Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town Review (Wii U eShop / GBA)

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.