Nov 16, 6:52 am
This past weekend, it seems every savvy gamer scrambled for a copy of Gears of War and got in on the testosteriffic action. Big dudes with big armor and guns with chainsaws. YEAH! Me? Oh, I played Viva Pinata.
There’s something in the shameless use of colors and over-the-top sugar of this title that really appeals to me. Even the inherent morbidity of pinatas breaking each other apart and eating the candy of the deceased can’t diminish the charm of carefully cultivating a garden to lure pinatas from the wild and convincing them that of all the gardens out there, mine is the place to be. It’s the happening place.
The game begins simply, with a small patch of land and a shovel, but quickly increases in depth… for those who want it. While I am one of those people who digs into it, the surface of the game seems plenty appealing to entertain the children it’s marketed towards. People like me are really the outliers here, but I appreciate how much game there is for my type.
Attracting pinatas ranges from the incredibly simple (break up enough hard packed dirt to attract a whirlm) to the ambitiously complex, which I won’t spoiler you on. Well, maybe I will… but only if you want it! Highlight below, you filthy cheater.
Spoiler
For an Eaglair to move in, you have to be a level 33 gardener with a fully grown oak tree, 15 different resident species, and 4 sacrificial Buzzenges. To get a Buzzenge you need to have 5 Candary residents (3 of which will be eaten) and a fir tree in your garden. To get a Candary you have to feed a Buttercup flower to a Sparrowmint, which will cause it to evolve.
See how complicated it can get? I don’t have an eaglair yet, but I spoilered my gentle self for the sake of your education. Actually, I’d love to just know all the details and focus on the strategy of getting every species, but it turns out there’s not a strategy guide for this game. I’ve resorted to another fount of knowledge in the form of Pinata Island, a wiki for Viva Pinata. It didn’t have much information to help me as of a few days ago, but as more pinata connoisseurs contribute, our hive of knowledge blossoms. We are borg.
One valuable tip I’ve learned is that you can have multiple gardens. This bit’s obvious since there are a bunch of spots for stored gardens. A detail that wasn’t immediately obvious, but which I really appreciate, is that your accomplishments carry over. Your stash of chocolate coins, knowledge, level, etc. all transfer between your gardens. That’s a huge relief for someone like me because my main garden has expanded to its maximum possible borders and I’d be really disappointed to have to start from square one again. This configuration allows me to build several different gardens and attract different types of pinatas to each. I’ll do it. See if I don’t.
I named my first garden Nertopia. That’s also the name of my town in Animal Crossing. I initially intended to call it Nerdtopia but that didn’t fit, so the D was sacrificed to the god of extraneous morphemes. Now Nertopia is kind of my thing. It tells me I’m home.
If you’re just starting out and you catch me in a good mood, I may wave my selfless thumbs and send you a cute little pinata to keep you company. I’m not above bribing, see. It’s for your own good.
- jinx
anything that may desert you so it cannot hurt you
