Viva Pinata help needed...
 

...for the wife. I bought the game for her when I got my 360. She was a big Animal Crossing fan and I thought she'd like this.

Well, it's been a bit overwhelming for her. She hasn't gotten completely on board with it, though I can tell she wants to. But with a ton of animals invading the garden, little to no direction on what to do and some general "what the hell is going on?" confusion, she's frustrated.

I do not like these types of games so I don't really want to try to help her by figuring it out myself, so I've been looking for a good FAQ that can guide her through those first few hours in the garden.

I haven't found a good one that describes the "basics" - lots of stuff about the hidden achievements and weird breeding you can do, but I want those first few hours spelled out for her.

Any suggestions? The alternative is to sell it and get her Animal Crossing for the DS.

Does this help?

GameFaqs.com: Viva Pinata

I started by pounding the entire garden. Then cover 75% with grass and the other 25% with water. Talk to Seedos all the time to get new seeds. As he gives you new seeds they will become available to buy in the store. Start planting, anything you like. The plants, grass and water will attract various pinatas. We you meet the qualifications they will be come a resident. Get a pair and have them romance. Romance the same one more than five times and you become a master romancer for that species. The more residents you get the higher your level will go. From here on its basically lather rinse repeat.

I was looking for a page last night since I am getting frustrated by the lack of new vistiors. I think my garden is too crowded but when I view my garden in the Journal it is only half full with stuff the rest of the squares are empty. I found this site which seemed pretty good, I just need to try some of the tips now.

http://pinataisland.info/index.php?t...:Gameplay_Tips

Not really. I went here first but I really wanted that "walkthrough" to get her going. Do this, then do this, then do this. Just for the first hour or so.

This has possibilities. I'll dig through the site to see what I can find.

I felt the same way. I spent a good amount of time mucking about before coming here. The main VP thread has lots of good info. It's lengthy, but worth the read.

The goal is to level up. The higher the level the more you unlock and can attract newer pinatas. You do this by mating pinatas. Have 7 of one species to get the master romancer award(for more experience), then sell the ones you don't want for money. Your level is in the top right corner. The flower petals turn blue. The more blue dots on the petals the further away from leveling up you are.

Once you successfully mate a species once you no longer need to meet the romance requirements. Instead purchase Romance Candy from the store and feed one to each pinata you want to romance. This is cheapest and easiest.

The tutorial aspect of the game is lacking. They throw a TON of info at you without really explaining much, but everything you need to know about growing plants, attracting pinatas and making them residents and mating them is all in the Encyclopedia in the menu. Nearly EVERYthing you need to know is in the menus somewhere EXCEPT variants, evolves & tinkering.

So pick a Pinata you want to attract and look it up in the encyclopedia to see what you need in your garden to do so. Once they are there, look it up again to see what they require to stay in your garden.