Harvest Moon 64 - Marriage (Karen)

World Record Route:

Start a New File.

Leave the house, decline the Mayor's tour, re-enter house, sleep until Fall 30.

Fall 30 - Leave the house, re-enter house to clear Cliff, leave house, tell Doug you will take care of the cows, re-enter house, sleep until Winter 5.

Winter 5 - Leave the house. There is roughly a 20% chance Cliff will have been selected as the Harvest King and will not show up to tell you he is leaving (this saves around 5 seconds). If Cliff does appear (80% chance), re-enter the house to clear Cliff, leave house. Mash through the dialogue from Manna and Doug (1,000 G). Re-enter house, sleep until Winter 12.

We have to dog Karen at the Vineyard on either a Monday or a Thursday.

Winter 12 - Leave the house, pick-up the dog, enter the Crossroads, drop the dog on the Vineyard ramp, enter the Fisherman's Tent screen, complete the Hot Springs work (1,000 G), go back to the Crossroads.

If it is NOT snowing, pick up the dog and proceed up the ramp to the vineyard. Mash through the cutscene. Enter the cellar and then leave to reset the screen. Monday and Thursdays are Karen's work days, so she will be outside the Vineyard Cellar (and working on the Hot Springs will teleport us to 3pm, meaning we don't have to wait for Karen to show up). Continue holding the dog and speak with Karen. Speaking with her the first time will give 4 affection (Introduction bonus). The 2nd conversation is worth 1 affection. Every conversation after that while holding the dog is worth 1 affection. In total, you'll have to speak to her 216 times to get her to 220 affection. You can keep count, but the way I usually do it is by counting after I see a pink heart. The pink heart is 208 affection, so 12 more conversations after you see the pink heart will get you to 220. Before you leave, re-enter the cellar and exit it. By doing this, you'll trigger Karen's ankle scene. If you do not do this, when you go to propose you'll trigger her ankle scene and you will not be able to propose on that day. Leave the vineyard, return to the farm, and sleep.

If it IS snowing, leave the dog on the ramp and return to the farm. Go to sleep.

Winter 13 - Leave the farm, go to the Fisherman's Tent screen, complete the Hot Springs Work (1,000 G), return to the farm, sleep.

Winter 14 - Leave the farm, go to the Fisherman's Tent screen, complete the Hot Springs Work (1,000 G), return to the farm, sleep.

Winter 15 - Leave the farm, go to the Fisherman's Tent screen, complete the Hot Springs Work (1,000 G), return to the farm, sleep.

Winter 16 - Leave the farm, go to the Fisherman's Tent screen, complete the Hot Springs Work (1,000 G), if you DIDN'T dog Karen on Winter 12, do so now (and remember to clear the ankle scene once you have Karen at 220 affection). If it is snowing on both Winter 12 and Winter 16, reset. Sleep until Winter 19.

Winter 19 - Leave the farm, enter the town. Wait until about 8AM (I use an audio queue to know when the dog race has started). Enter the town square, speak to the Mayor's Wife, and use the betting glitch to try and win 500 medals in one race. If you are trying to go as fast as possible, you are only betting on the worst dog (highest odds) and betting the minimum amount to win 500 medals. We have a whole chart. The worst dog we've ever encountered was a 46-odd dog, which only required us to bet 11 to obtain 500 medals if it won. (46 * 11 = 506). However, you can bet on an dog that is 6 odds or higher. (5 * 99 = 495, not enough). If you are just trying to complete a run, your best option is to bet on as many dogs as you can afford. Make sure when to leave the betting screen by pressing B and then don't talk to anyone until the race starts. This will keep your wagers without you having to pay for them. Do NOT be surprised if this takes you multiple attempts. The crux of this whole run is that you want to bet on the dogs that are bad, which means you will lose a lot more often than you win. If you encounter 1 and 2 odd dogs, you will likely lose. The good dogs are THAT much better. When you DO win 500 medals, speak to the Mayor to exchange your medals for lumber (500 Lumber). Leave the festival, return to the farm, and go to sleep.

Winter 20 - Leave the house, enter the Crossroads, enter the Fisherman's Tent Screen, enter the Carpenter's Screen. You should get there before 8AM as after that time the Head Carpenter may be blocking the entrance to the house. Enter the Carpenter's House at 8AM and order the kitchen. Return to the farm, mash through the Head Carpenter's dialogue, enter the house, go to sleep until Winter 26 (Thursday).

Winter 26 - If it's snowing, you'll have to sleep until the following week. The run is basically over at that point. If it ISN'T snowing, go to Rick's Shop and wait for him to open at 10AM. Buy the Blue Feather, equip it, run to the Vineyard, and propose to Karen.  Return to the farm and sleep until Sunday, Winter 29.

Winter 29 - Wedding day, end timing when you hear the first wedding bell. Congratulations.