Harvest Moon Review
USA Version
Posted by Darren Calvert
You bought the farm, so now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and try living off the fat of the land.
Harvest Moon was one of the later SNES releases in 1997. It's a Role-Playing game themed on the noble professional of farming! If you are not familiar with this series, stay with me - it is not as bad as it sounds on paper! This is basically The Sims on a farm. So, if you're a fan of simulation and RPG elements, this is definitely worth considering for download on the VC.
The story starts with you playing a young boy who has been left in charge of his grandparents’ farm. In just over two years you must rid the farm of weeds, rocks and stumps to turn it into a beautiful, blooming and money making farm. But that's not all. You are also tasked to get married, have some kids and upgrade your house. At the end of the game you get a score which is the tally of the number of things you completed.
Life begins on a beaten up, ugly farm and you have to make it all beautiful. To the cynic this might sound like a boring game but if you give it a chance you will likely find the gameplay is relaxing and extremely addictive. You start out running to town all the time buying veggies, plowing the fields from 6am until 8pm every day, and starting over in the morning. This goes on for about a week. Then you start harvesting small, crappy veggies and selling them in a wooden crate. Eventually, you'll have spare time to go into town and meet up with some of the ladies. To win their hearts you can read their diaries! Break in, read them, and leave. Just don’t tell them until the divorce!
When you've charmed your woman and made her love you, you can buy a blue feather in order to propose to her. If you are lucky and she accepts, you will get better meals at home, have babies and experience other fun stuff, like divorce!
Conclusion
Summing it up, you go through the seasons planting the right stuff, going to festivals, getting married and hoping you get a cool ending. To some this will sound pointless but it’s a game that is greater than the sum of its parts and very addictive once you get started. This is a shining example of the RPG genre and at the time of release it was unique and original. With all the secrets in this game there is lots of scope for replayability so you will get your value for money here: even more so when you consider that a unboxed cartridge of this game sells on eBay for around £30 / $60 due to its rarity!











#1
KnucklesSonic8 said:
I've been debating for a LONG time if I should get this. lol. The updated rating helped a bit. But if they release a Harvest Moon game on WiiWare, I'd be kinda upset. I dunno... Can anyone be of assistance?
#2
Digiki said:
I doubt there will be a HM on WW, I haven't played this one but you can't go wrong with Friends of Mineral Town for GBA, or Rune Factory for DS, but this is probably a good choice to try out the series since it's only 8 bucks anyways
#3
Luigi_La_Bouncy said:
@ks8 I wouldn't bother if i were you. You have to be pretty dogged to enjoy this game i think. I gave it up after a few hours. Maybe if the graphics were nicer to look at i could have managed more, but overall i was pretty disappointed with it after i had been drawn into buying it out of curiosity and positive reviews. So I'd urge you to steer clear if you're coming from the same angle as what I was, except you probably know what you like more than what i did at the time...
If you like querky, leftfield type games i'd recommend pokemon snap. Thats a lot of fun! Though it does have a very limited lifespan.
#4
Ferret75 said:
It is a good game, but I find it impossible to play longer than 10 days without getting bored.
#5
Mendez said:
I really couldn't get into this after playing Back to Nature and Friends of Mineral Town so much.
Just feels too basic.. I got bored after about 2 hours.
#6
MrLopez said:
Wow this game looks so cool! I'm gonna get it the next time I buy Wii points!
BTW Is there a chance harvest moon 64 will be released on the vc? This game isn't released in europe
#7
megaboomface2 said:
@ mr.lopez i hope that 1 i played for a long time at my friends
#8
James said:
One of the best SNES games. FACT.
#9
Ryno said:
Quite the claim, James. Maybe my wife would like this one?
#10
James said:
Everybody should like this game because it's ace.