This is a legacy article and was originally published December 1st, 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 Flowerbud 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: Maria!
Maria is the daughter of the Mayor and Anna and, unlike her outgoing Mineral Town iteration, rightfully earns her reputation as “the shy one.” Though perhaps it’s best to say she’s shy around strangers rather than in general, as Maria has possibly the most interactions with other townsfolk compared to the other bachelorettes. When she’s not holed up in her library, she could be found teaching the local kids about insects, cooking fish with Elli, or exploring Moon Mountain on her own. In time, she’ll become just as friendly with the player, even overcoming her fear of dogs and attending the Dog Race festival for the first time just to cheer yours on.
What seems to often go remarkably uncelebrated is that she’s also the first marriage candidate in the series who’s an artist. Rather than being solely defined by her love of books, she often sketches daily happenings to help remember them, and will also provide the player with a painting for their birthday. Outside of daily events, one thing she comments on drawing are the various insects she encounters. Outside simply being fascinated by them, she also finds them to be the perfect metric for how well nature is faring and hopes Moon Mountain will be a place where they can live for a long, long time.
It’ll probably feel like a trend over the next few articles, but it always has felt to me that the Flower Bud versions of what seem to’ve become the most popular and enduring characters in the series with several iterations each are still the most multifaceted. It’s a shame we’ve never seen a remake, or a direct sequel so that they can be further explored or expanded upon, but hopefully that all will change some day. After all, it’s almost been 20 years already so surely we’ll see it soon… right?
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