Hanako Games

General hints/tips/strategy

#1 by hanako - Feb 19 2012

Trying to work out useful information to give people new to the game. THis isn't for specific events and challenges, but general information that can help people succeed.

Take notes and plan ahead.

Nothing is random in this game. If you know that something is coming and prepare for it, you can always know if you will succeed or not. If you write down what you've done (or use the Log function to record it) then you can always get back to the same point again.

Unlock outfits and skill sets

In order to get to advanced levels you have to have studied everything in the skillset long enough to unlock the related outfit. So if you know you'll want a high level in the skill eventually, work to get all three basic levels now.

(Also, outfits do give you bonuses in skill tests! Is this sufficiently clear at the moment, or should it be explained more? They don't help you learn faster but they do help you pass tests. So if you need a few more points in some skill, change your clothes!)

Make use of your moods

Skills progress a LOT faster if you are in the right mood. Keep an eye on your mood and how to adjust it.

Unlock weekend events

Weekend events are the only reliable way to change your mood, and some of them have to be specially unlocked. Do that early and you will have better control over your mood!


IIRC, I tend to spend my first week studying Animal skills (because of the bonus from Depression), use my first weekend to get a point of Cheerful which changes my mood to Scared, and then study Reflexes twice to get access to Sports.

Anyone else got any good advice for how to get started?

Re: General hints/tips/strategy

#2 by junsei7 - Feb 20 2012

hanako:

(Also, outfits do give you bonuses in skill tests! Is this sufficiently clear at the moment, or should it be explained more? They don't help you learn faster but they do help you pass tests. So if you need a few more points in some skill, change your clothes!)

Thank you for clarifying this. I thought they helped you learn faster so this is really good to know! It may be me being too excited to play and not reading the instructions right though.

#3 by biscuit - Feb 21 2012

Just my personal thing that (finally) got me through to the end.

One of the things I realized was that I was too obsessed with maxing out as many skills as possible at the beginning; once I diversified (and learned to unlock more outfits), I was much more successful. Especially with some careful planning for events.

Anyone know what weekend events you can unlock, and how? I'm having difficulty with anything except Sports and Ballroom (sp? Or Dance Court? I forget the actual name).

#4 by yuuzai - Feb 21 2012

My sister and I are having a really hard time.
We've made quite a few logs and quite a few saves, while the game a lot of fun, we feel like we're running into a brick wall. It seems no matter how balanced we think we are, we run into another person or thing trying to kill us.
Is there a certain balance required to unlock the outfits/weekend events?
I can hardly managed to unlock them sometimes.

#5 by hanako - Feb 21 2012

Weekend events are generally unlocked by hitting particular skill values in class.

Reflexes 30 unlocks sports (because that's when the class studying description mentions learning to play sports).

Horses 50 unlocks hunting (at that point the studying description gives the impression that you know how to ride, so it's safe to put you on horseback and send you out there)

Dance 50 unlocks the ballroom (because at that point you know all the standard dances)

Visiting the treasury can be unlocked by a sufficiently high Accounting score (I think it's about 70?) but this is a special case, and it can also be unlocked through talking to people. If you're following a Lumen training path with either Julianna or Selene, keep talking to them and to your father and the Treasury option will appear once they tell you about it.


I think those are the only unlockables at the moment. (Attend Services comes and goes, because it's only available when you are in certain moods.) If you can think of other activities around a castle that you should be able to do to adjust specific moods (not skills) we'll be willing to listen.

Unlocking outfits requires that you hit 25 in all three subskills. So if you get Dance, Reflexes, and Flexibility all to 25, you'll receive a Tutu and you'll be able to continue advancing any of those skills all the way to 100.


And don't feel bad, the game was designed to be pretty mean! If you open up a thread for a specific thing trying to kill you then hints for how to deal with that thing can be focused there.

Re: General hints/tips/strategy

#6 by Rozelliee - Feb 21 2012

hanako:

Unlock outfits and skill sets

In order to get to advanced levels you have to have studied everything in the skillset long enough to unlock the related outfit. So if you know you'll want a high level in the skill eventually, work to get all three basic levels now.

(Also, outfits do give you bonuses in skill tests! Is this sufficiently clear at the moment, or should it be explained more? They don't help you learn faster but they do help you pass tests. So if you need a few more points in some skill, change your clothes!)

Great advice!
I think that it would be very helpful if this was made more clear, because I also thought it was only useful in helping you learn faster.

I sort of hit a... brick wall in the game. That is, I've been playing obssesively for the last day and a half or so, but when I hit that one on one fight with the Prince who waged the war on Nova, and come to the unfortunate realization that I haven't actually focused on my magic before, or generally come across other hurdles in that specific battle, I tend to... ragequit. Civilly. I might make a thread about it later- it kind of frustrated me due to all the reloads I spent training for the battle.

#7 by hanako - Feb 21 2012

Latest beta (5.40.4) changes the skill display in a way that I HOPE will make the effect of outfits more clear

#8 by FantasyFan - Feb 21 2012

I still have yet to beat the game - I've gotten the surrendering ending (which I assume will have an actual story when the game's actually finished), but when I try to keep the crown I either a, get killed by bandits, b, eat the poisoned chocolates, or c, die in the duel. There always seems to be some skill or other that I'm lacking in, but these hints will help, thanks.

#9 by Rozelliee - Feb 21 2012

FantasyFan:

I still have yet to beat the game - I've gotten the surrendering ending (which I assume will have an actual story when the game's actually finished), but when I try to keep the crown I either a, get killed by bandits, b, eat the poisoned chocolates, or c, die in the duel. There always seems to be some skill or other that I'm lacking in, but these hints will help, thanks.

I had trouble with those three as well. :) I think to avoid the chocolate at least, in my opinion the easiest thing to do is get your skill in Dogs up to 50 exactly, which doesn't take too long and doesn't require you to gain 25 points in the other Animal Care skills.

I haven't found any way to plausibly get past the bandits yet, besides simple saying no to the invitation. Could be due to laziness, though.

Is there a way to beat the game and surrender the crown? Didn't know that. :?

#10 by hanako - Feb 21 2012

No, if you don't reach the coronation the game is over. In almost all cases that just means you get a simple 'you lose' ending, although it's structured slightly differently if you're actually DEAD or just removed from power.

For hints on specific incidents like those mentioned I'd prefer if they were put into separate topics so that other people can actually FIND them, rather than being buried in a long rambling thread.

#11 by Rozelliee - Feb 21 2012

Sorry about that. P: I plan to do that as soon as I get home and off of this infernal Android.

#12 by Margaret-K - Feb 22 2012

I still haven't been able to beat the game. More or less because in the begining of the game I have been obseesing over trying to save my cousin. The most trouble I have with this game is the way the mood is incorporated into this game and whenever I want to do one thing my mood suddenly changes. Help?!

#13 by hanako - Feb 22 2012

(Save her how? She never dies in that early event, but she always leaves the castle. That can't be changed. It's possible to make her not be bitten, but she'll still leave. There's a reason for this...)

As for mood - keep track of what your mood bars currently are and what activities can change them. The whole purpose of weekend events is so that you can push your mood to where you want it to be. If you max out your Cheerful bar, then even if a plot event causes you to gain 1 point of depression, it probably won't be enough to change your mood, and you can easily get it maxed again by doing a Cheerful activity.

#14 by Yuki - Feb 22 2012

Doing stuff in the castle and how it affects you.

Walk in the Gardens: Lonely +1 Cheerful +1
Play with Toys: Yielding +1 Lonely +1 Cheerful +1
Sports: Anger +1 (Sometimes Loneliness -1)
Ballroom: Pressured +1 (Sometimes Cheerful +1)
Explore the Castle: Afraid +1 Loneliness +1
Tomb: Depressed +1 Afraid +1
Sneak Out: Lonely +1 Willful +2
Attend Court: Yielding +2 Depressed +1 Pressured +1
Dungeon: If Willfulness is high (Willful +1 Angry +1) otherwise (Yielding +1 Afraid +1)
Hunting: If Anger is high (Cheerful +1 Angry -2) otherwise (Depressed +1 Afraid -2)
Attending Service: Varies significantly. It usually "stabilises" a particular emotional state by one point.

#15 by hanako - Feb 22 2012

Attending services will neutralise either the Anger/Fear bar or the Cheerful/Depressed bar by one point, whichever is more dominant. If you have 2 cheerful and 1 afraid, you will lose 1 cheerful. If you have 1 anger and 1 cheerful, you will lose the 1 anger. If both of those are at 0, Attend Services simply won't show up as an option.

Sports makes you less lonely if you are already lonely, but it doesn't make you pressured.

The ballroom always makes you feel pressured, but if you were feeling lonely it will make you more cheerful to be dancing with friends. If you were already feeling pressured then having to dance with people makes you depressed.

#16 by biscuit - Feb 22 2012

Just wondering, is it only the 'overall' mood that affects how quickly you learn the different skills, or is it based on each individual mood bar? Or am I seeing differences because the more you learn in one skill category, the more quickly you pick up things in related skills?

#17 by hanako - Feb 22 2012

Only the overall mood (the one indicated in 'current mood' at the top and displayed by Elodie's expression) has a mood-based effect.

But yes, raising related skills will also increase your learning speed. The more related skills you learn the faster you can get those numbers up.

#18 by kyoli - Mar 14 2012

i would like help in knowing how you want your mood to make it easier to learn the different skills like history intrigue and economics and weapons? i am trying to figure it out but the more i try the more i get confused and end up wasting time and weekends

#19 by DarthSnuggles - Mar 20 2012

kyoli:

i would like help in knowing how you want your mood to make it easier to learn the different skills like history intrigue and economics and weapons? i am trying to figure it out but the more i try the more i get confused and end up wasting time and weekends

THIS.

I've been trying to keep track of mood and how it affects your ability to learn, but so far the only thing I've really been able to determine is that being angry seems to make it easier to learn combat skills (military and weapons) and being afraid improves your reflexes. I think it would be a lot easier to plan if I knew more about how the various moods and skills interact.

Also, in my experience (though I haven't yet managed to get a "good" ending--I always lose the naval battle and my composure isn't high enough not to attack the consort-King, so I usually get killed) it seems like spending the time to max out your Conversation and Intrigue skills fairly early on can give you more options around the middle of the game (about week 20, I think) and make it easier to keep at least some of the nobles happy.

#20 by Oki - Mar 20 2012

That I can help with!

Yielding gets you the ability to have Royal Demeaner, Conversation, and Expression all at once. I find it's easiest to get of the others, and it has the least deficits. BUT gaining Lumen skills is -3 in yielding.

Willful makes Royal Demeanor ...not so good, History and economics as well. So if you're going for the lumen the non blow up way, you don't need to be in willful or you wont be able to raise accounting.

Afraid? You'll be afraid of weapons and talking to people significantly. Something else as usual but yeah, wasnt goin for it XD

Depressed, you can't think or look like a queen. So no royal demeanor or conversation skills will be easy to obtain.

Pressured, you don't have any conversation skills. Don't use it too much. /but I know it hurts conversation pretty fierce.

Cheerful makes intrigue, weapons, and military hard to obtain. But all your social abilities pretty simple in this one. Plus in athletics as well.

Wow...Lonely...is the only one I don't ever...use so...couldn't tell ya...

Angry...I'll get to that tomorrow. Only did it for my evil playthrough and I have used alllll the save files x___x

#21 by gladi - Apr 19 2012

Bright day
AFAIK, I am not at my computer:
Lonely increases Medicine and Conversation
Pressured increases History and Faith
Angry increases Weapons and Military
Afraid increases Agility and Faith
Cheerful increases Athletics and Conversation
Depression increases Expression and Animal Handling
Willful increases Intrigue, Military and Lumen
Yielding increases Court Demeanour, History and Faith

Hanako, it is probably too early for us, players to start making detailed list of events here, is it not?

#22 by hanako - Apr 19 2012

Unless people report more bugs or strongly demand new events, I'm not planning on adding much at this point, right now we're mostly waiting on the last bit of art. So lists are fine.

The latest patch makes it a bit easier to see what skills are affected because when you take a class it will display any mood bonus or penalty under the progress bar. So with a bit of experimentation you can get a list.

so

#23 by Naiomi666 - Apr 21 2012

So will you be releasing cheat codes? When my Machiavelli techniques fail I get pretty close to destroying my computer so I'm taking a little break from the game. They would help whenever I try a different tactic but fail.

Re: so

#24 by LateWhiteRabbit - Apr 23 2012

Naiomi666:

So will you be releasing cheat codes? When my Machiavelli techniques fail I get pretty close to destroying my computer so I'm taking a little break from the game. They would help whenever I try a different tactic but fail.

I started succeeding once I began keeping detailed notes on what events happened and when, and what the necessary skills and levels were. That way I could plan out my moves, like "I know the NPC requesting investment funds shows up in Week X, and I need this skill at this level to have the option to say yes."

Finding the most efficient way to distribute skills in a constrained time period is really the meat of the gameplay.

#25 by Muse - May 6 2012

I was curious about something. I assume it is not possible to do a "perfect" run of this, with passing all skill tests? It seems quite obvious that it is not, but I wanted to make sure for my own sanity.

How are you guys finding what skill levels are needed, btw? I seem to be way under or over shooting, and having trouble. (For example I was using maxed presence or accounting to get into the treasury for the crystal.)

#26 by hanako - May 6 2012

Perfection is definitely not possible.

There may well be some content in the game that isn't humanly possible to reach on any playthrough, but is there JUST IN CASE someone pulls off tricks we didn't think about.

As for gauging the right skill level - The checks usually relate at least somewhat to what you learn at the various class milestones, so if you can work out the relevant bit of information that has to be learned, you can tell exactly what value you need. Trial and error is probably easier though!

#27 by Muse - May 6 2012

Thank you for the information, Hanako! It's nice to know that I don't have to pull my hair out, since I often try to go for perfect runs in VNs.

Also, thank you for the information on the skill levels! I noticed some definitely seemed to correspond, so I will pay closer attention to them now.

#28 by Rinvee - May 13 2012

Oh, God... That game is simply evil. I don't know how many times I had to reload in order not to get killed or embarrased myself in front everyone or simply becoming engaged to some bishounen (THAT wouldn't be so bad but I'm at the point that I'm becoming paranoid of every character that appears). Well... Actually this is what makes Long Live the Queen (who gave that game such sarcastic title, anyway) so fantactis and addictive.

#29 by Anarchy - Jun 2 2012

Does anyone know which mood increases economics? Because it seems like it's the only skill area that never gets enhanced by any mood... is this deliberate or a bug? Or did I just completely miss something obvious?

#30 by hanako - Jun 2 2012

Nope, mood doesn't help much with the math (there is one that penalises it though!) You've just got to buckle down to it.

#31 by Anarchy - Jun 3 2012

Ahaha I see. At first I thought that maybe I had to have neutral mood or something to get a boost in it, but eh.

Would you say that a good general strategy would be to keep your moods as neutral as possible, so that it's easier to control them when you want a specific mood?

#32 by JackMackerel - Jun 4 2012

Spoiled just in case: I'm going to guess most of the attempts on my life stem from letting the musician get court status?

#33 by hanako - Jun 4 2012

Nope. If you have the right skills, that character is actually an ally who is useful in figuring out who really is trying to kill you!

#34 by JackMackerel - Jun 4 2012

Oh, I always took my princess's assessment from spy stuff that court musicians tend to be great for gathering intel as a sign she was a mole. Thanks!