If you're familiar with the original Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, released on the Wii U Virtual console earlier in 2015, then you know just about all there is to expect out of its follow-up, Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town. In fact, you should probably skim the review of the first title if you want a rundown of the basics, as the two titles are basically identical. This review will be spent going into what makes the titles different.
Let's start with the obvious: your character this time around is a farm lady instead of the more traditional farm dude. There is no choice here, just as in the first Friends of Mineral Town, so keep that in mind if gender is a priority.
The prologue also changes somewhat from the first Mineral Town, although it doesn't have any major effect on the overall experience. Instead of a grateful old man leaving his farm to your character upon passing, your city girl seeks an exciting change of pace. She follows a promising ad for a farm in the newspaper only to find out from the mayor she's been duped into buying a wreck. The opening is definitely more tongue-in-cheek than the sentimental beginning of the first Mineral Town, but it does give you the opportunity to take out your character's rage by endlessly thrashing the mayor with every tool available in the tool shed, including the watering can. This sort of thing is probably why Tortimer finally called it quits in Animal Crossing.
While farming, ranching and foraging, your character can also go to town to woo a man. Eight eligible bachelors exist in More Friends of Mineral Town, which tops the number of bachelorettes in the first game by two. Many of the men who originally served as rivals are available on the standard courting level, including Gray, Rick, Kai, Cliff, and Doctor (yes, the doctor's name is Doctor). Special bachelors are the traveling merchant Won, the neckless Gourmet, and the monstrous Kappa. The last bachelor seems to take the place of the Harvest Goddess from the first Mineral Town, which seems a rather peculiar substitution.
Many other alterations to More Friends of Mineral Town seem pretty cosmetic, but can still be a selling point for collectors and go-getters. A points system has been introduced to judge your performance in areas such as goods shipped, animals cared for and interaction with villagers. The points don't do anything, but they're a quaint way of seeing where you excel or what you could invest more effort toward. Seven rings also exist to find upon completing certain milestones or goals. Having the seven rings in hand also doesn't have any major effects, but they are worth points.
One change that does have more of a gameplay impact, however, is the ability to sell items to Won after befriending him. This opens up items to be cashed out that aren't able to be thrown into the shipping box, making it a great way to increase funds more quickly.
Conclusion
Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town has the same charm as its predecessor with just a bit of icing added on. Those who already own the original Friends of Mineral Town wouldn't be missing much by passing on this version, unless they really wanted the chance to play as a female and take on a new set of potential mates. For those who have yet to play or own either title, however, More Friends of Mineral Town has the edge with more suitors and the Won factor. Yet when all's been tilled and it's time to bring the chickens home to roost, it's really hard to go wrong with either of these classic Harvest Moon experiences.
Comments 15
Doing the "New" thing before Nintendo, eh? This should've been called New Friends of Mineral Town
I did love these games but I spent more time on Harvest Moon DS. Please bring Harvest Moon DS to the eShop but find a way to include the extra content if you own FoMT on the Wii U too.
Dat tagline
hmmm... Kind of wish I could pick how I look, but all of the screen shots show me as blonde. (o_O )
"Seven rings in hand" is a line that makes me want to bust out Sonic and the Secret Rings, haha.
Freaking loved the Mineral Town games. They introduced me to the series, and are still two of my most favorite games. They're my fave. entries in the series, with Harvest Moon DS at a close second
@Discipledoctor I wish I had prizes to give out to the people who find my dopiest hidden references. ; )
@PokeMarioR Well almost nothing in the game's new, really. They'd have been better off calling it 'Old Friends of Mineral Town'.
So, this isn't out in EU then? I can't find it on the e-shop on my Wii U.
Pretty sure this never saw a European release on the GBA. I asked Natsume on Twitter about a VC release but, no answer...
Geez, US get's both versions of this, and EU doesn't have it at all. I hate the world.
@nintendude1229 Couldn't agree with you more, FOMT is undoubtedly my favourite HM title ever. Sadly I've yet to find another HM title that I enjoyed as much.
@PokeMarioR It's not "New," more like Friends of Mineral Town: Female version or the Venus version as it is. Your goal is the same except you date and married a guy.
@Discipledoctor Glad I'm not the only one who caught that.
MFoMT is one of my fave handheld HM games, next to ToTT. It's just too bad it's not on the 3DS, 'cause I'd be buying it day one.
Tap here to load 15 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...