'Tree of Tranquility' is Harvest Moon's latest venture for the Wii. Although a later version of 'Magical Melody' was released for the Wii, the game in fact was created for the GameCube platform. Tree of Tranquility, on the other hand, was created specifically for the Wii.
I was given the task of writing the official strategy guide for BradyGames. It was quite an undertaking. The biggest difference between my internet guides and a printed guide for Brady probably was the deadline and inability to update the guide once a certain stage of production had been reached.
The final retail version differs in some respects from the version on which the guide is based. There is nothing I can do about that, except to offer to help players as usual if they email me. One difference is the fact that the Fish Shop now does not sell raw fish. Instead, it sells only grilled fish. More sadly, you cannot buy Decent Cocoons in the final retail version at the Brownie Ranch, severely limiting one of the best exploitations I found in the game. You still can perform the exploitation if you have your own Cocoons though.
Tree of Tranquility has a very strong plot, and players who enjoy traditional RPGs probably will become quite involved with the plot aspect of ToT. One can choose to play either a girl or a boy. Courtship and marriage follow basic Harvest Moon traditions, including the wonderful romantic proposal tradition of the 'Blue Feather'. One very exciting difference in ToT is that you can choose to play a 'next generation' game as your own child!
With the possibility of saving an infinite number of files at different stages on memory cards, you can develop a basic game in terms of farming, ranching, fishing, mining and cooking, then branch off in different files to court and marry different individuals, creating new futures for your character in each. Furthermore, at the time of pregnancy, you are given the option to choose whether you wish your child to be a boy or a girl. If you save your game prior to that point, you can create different save files for each gender of child.
One of the most endearing aspects of Tree of Tranquility is the ability to tame a wide variety of wild creatures and persuade them to become your pets. Among the animals that can be tamed are a number of cats and dogs, a turtle and a penguin.
The landscapes are gorgeous and both farm and wild animals beautifully portrayed.
In Tree of Tranquility, transport options include an Ostrich!
The festivals are rather glorious, with colourful decorations, a profusion of seasonal flowers and ever-popular fireworks displays. There are a number of romantic festivals at different locations, including a Firefly Festival at the Waterfall. Trysts are held beneath a special Mother Tree in the Brownie Ranch district. The Starry Night Festival as well as formal Declarations of Love occur beneath the magical Tree.
Rival Couples not only can marry but have children as well in ToT. If you wish to meet all possible characters, therefore, you need to choose a candidate for whom no romantic rival exists. Of course, if you save files on a memory card, you can marry every single candidate in different games.
The Official Strategy Guide I wrote for this game can be found at all game shops and Amazon.com. For all other Harvest Moon games, see my online guides published by IGN.
You will find links to ALL my internet guides on my Harvest Moon website at:
