After waiting several years, gamers can finally play the delightful Mineko’s Night Market. There’s so much to do in this cozy narrative-driven adventure game, and it’s hard to know where to begin. But whilst side quests may vary wildly, the main storyline is pretty linear, so you’ll always have a clear goal in mind.
Although the story evolves as you progress, the initial storyline revolves around collecting mysterious artifacts. You can find these in locations around the island, but first, you have to unlock the correct areas. You also need to complete missions and know exactly where to look, but thankfully, I can help you there.
In this guide, I’ll show you how to collect all of the initial artifacts, so that you can be well on your way to discovering Nikko. Nikko is the name for the giant cat that grew out of a sakura flower, and you learn about his story in the opening cutscene. The second part of this guide will focus on collecting all 5 machine parts for the Degarbagifier 2000 which becomes available after you collect all the artifacts.
The First Artifact
You can’t miss this first one, as you find it almost instantly upon starting the game. After the initial cutscene, you’ll find yourself in a new village. There, you’ll meet a funny NPC named Bobo, who will urge you to join him in an investigation. Follow him, and he’ll lead you into the woods on the outskirts of the village. Follow the path around and up until you see a giant cat statue. In front of it is an object, this is your first artifact.
Interact with it, and you’ll add it to your journal. Unfortunately, Mineko (your character) has a nasty fall shortly after collecting it and will get washed away down the river. But don’t worry, she’ll be okay, and when she awakens, you’ll be ready to keep on exploring.
The Second Artifact – The Gardens
The next artifact can be found in The Gardens. This is the first new area that you unlock, and you don’t actually have to do anything to unlock it. After you wake up back in the village, the game will prompt you to go and find Bobo. He’ll be glad that you’re okay but will waste no time in putting you back into danger. He’ll invite you to go to The Gardens with him. To get there, you’ll need to head to the bus stop next to your house, interact with it, and then select The Gardens from the map.
Once you arrive, you’ll see that the area has been overtaken by agents who have captured all the cats. You’ll embark on a mission (see our Liberate the Cats guide if you get stuck) to free all 5 cats. Once you’ve freed the final cat, follow the path around to the top right where you’ll see a Teahouse with an agent standing in it. To the right of it is a power switch.
Turn the power switch off, and the agent will leave his post to investigate. Use this time to quickly run past him and interact with the artifact that’s next to where he was standing.
The agents will all leave once you grab the artifact, and you’ll be free to visit The Gardens as and when you please.
The Third Artifact – Birch Forest
To access Birch Forest, you’ll need to buy the Paper Axe from Hank the Hunk’s Tool Shop. It’s the shop next to Bobo’s Mom’s Craft Store, and you’ll see the Paper Axe sitting on the table. Once you buy it, head over to the bus stop, and this time select Birch Forest as your destination. Once again, you’ll need to first free all the cats (you can use our Liberate the Cats guide if you need to) before you can progress.
After you free all the cats, Bobo will stand on a grassy platform. Go off up the path to the left, and you’ll see an identical grassy platform. Stand on it, and the pressure from both platforms will cause a secret door to open. The game will reset you to where Bobo is, and he’ll follow you again. Take the path up and around to the right, continuously heading up and to the right, until the path starts to head down. You’ll see a structure with an artifact inside. Pick it up to add it to your journal.
The Fourth Artifact – Dark Forest
Although the next area you unlock is The Docks (based on the price of the tools, although technically you can unlock the remaining areas in any order), The Docks doesn’t actually have an artifact to find. Instead, your next artifact is found in the Dark Forest. To access this area, you need to buy the Wood Axe from Hank’s Tool Shop. Once you’ve bought it, head to the bus stop and select the Dark Forest as your destination.
Once again, you’ll first need to liberate all the cats in the area by freeing them from their cages. Once that’s done, all the agents in the area will leave, allowing you to investigate the cabin without being disturbed. To get to the cabin, follow the path straight upwards from the entrance gate (the path with the wooden planks) and walk around to the back of the lake.
Interact with the cabin, and you’ll be asked whether you want to bust the door down, select “Yeah”. A few final agents will come out, and once they’re gone, you’ll see the artifact on the floor. Pick it up, and then there’s only one more left to find.
The Fifth Artifact – The Caves
To access The Caves, you’ll need to buy the Pickaxe from Hank’s Tool Shop. Once you get there, head into the caves and free all the cats (this is the toughest of these missions, and you may benefit from using our Liberate the Cats guide). Once you have freed the cats, go to where the cage was for the top left cat. The agents there follow a circular path, so follow one from a safe distance until you get to the top right where the path splits off to the right.
Follow that path right until you see the big rock in the middle of the otherwise empty area. Interact with it to use your pickaxe. You’ll see a short mining minigame, which is the same as the woodcutting minigame except horizontal instead of vertical. Mine the rock to get 5 rocks (or 3 if you mistime it). After you’ve mined the rock, it’ll be cracked on top, and you’ll see an artifact on the top. Pick it up to collect the final artifact.
Assembling the Artifacts
When you arrive back in town after collecting the final artifact, Bobo will be waiting there for you. He’ll be keen to learn about what you’ve discovered, and you’ll show him the artifacts on your journal page. However, when you open the journal, you’ll automatically rearrange all the artifacts into a rudimentary depiction of Nikko, with each artifact representing a different part of his body.
That night, after going to sleep as normal, you’ll wake up in your bed in the middle of the night due to hearing a crash. Head outside, and you’ll be greeted by the man who runs the Night Market, who’s excitedly telling you about some new plans. Click through his conversation until he leaves.
At this point, you may assume this is what the crash was, I know I certainly made that mistake. However, instead of going back to bed, follow the path to the right until you see Nikko. Go up to him and try to interact, but he keeps running off every time that you get near him. Follow him each time, until his footsteps lead to a large tree surrounded by a broken fence.
You won’t be able to see him this time, but that’s okay. Interact with the tree, and a cutscene will ensue where you climb to the top and sit with Nikko for a while, gazing out at Mt Fugu. This scene concludes the artifacts part of the storyline.
Collecting the Machine Parts
Once you find Nikko, although it concludes the initial storyline, it starts the next one. Annoyingly, the agents will move into your village, and they’ll be milling about menacingly. However, despite their presence, you decide to help Nikko, and conceal him in your garden shed to keep him safe. The other thing that happens is that new empty lots appear in the village. You now have the opportunity to invite visitors to the village.
One of these visitors is Sugihara, who’s working on an intriguing machine called the Degarbagifier 2000. To unlock her quest line, head to The Caves after putting together all the artifacts. You’ll see a broken machine near the entrance, with a golden cog lying in front of it. Pick up the cog, and Sugihara will tell you how it’s one of a few missing machine parts.
She’ll ask you to help her find the other remaining pieces so that she can assemble her machine. The other 4 pieces can be found throughout the island in the following locations:
- The Gardens – Follow the path upwards and around to the right from the entrance until you get to the Teahouse. This is the structure next to the power switch, where you initially found the artifact. Pick up the cog that’s sitting there.
- Dark Forest – Once again, you need to go to the same place where you found the artifact. Head up from the entrance gate towards the lake, and walk around until you get to the cabin. You’ll see the machine part on the floor right by the door.
- Birch Forest – Once you enter the area, follow the path to the right. When you get to the fork in the path, head straight upward towards the cat statue. You’ll see the cog lying just in front of it.
- The Docks – You can find the final cog part by heading to The Docks. You can gain access to The Docks by purchasing the Fishing Rod from Hank’s Tool Shop. Once there, go left from the entrance all the way to the end until you get to the dock itself. The machine part is lying on the floor near where the fishing sign is.
After collecting all 4 remaining machine parts, head back to The Caves and talk to Sugihara again. She’ll be really grateful that you’ve found them all for her. Hand over the machine parts, and she’ll use them to assemble her grand invention, the Degarbagifier 2000. She’ll give you a couple of crafting recipes and some food/ drink (I got 2 Veggie Juice, but this may be random). She will also agree to move into one of the empty lots in the village.
That’s not all, though, as you’ll now have access to the Degarbagifier machine at the weekly Night Market on Saturdays. Her stall can be found towards the top left of the Night Market. She’ll even let you use it for free, which is handy. The Degarbagifier allows you to restore some resources from failed crafting projects.
Be aware, though, that you don’t restore nearly as many resources as you spent. It’s still worthwhile to use if you’ve had an accident, but you should continue to exercise caution when making your craft projects.
Conclusion
I really love the story in Mineko’s Night Market, it’s one of my favorite things about the game. Although I enjoy the way that the story evolves, I definitely have a soft spot for the first part of the game where you’re discovering artifacts. It can be a bit tricky to find them all, so hopefully, this guide should have given you some useful tips to collect all 5 of them.
Inviting the visitors is also really fun, and Sugihara is particularly lovely to have around the village. Her quest goes hand in hand with the quest where you collect the artifacts seeing as several of the machine parts can be found in the same place that you found the artifacts. Just remember, you can’t start Sugihara’s quest until you’ve first collected all the artifacts and discovered Nikko.
Whilst you’re here, if you’re looking for recommendations for other cozy games, then take a look at some of our other content! We have an excellent interview with one of the developers for Paleo Pines, a handy list of the best farming sims, and we even have our own dedicated Indie Game Culture Podcast!
FAQs
Question: How many artifacts are there in Mineko’s Night Market?
Answer: Mineko’s Night Market has 5 artifacts in total. These can be found in: The Woods (at the start of the game), The Gardens, Birch Forest, Dark Forest, and The Caves.
Question: How many machine parts are there in Mineko’s Night Market?
Answer: Mineko’s Night Market has 5 machine parts in total. These can be found in: The Caves, The Gardens, Birch Forest, Dark Forest, and The Docks.
Question: How do you get the Degarbagifier in Mineko’s Night Market?
Answer: You can get access to the Degarbagifier after delivering all 5 machine parts to Sugihara at the entrance of The Caves. After that, you can find her every week at the Night Market, where you’ll be allowed to use the Degarbagifier for free.
Continue reading:
Mineko’s Night Market Guide – Liberate the Cats
Mineko’s Night Market Review – A Charming Kitty Adventure
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