~ harvest moon: magical melody ~
~ gamecube ~
~ livestock guide ~
~copywright marcus hanshew 2008~
version 1.20
last update: 18 July 2008
Hello, and welcome to my second guide in a series of guides planned for Harvest
Moon: Magical Melody. This is one of the best Harvest Moon games to date, and I
really think this type of game benefits well from in-depth guides because of
its very open-ended gameplay and ability to choose what you would like to focus
on. This particular guide is going to focus on raising animals for fun and
profit: Chickens, Cows, Sheep, and Horses, the famous Harvest Moon quartet.
Because taking care of each animal only differs slightly, I will seperate the
sections by types of care and actions rather than by animal, to prevent using
the same information many times over.
So, with that out of the way, let's get to the table of contents!
Quick find:
You can use the FIND function to find any main heading or main heading's
subheading in this guide. If you don't know about copy, paste, or find, just
follow these instructions:
* Highlight an entire line that starts with a roman numeral or capital letter.
*NOTE: Make sure not to highlight any spaces used as indentations!
* Press CONTROL + C on your keyboard. This copies the line to your clipboard.
* Press CONTROL + F on your keyboard. This brings up your FIND function.
* Press CONTROL + V on your keyboard. This pastes the clipboard to the FIND.
* Press ENTER on your keyboard. This begins the search.
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****** TABLE OF CONTENTS ******************************************************
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I. Basic Care
A. Housing
B. Feeding and Grazing
C. Affection
D. Health and Status
E. Birth
F. Death
II. Basic Equipment
A. Reins
B. Bell
C. Brush
D. Milker & Shears
III. Livestock Market
A. Buying Livestock
B. Selling Livestock
IV. Production
A. Eggs and Mayonaise
B. Milk, Butter, and Cheese
C. Wool and Yarn
D. Making money with animals
V. Festivals
A. Horse Race
1. Horse race information and prizes
2. Horse preparation and training
3. Racing in the races
B. Other Festivals
1. Chicken Festival
2. Cow Festival
3. Sheep Festival
VI. Musical Notes from Livestock
VII. FAQ
VIII. Updates
IX. Legal Disclaimer, etc.
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****** I. Basic Care **********************************************************
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So you want to raise animals? Caring for animals is a tedious job, but it is
very rewarding. There are many notes to be found by caring for animals, plus
there are festivals to be won and money to be made. Harvest Moon: Magical
Melody has four animals for you to raise: Chickens, Cows, Sheep, and Horses.
The primary function of the horse is to ride and race, but the other animals
will produce things for you to sell or give as gifts. All animals require the
same care of housing, feeding, affection, and healthcare. While sometimes this
differs from animal to animal, it is basically the same for all. This guide is
divided by actions and categories rather than by animal to prevent it getting
bogged down by repeating the same information per animal.
---< A. Housing >--------------------------------------------------------------
To raise animals, you will need a place for animals to live. Chickens live in a
chicken coop while the other three animals live in a barn. To obtain these
things, you must have Woody the carpenter build them for you.
To get the chicken coop, you will need 3000G and 30 lumbers.
To get the level 1 barn, you will need 3500G and 40 lumbers.
To get the level 2 barn, you will need 13000G and 80 lumbers.
Once you build a barn, you will also get a pet pig with it. Some people do not
get the pig right away. Just keep going to your barn every day, and eventually
you will get the pig.
Don't worry about buying a level 2 barn right away if you don't need it. Once
you build the level 1 barn, you can have Woody upgrade it for you to level 2
by paying the remaining lumber and G.
Once you purchase an animal (see the Livestock Market section for more info),
it will appear in your barn or coop, ready to be taken care of.
NOTE: The chicken coop cannot be upgraded in non-Japanese versions of the game.
---< B. Feeding and Grazing >--------------------------------------------------
All animals need to eat to survive. To keep them alive and well, you must feed
each animal once per day. There are many ways to do this, but first we will
talk about what animals eat and how to obtain it.
Chickens eat bird seed that comes from corn. To make the bird seed, you will
need to put a corn into the windmill. This will add 15 bird seeds to your food
silo for your chickens. You can also buy premade bird seed from Hank's shop for
20G per serving. If you are using high quality corn to make bird feed, you are
neither saving nor wasting money, so it is your choice. It is a thrifty
decision to use medium and low quality to make bird seed, however, because the
corns sell for less money than it costs to buy the bird seeds individually.
Chickens can also find their own food on the ground.
Cows, Sheep, and Horses eat grass. If you plant grass and then cut it, you can
turn it into fodder for the animals to eat. You can also buy premade fodder at
Hank's shop for 30G per serving. It is, of course, a lot cheaper to just grow
grass on your land. One bag of grass seed only costs 50G, and that bag has
9 patches of grass. Even after cutting it once, you have already made your
money back in fodder and then some, and the grass will stay until the first day
of Winter when it disappears, so you can cut it many times throughout the whole
year.
Now you know how to get the food, but how do you get it into the stomach of
your animal? There are many ways to feed an animal. The preferred method to
feeding animals is hand feeding. Go to your food despenser in your coop or barn
and press A to take out some food. Walk to the animal and press A on it and you
will give the food to the animal. Your animal will be happy if you do this. You
can also feed your animal by putting the food into the bin instead of giving it
to them by hand. This is not as effective as far as the animal's affection for
you, but it still feeds them. This is useful if you are going to have a storm
the next day. If your animals have already eaten, they will not eat again. This
way, the food in the bin will be left until the next day, when they will eat
it. Since you can't leave your house during a bad storm, this is how you can
ensure they get food and don't get sick. The final type of feeding is grazing.
If you put chickens outside, they will find their own food on the ground. If
you put cows, sheep, and horses outside, they will eat any grass that they can
find, so make sure you put them in a place with grass. It is best to have your
animals within a fence while doing this, because they can wander off and get
lost around town if you don't. You can make fences with lumber by pulling it
from the lumber shed attached to your house or by stealing it from around the
town. You can also use rocks. Grazing is best if you don't want to spend time
with your animals but want to keep them alive. Note that you cannot graze the
animals in winter, and they will only gain affection boosts from being outside
if you leave them out overnight.
Make sure you don't try to graze the animals during rainy weather, as they
could get sick.
NOTE: You can press Z to display the animals' names above their heads. When
you have this display, a gray or clear name means the animal is hungry, and a
green name means they are finished eating for the day.
NOTE: Chickens will not lay eggs if they are left outside overnight.
---< C. Affection >------------------------------------------------------------
Animals have a level of attachment to their owner. If you want the best items
produced by your animals or want to win contests, you will need to raise your
affection rate. You can check it on the menu screen. 10 hearts is the maximum
affection level for an animal.
There are many things you can do to raise your animal's affection rate. Here is
a list of all the things you can do for the animals each day. Try to do all of
these things each day if you can. Some things cannot be done every day, such as
shearing a sheep when it has no wool or milking a pregnant cow.
CHICKEN: Hug her. Feed her by hand. Give her a weed as a snack. Leave her out.
COW: Brush her. Talk to her. Feed her by hand. Milk her. Leave her out.
SHEEP: Brush her. Talk to her. Feed her by hand. Shear her wool. Leave her out.
HORSE: Brush her. Talk to her. Ride her. Leave her out.
Doing these things will cause your animals' hearts to raise much more quickly
than if you just threw a food in the bin and left them. Note that to leave
animals outside you must have a fence around them or they will escape. Digging
up moles around your livestock will scare them and lower their affection. And
lastly, chickens left outside will raise in affection faster but will NOT give
any eggs.
You can also lower your animal's affection rate. This is not a good thing to
do. Your animals will dislike you if you neglect feeding them or if you hit
them with any of your tools. It is especially bad to hit them with tools like
the axe and hoe. Milking the horse is not as bad as chopping her with an axe.
You cannot ride your horse until it has 2 hearts of affection for you.
---< D. Health and Status >----------------------------------------------------
If you neglect to feed your animals or hit them with a tool enough, they could
become sick. If this happens, you will need to give them medicine right away.
You can buy animal medicine at Hank's shop for 800G. It is a good idea to have
one in your toolbox incase an animal gets sick on a day when Hank's shop is
closed, though if you take good care of your animals, they will not get sick.
If you let an animal stay sick too long, it could die.
Animals also have other "status conditions" other than disease. Here is a list
of each status condition and what it means, along with how to get it to that
status condition:
YOUNG : When an animal is young, it cannot produce anything. Young horses
cannot be ridden. This is how every animal starts out when you get
it, except for chickens bought from the store, who start out as
adults.
NORMAL : A normal adult. Everything can be done as normal. After being young,
an animal will become an adult.
HAPPY : A happy adult produces better quality things. It is also less likely
to get sick if you forget to feed it. If you do many affectionate
things (see the Affection section for more info) for your animal
every day, they will become happy. You can also allow them to graze
on sunny days to promote happiness. Both young and adult animals can
be happy. When you talk to a happy animal, you will note that it
looks terrific. Happiness is denoted by a smiley face next to the
animal on the affection screen of the menu.
ANGRY : An angry animal will not produce for you, and it is also more likely
to get sick if you forget to feed it. If you do many unaffectionate
things (see the Affection section for more info) to your animal in
a day without sickening it, it can become angry with you. Both adult
and young animals can become angry. If an animal is angry, be as
affectionate as you can be with her. Anger is denoted by a red,
angry face by the animal on the affection screen of the menu.
PREGNANT : When you give a miracle potion to an animal, it will become pregnant
and stop producing. After pregnancy, a new animal will be born.
SICK : Forgetting to feed your animal or hitting it too much with tools
will cause the animal to become sick. This is denoted by a skull and
you should cure it with a medicine right away.
---< E. Birth >----------------------------------------------------------------
Instead of buying animals from Hank's shop, you can also give birth to animals
on your farm. Chickens are the easiest birth. Just place an egg in the
incubator in your coop, and after a few days, a new chicken will appear for
you. You can put an egg in here even if your coop is full, but it will never
hatch.
To raise another animal, buy the MIRACLE POTION from Hank's Shop. You will
have to buy one for the specific animal you want. Cow potions are 1500G and
the most expensive. The cheapest is the Sheep Potion for 1000G, and then horse
potions are 1200G. Hold the potion next to the animal you wish to impregnate
and press X. The animal will now be pregnant. During pregnancy, you must take
good care of your animal. Do not forget to feed her. You cannot milk or shear
a pregnant animal.
After a long wait, a new animal will be born. For your first birth, you will
recieve the BIRTH OF LIFE musical note for your collection!
NOTE: You can't buy the miracle potion if your barn is full.
---< F. Death >----------------------------------------------------------------
Livestock animals are not eternal like the villagers and your pets. They can
die, and you will have to replace them with new animals if you keep wanting to
raise animals. There are two ways for an animal to die: sickness and old age.
If you let an animal stay sick for too long, she will die. Once an animal has
lived for long enough, she will die of old age.
Chickens can live for 2 to 4 years before death. Sheep live for 3 to 4 years,
and cows and horses may live up to 4 to 5 years. A higher affection rating
guarantees the longer lifespan, so keep your hearts high. For more information,
check the Affection section above. *** THANK YOU to vysearcadia for the
contribution of the lifespan information! ***
As for sickness, your first death will actually not occur. You will have a
dream that your animal has died, but in reality, Hank will have healed the
animal for you. This is a warning that you are not taking good care of your
animals. Once this has happened, the same scene will happen if you allow an
animal to get too sick, except your animal will actually be dead and you will
not awaken as it is not a dream.
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****** II. Basic Equipment ****************************************************
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There are many tools associated with taking care of animals.
---< A. Reins >----------------------------------------------------------------
When you get your first cow, sheep, or horse, Hank will throw in these reins
for free. The reins are useful for taking your horse out when you want to ride
her. To use the reins, equip them and then face an animal. Press X and the
animal will begin to follow you wherever you walk. If you press X again, the
animal will stop following you. To get the animal through the barn doors with
the reins, press the X button when you are right next to the door without going
through it. Move out of the way, and the animal should walk through the doors
by herself. Once the animal is fully through the doors, you are free to go
through yourself. If you leave the barn or enter it before the animal has
gotten all the way through, the animal will remain where it was and will not
have gone through the door.
I recorded a video to help players having trouble with the reins:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2_tht_hll4
---< B. Bell >-----------------------------------------------------------------
When you want to move more than one animal, the reins can be quite a hassle.
The bell is the perfect solution. To get the bell, buy it from Hank's shop for
500g. To use the bell, equip it and press X. Any animal on the screen will then
walk straight toward you. If the animal runs into another animal or another
obstacle too much, they may stop following you. If you run around too much or
run too far, the animals also may stop following you. If on the way to you an
animal passes next to the doorway to the barn, they will turn to walk in. To
get your animals through the barn doors with the bell, stand near the door and
ring the bell so that when the animals reach you, they will be standing in
front of the doorway. Be sure not to leave or enter the barn until the animal
as fully gone through the doorway and is on the other side, or else the animal
will remain the previous side.
NOTE: You can ring the bell 30 times to get the CALLING ANIMALS note even if
there are no animals being called with it.
---< C. Brush >----------------------------------------------------------------
While a brush is not required, it is a great way to keep your animals healthy
and happy. You can buy the brush for 800G from Hank's shop. Simple equip it and
press X next to an animal to use it. Once you have brushed an animal once in
a day, brushing again will not help your affection. Once you have brushed your
animals 10 times, you will get the BRUSHING note. You cannot get it unless you
are actually brushing an animal, unlike the bell and CALLING ANIMALS note.
---< D. Milker & Shears >------------------------------------------------------
To get the things your animals produce, you will need special tools. To milk a
cow, you will need the Milker. You can buy it for 1000G from Hank's shop. To
use it, stand next to an adult, healthy, non-pregnant, already-fed cow and
press X with it equipped. To get wool from a sheep, you will need the sheep
clippers to shear her. They are 800G and also bought at Hank's shop. To use
them, stand next to an adult, healthy, non-pregnant sheep while it has full
wool (this happens once a week) and press X with them equipped.
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****** III. Livestock Market **************************************************
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While the main purpose of animals is to sell the various things they produce,
you can also sell the animals. The main purpose of selling an animal is fast
cash or making room in your barn. To get animals, you have to buy some first.
The only animal you will actually want to sell is a horse who has won a race.
---< A. Buying Livestock >-----------------------------------------------------
Livestock to purchase is sold at Hank's shop. Once you buy them, they will be
in your barn or coop. With your first purchase of a cow, sheep, or horse,
Hank will give you the reins for free. The animals sell for the following
prices:
CHICKEN : 1200G
COW : 3500G
SHEEP : 2500G
HORSE : 3200G
The chickens will start out as an adult, and the others will begin as young.
---< B. Selling Livestock >----------------------------------------------------
Selling livestock is harder than buying it. There are some restrictions to
selling certain types of animals. Here is a list of reasons that will not
allow your animal to be sold:
* You cannot sell an animal who hasn't matured to an adult yet.
* You cannot sell an animal who is sick or angry with you.
* You cannot sell an animal during its pregnancy.
* You cannot sell a sheep who does not have full wool.
Animals sell for the following prices:
CHICKEN : 600G / 1000G
COW : 1700G / 3000G
SHEEP : 1250G / 1800G
HORSE : 1600G / 50000G
The price on the left is the price of a regular adult animal. The price on the
right is the selling price for an animal who has won a contest.
As you can see, none of the animals except for a prize horse sell for more than
they cost to raise. The only exception is for animals that you raise on your
own through pregnancy/egg hatching. The only problem with this is that the time
it takes to raise an animal is too long, and you lose money that you could be
using to get that animal's production instead of selling it. Chickens are
profitable if you sell them and raise them quickly, but only barely, and it's
better to just keep 5 chickens around at all times to use the eggs as gifts.
Only sell your animals as a last resort for quick money.
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****** IV. Production *********************************************************
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The main point of raising animals is production. Besides the horse, each type
of livestock will give you a different set of items to sell. You can increase
your variety of shipments with the MAKERS. Read each section to find out more
about what each animal is capable of producing.
---< A. Eggs and Mayonaise >---------------------------------------------------
Chickens produce an egg once a day if they wake up in the coop. Chickens who
are left outside overnight will not lay an egg. Eggs have three qualities. The
low quality egg is light brown and sells for only 56G. A good egg is white and
will sell for 80G. The special eggs have a star sticker on them (I guess the
chickens put the sticker on there?) and sell for 160G!
You can also turn your eggs into mayonaise buy obtaining the mayonaise maker.
you can get this either by winning the chicken festival or buying it from
Micheal's junk shop for 3000G. The value of mayonaise is related to the value
of the egg you put into the maker, which sits in the back corner of the coop
once you have gotten it. The mayos will sell for 84G, 120G, or 240G.
Eggs also make an excellent gift. Most of the villagers will either like all
eggs, high quality eggs, or boiled eggs. Eggs are also good ingredients for
cooking. I reccomend selling none of your eggs and using them for gifts
instead.
---< B. Milk, Butter, and Cheese >---------------------------------------------
Cows produce the best animal product: milk. This is the best selling animal
product and also can be made into butter and cheese which sell for even more.
Make sure to keep a healthy cow to get good milk quality. You can milk a cow
once a day after she has eaten, but not while she is pregnant or sick. The milk
comes in three different qualities. The low quality milk is small and has a
blue label, selling for 140G. The good milk has a yellow label and is a bit
larger than the small milk. It sells for 200G. The best milk is special milk,
and it comes in a large gold container with a star sticker on it. It sells for
a price of 400G!
If you obtain the Butter and Cheese makers either by winning them in the cow
festival or buy buying them from Micheal's junk shop for 3000G (butter maker)
and 5000G (cheese maker), you can make butter and cheese with your milks. These
sell even more than milks do and will start you on your way to making a big
profit from your animals. Butters sell for 161G, 230G, and 460G, while cheeses
will sell for 175G, 250G, and 500G!
---< C. Wool and Yarn >--------------------------------------------------------
Sheep grow wool that you can clip once a week. Wool sells for a lot, but don't
be fooled; you are only getting one a week. If you tally up all of your milk
sales from one cow for a week, you will realise that the wool is not as great
as it seems. The lowest quality wool is dirty wool, and it sells for 630G. It
looks dirty from sight, so you will be able to tell it right away. Regular wool
is a nice off-white color and sells for 900G. The best wool is shiny wool that
is bright white and looks shiny. It can sell for 1800G.
If you get the yarn maker from winning the sheep festival or from buying it at
Micheal's shop for 4000G, you can make yarn from your wool. Yarn makes a great
gift and you can also dye it, turning it into an even better gift. In fact,
dyed yarn sells for more than all other yarns but shiny yarn. The yarns alone
will sell for 860G, 1200G, and 2400G. Dyed yarns sell for the following amount:
YELLOW : 1240G
PURPLE : 1275G
RED : 1280G
GREEN : 1300G
ORANGE : 1330G
PINK : 1350G
BLUE : 1700G
To dye yarn, put the yarn and a flower or herb of the color you want to dye it
to into the DYE POT in your kitchen, and a colored yarn will pop out! It
doesn't matter what quality of yarn was put into the dye pot, all dyed yarns
are the same and don't have a quality ranking.
There is also a FAILED YARN that you get by putting yarn with something that
will not color it into the dye pot.
---< D. Making money with animals >--------------------------------------------
Due to a recent discussion on the Magical Melody board, it seems people think
that sheep are the most profitable animal and you should fill your barn with
sheep, and for fun to make them give wool every day (one a day). However, this
is not the case!
Let's imagine a hypothetical situation in which you filled your barn with
either all cows or all sheep, and let's assume that in each situation, your
animals gave you the highest quality product 50% of the time (whatever the
actual rate is, it is the same for both cows and sheep, so it doesn't matter
if it's actually 50% or not) and the other 50% is the medium quality. It is
true that you can still get low-quality, but we'll assumme that it's made up
for with this 50-50 balance. Either way, cows and sheep will give low quality
products at the same rate so the argument still stands equal.
Assuming you changed your milks into cheese and wools into yarn...
Your profit would be something like this:
-----------------------------
One day of sheep: 2400G
One day of cows: 3000G
One week of sheep: 14400G
One week of cows: 21000G
One season of sheep: 57600G
One season of cows: 84000G
One year of sheep: 230400G
One year of cows: 336000G
-----------------------------
As you can see, by the end of the year, cows have made 105600G more than sheep!
That's enough to buy two level 5 houses and then some! Sheep may seem like they
are giving more because the number is large, but you have to keep in mind that
the cows produce every day. Now, only one week of one cow and one week of one
sheep may actually be in the sheep's favor if the one sheep gives high quality
wool on its one day and the cow gives high quality milk only half the time --
but as you can see from the figures above, in the long run, especially with
more animals, cows produce a much higher profit.
In addition to the base numbers, you have to consider that shearing and milking
raise affection levels. This means you get that extra boost to affection EVERY
DAY with cows, but only once a week with sheep. So cows get to higher affection
level sooner -- meaning higher quailty products sooner -- meaning more money
sooner.
If you are trying only to get profit from animals and don't care about them
for aesthetics or gifts or item collection or anything, you should have a barn
full of eight cows. If you want to get everything in the game, you'll need some
dyed yarns for your shipment lists and you'll need to give Marth yarn for the
biggest rucksack, and of course you'll need one of each quality of wool and
yarn, plus horses for the horse race prizes...
In any case, cows are the most profitable animal by far, and you should have
more cows than sheep. In my current barn, I have four cows, two horses, and
two sheep, but you may not want two of horses or sheep -- I just like having
two because they are cute.
So, depending on your goals, you should fill your barn differently:
Just for fun - Have however many of each you want, obviously.
Collection with max profit -- 6 cows, one horse, one sheep. (See following)
Max profit -- 8 cows
Now, if you're going for the 'collection with max profit' you will want to get
rid of each animal after it has filled its duty.
Horse: After winnning all four horse races and getting all the prizes, you can
sell your horse to replace with a cow.
Sheep: After getting all three qualities of wool, all three qualities of yarn,
every different color of yarn, and the largest rucksack, and recieved
the Shearing Note, Dying Note, and Baa Note from winning a festival, you
can safely sell your sheep to replace with a cow.
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****** V. Festivals ***********************************************************
*******************************************************************************
There is a festival for each animal in town. If you want prize animals, you
will have to attend these festivals.
---< A. Horse Race >-----------------------------------------------------------
[[ ABOUT THE HORSE RACE ]]
The horse race is where you can win great prizes and also get a prized horse
so that you can sell her for 50000G. There are two horse races a year: a
Spring horse race and a Fall horse race. Each takes place on the 17th of that
month. You can go to the festival any time between 6 and 6 on the day of the
festival, so don't worry about time. You can also win the HORSE RACE musical
note by winning the horse race.
The first thing to note is that the horse race is divided into four meets. Each
division is split by affection rate -- only horses with the right number of
hearts can enter. Each division has its own prizes, too, so you might not want
to wait until you full hearts, because you might want one of the lower prizes
(like the power berry!) Here is a list of each meet division and the prizes for
winning that division:
0-3 heart meet : Month's worth of fodder
4-5 heart meet : Coffee table
30 units of lumber (if you have the coffee table)
6-7 heart meet : Power berry
2000G purse (if you have the power berry)
8-10heart meet : Cool TV
Diamond Ring (if you have the Cool TV)
[[ TRAINING YOUR HORSE ]]
When you race your horse, you will want her to be in the top racing condition.
To do this, you'll have to keep her healthy by feeding her and brushing her
every day. But also, you'll have to train her for running. Bring your horse
outside and press X next to her while you are not equipped with a tool nor
holding an item. You should mount her and start riding. The more you ride your
horse, the more STAR rating she will gain. You can check it next to her
affection on the animal affection menu. If you want your horse to start out
with full stamina in the race, you'll need all 10 hearts filled.
[[ RACING ]]
Racing your horse is probably the most involved minigame in Magical Melody, and
also the most difficult. Once you have signed up for the race, you'll be taken
to the track to begin. Even though you read the instructions that the game
gives you, it can still be vague, so here is some more detail:
Your horse has THREE SPEEDS: Flying, Getting Along, and Conserve. Flying is the
fastest and Conserve is the slowest; however, Flying reduces your horse's
stamina very quickly, while Conserve barely lowers it at all (Getting Along is
the in-between of these two). To change these speeds, use the L and R buttons
any time during the race, even before the gun to start sounds. This means you
can start off at FLYING pace. Press L to change the speed higher and R to
change the speed slower.
Press the analog stick UP or DOWN to move your horse around once you start
running. This is very usefull in getting in the way of other horses and doging
obstacles.
As you run, you can press A to give your horse a boost by kicking it. This will
greatly decrease your horse's stamina because it "got spurred," but it is
necessary to kick your horse to win.
Besides kicking, there are more things to watch out for. The track is littered
with veggies and grass. Some veggie boost your speed and some boost your
stamina. Picking them up is the key to winning. Grass will slow your horse down
so make sure you do NOT run in the grass!
If your horse runs out of stamina, she will be forced into the Conserve speed
of running until the race is over or she gets a turnip, but since you'll be
behind in this speed, you probably won't be getting any turnips, so DO NOT LET
YOUR HORSE RUN OUT OF STAMINA FOR ANY REASON, unless it is in the very last
stretch to grab a turnip or you know you'll run out just at the finish line and
win.
The best strategy is to get ahead of the horses at the beginning and stay just
ahead of them, making sure to grab all the veggies and avoid the grass. Try to
stay near the middle of the track if there is no grass so you can be ready for
veggies, but make sure that other horses don't try to pass you. Stay in Getting
Along speed unless the other horses gain too much or you get knocked back from
a lot of grass. Once you get a little past the halfway point, stay in the
Flying speed for the rest of the race. It's crucial to grab a turnip sometime
in here. When it gets close to the end, start kicking your horse to get speed
boosts. Only kick your horse prior to the last stretch if you know it will
ensure that you take a turnip and not an opposing horse.
Another good tip is to kick your horse just before picking up the veggies since
the speed boost is helpful and you'll restore your stamina soon after.
If you need more practice, after going to a horse festival, go to the MINIGAMES
mode of Magical Melody using your save data, and you can play a mock Horse Race
for fun! This is great practice on getting the hang of the controls and working
on grabbing the turnips.
*******************************************************************************
****** B. Other Festivals *****************************************************
*******************************************************************************
The festivals for the other animals are not as involved. You simply go to the
festival and win a prize if your animal's hearts are 8 or above. You also get
a musical note for winning each.
[[ CHICKEN FESTIVAL ]]
DATE: Winter 7
PRIZES: Mayonaise Maker
Year's worth of chicken feed (if you have the mayo maker)
[[ COW FESTIVAL ]]
DATE: Spring 28
PRIZES: Butter Maker
Cheese Maker (if you have the butter maker but not the cheese maker)
Year's worth of fodder (if you have the cheese maker)
** Thanks to vysearcadia for the correction on the prize info **
[[ SHEEP FESTIVAL ]]
DATE: Summer 29
PRIZES: Yarn Maker
Year's worth of fodder (if you have the yarn maker)
*******************************************************************************
****** VI. Musical Notes from Livestock ***************************************
*******************************************************************************
There are many musical notes to be won from livestock. Here is a list and a
quick run-down of how to get them. For more information, see another guide for
this game or look in the other sections of this guide.
[[ BIRTH OF LIFE NOTE ]]
Pregnany cow, sheep, or horse gives birth in your barn.
[[ BRUSHING NOTE ]]
Groom 20 times with the brush.
[[ EGG NOTE ]]
Ship 10 eggs.
[[ MILKING NOTE ]]
Ship 10 milks.
[[ SHEARING NOTE ]]
Ship 10 wools.
[[ DYEING NOTE ]]
Ship a dyed yarn.
[[ CALLING ANIMALS NOTE ]]
Ring the bell 20 times.
[[ COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO NOTE ]]
Win the Chicken Festival.
[[ MOO NOTE ]]
Win the Cow Festival.
[[ BAA NOTE ]]
Win the Sheep Festival.
[[ HORSE RACE NOTE ]]
Win the horse race.
[[ ANIMAL KINGDOM NOTE ]]
Fill your barn and coop to max (level 2 barn required).
*******************************************************************************
****** VII. FAQ ***************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
Here is where I will post questions that are asked to me through email,
questions that I see show up on the boards, and questions that I think many
people may ask. The more questions you ask, the bigger and better this section
will grow. Feel free to email me (
[email protected]) with any questions you
may have. I will try to give you a detailed and useful response. I also will
post the question here so other people wondering the same thing can find the
answer. So, here we go~!
Q: Which animal is the best?
A: All of the animals are good for different reasons, but if you're just going
for money, you'll want cows. But you might want to wait and keep some others
because there are notes and list completion that you will need the other
animals for. Check the "Making money with animals" section (IV-D) for a much
more detailed and useful explanation.
Q: Is there a way to tie up my horse so she won't wander while I'm sleeping?
A: No, you have to put her back in the barn; however, there is a glitch that
will put her in the barn automatically for you. put your horse right outside
your house so she is in the area that your fence would surround if it were
to go all the way around your house in a square (this is also the area where
seeds will not be sewn into tilled soil). When you enter any area (including
sparking the beginning of a festival) while your horse is in this area, she
will warp back to the inside of your barn for you. Just dismount right out
your door before you go in to sleep, and she'll return to your barn. If you
want her to stay next to your house, you are out of luck. She will most
likely wander while you're asleep and you'll have to go chase her. Some
people have even had their horse disappear and not return for a couple days
because of this.
Q: How do I get the pig?
A: Just enter your own barn. Contrary to popular rumors, there are no other
requirements. you do not have to meet the gourmet at a festival or anywhere
else, and you do not need to enter before buying animals. The only thing is,
some people do not get the pig right away. Just keep playing the game as
normal and eventually you will get the pig. It could take up to a year.
Q: How do I get my animals outside!?!?!
A: Read the section on the REINS and BELL for a detailed explanation of using
those tools to move your animals where you would like them to go.
Q: How do I ride the horse?
A: You can't ride her while she is inside, so get her outside (see previous
question) and then press X next to her side while you have nothing equipped
and no items in your hands.
I recorded a video to help players who are having trouble:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2_tht_hll4
Q: Why do my chickens not lay eggs?
A: If your chickens are angry or sick, they will not lay eggs. If you let your
chickens find their own food outside, make sure you put them back inside by
the end of the day, because they will only lay eggs in the coop at 6 AM.
Q: Can your animals die of old age in this game?
A: Yes. Check the DEATH section for specifics on the life span, which is thanks
to vysearcadia for her donation of information about animal lifespan.
Q: How do I get the Animal Kingdom note?
A: Have a full barn of eight animals and a full coop of five chickens.
Q: Once your horse gains a few training stars, is it able to jump over fences?
A: Nope, sorry, you'll always have to go around them. I left a stake missing
right next to my barn so you could barely notice the hole. That's where I
rode the horse out since she couldn't jump the surrounding fence.
Q: Can I get different colored horses?
A: Nope, sorry. You can only get the one brown-colored horse.
Q: How do I do some fishing/planting/mining/cooking/etc. thing?
A: While the answers for questions outside of livestock will not appear in this
guide, feel free to ask me any questions about any aspect of this game.
While I don't know every single last thing, I have gotten far in this game
and I'm prepared for any questions you may have! Also, this guide is the
second of many I have planned, as I want to do many in-depth guides for
Magical Melody. If you would like to request that I do a certain guide next,
feel free to email me and suggest something! I also read the boards daily,
so your questions and concerns will be seen there (please do not post things
SPECIFICALLY for me there, though).
Q: I'm playing this on Wii (EU Version) so what buttons do I need to push?
A: My guide is for the GCN version, but I assume the controls have only been
remapped button-to-button.
When my guide says X button, this is the tool button. This is also the
button for riding the horse. On the Wii version, UNEQUIP your tools, then
press the button that you would normally use to equip or use a tool while
you don't have any tools selected or equipped while you're next to your
horse. For a video of this being done on the Gamecube, you can see my
recording here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2_tht_hll4
When my guide talks about the A button, this is the standard action button
that you use for picking things up and talking.
*******************************************************************************
****** VIII. Updates **********************************************************
*******************************************************************************
v1.20- (07/18/08) Two years later! And a big update!!
Updated grazing and affection sections. Now more info and
more accuracy.
Updated horse race section to be a tad more helpful/accurate.
Added section IV-D due to discussion on the boards.
Updated the FAQ section to reflect this.
Added youtube links for videos of how to use the reins and
ride the horse that I recorded myself.
Added a 'button translation' question to the FAQ for EU Ver
players who are playing the Wii version.
v1.13- (08/20/06) Added a common question from the board about horse colors.
Fixed another of vysearcadia's corrections that I forgot last
time.
Fixed the version number, which I had forgotten to update
for version 1.11 .
v1.11- (08/17/06) Added a question from xCait.
v1.10- (08/15/06) Added info about animal lifespans, thanks to vysearcadia.
Fixed typos thanks to vysearcadia and krystal kairi.
Added the UPDATES section.
v1.00- (08/13/06) First edition!! Just posted :D All the info here.
*******************************************************************************
****** IX. Legal Disclaimer, etc. *********************************************
*******************************************************************************
These characters, titles, etc. are not mine, obviously, as I never claimed they
were. This guide, however, is mine and cannot be used without my permission,
punishable by law. Do not use any part of this faq for your own use without
BOTH permission AND credit. I spent a lot of time (and going through three
copies of the game since you can't erase game data) to figure some of this out.
So in other words, you can have a personal copy, but it cannot be used for ANY
other reason except for personal use. If you would like to distibute, post, or
do ANYTHING else publicly with this document, you MUST HAVE my permission.
Currently, the only permission to use this guide is given to gamefaqs.com and
ign.com (gamespot is also part of gamefaqs as far as permission).
/ \
<CONTACT INFORMATION>
\ /
You can contact me through my email at
[email protected]. Please put
SOMETHING in the subject. Something with no subject, I will probably skip over
and it may take me a while to get around to reading it. Don't worry, I won't
delete your emails just because it doesn't have some exact title that I want it
to have.
Please send me feedback! I love hearing what you have to say so I can continue
to improve and write. I write these with the intent on helping others, so if
you feel like I could do better, please tell me! If you feel like I'm doing a
good job, motivational mail wouldn't be bad either. Keep farming!
<> <> <*> <> <>
<><>SPECIAL THANKS!<><>
<> <> <-> <> <>
Thanks for reading! Much thanks to Marvelous Interactive for the creation of
Harvest Moon and to Natsume and Rising Star for bringing it out of Japan. Lots
of thanks to the Harvest Moon board and Wolfire for his great FAQ coming along
for this game. Thanks to Kasumi and Pix for also playing this game and sharing
experiences like getting notes and other game tips. And thanks to all Harvest
Moon fans who help keep this wonderful series alive!
Thanks to vysearcadia for the lifespan information and some typo correction
and the correction on the prizes for the cow festival.
Thanks to krystalkairi for more corrections.
Thanks to xCait for raising the horse jumping fences question.
