Secret Notes
| Secret Notes | |
|---|---|
| Type | Collection |
Walking from the farm down to the Bus Stop on a winter morning sets off a short scene in which a shadowy figure takes fright and bolts, leaving footprints in the snow. Following them to a bush beside the playground produces the culprit, who apologises for stealing and hands back a Magnifying Glass, and from that moment Secret Notes begin turning up in the ordinary business of farming. Some are gift lists written in a villager's own hand, which quietly solves the hardest part of making friends. Others are puzzles with real prizes attached: a free Pearl, a solid gold statue of the mayor, a charm that makes every day luckier, and a bear who will triple the price of berries. Reading a note files it in its own tab in the collections menu, so the hunt doubles as a set to complete.
Overview
The unlock is tied to the season rather than to progress. A walk between the farm and the Bus Stop during daylight hours in Winter is all it takes, and the quest that follows, A Winter Mystery, points at the footprints in the snow. They lead across town to a bush just left of the Community Center. Poking it makes the thief pop out, say sorry and run, and the glass changes hands. Whether the figure is Krobus is left politely unsettled.
With the glass in hand, notes hide in almost every tool action. Cutting weeds, chopping trees, breaking stone, digging artifact spots and killing monsters all have small chances of turning one up. Fishing produces them in place of the usual rubbish, which makes a bad fishing day considerably more interesting. Smashing a Large Stump, a Large Log, a boulder or a meteorite is better odds again, and harvesting a giant crop always leaves a note behind, which is the only way of getting one that never fails.
The catch is that the odds tighten as the collection fills. Behind each of those chances sits a hidden check that succeeds easily while most notes are still missing and becomes very unlikely once only one or two remain. The first several notes therefore arrive almost by accident, and the last one can take a season of deliberate hunting, which is why experienced farmers chop every Large Stump they pass.
A note is read by selecting it and using it as though it were food. Reading one adds it to the collection and, if it happens to list somebody's favourite things, writes those preferences straight into the gift log on the social tab. That is the practical reason to care about the notes at all. Abigail's diary page names the things she loves, Sam's holiday shopping list gives away the favourites of his whole family, Leah describes her idea of a perfect dinner, and Maru lists the parts she still needs. Together they replace an enormous amount of trial and error with presents that are known to land.
The puzzle notes are where the real rewards are. One points to somebody waiting on the hundredth floor of the Skull Cavern, and reaching him earns Iridium Snake Milk, which raises maximum health permanently. One holds the order to press the clam shells inside the Mermaid Boat at the Night Market, which pays out a Pearl. One draws a trail of arrows from outside Jodi's front door that ends behind the mayor's house at a Solid Gold Lewis; putting the statue on display in town brings a letter and a bribe the next morning, with a Rotten Plant left in its place and the statue itself turning up in somebody's bedroom. Another trail starts in the town square and ends at a truck beside JojaMart, whose driver trades a Rabbit's Foot for the Special Charm, a permanent lift to daily luck.
Others are smaller jokes or longer chains. Standing at a particular bush in town in the small hours makes Marnie and Lewis leap out and flee. A Battery Pack left in the box on the wall of the tunnel by the Bus Stop begins the chain that eventually opens the Casino. Maple Syrup carried into the Secret Woods during the day brings out a bear, whose knowledge permanently triples what Blackberries and Salmonberries fetch. Fishing outside the Spa recovers the Ornate Necklace that Abigail borrowed from her mother. A pair of notes are simply folklore about the junimos, mentioning their affinity for gemstones placed in their hut and their fondness for raisins, which both turn out to be true.
Notes
Every note is a terrible present. The whole set is universally hated, so a note handed to a villager does nothing but harm, and they are best kept until read.
Ginger Island runs its own version of the same system. The island drops Journal Scraps rather than Secret Notes, drawn from a separate pool with its own puzzles and rewards, so hunting on the island does not slow down the search in the valley and the two collections fill independently.
All Collections
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
