Karen (HM64)

Karen (カレン, Karen) is an eligible bachelorette in Harvest Moon 64.

Karen comes off as harsh and ungrateful, and is often rude towards strangers. Initially, she is not very talkative and is prone to getting defensive if the player talks to her too frequently. Her negative personality characteristics are likely related to her tough home life, where she is in constant conflict with her parents over her desire to leave the Vineyard for the big city. Her father is a gruff and irritable man who owns the Vineyard, though he is described by Karen as lazy and unmotivated. Karen's mother is quiet and kind and often worries about Karen's lack of positive relationships and her rebellious attitude. Karen shares a close friendship with Ann, and Karen will also begin to grow close with Kai, a worker at the Vineyard, as the game goes on.

Once the player begins to befriend Karen, she will show her more vulnerable side, and her concerns regarding the Vineyard's poor performance and quality of their wine. She will also reminisce about her Grandmother's "highly regarded" wine, inviting the player to help her save the Vineyard. Completing this task will increase Karen's affection and restore the Vineyard to its former glory.

A self-professed wine connoisseur, Karen waitresses nights at the bar and is the town champion in the customary New Year's Festival drinking contest. Karen is an avid dancer and will often invite the player to "Dance with [her] next time!" if her affection level is high enough.

If the player chooses not to marry Karen and does not befriend her, she will unhappily leave the village any time after Year 2, Winter 1. Alternatively, Karen will fall in love with Kai, who finds a new zeal for becoming a hard worker after falling for "the Master's daughter".

Locations
Festivals:
 * Vineyard (inside the wine cellar if it's raining/snowing)
 * In front of the Carpenter's house
 * At the Beach (On Sundays)
 * At the Bar (Most evenings)
 * Summer 1st, Fireworks Display: The beach
 * Winter 10th, Thanksgiving: The beach
 * Winter 24th, Star Night Festival: The beach
 * Winter 30th, New Year's Eve: The bar

Heart Events
Karen is Sick


 * On a rainy day, the player should go to the vineyard and Karen will have a cold. Her affection will increase by visiting her.

*Requirements: Karen is at a green heart or higher, and it must be raining.

Dream Event


 * After Karen has reached a yellow heart, the player will have a dream (flashback) of when he and Karen were children in Flower Bud Village. Karen was accidently locked in the wine cellar and someone helped her out through a crack in the wall, taking her home afterwards. The next day, head to the vineyard and enter the wine cellar. Karen will offer to give a tour, and the two will end up getting locked in. To exit, the player must go to the top right corner of the main floor where they will find the crack they exited through as children. Telling her it was the player who helped her in the past will make her happy.

*Requirements: Karen is at a yellow heart.

Sprained Ankle


 * Karen sprains her ankle near the old tree in the vineyard. Helping her themselves will raise her affection towards the player. If the player goes to get help, Kai will help her instead.

*Requirements: Karen is at a yellow heart on a sunny day. If the vineyard appears empty, that indicates that the event has been triggered and the player will find Karen at the base of the tree.

Photo/Save the Vineyard


 * To get Karen's photo, the player must restore the vineyard. This must be done in the first year while the player is unmarried.

*Requirements:
 * 1)  Give Duke, the bartender, gifts (very berries work the fastest) until he gives the "Doorway to Heaven" wine. Karen will notice it when she is talked to, and it will increase her affection slightly. Kai will be extremely impressed when he notices it.
 * 2)  Become friends with the Harvest Sprites. An indication their affection increasing is when they stop speaking pig-Latin and begin to say, "I think I remember now!"
 * 3)  Eventually, the Harvest Sprites will notice the "Doorway to Heaven" wine and will mention something about the spirit of the old tree in the Vineyard. Talk to them the next day and they will say "Anyway, you should ask the Goddess about it."
 * 4)  Toss a vegetable, egg, or other animal product into the Goddess's Pond and select the only option: "Keifu faeries". This step must be done before Fall 7. This also ends the day.
 * 5)  When the player goes to bed on Fall 6, the Goddess will come to the player in their sleep and say that the Keifu Fairies have returned and restored the Vineyard.
 * 6)  If Karen is at a high Yellow or Pink Heart, she will come to the player's house at 6pm on Fall 7, and invite them to watch the Keifu Fairies dance. The player will receive a picture for this. This is the only day to get Karen's picture - it must be sunny for her to come.

Karen Requests Blue Feather


 * Have Karen at max affection and go to the beach at night. She'll ask the player if he loves her. Answer yes and she'll ask to show her a blue feather.

*Requirements: Karen is at a pink heart on a non-rainy night.

New Year's Festival


 * If the player is still aiming to marry Karen and reaches the second year, beating her in drinking at the New Year's Festival will increase her affection. To build a high enough tolerance, the player must either have a few drinks at the bar as many nights as possible, or drink for free with the wine stored in the basement of the wine cellar at the Vineyard using the Bottle (purchased from Rick at the Flower Festival).

* Requirements: None

Rival Events
Arguments
 * Karen will have gotten into another fight with her father outside her home, and Kai will suggest she try to reconcile with him.

Karen is Drunk


 * Karen is drunk on the floor of the empty bar, and Kai will help her to get home safely.

Follow Your Heart


 * Kai will be lying in the sand on the beach mumbling to himself, trying to decide how to tell Karen how he feels. He is startled when he realizes she's been listening to him. Karen says she will stay in town, noting that she can dance anywhere, but won't find anyone like Kai in the big city.

Other Events
Karen's Grapes


 * Karen will come to the player's farm and give some grapes from the vineyard.

*Requirements: Karen's affection is at 60 or higher. Event will take place between 3pm and 4:59pm. It must be Summer or Fall, and Karen cannot be married to Kai.

Karen's Wine


 * Karen will stop by the farm to bring some wine from the vineyard.

*Requirements: Karen's affection is at 100 or higher. Event will take place between 3pm and 4:59pm. Neither the player nor Karen can be married. This event can only take place before the restoration of the vineyard.

Birthday Gift


 * On the player's birthday, Karen shows up and give a gift. If her affection level is less than 160, she will bring some wine. If her affection is higher than 160, she will give the wine long with a lucky charm bracelet, said to prevent bad weather.

*Requirements: The player and Karen are both unmarried and Karen's affection is at 120 or higher. She will only bring a gift if she has the highest affection out of all the girls.

Flowers for Karen
 * Near the fishermen's tent, there will be an event where Popuri will try to give Karen flowers.

*Requirements: Both Popuri and Karen must have 150 affection or higher, and the season must be Spring.

Ann and Karen


 * By walking to the vineyard, the player will activate an event between Karen and Ann. Karen will be complaining about her problems with her father and the Vineyard, and goes on to say that Ann is lucky because she has no problems. Ann retorts that she has plenty of problems, Cliff for example. Karen responds, "The lazy guy with the falcon?" and Ann, embarrassed, yells "Not THAT one!" They walk inside together.

*Requirements: Ann and Karen must be at blue hearts or higher.

Karen and Elli's Argument


 * Karen is at the beach trying to calm down after a fight with her parents at home. Elli tries to offer Karen words of advice and comfort her, but Karen insists that it's none of her business. Karen suggests that she wants to leave the village. Elli tells her that she'll regret it, and leaves Karen to her own thoughts.

*Requirements: This event only takes place in the summer. Karen cannot be married to Kai, and both Karen and Elli must have 150 affection or higher.

Bug Event


 * An event where Maria tries to get a bug that is crawling off of a very scared Karen. Both girls must have 150 friendship each (or higher), the event will only take place in the spring season. Walk to the screen where the carpenter's live to trigger.

Karen Leaves


 * If Karen does not have a high enough affection rating by Year 2, she will decide to leave the village. Karen will permanently disappear from the game forever. She will never return for festivals, or send any letters in the mail.

*Requirements: Do not restore the vineyard, do not befriend Karen up to (or past) 100 affection, do not let her and Kai get married. Enter the beach to see the event.

Trivia

 * If the player is looking to increase Karen's affection quickly and with little effort, there is a glitch while the Dog's affection is low and they should show the him to her. For every fifty times she says "Doesn't seem too clever", her heart level will be raised by one color.
 * If the player marries Karen, she will stop waitressing at the bar. She will also on occasion crate the eggs of the player's chickens (if they have any), but also may drop them, leaving the player with no eggs to sell.
 * The blonde in Karen's bangs comes from her grandmother Eve's blonde hair.
 * Karen is noticeably absent from most festivals (sans the Flower Festival), but befriending her will cause her to appear at more and be more social.