelorettes from Rune Factory 3, starting with Sophia.
Sophia is one of the two daughters of the richest man in town. She has a very unusual quirk when speaking: Like her father, she always says the opposite of what she means. Well, that's what the game says, but she only says the opposite of some stuff, or her speech would get way too weird. To avoid confusion for the player on what she really means, any words that are part of her opposite-speak are red. Throughout the game, Micah eventually learns to sync up with the way she talks and interact with her with clarity.
I think I'll mention Evelyn now because even though Micah can't marry her, she technically is still a bachelorette. Evelyn is Sophia's older sister and the only member of their family who does not speak in opposites. She runs a store in her home's downstairs that "might" be open at certain times, and she sells different outfits that Micah can wear in the game. She also sells some decorative furniture objects which I feel just get in the way. Sometime after Micah gets married, Gaius will ask for your help to propose to Evelyn.
The last person in town who's a bachelorette is Carmen, sister of the man who runs the local artificial fishing area. She's a tanned tomboy fisher who quickly asserts herself as Micah's master in all things fishing. Over time, though, she makes it a point to step down as master and step up as official girlfriend, going so far as to arrange Micah to get her brother's blessing on their being together.
Last up will be Kuruna, who lives in the desert settlement. I'll talk about her tomorrow.
Sophia is one of the two daughters of the richest man in town. She has a very unusual quirk when speaking: Like her father, she always says the opposite of what she means. Well, that's what the game says, but she only says the opposite of some stuff, or her speech would get way too weird. To avoid confusion for the player on what she really means, any words that are part of her opposite-speak are red. Throughout the game, Micah eventually learns to sync up with the way she talks and interact with her with clarity.
I think I'll mention Evelyn now because even though Micah can't marry her, she technically is still a bachelorette. Evelyn is Sophia's older sister and the only member of their family who does not speak in opposites. She runs a store in her home's downstairs that "might" be open at certain times, and she sells different outfits that Micah can wear in the game. She also sells some decorative furniture objects which I feel just get in the way. Sometime after Micah gets married, Gaius will ask for your help to propose to Evelyn.
The last person in town who's a bachelorette is Carmen, sister of the man who runs the local artificial fishing area. She's a tanned tomboy fisher who quickly asserts herself as Micah's master in all things fishing. Over time, though, she makes it a point to step down as master and step up as official girlfriend, going so far as to arrange Micah to get her brother's blessing on their being together.
Last up will be Kuruna, who lives in the desert settlement. I'll talk about her tomorrow.
Friday, July 25, 2014
Rune Factory Pt. 13
Let's pick up where we left off yesterday, talking about the eligible bachelorettes in Rune Factory 3.
Next up is Pia, the sort-of adopted daughter of the local innkeeper. In other words, Pia and Sakuya are more or less sisters. Pia isn't human, though; she's a mermaid. You can discover this fact anytime Pia steps foot outside while the weather is rainy, since she transforms back into a mermaid whenever she comes into contact with water. Like most mermaids, Pia despises the thought of eating fish (which has lead to war between her and Sakuya at times, since Sakuya loves sashimi), but she absolutely adores eating mean old squids because they attack innocent fish.
Collette, daughter of the local professional chef, is also available for marriage, although it took me a while to figure that out, for some reason. She's an aspiring chef with an extremely fast metabolism, so she's always eating but she stays small. Because she looks so small/young, I didn't realize she was a potential wife until seeing the hearts next to her name in the list of all characters Micah has met. She'd probably be mad at me for that too, since her size is a very sore subject and she's constantly trying to have a growth spurt.
Let's go to my favorite now: Karina. Karina is a very lazy girl, the daughter of the woman who runs the general store in town. Karina has an obsession with the city because she thinks everyone in the city gets to be lazy all the time. Sometimes, her obsession can lead to her asking dangerous requests of Micah; at one point, she actually tries to catch a cold. But most of the time, her motivation fizzles out before any real progress is made.
Wow, only got to three girls again. o_O This is going to take a while... Well, on the upside, at least it means the girls in this game have the most character depth.
Next up is Pia, the sort-of adopted daughter of the local innkeeper. In other words, Pia and Sakuya are more or less sisters. Pia isn't human, though; she's a mermaid. You can discover this fact anytime Pia steps foot outside while the weather is rainy, since she transforms back into a mermaid whenever she comes into contact with water. Like most mermaids, Pia despises the thought of eating fish (which has lead to war between her and Sakuya at times, since Sakuya loves sashimi), but she absolutely adores eating mean old squids because they attack innocent fish.
Collette, daughter of the local professional chef, is also available for marriage, although it took me a while to figure that out, for some reason. She's an aspiring chef with an extremely fast metabolism, so she's always eating but she stays small. Because she looks so small/young, I didn't realize she was a potential wife until seeing the hearts next to her name in the list of all characters Micah has met. She'd probably be mad at me for that too, since her size is a very sore subject and she's constantly trying to have a growth spurt.
Let's go to my favorite now: Karina. Karina is a very lazy girl, the daughter of the woman who runs the general store in town. Karina has an obsession with the city because she thinks everyone in the city gets to be lazy all the time. Sometimes, her obsession can lead to her asking dangerous requests of Micah; at one point, she actually tries to catch a cold. But most of the time, her motivation fizzles out before any real progress is made.
Wow, only got to three girls again. o_O This is going to take a while... Well, on the upside, at least it means the girls in this game have the most character depth.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Rune Factory Pt. 12
In Rune Factory 3, there are ten girls Micah can choose a wife from.
The first girl is the classic girl-who-convinces-boy-to-live-on-local-farm. This game's model is named Shara, granddaughter of the mayor. She wears flowers as her outfit. I'm not even kidding; there are flowers in her hair and all over her clothing material. She works part-time in the flower shop and picks out cologne for Micah to use if he asks for it.
The next girl to be introduced to Micah is Raven, who comes across as quiet and rude and just generally antisocial. But when Micah got attacked in an opening scene, she ran to find Gaius (the dwarf she lives with who is like a father to her) to get Micah a decent weapon. She works sometimes in the forge's shop, and she enjoys making accessories. She also makes sure Gaius doesn't overwork himself.
After Shara and Raven, the other girls can be introduced in whatever order is most convenient, or whichever you choose. I'll start at the top left of the town and work my way through as if I'm reading. =P In that case, Pia and Sakuya would be up next.
Sakuya is the daughter of the town's innkeeper, and she has a very business-minded personality. She does what she can to turn out profits, and she runs a sort-of mini-shop within the inn wherein she sells items dropped by monsters. To an extent, you can control what items she carries by throwing the item you want to see in her shop into your shipping bin. (By the way, the same goes to the flower shop and perhaps a couple other stores.)
Whoops, looks like I'm out of space for this post. I'll begin with Pia next time. =3
The first girl is the classic girl-who-convinces-boy-to-live-on-local-farm. This game's model is named Shara, granddaughter of the mayor. She wears flowers as her outfit. I'm not even kidding; there are flowers in her hair and all over her clothing material. She works part-time in the flower shop and picks out cologne for Micah to use if he asks for it.
The next girl to be introduced to Micah is Raven, who comes across as quiet and rude and just generally antisocial. But when Micah got attacked in an opening scene, she ran to find Gaius (the dwarf she lives with who is like a father to her) to get Micah a decent weapon. She works sometimes in the forge's shop, and she enjoys making accessories. She also makes sure Gaius doesn't overwork himself.
After Shara and Raven, the other girls can be introduced in whatever order is most convenient, or whichever you choose. I'll start at the top left of the town and work my way through as if I'm reading. =P In that case, Pia and Sakuya would be up next.
Sakuya is the daughter of the town's innkeeper, and she has a very business-minded personality. She does what she can to turn out profits, and she runs a sort-of mini-shop within the inn wherein she sells items dropped by monsters. To an extent, you can control what items she carries by throwing the item you want to see in her shop into your shipping bin. (By the way, the same goes to the flower shop and perhaps a couple other stores.)
Whoops, looks like I'm out of space for this post. I'll begin with Pia next time. =3
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Rune Factory Pt. 11
Just like in the previous game, courtship and eventually marriage is very important for the plot of Rune Factory 3 to be finished.
In order to talk the mayor into letting you hold a festival for humans and univir alike, you must first reveal your true half to at least one eligible bachelorette. To get Micah to work up the nerve, you must get the girl to fall in love with you and make a special request, during which Micah learns more about the girl and decides he wants the girl to know more about him too.
In order to meet the being that sent you to this town and stole your memories, you need to propose marriage to a girl. Right before your wedding, your fiancee will mysteriously vanish, and Micah will go crazy obsessed with trying to find her.
In order to get the Sharance flowers to bloom, you need to defeat the kidnapper and marry your wife. People will comment on the beauty of the blooming flowers that day.
After marriage, you can eventually have a total of three kids over time. But no matter how much time passes, I don't believe they will ever reach adulthood.
Your wife will also make you a lunch every day, depending on her own particular tastes. One girl will give you a baked riceball or toast; another girl will give you a variety of squid dishes over time.
So, seeing as how marriage is so important, I guess I should introduce you to the girls next time. =P
In order to talk the mayor into letting you hold a festival for humans and univir alike, you must first reveal your true half to at least one eligible bachelorette. To get Micah to work up the nerve, you must get the girl to fall in love with you and make a special request, during which Micah learns more about the girl and decides he wants the girl to know more about him too.
In order to meet the being that sent you to this town and stole your memories, you need to propose marriage to a girl. Right before your wedding, your fiancee will mysteriously vanish, and Micah will go crazy obsessed with trying to find her.
In order to get the Sharance flowers to bloom, you need to defeat the kidnapper and marry your wife. People will comment on the beauty of the blooming flowers that day.
After marriage, you can eventually have a total of three kids over time. But no matter how much time passes, I don't believe they will ever reach adulthood.
Your wife will also make you a lunch every day, depending on her own particular tastes. One girl will give you a baked riceball or toast; another girl will give you a variety of squid dishes over time.
So, seeing as how marriage is so important, I guess I should introduce you to the girls next time. =P
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