Jump to content
Awoo.

Speederino

Recommended Posts

addictive (uh-dik-tiv)

adjective

1. producing or tending to cause addiction: an addictive drug.

2. more than normally susceptible to addiction: an addictive personality.

3. Harvest Moon

Harvest Moon is a bit of an enigma. It's a game franchise centered around one of the most boring chores in existence: farming. Yet despite the boring premise, it's been around for over fifteen years and has garnered one hell of a cult following. But why? How does a series about farming end up so successful?

Well, like you no doubt already gathered, it's addictive. While the farming itself can be compelling enough, the gameplay here is actually quite deep. Fishing, mining, befriending townsfolk, attending yearly festivals, cooking, minor stat-building, collecting various things and, perhaps most importantly, wooing a potential wife/husband and having kids. And each and every single one of these are more developed then you would initially think.

If you haven't played it, imagine a mixture between Animal Crossing and The Sims then add farming. It's just fun and satisfying to raise a miniature farming-empire out of nothing and getting to know the characters.

Alright, so for those of you who have played this franchise, which game is your favorite? Which game did you start with? Say anything that comes to mind.

I'm actually relatively new to the franchise. I've always known about it, and whenever I saw Harvest Moon covered in Nintendo Power as a kid I'd always read the article. But I didn't actually try it until early 2008, when the original SNES game was re-released on Wii's Virtual Console. Figuring I had waited long enough, I started playing it with only a vague idea of what to expect. After about two and a half days of doing almost nothing else, I cried manly tears as the credits rolled. How could it already be over? So then I started checking out the rest of the franchise, loving pretty much every minute of it.

My absolute favorite is Friends of Mineral Town on GBA. It takes absolutely everything that worked in previous games and combines it all into one glorious, portable cartridge. I also have to acknowledge Rune Factory Frontier on the Wii. (Rune Factory is Harvest Moon set in a traditional JRPG setting, basically) The only thing really holding that one back is the annoying ass Runey system, other then that it's the best game in years.

Unfortunately, I haven't really been liking newer games in the series, at least on the handhelds. The Wii games are alright, but the DS games have been really lacking as of late. They tend to either be too shallow or too convoluted for their own good. I've been hearing slightly better things about The Tale of Two Towns, but I still can't get ultra excited. Though the upcoming (currently Japan-only) 3DS game has the most potential I've seen in years. (Pretty much everything can be fully customized!)

P.S. Sorry, I don't know what the heck is up with the font at the top of the page.

Edited by Speederino
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's all really about Rune Factory now. I think A Wonderful Life was amazing but then completely suffered when it made the jump to the Wii. I then got into Rune Factory at this point and have not looked back. I don't think I could ever go back to a Harvest Moon game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's all really about Rune Factory now. I think A Wonderful Life was amazing but then completely suffered when it made the jump to the Wii. I then got into Rune Factory at this point and have not looked back. I don't think I could ever go back to a Harvest Moon game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never played a normal Harvest Moon since when I first heard of them, they sounded boring (might try one out at some point though). But I have gotten into Rune Factory. What I really like about them is that every game improves so much it almost makes the previous games nearly unplayable in comparison. Only really played the handheld games though, never got Frontier, and I rented Oceans but I just didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the others.

Edited by Ekaje
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never played a normal Harvest Moon since when I first heard of them, they sounded boring (might try one out at some point though). But I have gotten into Rune Factory. What I really like about them is that every game improves so much it almost makes the previous games nearly unplayable in comparison. Only really played the handheld games though, never got Frontier, and I rented Oceans but I just didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the others.

Frontier is a must play if you like Rune Factory, for sure. And yeah, I'd recommend checking out one of the older Harvest Moon games at some point. Pretty much any of them from previous console generations are worth a look.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A Wonderful life started out great, but then became horribly repetitive to the point where I was just rushing to the end/death so I could finish up the game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Friends of Mineral Town, to me, is the pinnacle of the series. I have A Wonderful Life, Magic Melody and FoMT, and I've emulated some of the earlier games for a bit...but Friends of Mineral Town just perfected so many aspects of Harvest Moon in my eyes, that I don't even feel that I need to play any of the other titles. Haven't tried out the Rune Factory games either.

FoMT just gets so many things right for me. The graphical style is cute, but not TOO cute. The graphics are appealing. The mechanics are clear and open. The towns people are memorable (and the odd translation error is simply amusing rather than distracting), and the girls to woo are interesting. I generally go for Elli...in fact, I've never gone for anyone else. Hrm. I enjoy the daily grind in this game a lot. I can gather supplies to sell, upgrade my house in appealing ways, go fishing for food or profit, cook, compete with my dog in Frisbee throwing, race horses, you name it. If life on the farm gets to be a bit too much? I can make friends with the Harvest Sprites and they'll help me out.

I've been playing it since I was maybe 11 or 12 and have never gotten tired of it. It may be some thread of nostalgia, but to me this game just exudes a certain charm I have never gotten from another game, Harvest Moon or otherwise. Unfortunately I've never kept a consistent save file, so I've never gotten to have a kid...perhaps I should work towards that soon.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been playing it since I was maybe 11 or 12 and have never gotten tired of it. It may be some thread of nostalgia, but to me this game just exudes a certain charm I have never gotten from another game, Harvest Moon or otherwise. Unfortunately I've never kept a consistent save file, so I've never gotten to have a kid...perhaps I should work towards that soon.

Yes, FoMT is absolutely filled with charm. That's something newer Harvest Moon games are severely lacking. This series used to have a special, unique charm to it that was sadly lost at the beginning of the current console generation. The music has never been quite as catchy, or the characters as interesting. Life on the virtual farm just rarely holds the same appeal in newer games.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

You must read and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy to continue using this website. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.