This is a legacy article and was originally published December 15th, 2019.
It was somewhat shocking that during our Then and Now series for Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town there were a lot of responses about how folks didn’t know very much about the original Flower Bud Village incarnations of the characters! So, with SoS:FoMT having released in Japan and Harvest Moon 64′s 20th anniversary on the horizon, it seemed like a good time to do another article series. Presenting…
Denizens of Flower Bud: Elli!
Elli works the bakery alongside Jeff, her potential future spouse, and is largely cared for by her maternal grandmother, Ellen, who’s the same Ellen as the original Super Nintendo game. Her parents passed away when she was young, but they still had a strong influence on her life with her father inspired her love of fishing (and tea) while her mother influenced her to cook. Though she hoped to be taught directly by her parents, she still pursued those interests in their absence and carries on their memory.
Of course, Flower Bud isn’t the only place you’ll find Elli. In a somewhat rare example of the original Flower Bud characters appearing as a cameo, Elli visits Waffle Island to get some further training in cake-making, but ends up working at the town hall as well as becoming the local weather reporter! All this on top of embroidering a handkerchief to give Pete for his birthday… Elli sure has a lot of talents… Speaking of Pete, though she appears in Tree of Tranquility, she can’t actually be married in that game as she already has a crush back home that she hopes to marry. It’s not stated whether this is Pete or Jeff, but I suppose that’s just something that’s open to the player to interpret. Though I certainly hope she makes her way back to Flower Bud before too long…
Unfortunately, there’s simply no way to discuss Elli without mentioning one of the most saddening scenes in Harvest Moon 64. Ellen, our last living connection to the original cast and Elli’s last living family member, will one day pass peacefully in her rocking chair. Her final moments spent daydreaming about about a Spring long gone by, your grandfather, and her own grandfather. There’s a heavy melancholy feeling throughout Harvest Moon 64, with the story already beginning with a funeral, and most characters having already gone through loss… but time always moves on, and new life replaces the old.
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