Viva Romance Tips

No Xbox 360™ game lends itself quite so perfectly to Valentine's Day as Rare's Viva Piñata™, and with that in mind, we've crafted some essential tips and reminders for romancing your piñatas. Dig in.

Got your gooseberries ready?

The Basics
A tender approach is required to bring two piñatas together, and while the initial game mechanics are relatively simple, they bear repeating.

• Two of a Kind: It takes two piñatas to make a baby, and it may seem obvious, but attracting two piñatas of the same breed isn't always easy. Your guide to success is in your Journal.
  • Requirements: Each piñata requires three goals to be met before you can romance them: Appear, Visit, and Resident requirements. Some of these requirements may overlap (a carrot in the garden will get tempt a Bunnycomb to appear and visit), but take a look at your journal to confirm what you need.
  • Multiples: When trying to attract a new pair of piñatas, make sure you have enough items to attract and keep both of them. You will, for example, need to lay out at least twelve gooseberries to procure a pair of Doenuts.
• In the Mood: Typically, the romance requirements will be spelled out for you, but sometimes you will see a "???" in place of a requirement. More often than not, this mysterious requirement is a home for your piñatas to live in, so make sure you employ Willy Builder before trying to romance your piñatas.
• Direct Them: Once all the requirements have been met, you will see pink hearts floating above the piñatas, so then you only need to select one and direct it to the other. You may need to prod them along if they get distracted by food or another piñata, so watch them until they come together.
• The Maze: Guiding your piñatas through the maze of romance is a straightforward process. Don't forget that you can make a few chocolate coins along the way. Unless it is a particularly tricky maze, there should be time to pick up extra coins on the way. Keep an eye out for openings that lead outside for bigger coins.

By understanding the underlying system,
you should find success at every turn.

Candy Time
Nurturing your piñatas into a relationship is tricky the first time, but once you know what you're doing, a simple trick is all you need to get your piñata friends ready for love. Head to Costolot's store and pick up some romance candy. Once the piñatas have been romanced, simply feed them the candy, and they'll be ready to go.

Gold teeth ought to do the trick.

Obscure Needs
As you progress through the game, you will find more and more complex piñatas residing in your garden, and with these rare creatures comes more challenging romance requirements. I won't list the specifics, but the following tips should get you moving in the right direction to tempt these fickle creatures.

• Food: From seeds to fruit to eccentric items like bones, find the perfect food to entice your piñatas to romance.
• Environment: You may only need a certain amount of water, grass, or dirt to make a piñata a resident in your garden, but you may need more to make them feel comfortable enough for romance.
• Edible piñatas: Not every piñata is a pacifist, and the natural order may require a few sacrifices. If you note a piñata you're trying to romance gobbling up another piñata, there's a good chance they may need to eat more to get in the mood.
• Items: Some piñatas need to accessorize a bit before they're willing to produce offspring. Try experimenting with items from Paper Pets and you might be surprised by the results. Try matching up items that seem appropriate to the creature, such as gold teeth for a cocodile.

By understanding the underlying system, you should find success at every turn when romancing your piñatas. Remember also that Viva Piñata is a long haul kind of game. This is not a race, so play at your own pace, enjoying the ride and the thrill of discovery as you unearth the secrets to piñata romance.

Article by Ryan Treit