Jardiniero
| Jardiniero | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Upgrades and Player Awards |
| Relationships | Mother (Married)
Dastardos (Son) Leafos (Daughter) Storkos (Daughter) Seedos (Son) Professor Pester (Enemies) |
| Voiced by | Chris Sutherland |
Jardiniero is the wheelchair-bound former owner of the player's garden, and once held the title of greatest gardener on Piñata Island. He is the author and narrator of the Storybook, and presents the player with various upgrades. Jardiniero is exceptionally full of himself and frequently disparages the player for having gardening skills inferior to his own.
Biography
Appearance
Personality
Lore
Jardiniero started his garden long ago, before Piñata Central was even built and piñatas would be delivered to parties by boat. It was shortly after he got started that he met Mother, a sailor that worked to transport piñatas. The two fell in love, and would marry the day that construction began on Piñata Central.
Mother would stay on the island with him for a year, during which time their first child, Stardos, was born. Leaving soon after, Jardiniero would take up the task of raising Stardos himself.
With his focus primarily on teaching Stardos everything he knew about gardening, Jardiniero would decide he needed some help managing the day-to-day work of the garden. In this interest he would hire Lester, a helper who would handle the less skilled tasks in the garden. Lester was a subpar employee however, always writing things down and making schemes instead of just doing what Jardiniero asked of him. He would often try to take shortcuts, such as trying to pack too many piñatas into one crate. This frustrated Jardiniero, but he kept him around anyways.
That was until one day, when Jardiniero would stumble upon Lester stirring a pot of some sort of sour liquid. It was piñata candy, turned red and black and smelling foul. Horrified by the idea of meddling with piñata candy, Jardiniero fired Lester. With Stardos more than capable of the task, he would allow him to take Lester’s place in helping him in the garden. Being replaced by a child infuriated Lester, but he would not see him again for many years.
Jardiniero would have three more children with Mother, Leafos, Storkos, and Sidos. Each of them would help in the garden in their own way, being a source of pride for their father. Jardiniero would become known as the best gardener on all Piñata Island, a title he was determined to keep.
A rumor began to circulate around, that there was one piñata that Jardiniero hadn’t been able to catch. The rumor was true, an annoying fact to the gardener. The legendary Dragonache was so rare and elusive, it wasn’t certain if it even truly existed. But Jardiniero believed it did, and was determined to be the one to find it.
It was in the midst of this that his former employee, Lester, would reappear. Lester came to him with a map he claimed to have found. It led to the island of an old man, who was said to have been the last person to have ever seen a Dragonache. Eager to prove his status as the greatest gardener Piñata Island had ever seen, Jardiniero would accept Lester’s offer, and plan a trip in search of the old man’s island.
With the children left to watch over the garden, Jardiniero and Mother would set sail. As they neared the island, they would notice shallow rocks threatening to pierce their boat. Mother would do well at dodging them, until their boat was hit by a freak wave. Jardiniero was swept overboard, last seeing his wife clinging to the remains of the ship as it was swept out to sea. He would never see her again.
Jardiniero would wake up on the shore of the old man’s island. Injured from the wreck, he found he was unable to move his legs. Struggling, he managed to find the hut of the old man. Crawling to him, he told the man his tale of his search of the Dragonache. The old man would reveal to him that he’d been tricked, that he hadn’t truly seen a living Dragonache.
In a panic, Jardiniero demanded the man help him return home. He agreed, so long as he rested a moment and kept him company. Jardiniero would learn the old man had been a Diggerling, who once found an egg deep within the mines. That was the closest he had truly been to a Dragonache.
The old Diggerling would ferry him home. Jardiniero would whip up a wheelchair from parts he found at the docks, and race home. His garden was in ruins, all the piñata gone, everything destroyed, and the very earth turned hard and useless. Only one of his children, Leafos, was still there to tell him what had happened. Lester had tricked Stardos into following him into the jungle, and as soon as he was gone, Ruffians attacked the garden and destroyed everything. Sidos ran off to the swamp and Storkos was stuck making egg deliveries, while Stardos was never seen again.
Now disabled and missing both his wife and eldest child, there wasn’t anything Jardiniero could do to restore the garden. He would live with his daughter, Leafos, reminiscing on the good old days and watching the lifeless garden. Eventually, the two would decide to sell the old garden. It would be purchased by the player, beginning the game of Viva Piñata.
Gameplay
Jardiniero will appear to reward the player once they reach certain milestones. He will bestow new titles, shovel upgrades, pieces of the Tower of Sour, and expand the garden space as you progress through the game.
Jardiniero only appears in cutscenes, and cannot be interacted with. He is also the only major character to not have a page in the Journal. However the Storybook, only available in the original Viva Piñata, is written and narrated by him.
Awards
| Award | Gardener Level
(Classic) |
Gardener Level
(TIP) |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed shovel head | 5 | Unlocked from start | Upgrade |
| Experienced Gardener | 6 | 6 | Title |
| Iron shovel handle | 6 | Unlocked from start | Upgrade |
| Pond shovel head | 7 | 7 | Upgrade |
| Skilled gardener | 11 | 11 | Title |
| Garden grows by 33 percent | 11 | 11 | Space |
| Bronze shovel handle | 13 | 13 | Upgrade |
| Treecutter shovel head | 15 | 15 | Upgrade |
| Professional Gardener | 16 | 16 | Title |
| Expert Gardener | 21 | 21 | Title |
| Garden grows by 25 percent (max) | 21 | 21 | Space |
| Silver shovel handle | 23 | 23 | Upgrade |
| Great Gardener | 26 | 26 | Title |
| Gold shovel handle | 28 | 28 | Upgrade |
| Master Gardener | 31 | 31 | Title |
| Legendary Gardener | 36 | 36 | Title |
| Ultimate Gardener | 41 | 41 | Title |
Jardiniero will also award pieces of the Tower of Sour. These are unlocked either by taming the respective sour, or by purchasing the totem from Costalots.
Mini-Games
Jardiniero can participate in the mini-games added in Trouble in Paradise, The Great Piñata Paperchase and The P Factor.
As a competitor, Jardiniero will use a Dragonache.
As a judge in P Factor, Jardiniero prefers older piñata. This is opposite to Babobchka, who prefers young piñata.
Leafos Gossip
- "Sometimes when he thinks I'm asleep, Dad looks at the photos of his old garden."
- "My dad, Jardiniero, has been saying nice things about you. Don't tell him I told you though."
- "My dad was such a good gardener, because he enjoyed working here. If you aren't enjoying your garden, change it into something else. Something that you really like."
- "I've been looking for a console and a game to keep my dad occupied during the day. If only there was a game about piñatas. Sigh."
Quotes
A full list of Jardiniero's quotes can be found here.
Trivia
- Jardiniero's name is derived from jardinero, Spanish for "gardener".
- Jardiniero has a unique Dragonache in the mini-games from TIP. It is brown, and has no mane, teeth, tail, or wings. The choice of Dragonache is a nod to the backstory of the family.