Okay, I usually don't do this until after I've done Garfield, Ichigo Mashimaro, Lucky Star, and Haruhi, but, eh. I felt like doing this one.
BUDDY: Off to the Forest of the Elves! Who do you think we'll meet there, pal?
LYNDSAY: I'm willing to wager we'll meet some elves.
BUDDY: Oh boy! Do you think they'll make some toys for us?
LYNDSAY: Buddy, elves don't make toys all the time. It's just a stereotype.
BUDDY: Neat! I wonder what type of stereos they make?
LYNDSAY: ...
Our first view is of a stone unicorn. We then pan over to a crying female with gray hair and dark skin. We disembark, and pass between trees and what appears to be some stone... ruins?
BUDDY: Wow! This place is incredible!
LYNDSAY: It's certainly a verdant paradise!
We walk on and meet the female we saw before.
?????: Greetings, strangers. I welcome you to this place.
BUDDY: Hi! We like your vermin paradise!
LYNDSAY: Buddy! Sorry, that's not what he meant to say...
?????: No, it is as he says, sadly. Your friend Buddy is most wise.
LYNDSAY: ...most what?!
?????: This land was once the most beautiful in all of the kingdom, and home to many animal friends. As Elves, it is our job to preserve the balance of nature here.
LYNDSAY: You said 'our job.' Who else is here?
?????: Oh, that would be Leaf. My companion and fellow defender of the spirit of Nature.
We see him sitting in a hot tub.
LEAF: 'Sup.
?????: Anyway, I fear that the balance of nature has been disrupted here. Most of our animal friends have fled, and those that remain are...acting strangely.
BUDDY: What do you mean by 'strangely?'
Just then, a boy in a full frog costume runs through.
BUDDY: Gotcha.
?????: As you can see, the situation is quite upsetting. But wait... Do I sense...?
She goes up to Kara.
?????: YOU! You are a Royal Wandolier, are you not? I didn't think it was possible! Oh, please say you'll help us restore our land, great Wandolier!
Leaf
Elves have always been steadfast protectors of nature, which is boring. How come there are no Elf Rock Stars?! Well, now there is! Leaf is the elf who seeks the fame, glory and adoration of a cheering crowd. An Elf who demands the perks of a rock and roll lifestyle! Who thinks he's the best thing to hit the forest since photosynthesis! Strangely, some of the forest animals are kind of into it, too.
I talk to the elf female.
?????: Up the hill lies the ancient statue of the unicorn. I'm sure it will speak to you and tell us what we must do!
TASK: The Mysterious Statue
I go up the hill, past some cherry blossom trees, and farther up, where I see the statue she means. I listen to it, and...
???: To save the frog's accursed mind, / three Essences you'll need to find: / Koi / Cherry Blossoms / Frog Berries
?????: A recipe of Frog Berries, Fish, and Cherry Blossoms? Hmm...should pack quite a kick!
I gain 10 KP, and talk to her again.
?????: First, let us focus on flower and fish! Frog Berries will come after. You must collect the ancient striped fish of the ponds as well as the pink flower found on canopy's top. Many will be needed!
TASK: (Of) Fish and Fruit
I need 35 Cherry Blossoms, but because Reneé's Nature Preserve also has that tree, I need none from here... for now. However, I need to catch every one of the 7 Koi I need.
I look at the map. The western beach runs in a C shape. At the bottom is a chest containing Organic, Wood, and Mana, as well as the Rock Garden Scroll, which requires 40 Wood, 20 Organic, and 10 Simoleons. I have all the Simoleons I need, half the Wood, and 30% of the Organic.
I also talk to Leaf.
LEAF: What's up, rock star? Feel free to hit the hot tub whenever you want. We can restore the 'Balance of Nature' tomorrow, right?
No, because the sun won't set until we've finished. Anyway, down the hill in the other direction is the pond. In the pond is a chest with Mana, Platinum, and a Costume Corner outfit. Also, across the pond is a Belladonna. I'm sure these defenders of nature won't mind if I pick a unique flower that won't grow back whilst restoring said nature's balance.
I start fishing in the pond. I catch Bass and the required 7 Koi, plus 1 to show to Barney. Back to the elf girl.
?????: Well done, gathering the first set of ingredients, Kara! Now we shall need many Frog Berries!
I get a hunter outfit and 50 KP. The Cherry Blossom expenditure sets me back on the Building Blocks Scroll front. Anyway...
?????: The Frog Berries used to grow on these very plants before us. Sadly, since someone diverted most of the water to fill his hot tub, the Frog Berries have shriveled up! Could you please bring the water back to our poor Berry plants?
TASK: Water the Berry Plants
Unsurprisingly, this is pretty much the same as any other watering task. After placing pipes and sprinklers so that all the plants are watered, I see the elf.
?????: The Frog Berries are rejuvenated! You are truly elf-friend, good Wandolier! Now to prepare the broth...
She gives off Mana, then uses a mortar and pestle to make the broth, which she gives to Kara in a clear vial.
?????: Here you go, Kara. It's all up to you, now! I think I saw Hopper somewhere around here. Good luck, and be careful...
Kara nods, and walks away. I get 50 KP.
Hopper
Years ago Hopper won first place at a high jump competition. Then he let the success go to his head. Having journeyed far (by pedal boat) to the Forest of the Elves, Hopper is getting in touch with his inner frog and making new friends. SPROING!
TASK: Fun with a Frog!
HOPPER: RAWR! Hopper no like BROTHS! WE NOT DRINK THEM!
I start the socializing. I want to end up giving him the broth. The only think I can do right now is Diagnose, so I do that. He's Losing It. I can do a Poetry Reading, Poke him, or Rile him Up. I Rile him Up. Now he's Hyper. I can Tell a Joke, Rile him Up, or Shove him. Same again. Now he's Insane. I can Talk about Frogs, Rile him Up, or Slap him. I... normally keep riling him up, but this time, I want to Talk about Frogs. He throws a water balloon in my face. He's Playful now. I can play the Pan Flute, Rile him Up, or Discuss Roland's Quest. Rile Up? Rile Up. He's back to Losing It. I follow the Rile Up trail back to Insane, then proceed farther along it. Now he's Thirsty, and I can give him the broth. Good thing, too, because whatever he kept saying repeatedly was getting on my nerves. He gives off Happy, and I talk to him.
HOPPER: Really? Actually, you're right...that looks delightfully thirst quenching. SPROING!
He drinks it.
HOPPER: Golly, that's good Hopper broth! I feel like my old Hopper self again! SPROING! Thanks! Now I can play with all of my froggie friends! Hey, froggies! To me!!!
CREEPY FROGS: Ribbit...ribbit...
HOPPER: Wait a second... Somethings wrong. Something's very wrong. What has happened here? My froggie friends, they've...
Zoom in on Hopper...
HOPPER: CHANGED!!!
Now we see the frogs. They're brown with red eyes.
HOPPER: Oh no! SPROING! We gotta do something to help them!
I got 25 KP out of the broth thing.
HOPPER: Thanks for helping me escape that curse, ribbit! Can you help me get all these rascally frogs back home into the pond? It's this way, ribbit!
TASK: Leapfrog!
I follow Hopper. When I get near a frog, it starts following me. I lead them all into the water. After soaking a bit, they turn into green frogs with black pupils and white scleras. I talk to Hopper.
HOPPER: Wee! Us frongs love ponds, ribbit! Don't you just love jumping amd being muddy? SPROING!
I gain 50 KP. Time to talk to the elf again.
?????: Oh, Kara...once, many animals frolicked here, but they have all fled. Do you think the forest spirits would know why? Can you ask the statue?
TASK: The Lost Animals
???: To call the critters home for good, / rebuild the Temple in the wood. / Replacing every block in turn, / facilitates their swift return.
Because this is a video game, I'm sure that will work. I talk to the elf again.
?????: The Temple of the Woods was mysteriously destroyed... No wonder the animals are upset! How horrible!
We go there automatically. We see four half-pillars, two of them together, and a rounded corner hedge with a mushroom on it.
?????: This...used to be the Temple of the Woods. It was once a proud structure — the most beautiful area in the whole land... Now, it lies in ruins.
LEAF: Yeah, but I needed wood to make my hot tub.
?????: YOU?! You pulled apart the Temple?!
LEAF: To get wood. What...that's bad?!
In a game where a guy with an axe can have a limitless supply of wood, and where the existence of a temple actually has an effect on the balance of nature... yeah, kinda. Though I'm not sure he has an axe, aside from the term for "guitar".
?????: For a hot tub?!
LEAF: Well, what'd you expect me to keep the water in? Hopes and dreams? Hot tubs need wood.
I would guess that nowadays, most hot tubs aren't made of wood. But here... maybe it is actually needed.
?????: Omigosh, you're the worst elf ever. Kara, the Temple is gone, but we can still make this space into an animal sanctuary! I have a Scroll that will give you what you need. Please bring the animals back to the forest!
I get 10 KP.
SCROLL: Temple Scroll
It requires 5 Gold Arowanas, of which I have none, 20 Organic, of which I have 6, and 20 Silver, of which I have 4.
I talk to Leaf.
LEAF: What, who could have known that building a hot tub would've angered the spirits of Nature? Anyone could've made that mistake.
I think it's more where you got the wood from, dude.
Anyway, there's a mining wall near the Frog Berry area; I mine Mana, Musical Notes, Electrobits, and Silver out of it.
After gaining enough Silver, I look around for more Organic. I find a chest near a stage made from a large tree. I open it for Organic, Wood, and Mana. I go up the steps to the stage, and use prior knowledge to build stairs up to a high-cut tree with a chest on it. This one contains more Organic. I move the stairs over to another high-cut tree with a chest on it, which I open for Mana and a Sheriff Ginny Figurine. I remove the stairs.
A hole in some rock leads me to a nice fishing spot... and a robot similar in design to T.O.B.O.R., but pink. It's standing quite still, with arms out.
?????-??????: I ARE TREE.
Curious. Anyway, I start fishing, and catch Electric Eels, Crabs, Gold Arowanas, and... the Sinister Boot. That last one, by the time I pulled it up, I had fished up 21 Gold Arowanas.
Finally, I try picking the Frog Berries. They are a good source of Organic. I also pluck "grass", which goes Crab, Cherry Blossom, Organic, Gold.
The Rock Garden Scroll is complete, so I unlock that first.
LYNDSAY: Another Scroll complete! Kara, you are turning into a Scroll Master!
I can now build Paper Lanterns, Potted Orchids, Pretty Flowers, and Stone Lanterns, and paint with Mossy Rock Paint and River Rock Paint. However, this depleted my Organic, so back to harvesting that.
LYNDSAY: I wonder what amazing new blocks we can make with this?!
Well, let's see... Italian Corner Column, Italian Wall Column, Arbor, Clover, Purple Mushroom, Pink Mushroom, Red Mushroom, Hedge Corner, Hedge, and Unicorn Statue.
Back to the elves.
?????: Ah, you are ready. Thank you, Kara. We could never replace the Temple without your compassion and skill.
TASK: Temple Restoration
Not too difficult. The identity and proper position of every piece is made obvious by the silhouettes. After completing it, I talk to the elf.
?????: Oh, Kara! That space looks even better than when we built it 14,320 years ago!
?????: Kara!!! The animals... They're returning!
Indeed they are. Various animals enter the area. I talk to her again.
?????: Oh, good Wandolier, the unicorns still have not returned. What could they still need? We must consult the ancient Unicorn Statue one final time!
TASK: A Final Consultation
???: A unicorn's a clever beast, / and twice as fast as lightning greased. / To coax them to this sacred place, / just try to rock them in the face!
?????: Wait. A Rock Concert? No...that can't be right...
Right or not, I get 10 KP, and now Leaf goes over to the stage. I talk to him.
LEAF: Check it out, Kara. If we're going to rock hard enough to bring the unicorns home, this stage is going to need a little upgrade!
TASK: I Has a Flavor
Pulling out my wand near the stage tells me that it needs 15 Nature, of which it has 4, and 4 Elegant, of which it has none. I put a Piano onstage, and paint it and the stool with Academy Stucco. That takes care of the Elegant. Then, a bit of Mossy Rock Paint (now he really does have a rock guitar!), some palm bushes, and a red mushroom bring the Nature levels up.
LEAF: Aww, yeah. Perfect. Now this serene forest is ready to RAWK! Just one thing left to do...
I gain 50 KP.
LEAF: The last step remains. A powered guitar of legend, Kara!
Brutal.
Task: Guitar Heroism
This task involves me running wiring from the solar panel to the amp below. Simple. I give it a test, and get Musical Notes from the playing (which, incidentally, involved some Hendrixing), Mana from finishing, and Happy from the onlookers. I talk to Leaf.
LEAF: I can feel the crackling of the amp already, charging my burning and unquenchable spirit! Let us rock!
The concert begins, and everyone gets into it. Soon enough, the unicorns are in the area. They are light purple with dark purple manes. Huh, sounds familiar somehow...
?????: Well, this was...unconventional. But I cannot deny that the Spirit of Nature has been fully restored to our humble land. Thank you, Kara.
I get two new scrolls and finish the island's story with 165 KP until the next King Level.
SCROLL: The Tub Scroll
This scroll requires 20 Dead Wood (Whaddya know, hot tubs do need wood!), 5 Gold Arowanas, and 20 Musical Notes. I have all that, so I unlock it.
LYNDSAY: Great! Let's see what this Scroll unlocks!
A Hot Tub, and that's it.
SCROLL: Solar Scroll
This scroll needs 10 Organic and 25 Happy. The Happy I have; the Organic needs harvesting.
On my way to do so, I talk to the characters.
PROTO-MAKOTO: INITIALIZING NIGHTTIME PROTOCOL...
HOPPER: Petal comes here every day in the morning! I think that's neat, don't you?
Thank you for finally saying her name! Man! The entire main story of The Forest of the Elves and no one saw fit to divulge it! I mean, yeah, it's right there, but you know. I don't like to divulge a name until a character would have said it.
LEAF: An elder once told me that elves should sleep under the stars. But man, grass is just itchy.
PETAL: There was a time when many Elves lived in this forest and protected nature. That was hundreds of years ago, however.
Some Frog Berries later, I am able to unlock the Solar Scroll, which makes me able to build a Solar Panel.
Now, it's back to Rocket Reef. There's another figurine I could get back at the FotE, and I'm somewhat surprised it didn't come up, but I'll try for it later. Anyway, It's daytime when I arrive, so I grab a couple of needed Robofish while I'm waiting for night to fall. I eventually just build a bed an Sleep Until Night to bring night about so I can talk figurines with Vic. Then I have to talk him out of bed himself.
VIC: Oh, nice. A Ginny Figurine in her Sheriff's outfit? That's newer than the old pirate one of her — I got one of those in a box back in my mom and dad's attic.
He gives off Electrobits and gives me 5 KP.
Off to Capital Island!
BARNEY: Ooh, an Arowana. Nice catch, Kara! Sometimes when I go swimmin', they go right up my ear!
He gives off Mana.
BARNEY: Wow, a Koi! I think I read once that they're smarter than a 3-year-old child! They aren't good at fingerpainting, though. They're colorblind!
He gives off Happy.
Okay, we're down to Candypalooza and Cutopia! I expect whichever you choose will put me to the next level!
If it helps...
- Candypalooza: Has some Essences that are the missing components for a couple of the Scrolls
- Cutopia: Has the Sims who are interested in Armor and Flowers, as they'll tell me when the island's story is complete
So, your choice!
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