Whenever you travel to an island, there's a loading screen disguised as you steering the boat as Lyndsay and Buddy have a bit of banter. The first time you go to each island, you get dialogue about it. Also, it proceeds automatically, so it can take several times to get it down.
LYNDSAY: According to the map, we're en route to Reneé's Nature Preserve!
BUDDY: Neat! I want to meet a cow!
LYNDSAY: Buddy, I think a nature preserve would have slightly more exotic animals than cows.
BUDDY: Really? HEY! Maybe they'll have pigs!!!
LYNDSAY: ...wouldn't THAT be a rare treat.
They arrive at the island, where Renée meets them.
RENÉE: Welcome, welcome! Right this way!
They walk a tiny bit.
RENÉE: Please exit the dock in a single-file line. make sure that if you have a cell phone, it is in the 'off' position.
BUDDY: What?
RENÉE: Remember, flash photography is strictly prohibited while in the park.
LYNDSAY: Huh?
RENÉE: Thank you, and welcome to Renée's Wild Animal Rescue Nature Safari Petting Zoo Preserve!
BUDDY & LYNDSAY: BWUH?!!
RENÉE: Tee hee! It's a park made by me, Renée! My dream is for every animal to be cared for in a safe and natural environment...
LYNDSAY: Oh, I see! That's very sweet, Renée.
RENÉE: ...So I bring them all here so tourists can pet them and feed them candy.
...We'll have to address that last part later.
BUDDY: Wow! I bet the animals love that!
RENÉE: They do!
LYNDSAY: Hmmm...
RENÉE: As soon as you're ready, just talk to me and we'll begin the tour!
Okay, well, normally, I'd loot the island's chests and things now and start the series of tasks later, but I feel that grabbing things as I'm performing tasks will give you a bit more context as to where they are.
Oh! Also! I saved and quit here, since I ran out of spare batteries and the power on this set was running low. So this gives me an opportunity to tell you about an aspect of that which I haven't addressed. When you Save and then Quit, when you return to that file, you'll be back at the dock no matter where you were. So if you somehow get stuck, well, it's a convenient way to get out.
Renée
The day Renée got to pet a baby pig at the petting zoo, she vowed never to eat meat again. Except lamb chops—those are yummy. Now she runs a nature preserve of her very own!
Renée is the only human or human-like inhabitant of this island.
RENÉE: First stop is the Visitor Center! No park is complete without one!
We walk over.
RENÉE: As you can see, my park has one of the best-looking and most-comfortable Visito—
If you've played the original My Sims, you probably already know what we found there. What we didn't find was a Visitor Center.
RENÉE: ACK! Oh Kara, I forgot to build my Visitor Center! This is terrible! Without a Visitor Center, my park will never be complete!
LYNDSAY: Don't worry, Renée, Kara here is King Roland's royal Wandolier! She can build you a great place in no time!
RENÉE: Wow! That'd be great! Here, take this Scroll—it'll teach you everything you'll need to build my Visitor Center!
SCROLL: The Visitor Scroll
It requires 25 Cherry and 5 Happy Essences. I have the Happy Essences from being nice to Butter, so now I'll go to the place where I can get Cherry Essences.
Right after I enter this small area to the east of the Visitor Center area. It has some hay to the right, but more important is the chest to the left. It contains Simoleons, Bronze, and Mana. The area to its north is a path with Cherry Essence trees to the south and Cherry Blossom Essence trees to its south. I go ahead and grab Essences from both, but I don't have enough yet. I drop from here into a watery area with a clam shell. I open it for Silver, Simoleons, and Mana.
The "grass" on this island goes Cherry, Cherry Blossoms, Simoleons, Mana.
When I have enough...
LYNDSAY: Hey, Kara! Did you finish a Scroll?
I select the Visitor Scroll.
LYNDSAY: Looks like you've got everything you need for Renée's Scroll! Let's see what you got!
I gain the ability to make Cottage Doors, Big Windows, Square Windows, Shed Roofs, Roof Extensions, Stovepipe Chimneys, White Windows, Wood Fences, and Roses, and paint with Visitor Center Paints. I talk to Renée.
RENÉE: Excellent! Now we have everything we need to build the Visitor Center! Go ahead and construct it right here in front of the dock, and remember, surround it with lots of Nature stuff so the animals feel at home!
TASK: The Visitor Center
The Visitor Center requires 16 Structure, 12 Nature, 4 Cute, and 1 Door. With use of a few choice blocks, I fulfill the requirements.
RENÉE: Thank you, Kara! Now we can continue the wonderful tour! Next up is the Bull Ride, so follow me!
She gives me Animal Suits. They go in Costume Corner.
See, like with other My Sims games, the outfit you choose at the beginning isn't what you're stuck with. You can change whenever you have access to your boat, as that's where you need to go to change. Our new costumes are a black bodysuit with a white belly and white paws, a fully-white bodysuit, and a tiger bodysuit.
Also, I got 40 King Points for completing that task.
To the east of the Visitor Center is a pigpen. To its north is a mechanical bull.
RENÉE: Welcome to the wonderful, super-fantastic bull ride! I couldn't find any real bulls, so I ordered this mechanical one instead! All the fun of a real bull without any of the mess! Unfortunately, it doesn't work! The bull needs to be powered with rotational energy from this windmill. I couldn't hook up enough gears or axles to connect the ride because they're too noisy and scare the animals! Though now that you're here, maybe we can power the bull after all! Here, take this Scroll; it's teach you how to make gear belts! Once you're finished with the Scroll, come talk to me and I'll show you how to use them to power the bull!
SCROLL: Dealt in Belts
I need 5 Bass and 25 Wood. I have 5 Wood from before, so what remains is for me to cut down another tree to get the other 20.
As for Bass, I need to fish from the pier, which is on the north part of the island. On the way, I pull grass west of the path to the pier. The second grass-pulling in the series gets me a Tim Figurine. I believe this is a character who got his start in a My Sims game I don't have, but you may recall that he's also in My Sims Agents as the guy helping Chaz McFreely.
Also in this area, I pick an Orchid for reasons we'll see later.
To the east of that path, I open a chest with Bronze, Silver, and Mana in it.
Finally, fishing. Fishing in Kingdom is rather different from the way it was in My Sims. In this game, you move the bobber around with the Control Stick. Good places to move it are where you see the lighter silhouettes of fish. The bobber will start to be pulled under briefly; when it goes all the way under, that's the best time to pull up on the remote! That's how you get "Fish" (using the term quite loosely) Essences. From this pier, you can get Bass, Catfish, and Jellyfish Essences, as well as the Shield of Smiting.
I fish until I get 6 Bass, so I have one to show Barney.
LYNDSAY: Hey, Kara! Did you finish a Scroll?
I pick Dealt in Belts.
LYNDSAY: Alright, let's talk to Renée and get those gear belts! This should make connecting gears a lot easier!
I can now make Short, Medium, and Long Gear Belts.
RENÉE: Now that the Scroll is complete, just hook up some belts from the windmill to the bull! It's easy! Be careful though, it may require mixing and matching the different sizes of belts to make them reach the bull! To power the bull, start by hooking up a belt to the windmill here. Once you have an initial belt hooked up, just keep connecting belts together until you reach the Bull Ride over here! Good luck, Kara!
TASK: Bully for Bulls
While you're belting the bull, Renée sounds like she's practicing an Evil Laugh for some reason. I don't get it. She's supposed to be kind to animals while naïve about their care, not actively evil... did they give her the wrong kind of laugh here?
Anyway, seems like every configuration you set it up with ends up eating 21 Mana, unless you're being deliberately wasteful.
RENÉE: Yay! Now that the Bull Ride is powered, we can continue the tour on to the majestic crabs! Follow me!
I get 40 KP.
At the tidepools...
RENÉE: Oh Kara, I was hoping you'd be able to see these crabs in their new natural environment, but the delivery people lost the key to their cages! If you could find it for me, that'd be great! The key is probably buried in one of these tide pools. Use your treasure finder!
TASK: The Lost Key
I do. I get Amber, Stone, Mana... and a Crab Cage Key! I could have gotten it early, but didn't. I take it to Renée.
RENÉE: Such a good display of key-finding fervor! Well done, Kara.
I talk to her again.
RENÉE: Can you believe the delivery people just left without letting my poor crabs out of their cages, or even telling me where all the cages are?! We'll need to find all the crabs and let them out of their cages before we can observe them in their natural habitat. Be sure to check all the tide pools on the island for them; they're bound to be in more pools than just this one! Hurry!
TASK: Deliverance
There are two tide pools, and 5 crabs to find them in. When I find one:
CRAB CAGE: It's one of Renée's Crab Cages! Be free, little crab! Free as the wind!
Did... did that cage just talk?!? Anyway, I find three in the south tide pool. Also, on a small microisland, I find a clam shell with Bronze, Mana, and a Scroll inside!
SCROLL: Clam Shell Scroll
It requires 5 Catfish and 20 Stone... which I already have.
LYNDSAY: Hey, Kara! Did you finish a Scroll?
I choose the Clam Shell Scroll.
LYNDSAY: Great! Let's see what new wand powers we'll unlock!
How generic. Anyway, I can now make Garden Gnomes and Lucky Kitties, and paint with Bacon Paint.
Onward to the tide pool to the north! There's another microisland here, with Onyx, Simoleons, and Mana inside a chest. Also, I free the other two crabs and report back to Renée.
RENÉE: Oh, Kara, I'm so relieved! Those crabs sure do look happy in their new natural environment! Next up in the Nature Walk! It's the pride and joy of the park! Follow me!
40 more KP. We go back to the area with the tree gardens.
RENÉE: Welcome to the pride and joy of my park: the Nature Walk! That is, it would be the pride and joy, if it was built! This park is a work in progress, after all! Say Kara, you've been such an amazing help so far, would you mind helping me out again? It'll be easy! Just make a bridge from here...
She indicates the edge near us...
RENÉE: ...to here...
She indicates an outcropping too tall to get on top of without this bridge...
RENÉE: ...and then to there!
She indicates an edge that you could get to if you're willing to go through water, then climb a turning slope. I am, but... there's not much there. A baby bear and some grass, yes, but nothing that interesting... yet.
RENÉE: And remember, this is a Nature Walk, so please add bits of Nature here and there! Good luck!
TASK: The Nature Walk
I need 15 Nature, and to follow the pattern. I place Stair Tops on the edges, and Wooden Bridges span the gaps. Wood Fences keep Sims from falling, provided they don't deliberately jump. On the outcropping, there's a clamshell with Amber, Simoleons, and Mana inside. For Nature, I paint the main part of the Wooden Bridges, the Stair Tops, and a couple of Wood Fences with Floral Wallpaper.
RENÉE: Wow, I'm sure my visitors will just love this! Thanks, Kara!
Another 40 KP.
RENÉE: Oh no! It looks as if the ravine here has been separating that mother bear from her cub! Now that the Nature Walk has bridged the gap, I'd be ever so happy if you could reunite them for me, Kara! It shouldn't be hard; just lead the mother across the Nature Walk to her cub! Good luck!
TASK: Reunited
The task is pretty simple, and Renée has outlined it for us. The only thing I should add: Don't Try This at Home. Even if your home does have water-filled ravines spanned by bridges, and bears separated by them. It's just a good thing that bear was ridiculously tame; I could've been mauled horribly for getting too close to that cub otherwise, if the stories I hear are true.
RENÉE: Thanks so much for reuniting the bears. They seems much happier now! Since you've been such a great help so far, maybe you can help me with a certain persnickety member of the park... Come on, she's right this way!
"This way" is back near the fishing spot. Specifically, in the area where the orchid was.
RENÉE: That cat right there is Ms. Prissykins. She's a famous cat that has been donated to the reserve. She's a bit picky, though... She is only happy living high above the ground overlooking the whole island. A tower needs to be constructed to her liking! Here's a Scroll for the pieces you'll need. Good luck!
SCROLL: Prissykins' Scroll
I need 25 Cherry Blossoms; since I've been collecting them, I have more than enough. I need 15 Amber; that, too, is something I have enough of. However, I need 3 Onyx, and only have 1. Time to find treasure! The same dig that yields the Onyx I need also yields a Tuffy Figurine, so that works out.
LYNDSAY: Hey, Kara! Did you finish a Scroll?
I choose Prissykins' Scroll.
LYNDSAY: Hey, it looks like we have everything we need for Ms. Prissykins' Scroll!
I gain the ability to make Small Base Blocks, Ramp Base Blocks, and Monarch Butterflies, and paint with Argyle Paint.
RENÉE: Yay! Now that you have everything you need, go ahead and build Ms. Prissykins' tower! She'll be so happy!
TASK: A Particular Palace
I follow the pattern, using the new base blocks and Wood Fences to build the tower. It's not very tall, but it seems good enough.
RENÉE: That's a wonderful palace! Good job, Kara! I'm sure Ms. Prissykins will approve.
I gain 40 KP.
RENÉE: Ok Kara, go ahead and lead Ms. Prissykins up to her palace so that she can look over the whole island!
TASK: Cat Attraction
I go over to the white cat to get her to follow me, then lead her up the tower, being careful not to get to far ahead, and making sure she's up with me before making any turns. We reach the top without mishap.
RENÉE: Look how happy she is! Thank you so much, Kara! Without you, my park never would've been such a success!
We follow her back to the windmill-bull area.
RENÉE: Fantastic! Thanks to you, Renée's Wild Animal Rescue Nature Safari Petting Zoo Preserve is officially open for business!!! Everything's perfect! Just look how happy the crabs are!
The cutscene shows us one, but I don't know how to gauge crab happiness.
RENÉE: I don't know how to thank you guys enough! (ahem) Well, thank you all for visiting Renée's Wild Animal Rescue Nature Safari Petting Zoo Preserve! Please make sure you have all of your personal belongings with you before you depart. Remember, park employees are not responsible for lost or damaged items! Tee hee! Bye, guys, Oh, and visit the park whenever you want. I'm giving you guys free passes for life!
BUDDY: Neat! Thanks!
My Sim waves "Sool sool!"
RENÉE: Drop in anytime you want to share a cruelty-free, organic celery wrap.
Good to know nobody mistreated the celery or the grain from which the flatbread was made.
LYNDSAY: We sure will. But Renée, there's one thing I don't understand... Isn't that giant pig a part of your tour?
(Beat)
RENÉE: What pig?
Since the main part of the story is over, night falls. I head to Capital Island to show Barney some fish. Whenever you go to an island you've been to already, it picks from a set of loading screens with different dialogue. For example:
BUDDY: Hey, Kara! Why do you always get to steer the ship?
LYNDSAY: Um, gee, Buddy. Maybe it's because you get seasick, and I'm the one with all the maps.
BUDDY: Oh yeah. Hey Lyndsay. How come you always get to hold the maps?
LYNDSAY: ...
It's nighttime on Capital Island, but Barney is still awake. I talk to him a few times.
BARNEY: Nice Bass, Kara! From what I hear, those are the rarest fish of all!
He gives off Apple Essences.
BARNEY: Nice Catfish, Kara! I think they use those whiskers to communicate telepathically! That's why they're so hard to catch!
He gives off Happy Essences.
BARNEY: Jellyfish attack! Look out, Kara! Oh! My bad. You're in control of this situation. That's a good find!
He gives off Mana. 3 down...
Okay, so since we have no real choice...
Next time: Cowboy Junction!
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