News of this game has been around for a year, and fans waited in anticipation all the while.  We’ve endured false release dates, which led to brutal delays, but now… now… Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility is finally available.

HM: ToT is the largest installment of the series yet.  First of all, the world in which your character resides (Waffle Island), is huge.  It would take much more than one in-day game to explore the entire island.

There are a ton of crops to grow, several in each season (previous titles have neglected crops that can grow in Winter).  When it comes to animals, there is even more variety.  Your coop houses both chickens and silkworms, and the barn houses not only cows, sheep, and your horse, but also goats and an osterich.  Osterich eggs sell for a pretty penny, but more intriguingly, once you obtain a saddle, you can also ride it.  Crazy?  Yes.  Fun?  Very yes.

There is much more customization in this game than there has been in previous games in the series.  Furniture for your home can be purchased (several different styles/motifs are available) and can be rotated and rearranged.  What’s more, your character can buy new clothes for him/herself (if the image on the box cover weren’t a hint, you can choose to play as either a male or female protagonist) and mix and match with different hats.

Building relationships with townsfolk is always a core element of Harvest Moon games.  HM:ToT boasts an unbelievable 50+ islanders to interact with and befriend.  Out of those, 16 are marriage candidates (8 for the female protagonist and 8 for the male) and most of them have rivals that you will need to compete with to win their heart.  Once you are married, your child can be either a boy or girl (you can choose which one you prefer if you don’t want to leave it up to chance) and the spouse that you chose determines the child’s appearance and personality.

There’s so much content to this game, I haven’t gotten anywhere close to covering it all.  For example, besides working on the farm and talking with townsfolk, there are other ways to spend your time - fishing, foraging, mining…

Oh, and did I mention that the Harvest Goddess is missing, and the Harvest Sprites need you to help them restore the Island’s rainbows?

Here’s a video of lots of gameplay~  (Hopefully after today, there will be lots more videos with the dialogue in English…)

I love the overall concept of this game so much, I’ll be keeping a little diary of my character’s progress!!  It will be hosted here in this very blog, so keep in touch~

Sources for more HM:ToT information (and all the pretty artwork!):

Ranch Story’s Tree of Tranquility Info Pages

Ushi no Tane’s Tree of Tranquility Info Pages

Noliai has set up a chat room for SanrioTown users to hang out in and talk about whatever!  Just start it up, and keep the window open and maybe a fellow SanrioTowner will join you~

Join the chat here!

Read about it in the forum!

Next week will be very exciting for me~

But BunnyWinx, HKO doesn’t start until two weeks from now.  What could possibly happen between then and now that would be worth talking about?

Why, the release of Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility!  Maybe you’ve already read the brief description on my mainpage.  Anyway, to make my game experience even more fun, I’ll be writing little stories to go along with it~  I’m illustrating them, too!

It will be a lot of fun, but also time-consuming, so I’m cutting back on the reviews I’ve been doing for the past month or so.  I hope that I was able to introduce other SanrioTown members to some enjoyable Web sites and games!  (That was the whole idea, after all!)

Tree of Tranquility will be available next Wednesday, so give me a day or two to play it a little, then a day or two more to start constructing a story out of my experience.  The result is going to be so much fun!  Look forward to it!

I drew these before I even knew about the existance of the Ponystars game… just goes to show you that I really am just a kid inside!!

Pretty Pink Pony by ~MagicalGirlYossy on deviantART

Pretty Pixie Pony by ~MagicalGirlYossy on deviantART

Ponystars - Raise & Breed Your Own Magic Ponies!

Okay… yes, I really am twenty years old.  But deep down inside, I’m still just a silly little girl that wants to surround herself with cute and pretty things.   I played with My Little Ponies when I was little, and I even remember watching the cartoons!  If you’re like me, then revisit your childhood by playing Ponystars!!

After registering, you can select and customize two horses that will breed and produce your first pony (you do not keep the parents, but the colors you choose for them will influence what yours looks like).  Then, the site gives you a simple tutorial that teaches you how to care for your new pony!

There is a fair bit of customization available for your ponies, but much of it is only available for paying customers…  But, while my ponies may not be as elegant as other users’, I’m still enjoying it.

Here are my ponies~

My first pony!  She is my FAVORITE color!!

This guy was granted to me by fairies, for free, after only a few days of playing, and he even came with this cool striped coat!  I hope that’s not real animal print!

There is also a plot to this game - the Aurora Ponies have gone missing, but there are fairies around to help you find out what happened to them.  This is played out in a simple adventure game, where you select one of your ponies to explore around a grassland area (but you can only move a few spaces every day, so you must be patient in solving the mystery!).

So, wanna give it a try?  It’s free to sign up and get your first pony, so there’s no harm in trying it out~

Ohnoes, I’ve already posted Pokémon art…  Um, how about these Kirby pics?!  Yeah, Kirby Super Star Ultra was just recently released, too~

Very Kirby Christmas to You by ~MagicalGirlYossy on deviantART

The Happy World of Kirby by ~MagicalGirlYossy on deviantART

Pokémon Diamond & Pearl hold the title for being the best-selling games in the series, and in response to that popularity comes a third installment in this fourth generation.  Pokémon Platinum has been available in Japan since September 13th (no news on when to expect to see it elsewhere in the world quite yet), and is getting nothing but good reviews!

What’s new in Platinum?  Read about all of the changes here, but I’ll list some highlights for you.

New “formes” for some of the Legendary Pokémon:

Rotom now takes the form of several electronic appliances~

The last major cosmetic change to the game is the spiffy new winter clothing worn by the hero Trainers.

And we all thought the male Trainer couldn’t look any more ridiculous.

I loved playing through Diamond, and I certainly wouldn’t mind doing it again.  I’m ready for my next Pokémon adventure - I can has North American release date now please??

Best online sources for Pokémon info:

Serebii

Bulbapedia

Have I told you that I have a pet parakeet??   Her name is Yuki!

Here’s a photo from when we had just brought her home a couple years ago.

The CUUUUUUTENESSSSSSS!!

Here’s my artistic rendering of Yuki as a storybook princess.

Princess Yuki by ~MagicalGirlYossy on deviantART

I don’t know if I’ve said this in this blog before, but… despite all of my girlishness, I am a huge nerd.  Most of my youth was fueled playing video games, and … wait for it … Dungeons & Dragons.  For me, D&D was just “playing pretend” in the form of a board game.

Most people, especially girls, expect D&D to appeal only to loser unattractive nerds.  This book is for those people.

There are a lot of myths when it comes to this game, and just as many myths about the people who play it. Shelly Mazzanoble sets the record straight in this fun guide written by a girlie-girl, for girlie-girls.

The book shares a lot of how D&D works - what it’s like to create your character, the basic rules of play, and what it’s like sitting around a table with your friends discussing the best way to sneak up on a band of kobolds.

The highlight of the book is when the author tricks her friends (all professional working moms) into playing a short campaign with her.  Lots of laughs, not just in their reactions, but in the fact that they did actually enjoy the game.

Read about it on Amazon (and maybe pick up a copy?)

Read a comprehensive review of the book on RPG.net

Ooh, I draw a lot of Pokémon!

I Choose You, Drifblim by ~MagicalGirlYossy on deviantART

Way to go, Ivysaur by ~MagicalGirlYossy on deviantART

Pokemon Trainer Creator by ~MagicalGirlYossy on deviantART

Have you tried out the Pokémon Trainer Creator??
It’s a Flash game that I made some time ago!