Hey Howdy Hey Tappers!
Love is in the air in Springfield! And our stores are full of premium items from Valentines past!
As with Valentines past (and other events) EA has decided to make old items new again, and give players who might have missed out on something a second chance to get it. Of course that second chance doesn’t come with out a price, as many of the returning items are premium.
The Valentine themed premium items making a comeback this year are: Phineas Q Butterfat’s, Howard’s Flowers, Up Up & Buffet!, the Tunnel of Love, Madame Chaos and Mindy, Brandine & several decorations!
I know many of you have been asking if these items are worth your Sprinkles. Well before you hit that confirm button…let’s break down the pros and cons and take a look and see if these items are worth YOUR donuts!
his will run a little different than our typical Should I Buy posts. Basically I’ll give you a quick overview, some pros and cons & my opinion on it now…but I’ll also link you to the previous Should I Buy for more insight…
REMEMBER: ALL of these items will leave the store on 2/17/15 (Which is also when the event is slated to end). So make your purchases before then…or you’ll miss out.
So let’s kick things off with the returning stand-alone buildings…
Building: Phineas Q. Butterfat’s
Donut Price: 80 donuts
Dimensions: 8×5
Payout: $275, 22xp/ 16hrs
Conform-O-Meter: Gluttony+10
How You Got it Before: Freemium 2013, Premium 2014 (80 Donuts)
Pros
-Old building making a return
-Neat looking design, fits nicely in a downtown area
Cons
-No Character interaction
-Pricey for just a stand-alone building
-No animation Associated with it
Final Thought:
Premium
If you’ve been coveting this building for a while in a neighbor’s town, I say go for it. It’s not a bad premium buy, if you have the donuts to spend.
Freemium
Save your donuts on this one. No character interaction + no animation= not a good buy if donuts are hard to come by for you. You’re much better off saving your Sprinkles for a character or another building (like Up, Up & Buffet!)
More Details
Should I Buy
Where Did That Come From
Building: Howard’s Flowers
Donut Price: 70 donuts
Dimensions: 7×4
Payout: $200, 17xp/ 10hrs
Conform-O-Meter: Consumerism +10
How You Got It Before: Freemium in 2013, Premium 2014 (70 donuts)
Pros
-Old building making a comeback
-Colorful building, will brighten up Springfield
-Adds to Consumerism, one of the harder areas to max out
Cons
-No Character interaction
-No Animation
Final Thought:
Premium
If given the choice between Howard’s Flowers or Phineas Q Butterfats…I’d choose Howard’s Flowers. This is a decent buy for your downtown area, especially because of it’s size & price point. Plus it’s a bright color, I like how it looks in my downtown section. Really stands out. If you have the donuts to spend…go for it.
Freemium
This is another building I’ll tell you to pass on. No character interaction + no animation= not a good buy if donuts are hard to come by for you. You’re much better off saving your Sprinkles for a character or another building (like Up, Up & Buffet!
More Details:
Should I Buy
WDTCF
Building: Up, Up And Buffet!
Donut Price: 90 donuts
Dimensions: 12×11
Payout: $800, 80xp/2days
Conform-O-Meter: Gluttony +10
How You Got It Before: Premium 2014 (90 Donuts)
Pros
-Old building returning, one many of you have commented you wanted
-Uniquely Designed Building for Springfield (We’ve got cars, trains, boats, and now a plane)
-A building Characters will use! It unlocks a special 10hr task for Skinner, Willy, Comic Book Guy, Squeaky Voiced Teen, Duffman & Bumblebeeman. Premium characters earn $530, 135xp, non-premium earn $350, 90xp.
Cons
-No characters or questline associated with it.
-Large building, will require a lot of space in Springfield. Difficult if yours is already cramped.
-Takes 2 days to generate income.
Final Thought
Premium
Buy it. This is probably one of the better buys that they’re bringing back. Character interaction, decent payout, plus it looks cool! If I had to choose between all 3 buildings, this is the one I’d pick.
Freemium
This is a good buy. Out of all 3 buildings this is the one I’d tell you to pull the trigger on. If you have the donuts go for it.
More details:
Should I Buy
WDTCF
Now let’s jump to the one Stand-Alone Character offered for this event…
Character: Brandine Spuckler (and Birthday, Dubya & Whitney Spuckler)
Donut Price: 100 donuts
How You Got Her Before: Premium 2014 (100 Donuts)
Pros
-Premium Character Earns 50% cash and XP on all jobs
-After you’ve completed the main quest she unlocks a special task that births 3 Spuckler kids.
-Spuckler kids will earn you additional money
-Humorous outdoor tasks
Cons
-Expensive. At 100 donuts she’s one of the most expensive premium characters in the game, with out a building.
-Not voiced
-It takes 90 days to birth a Spuckler, or 30 donuts to speed up.
-Spuckler kids do not have any tasks, but they do earn income (similar to Krustyland).
Final Thought
Premium
One of the better characters you can buy in the game. Buy her, you won’t regret it.
Freemium
IMO this is a good buy for a character. You’re not only getting a premium character but you’ll also get 3 more Spuckler kids to run around your town. While they don’t have tasks, they will earn you more cash and XP. If you can only buy 1 premium item this Valentine’s Day, Brandine should be it. So if you have the donuts, get her.
More Details:
Should I Buy
Real Housewives of Springfield:Brandine
Walkthrough
Krustyland got a little love this update too..
Building: Tunnel of Love
Donut Price: 60 donuts
Dimensions: 10×12
Payout: 60 Tickets, 22xp/ 8hrs
Krust-O-Meter: Nausea +10 (remember K-Land only)
How You Got It Before: Prize won when you cleared the wheel
Pros
-Another ride for Krustyland
-Unlocks a special task for Marge and Homer in K-Land
-Unlocks the ability to send Marge to K-Land
Cons
-It goes in Krustyland, an area a lot of us tend to forget about
-Was free last year, pricey for a K-Land ride.
Final Thought:
Premium or Freemium
Honestly, this isn’t a bad buy either way. However, I would suggest before pulling the trigger on this one you take a good look at how often you actually use Krustyland. You’ll want to determine if you use it enough to warrant spending the 60 donuts on a ride. If you don’t think you do, those donuts might be better spent in Springfield.
More details:
WDTCF
And now the sole Character/Building combo
Building/Character: Madame Chao’s/Mindy
Donut Price: 145 donuts
Dimensions: 5×8
Payout: $300, 30xp/ 12hrs
Conform-O-Meter: Gluttony +10
How You Got It Before: Free in 2014 with Questline
Pros
-Returning Character/Building Combo from last year
-Premium character earns at a premium rate (yes that means Mindy now pays premium)
-Comes with a questline
Cons
-Pricey for something that was free last year
-No character interaction outside of the main questline
Final Thought
Premium
This is an ok buy if you’re a premium player. It’s a high price, but not an awful one. Mindy does have some fun outdoor tasks & she also comes with a questline, so it’s an ok buy for premium.
Freemium
I’m on the fence with this one. If donuts are limited for you (or you’ve been saving to get Barney), I’d pass on this one. But I know some of you have been coveting Mindy in your neighbor’s towns for a while, and if that’s you this is one you might want to pick up. As I say above, she’s not a bad buy but personally, I think Brandine is the much better buy.
More details
Housewives of Springfield-Mindy
Walkthrough
And finally…a quick word about the 3 returning premium decorations
Decorations are a personal thing, IMO. I think if you like something & you want it you should go for it. I will say that out of these options, the Cozy Hammock offers the best return for donut spent. So, if you want the smart buy…that’s your best bet. Otherwise just go with what you like & have fun 🙂
And that’s it for the details on the returning Valentine’s Day items!
As always, we can’t tell you what to do. In the end it’s you’re call, we can only tell you what we did & didn’t do. In this case I own every item listed & enjoying having each one in my town. Just remember..whatever you decide do so before February 17th, as these items will then disappear from the store forever! (or at least until next Valentine’s Day)
What do you think of the returning items? Any you picked up that you missed out on previously? If you played last year and picked up premium items this year, what made you change your mind over the last year? Thoughts on Valentine’s Day in general? Sound off in the comments below, you know we love hearing from you!