Viva Piñata! Filled with pun, filled with pun!

Welcome to yet another Nyperold liveblog! This time, the subject is that Xbox 360 game, Viva Piñata!

First order of business: I'm planning on structuring my entries around when one day changes to another, unless you think it would be better to make new entries start at sunrise. (Of course, if that's the same thing in this game, which I haven't noticed one way or the other, it'll all come out the same.)

Also, I'll be naming my piñatas after anime and manga characters. You know, whatever character pops into my head. Which will probably mostly be ones from series I have, but I'll probably incorporate characters from other series I've heard of, as well. (I've preemptively named my first Sparrowmint from this latter pool of characters, before even starting the new game.) But if you think I should save a name I've given for another type of piñata, say so, and maybe I'll change it.

Finally, if you want to give me game tips, that's also fine.

So yeah, I hope I'm interesting!

*grabs popcorn*

You should name one of them Lum. I've seen a little bit of Viva Pinata from when my friends played it, but never actually got to check it out myself, so I don't fully know what's what. I just know that I think Lum would make a cute Pinata name.

Day 1

So, I start a new garden using an account that didn't have VP data. I call this garden "Ryou-ou".

I arrive at the garden, and press A to hear the crying girl, Leafos, tell me that she was hoping someone would help her clean up, and that she's also here to help me. She magics up a Journal, and tells me to press X to go to a menu to open it up. Apparently, it stores the information that I collect over the course of the game.

There's a "How To" section, an Encyclopedia, a view of the Garden Area, a Player Awards list, and four conspicuously empty slots.

The only How To entry is for use of the camera. It tells me I can pan and tilt using the Right Stick, zoom with the triggers, and press the Right Stick to switch between the current view and an overhead view.

The encyclopedia has two submenus: Characters and Garden Constructions. Characters has a submenu: Family Members. That has a single entry: Leafos. She has a base value of 0. :D The only Garden Constructions are Garden Junk: A broken statue, building remains, a junk coop. a junk pan, a junk skip, a junk tank, an old fence, a rock, two types of ruined building, and a wheel.

The Garden Area section shows me that I only have access to a quarter of the total area that I can eventually work with. 88% of that is hard soil, and the rest is long grass.

Under Player Awards, I can view my Player Status. It shows me my elapsed game time, my garden's value (22), my rank (New Gardener 1), and the coins in my account (0). I can also view the Storybook, though only the first chapter at the moment.

I've got my first Alert! It's an Alert telling me how Alerts work. Important alerts open automatically; lesser ones let me decide if and when to view them, and it what order.

Now she magics up a beat-up old shovel. It's accessible from the X menu. It's not for digging, though: it's for clearing junk and smacking hard soil and getting to the softer soil. Holding down A helps me do it more quickly. The shovel is old, but won't break. Hitting piñata can make them ill.

Breaking junk releases coins, which I should then collect.

Soon enough, a Whirlm appears. I get a Grass Seed Packet as a reward! I can sprinkle as much as I like, and it won't run out.

I check my Journal. I now have a Leafos Log, where some of the things Leafos says go, and a Player Log, which tracks events. Right now, it just has my Whirlm sighting entries.

The How To section now tells me about packets and shovels.

The encyclopedia tells me about tools (the shovel and the surface packets), Misc. Items (Money: both Gold Chocolate Coins and Big Gold Chocolate Coins), and Piñata.

I learn from the Whirlm entry that to get one to appear, I need to have 10 square pinometers of soil or grass: 1% of the area of all the land. Great, but one has appeared already. What about visiting? Same, apparently! And residency is also the same! The only other thing I need for Romance is a Whirlm house.

Back to the garden. After a while of breaking junk and turning hard soil into soft, I break out the seed packet and start pouring.

The Whirlm becomes a Resident! I name it Soujirou. I unlock the Piñata Name Caller achievement.

A Sparrowmint appears! Why? Because of the Whirlm resident! For it to visit, I need two. For it to become a resident, as well, they need to romance. For it to romance, it needs to eat one, and there needs to be a Sparrowmint house.

Willy appears because I now have two Whirlm residents. He figures I'll need more. He decides to give me a free house! All I have to do is show him where.

Also, a Syrupent appears! It needs 10 sq. pm of grass, both for appearing and for visiting. Residency requires that I have 20 sq. pm of grass, and it needs to eat a Mousemallow. For romance, it needs to eat a Lickatoad, and I need 30 sq. pm and a Syrupent house.

Oh, and now I have a section on resident Piñatas!

I name my second Whirlm Kanata.

The house is built, so I smash the site open to reveal it.

Now it's time to get these two together. I select them, and now I have to complete a maze. Well, it's a maze in the loosest sense. It's a single path mostly lined by Loathers. If I run into Loathers, I lose a chance to complete the game, as well as some time. There are also coins along the way. I'm able to collect all the coins, even the one off the path (thanks to a break in the Loathers), and get the two Whirlms together. They head for the house and do a Romance Dance.

Storkos introduces herself. When two Piñata do the dance, Storkos delivers an egg.

When it hatches, the Sparrowmint becomes a resident. I name it Lain.

The Whirlm goes into a cocoon. When it hatches, I name it Konata.

Leafos feels this make me trustworthy, so she offers me one of two seeds. I get to see the seed. I choose the brown and yellow one. I plant it near the Whirlm house. Now I'm told how to water it.

The seed was a carrot, which prompts a Bunnycomb to appear! That's also the Visit requirement. For it to become a Resident, I need to have 40 sq. pm of grass, and it needs to eat 3 carrots. For Romance, it needs to eat a daisy or a buttercup, and... ??? My guess is that it needs a Bunnycomb house.

Also, a Mothdrop appears, because it's night. Visit requirement is the same. There needs to be a light if it's to become a resident, and for Romance, it needs to eat a thistle, and... more guesswork, but I'd think it needs a house.

I get a clock.

The Bunnycomb actually visits!

And now, I get to see my Experience petals! These turn blue when I do something to help the garden. I've gained enough to cause Seedos to appear. Seedos is Leafos's seed-obsessed brother. If you talk to him, he'll drop seeds.

Looks like, indeed, Day 1 is over. (It's not like it explicitly calls it out...) So, time to Save & Quit.

Next time: Day 2!

edited 6th Jul '10 9:33:57 AM by Nyperold

I learned long ago that naming Whirlms leads only to heartbreak. Poor little fellas... that Sparrowmint circling overhead, they don't know how little time they have left...

Well... hopefully, it goes for Kanata first, so at least that aspect of the order of their demise is right... granted, Kanata was probably not killed by Lain, but...

My first act of the continuation is to talk to Seedos. He warns me not to hit him with my spade. I take his advice... for now. I plant the seed he leaves.

Then I continue making soil into a grassy area.

Pretty soon, the Builder's shop opens.

I get an award for growing a daisy! A Taffly appears as a result. For them to visit, I need to have any 2 flowers; for it to become a resident, it has to eat one; and for romance, it specifically needs to eat a poppy.

Also, a White Flutterscotch appears. This one is more discerning; it appeared because I had a daisy, it'll visit if I have 2, stay if I have 4, and romance if it eats fruit.

I decide to name the second Sparrowmint Moé, so maybe Soujirou can have his wish.

After some more grass seed pouring, Lottie shows up. Her store is open, it seems.

Leafos tells me about romance candy, which is available at Costalot's. A previously-romanced Piñata type can have its requirements, except the house, replaced with this candy. There's also a bit of oddness in that the text uses "candy" while the audio uses the more British "sweet".

Now piñatas have happy meters. Interesting. The more orange triangles in it, the happier.

I plant some more seeds.

Night falls, and a Pretztail appears.

One seed turned out to be a turnip, and another was a buttercup.

Day 3 has begun! My, but that was fast!

Next time: Day 3!

Right off, a Doenut appears, thanks to my minimum of 400 sq. pm of grass. The same effect could have been achieved by having 60 sq. pm of long grass, but I can't plant that yet. For a visit, however, it needs to be the latter, and I need 10 of either blackberries or gooseberries. For it to become a resident, it needs to eat 6 of either of those, plus some unknown condition. For it to romance, it needs to eat a sunflower, plus some other condition, probably having a Doenut house.

I set to seeding some more, and a Mousemallow appears. It turned up because of a turnip. That's also its Visit requirement. It has to eat it to reside here, and eat a daisy seed or buttercup seed to romance, plus have a Mousemallow house.

I, uh, mate Kanata and Konata... just randomly, y'know? Eheh...

The Mousemallow becomes a resident! I name it Nobue.

A Taffly becomes a resident! I name it... I dunno, Yui.

I have a Mousemallow house built.

Next time: Day 4!

edited 29th Jul '10 9:29:25 PM by Nyperold

Dang this makes me want to play some Viva Pinata, but I don't have my X Box on me tonight. DARN YOU VIRAL MARKETER!

Well, Tafflies do offer one vital service: Fertilizer!

Nevermind, just set the damn flies on fire and put it out for a surprise.

edited 31st Jul '10 4:41:30 PM by CompletelyOriginalName

Yeah, I plan to do that a couple of times.

Day 4

Uh oh! A Sour Shellybean has appeared. It does so at level 4, and visits at level 5. It'll convert into a normal resident when it eats an apple seed, but will eat any seed it finds until then.

A Raisant has also appeared. It, too, appears at level 4, visits when there's a fruit tree of any kind in the garden, becomes a resident upon eating 3 fruit of any kind (unsure whether this means they all have to be the same kind, or if they may be of different kinds), and are ready for romance when they've eaten a jar of honey and have a Raisant house.

Fannie Franker introduces herself. She has a mailbox for a head. You'll only use her services when dealing with other X Box Live gardeners.

A Bunnycomb became a resident! I get the achievement "Collector". I name it Miyako.

A Squazzil appears! That's because I have at least one level 3 piñata resident.

They visit when I have a hazelnut tree, become residents when they've eaten three hazelnuts, and are ready for romance when they've eaten 2 blackberries.

I seem to have unlocked a new chapter in the storybook.

A Buzzlegum appears! This is thanks to there being 2 buttercups in the garden.

It'll visit when there are 4, and become a resident when there are 6. For romance, it needs to have two pieces of fruit and the other thing.

A hunt has started! To protect one piñata from another, I have to whack the predator with a shovel, douse it with water, or separate them with a fence (fat lot that'll do if the predator is a bird). In this case, it was a Syrupent chasing a Mousemallow. By the time I figured it out, I was too late. The Mousemallow had been broken open, spilling candy.

In happier news, the Syrupent became a resident. I call it Miura.

I find another Taffly resident, which I name Kiyotaka. I start a Taffly home for them.

A Pretztail visits... and breaks open a Bunnycomb. Bye, Miyako...

I gain the achievement "Green Fingers", which makes my 3rd achivement. Jardinero upgrades my shovel to a seed shovel.

The builder finishes just about in time for morning to come.

Next time: Day 5!

Day 5

Gretchen Fetchem appears. She's a Hunter of Piñatas. No, not like that; she brings them to you, but only ones of a type that have resided there before.

The Sour Shellybean visits. Well, it's the only way to turn it...

The White Flutterscotch become a resident!

A Fudgehog is sighted! It appears the 4th night after I take over. If I have 4 Whirlms or 2 Thistles, it'll show up. When it's eaten 2 Whirlms and a Thistle, it'll become a Resident. When it's drunk of bottle of milk, and there's a Fudgehog residence, it'll be ready for Romance.

An unwelcome sound: the Sour Shellybean just spit out some Sour Candy! This kind of candy makes Piñatas sick. I have to whack it to get rid of it. I manage to do so, thankfully.

I talk to Seedos and get... an apple seed! Just what I need, an apple seed!

The Fudgehog visits, and I level up! Now I have more land to play with, and a better shovel!

Arocknid sighting! It came around because I'm at Level 6. It'll visit when there are 4 Tafflies or 4 Raisants in the garden, reside when it's eaten 2 of either, and be ready for Romance when it's eaten 2 Buzzlegums and there's a residence for it.

Morning comes, and I Save and Quit.

Next time: Day 6!