Harvest Moon series - any love? recommendations?

[dondetti]

Not sure if it fits here, the series spans from its retro beginnings until modern gaming today.

I was one of the few people who actually bought the SNES title in late '97/'98 when the N64 was already out because I just loved the concept back then and I still have a soft spot for the very limited and kind of crummy first installment. Later on I bought the Game Boy color one which unfortunately was heavily riddled with bugs and graphic glitches (as well as an inexcusable german translation), but it had some cool new features, like Mini games and a fish pond to tend to. "Back to Nature" for the PSX was pretty popular back then and I played it a fair bit, it introduced a lot of really neat features like cooking.

That was my last, but I was always kind of interested to check out the new ones. But there is a ton of new installments and spin offs after BTN, so I'm a bit unsure what to get. There is even a whole "Mystery Dungeon"-type rogue action RPG spin off series out there which I think is a combination so funny (plant the turnips and kill all the monsters!) that I might go and check these out. But what about the main series? You know, I just want to plant some veggies and expand my farm, no fancy lore stuff like "The Secret of the Holy Melody Tree Island" or whatever. Anyone out here who followed the series until today and can recommend some titles?

[dreama1]

Not sure if it fits here, the series spans from its retro beginnings until modern gaming today.

I was one of the few people who actually bought the SNES title in late '97/'98 when the N64 was already out because I just loved the concept back then and I still have a soft spot for the very limited and kind of crummy first installment. Later on I bought the Game Boy color one which unfortunately was heavily riddled with bugs and graphic glitches (as well as an inexcusable german translation), but it had some cool new features, like Mini games and a fish pond to tend to. "Back to Nature" for the PSX was pretty popular back then and I played it a fair bit, it introduced a lot of really neat features like cooking.

That was my last, but I was always kind of interested to check out the new ones. But there is a ton of new installments and spin offs after BTN, so I'm a bit unsure what to get. There is even a whole "Mystery Dungeon"-type rogue action RPG spin off series out there which I think is a combination so funny (plant the turnips and kill all the monsters!) that I might go and check these out. But what about the main series? You know, I just want to plant some veggies and expand my farm, no fancy lore stuff like "The Secret of the Holy Melody Tree Island" or whatever. Anyone out here who followed the series until today and can recommend some titles?

Found the games boring as hell. But you might be interested in rune factory.

[rancesama]

Big fan of the Harvest Moon series. My favorite is of course "Harvest Moon 64," but I played the original SNES title a bunch as well. As far as hand helds go, when I was younger I  played Harvest Moon GBC 2 a lot, which was a lot of fun. I also really enjoyed the Gamecube game "Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life" even if the overall town and variety was pretty slim.

A lot of the versions on the DS aren't worth it if you ask me. They were kind of lacking, such as Harvest Moon Sunshine Island. "Harvest Moon A New Beginning" on the 3DS was fun, but "Harvest Moon A Tail of Two Towns" isn't very good, and STAY AWAY from "Harvest Moon The Lost Valley." It's terrible. You may want to check out "Story of Seasons" on the 3DS. It's made by Marvelous, so they couldn't use the Harvest Moon name, but a number of former Harvest Moon developers worked on it, so it feels more Harvest Moon like than Lost Valley.

There were also a few on the Wii. I really liked "Harvest Moon Tree of Tranquility" but didn't get into "Harvest Moon: Animal Parade."

Over the years, the series has had its ups and downs and everyone will tell you that they like certain ones better than others. When talking about spin offs, for example, I didn't really like "Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon" on the PSP, but I know a lot of people did. I do, however, love the Rune Factory games. The DS ones are great, but as far as hand helds go I liked "Rune Factory 4" on the 3DS the best. You don't have to play the other ones to play this one.

If you want a console version of Rune Factory, I would suggest "Rune Factory Frontier" on the Wii. It's a bit pricey at times, but I think it was the strongest in the lineup. You can also try "Rune Factory Endless Ocean," it came out on the Wii and PS3. It's not as good if you ask me, but it did expand on the overall game.

[dondetti]

Big fan of the Harvest Moon series. My favorite is of course "Harvest Moon 64," but I played the original SNES title a bunch as well. As far as hand helds go, when I was younger I  played Harvest Moon GBC 2 a lot, which was a lot of fun. I also really enjoyed the Gamecube game "Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life" even if the overall town and variety was pretty slim.

A lot of the versions on the DS aren't worth it if you ask me. They were kind of lacking, such as Harvest Moon Sunshine Island. "Harvest Moon A New Beginning" on the 3DS was fun, but "Harvest Moon A Tail of Two Towns" isn't very good, and STAY AWAY from "Harvest Moon The Lost Valley." It's terrible. You may want to check out "Story of Seasons" on the 3DS. It's made by Marvelous, so they couldn't use the Harvest Moon name, but a number of former Harvest Moon developers worked on it, so it feels more Harvest Moon like than Lost Valley.

There were also a few on the Wii. I really liked "Harvest Moon Tree of Tranquility" but didn't get into "Harvest Moon: Animal Parade."

Over the years, the series has had its ups and downs and everyone will tell you that they like certain ones better than others. When talking about spin offs, for example, I didn't really like "Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon" on the PSP, but I know a lot of people did. I do, however, love the Rune Factory games. The DS ones are great, but as far as hand helds go I liked "Rune Factory 4" on the 3DS the best. You don't have to play the other ones to play this one.

If you want a console version of Rune Factory, I would suggest "Rune Factory Frontier" on the Wii. It's a bit pricey at times, but I think it was the strongest in the lineup. You can also try "Rune Factory Endless Ocean," it came out on the Wii and PS3. It's not as good if you ask me, but it did expand on the overall game.

Thanks! That futuristic Harvest Moon one sounds hilarious, I had no idea. I know you can only do so much with the simple concept of farming, but making it a rogue action dungeon crawler or placing it in an odd futuristic setting seems kind of a stretch. I'm waiting for Harvest Moon: FPS (sort of Super Noah's Ark 3D?) because now everything seems possible with the series to me I guess.

Rune Factory seems to be a more action based spin off series but it looks pretty interesting. I'm not too much into handheld gaming, so I might get one of the Wii ones.

By the way, is the N64 title that unforgiving? I read a bit about it and apparantly you are seriously racing against the clock more than on any other HM title, no leeway for screwing up at all. I know I was frustrated with it in Back To Nature way more than once (which was more or less a reworking of the N64 title), but supposedly they adjusted the clock a fair bit on this PS title, so the N64 one probably is hell for me, haha.

[rancesama]

Thanks! That futuristic Harvest Moon one sounds hilarious, I had no idea. I know you can only do so much with the simple concept of farming, but making it a rogue action dungeon crawler or placing it in an odd futuristic setting seems kind of a stretch. I'm waiting for Harvest Moon: FPS (sort of Super Noah's Ark 3D?) because now everything seems possible with the series to me I guess.

Rune Factory seems to be a more action based spin off series but it looks pretty interesting. I'm not too much into handheld gaming, so I might get one of the Wii ones.

By the way, is the N64 title that unforgiving? I read a bit about it and apparantly you are seriously racing against the clock more than on any other HM title, no leeway for screwing up at all. I know I was frustrated with it in Back To Nature way more than once (which was more or less a reworking of the N64 title), but supposedly they adjusted the clock a fair bit on this PS title, so the N64 one probably is hell for me, haha.

Hahaha, i would soooooo buy a FPS Harvest Moon 

I never played Back to Nature so I can't say much about how it relates to the N64 version. I personally didn't have much of a problem with the 64 version. However, I played that one A LOT. So I'm not sure if that's just because I knew how the game worked insides and out. It may be a bit harder than Back to Nature. It's also a fairly expensive game. I own it. Maybe I should buy Back to  Nature and compare it.

If your not into hand held gaming, and you love the farming and life simulator aspects of Harvest Moon, I would strongly suggest "A Wonderful Life" on the GameCube. Its all about living in a small mountain village. You only have three girls to choose from, and the village is on the small side, but you actually age in the game. So you see your character grow old, your child grow up, its kind of unique. I like it better than Magical Melody, because it seemed more like a farming/life simulator than a "collect the music notes for the goddess" simulator.

On the Wii, like I said, Tree of Tranquility focuses a lot on farming. Animal Parade focuses on farming, but also a lot on collecting a wide variety odd animals. It's fun, but it seems like they were starting to take Harvest Moon in a new direction.

Oh, and while  Rune Factory Frontier does focus more on combat, it does have a lot of farming aspects in it. I didn't think the combat seemed too bad. I spent more time farming, crafting items, expanding my house and trying to hook up with the local ladies than battling. Rune Factory Tides of Destiny has a bit more combat, but still a good deal of farming, crafting, etc. I own Tides of Destiny on the Wii, but near the last dungeon in the game it starts lagging pretty bad because there are two many enemies on screen at times. I heard the PS3 version doesn't lag as bad, so you may want to consider that.

If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask. I LOVE Harvest Moon games. I'll help in anyway I can. It's great to have another person to talk to about these games 

[thewelshman]

The only harvest moon game I played of the entire series was Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town for the GBA. Normally, I'm not much into these types of games, but I can safely say I played the crap out of that port of Harvest Moon: Back to Nature, which was released on PS1. My best friend owned Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life and apparently you could sync up the two, but I had gotten burned out before trying.

I remember playing it mainly in the bathroom at work, lol. I've worked in IT for the last 15+ years, so a good bit of gaming has happened in the bathroom. For some reason, though, after playing Friends of Mineral Town, I never went back to another HM game. I did play the game enough to marry all of the bachelorettes. I tried to marry the Harvest Goddess until I read it wasn't possible in this port. I do own Rune Factory Oceans, so it might be the game that gets me back into the series.

[rancesama]

The only harvest moon game I played of the entire series was Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town for the GBA. Normally, I'm not much into these types of games, but I can safely say I played the crap out of that port of Harvest Moon: Back to Nature, which was released on PS1. My best friend owned Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life and apparently you could sync up the two, but I had gotten burned out before trying.

I remember playing it mainly in the bathroom at work, lol. I've worked in IT for the last 15+ years, so a good bit of gaming has happened in the bathroom. For some reason, though, after playing Friends of Mineral Town, I never went back to another HM game. I did play the game enough to marry all of the bachelorettes. I tried to marry the Harvest Goddess until I read it wasn't possible in this port. I do own Rune Factory Oceans, so it might be the game that gets me back into the series.

Friends of Mineral town was a good one. I remember playing it on my GBA in some of my college classes instead of studying. I owned A Wonderful Life at the time but oddly enough I never tried linking them. Really wish I would have tried it as now I lack a GBA to GameCube link cable. Guess I never tried it because I didn't really like A Wonderful Life the first time I played it. It wasn't until later that I started to really appreciate all the game had to offer.

The problem for me is, I have never found a Harvest Moon game that I have loved as much as Harvest moon 64. I have played nearly all of them and none have captured that magic. Guess it was just a perfect storm. Remember playing it all summer long when it came out. I even created my own guide with all of the hints and tips I found 

[telly]

rancesama, is there a game in the series that you would recommend to someone who is just getting into the series for the first time?  I'd like to play one of them but I have no idea where to start since there's so many of them! 

[rancesama]

rancesama, is there a game in the series that you would recommend to someone who is just getting into the series for the first time?  I'd like to play one of them but I have no idea where to start since there's so many of them! 

Yeah, it can be difficult to know where to start with this series because there are soooo many games to choose from. To make matters worse, all of them have slightly different elements that change up the gameplay just enough that you might love one of them and hate another.

If you think you can enjoy the series for what it is, a farming/life simulator game, you can't go wrong with Harvest Moon 64 or Harvest Moon Back to Nature (PS1). They are pretty much the same game graphically, so choose whichever one would be easiest for you to gain access too. More than likely Back to Nature since HM64 is pretty costly. HM Tree of Tranquility on the Wii is also a good one that can be purchased for under $20 at most GameStops.

If you like hand held games, HM Friends of Mineral Town on the GBA is great.

If you like those, than maybe try HM A Wonderful Life and the first Harvest Moon on the SNES. I never suggest starting with A Wonderful Life because it can be boring for people who aren't into farming simulator games since the village you live in is so small and there are only three girls to choose from. You really have to focus on just building up the farm. The first HM game is fun, but it hasn't aged well at all so it can be hard to get into if you don't love the series.

If you need a bit of action, differently try the Rune Factory games first. Rune Factory Frontier on the Wii and Rune Factory 3 or 4 on the DS and 3DS are my personal favorites. You still farm and date, but you also get to explore dungeons and craft items to fight with.

That being said, I would suggest you STAY AWAY from HM Save the Home Land. This is one of the few HM games you can't get married in, which is an element the series is known for. It takes away a lot from the game, because this also means you can't have kids and so on. Also, you only play this game for one in game year, unlike say HM64 in which you run the farm for a number of years and get graded at the end when your farther comes to visit you.

You may also want to stay away from HM Hero of Leaf Valley on the PSP. Not because it's a bad game, but it's a bit more unforgiving than the others, making it a hard one to start with.

Last but not least, DON't play HM The Lost Valley on the 3DS. They tried to change up the gameplay too much, and it's gotten pretty bad reviews overall. That would be a bad way to start off playing Harvest Moon games!

[telly]

Sweet, thanks! I think I'll add More Friends of Mineral Town to my wishlist I think playing it on the go would be kind of fun.

[davifus]

rancesama, is there a game in the series that you would recommend to someone who is just getting into the series for the first time?  I'd like to play one of them but I have no idea where to start since there's so many of them! 

Yeah, it can be difficult to know where to start with this series because there are soooo many games to choose from. To make matters worse, all of them have slightly different elements that change up the gameplay just enough that you might love one of them and hate another.

If you think you can enjoy the series for what it is, a farming/life simulator game, you can't go wrong with Harvest Moon 64 or Harvest Moon Back to Nature (PS1). They are pretty much the same game graphically, so choose whichever one would be easiest for you to gain access too. More than likely Back to Nature since HM64 is pretty costly. HM Tree of Tranquility on the Wii is also a good one that can be purchased for under $20 at most GameStops.

If you like hand held games, HM Friends of Mineral Town on the GBA is great.

If you like those, than maybe try HM A Wonderful Life and the first Harvest Moon on the SNES. I never suggest starting with A Wonderful Life because it can be boring for people who aren't into farming simulator games since the village you live in is so small and there are only three girls to choose from. You really have to focus on just building up the farm. The first HM game is fun, but it hasn't aged well at all so it can be hard to get into if you don't love the series.

If you need a bit of action, differently try the Rune Factory games first. Rune Factory Frontier on the Wii and Rune Factory 3 or 4 on the DS and 3DS are my personal favorites. You still farm and date, but you also get to explore dungeons and craft items to fight with.

That being said, I would suggest you STAY AWAY from HM Save the Home Land. This is one of the few HM games you can't get married in, which is an element the series is known for. It takes away a lot from the game, because this also means you can't have kids and so on. Also, you only play this game for one in game year, unlike say HM64 in which you run the farm for a number of years and get graded at the end when your farther comes to visit you.

You may also want to stay away from HM Hero of Leaf Valley on the PSP. Not because it's a bad game, but it's a bit more unforgiving than the others, making it a hard one to start with.

Last but not least, DON't play HM The Lost Valley on the 3DS. They tried to change up the gameplay too much, and it's gotten pretty bad reviews overall. That would be a bad way to start off playing Harvest Moon games!

I enjoyed Hero of Leaf Valley. It didnt feel too hard.

But dang I didn't know Save the Homeland was that bad. I was planning on playing it next.

[dondetti]

Hahaha, i would soooooo buy a FPS Harvest Moon 

I never played Back to Nature so I can't say much about how it relates to the N64 version. I personally didn't have much of a problem with the 64 version. However, I played that one A LOT. So I'm not sure if that's just because I knew how the game worked insides and out. It may be a bit harder than Back to Nature. It's also a fairly expensive game. I own it. Maybe I should buy Back to  Nature and compare it.

If your not into hand held gaming, and you love the farming and life simulator aspects of Harvest Moon, I would strongly suggest "A Wonderful Life" on the GameCube. Its all about living in a small mountain village. You only have three girls to choose from, and the village is on the small side, but you actually age in the game. So you see your character grow old, your child grow up, its kind of unique. I like it better than Magical Melody, because it seemed more like a farming/life simulator than a "collect the music notes for the goddess" simulator.

On the Wii, like I said, Tree of Tranquility focuses a lot on farming. Animal Parade focuses on farming, but also a lot on collecting a wide variety odd animals. It's fun, but it seems like they were starting to take Harvest Moon in a new direction.

Oh, and while  Rune Factory Frontier does focus more on combat, it does have a lot of farming aspects in it. I didn't think the combat seemed too bad. I spent more time farming, crafting items, expanding my house and trying to hook up with the local ladies than battling. Rune Factory Tides of Destiny has a bit more combat, but still a good deal of farming, crafting, etc. I own Tides of Destiny on the Wii, but near the last dungeon in the game it starts lagging pretty bad because there are two many enemies on screen at times. I heard the PS3 version doesn't lag as bad, so you may want to consider that.

If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask. I LOVE Harvest Moon games. I'll help in anyway I can. It's great to have another person to talk to about these games 

Well "A Wonderful Life" sounds like the thing I'm actually looking after! The dating sim part was always my least favorite thing about HM, so a small village part might be a good thing for me. Or maybe Tree of Tranquility. Guess I will start with these and Rune Factory and see how it works. Thanks for the help!

Re: Back To Nature VS. Harvest Moon 64 - the setting and looks are pretty much the same (routes are different though I guess?), BTN seems to be a bit more forgiving and added a few more features, also for some reason the families and their jobs and sometimes their personalities were randomly jumbled, f.ex Karen is a nice person there and Jeff's daughter, Popuri is the ditzy girl and her family owns the Poultry, Gotz is a lumberjack and his whole family died. Kind of weird...

The problem for me is, I have never found a Harvest Moon game that I have loved as much as Harvest moon 64. I have played nearly all of them and none have captured that magic. Guess it was just a perfect storm. Remember playing it all summer long when it came out. I even created my own guide with all of the hints and tips I found 

Haha, maybe I feel the same about the SNES title because I played the crap out of this one. I too remember wasting entire school summer holidays with this game. Had no Internet back then, so I tried to understand the mechanics by myself. Now with all the documentation available one can see it's actually a really simple game but back then I just overthought way too many details, like when you dug up a mole, for some reason I thought this would trigger more bad weather or taking a peek in girls' diaries would have a negative effect somehow.

[rancesama]

I enjoyed Hero of Leaf Valley. It didnt feel too hard.

But dang I didn't know Save the Homeland was that bad. I was planning on playing it next.

I have just heard some people say that Leaf Valley was a bit more unforgiving. It wasn't too challenging for me, but than again its hard for me to know if it was easy for me because I play Harvest Moon games or if the game is actually a bit more challenging for new comers.

Save the Homeland isn't a BAD game, in fact it's pretty well done as far as farming goes, it's just missing some of the life simulator aspects that other Harvest Moon games are known for. Not being able to get married and have a kid is terrible since most HM games focus on that aspect. Also, the game is short, taking place over just a year. Maybe that's because you don't have to try and marry any girls and can just focus on farming. In either case, it's not a game I would suggest people play as their first HM game.

Well "A Wonderful Life" sounds like the thing I'm actually looking after! The dating sim part was always my least favorite thing about HM, so a small village part might be a good thing for me. Or maybe Tree of Tranquility. Guess I will start with these and Rune Factory and see how it works. Thanks for the help!

Re: Back To Nature VS. Harvest Moon 64 - the setting and looks are pretty much the same (routes are different though I guess?), BTN seems to be a bit more forgiving and added a few more features, also for some reason the families and their jobs and sometimes their personalities were randomly jumbled, f.ex Karen is a nice person there and Jeff's daughter, Popuri is the ditzy girl and her family owns the Poultry, Gotz is a lumberjack and his whole family died. Kind of weird...

Happy to help! A Wonderful Life is a great game and being able to age and grow old is really cool. Save the Homeland might be right up your ally if you aren't interested in hooking up with the local ladies as you can't get married in that game at all. It just sucks that you don't really get to grow old and the credits roll after the first year.

Thanks for the insight between HM64 and Back to Nature. That is so odd about the jumbled personalities. It's funny that is what they choose to change. Different routes might makes it feel like a slightly different game ... even if the routes are pretty much leading to the same places LOL!