Holding and Winning Contests in Azuma


The Contests in Guardians of Azuma are a little different from those familiar to me in earlier Harvest Moon and Rune Factory games.

You organise them yourself by going to a little table at any of the God Shrines.  They only can be held on a holiday.  If an event connected to the Main Narrative affects life in the Village, then the Contest automatically will be cancelled.  No one even will allude to its former existence even if people were talking about it for days in advance.

The Contests all are Village specific but you can organise one from any God Shrine.

What you need to know is that holding a Contest is a requirement if you wish to raise a Village Level to 10.  It was the last Mission in my Summer Village after the birth of my son Misha intervened, cancelling the original date.

The times given are deceptive and you need to be on time or the event will be cancelled.  Better to be safe than sorry!
For ANY Contest, go to the Village that hosts it promptly at 8.00 a.m.  if you arrive after the clock strikes 9.00 a.m., there will be no evidence whatsoever of any plan to hold it.

Usually two individuals will be standing either on the verandah of the Shrine or in front of it.  Only one will be in charge of the Contest.

In early Harvest Moon games, your ability to participate in any Contest or Festival remained possible until closing time.  I am writing from memory here but I think that usually was 7 in the case of a Contest.  As soon as you entered, the Event would begin and whether you did so in the morning or a moment prior to closing, the same amount of time would elapse.  So many of us would not even go to the venue until a moment before closing.
Here that is absolutely not possible.

If you arrive early, before 8, you will see a large crowd gathered in front of the Shrine.  Some are characters with whom you can raise Friendship levels but most are villagers.

The Quick Meal Contest is hosted by Hisui and the'guest judge' is Matsuri.

Hisui will speak a few minutes before 8 telling you to come tothe stage.  At 8 precisely, the countdown begins and you see the notification at the top of the screen. Go to her and she will accept your dish.  She then will ask if this is your choice or if you wish to submit something different.

I decided to take a chance here.  I had made a couple of Level 8 dishes yesterday for the Contest but I decided to test whether or not a dish made in collaboration with some one else would be disqualified.

Most of those shared cooking dishes in my inventory are only Level 1, but I had a Level 3 Plum Blossom Sushi Roll I made with Subaru.
I submitted that and took 1st Place.  The prixes were Brwad aloaf

I guess all that counts here is the Level of the dish.

The prize for winning really was a Bread Loaf and Valuable Medal.   What is satisfying is the way people will mention your victory for a few days afterwards.

I honestly think you cannot gain 1st place with a Level 1 dish.  I had been wondering if the judge could discriminate between a dish you had cooked and one you bought or had been given.  The answer is that as they all would be Level 1, it would not signify.  In some of the other Harvest Moon and Rune Factory games, you would be disqualified and sent away covered with shame by trying to pass off something you had not made yourself.

A little notification that my bond was strengthened both with Hisuu and my little son Misha.

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