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Title: Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
Platform: Gamecube
Publisher: Natsume
Developer: Marvelous Interactive
Difficulty: (DIFFICULTY HERE)
Review written by: Steph
You wake to the sound of a rooster singing his morning song to welcome the early morning sun. Your eyes open to a dim room. You glance outside the window to see the sky light up with sun shine. You get dressed and go down your list of things to do for the day. Milk the cows, feed the animals, and replant the northern field.
You walk down into your kitchen were you wife has breakfast prepared for you. You sit down to eat. Your children stumble to their places and greet you with a “Good morning, Daddy.” Yeah, it’s just another day in a wonderful life.
Story line-
You play as a young man who has lost his way in life. You’re father’s old friend, Takakura, has brought you to Forget-Me-Not Valley where you discover that you’ve inherited your father’s farm . Takakura tells you about your father’s dream of the farm being a successful, family farm. You must live out the dream by buying crops, raising animals, and starting a family.
The village you live in has three lovely ladies for you to choose from. Celia is a young farmer’s daughter who loves working out in the fields. Nami is a lone traveler who seems to be growing attached to the village. Then there’s Muffy who is the beautiful blonde that isn’t very smart but likes a hard worker.
The village is full of interesting people for you to interact with. You’ll find everything from other farmers to guitarists to stinky men to a crazy old cat lady. Whenever you aren’t farming or talking to locals, you’ll be fishing or gathering plants from the near by woods.
Graphics-
The graphics are a mixture of realism and a cartoonish look. Environments are detailed to a point. Trees, grasses, and water look real but the characters are far from being real. Every person and the animals look like large blown up cartoon characters. They are bright and colorful.
The environments will give you a claustrophobic feeling. Even though the areas are spread out, they feel too close together. Plus you’re surrounded by the walls of the valley. So you’re forced to stay in one area. However, you can unlock an extra area to visit. (More on that later.) Also the environments aren’t in real-time. Grass, leaves, and branches don’t move in the wind nor does hair and clothing move with the character. This lack of real-time gives you a frozen-in-time feeling that pulls away from the life like feeling which you should get while playing Harvest Moon.
Sound-
Harvest Moon’s music gets annoying fast. It’s the same melody replayed over and over again. Also the game has no voice acting but they make some noise. The animal sounds sound fake. They often sound muffled and unrealistic. The sound effects aren’t good either. It’s hard to tell what kind of surface you’re walking on. To sum this up, the audio of Harvest Moon is very lacking.
Gameplay-
You begin with a dog, a cow, and three thousand pieces of gold. You then have thirty years to make the farm successful and expand it. Each year has four seasons (spring, summer, fall, and winter). Each season has ten days. You also have three fields (one that isn’t very fertile, one that is fertile, and one that’s very rich). Here’s where the game adds some strategy. Certain plants only grow at a certain point of the year and in a certain kind of soil. Other plants will grow in any kind soil. You must decide what crops to grow where and when to plant them.
Animals also add some strategy to the game. Each type of animal can contribute to your profit. You can get milk from cows, eggs from chickens, and so on. However, you can’t just keep buying animals to expand your farm, you need to breed them. While an animal is pregnant and caring for it’s young, you can’t take products from them. For example, while a cow is caring for her calf you can’t take milk from her. This means that for a short period of time you will not be able to use one source of income. A cow will be pregnant and care for her young forthy days (a year). You must decided when the best time of year is that you can breed your animals.
You must also find a wife. In order to win a young girl’s heart, you need to talk to her a lot and pick flowers for her. At one point in the game, three Harvest Sprites will give you a Blue Feather. You then can give the feather to the girl of your choice. However, just like real life, she needs to love you too. She should accept your marriage proposal when she has reached the four heart level.
Harvest Moon does get a bit repetitive at certain points. You have to milk the cow, feed the animals, and do a few other chores daily if you like it or not. This grows old fast but yet, it’s still addicting. You can also upgrade your farm with near buildings and tools.
Controls:
A- Allows you to talk to animals/villagers and performs actions
B- Not used
X- Enters your pack
Y- Allows you to cuddle your animals
Z- Let’s you look around in a first-person perspective
Left Shoulder- Not used
Right Shoulder- Whistle to have your horse come to you
Start- Pauses and enters the menu
Analog stick- Moves character
D-Pad- Select items
C-Stick- Camera contro
l
Innovation-
Even though games like Harvest Moon have been out before, it’s still an original idea. You don’t find many farm simulators out in the gaming industry.
Replay Value-
High. Even though some of tasks get old, the game is addicting. Plus you can try out different crops in different fields or raise different kinds of animals. You might as well try a new wife too.
The Good-
Imagine putting Animal Crossing and the Sims together… That’s what Harvest Moon is. It’s an all out fun and addicting game. There’s plenty to do. You can hang at the local bar to relax or help out with the archeologists.
As mentioned before, you can unlock an extra area called Mineral Town. The only way to unlock this new city is to have a GBA, a link cable, and the Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town GBA game. You can go there for more advice on farming, get imported seeds, meet new women, or see chicken fights.
The Bad-
The game gets repetitive and can get boring. The daily chores become a nuisance. Also one mistake can jeopardize your farm. If you fail to care for your animals or crops, you’re farm will slip and you could possible go bankrupt.
Harvest Moon is a different type of game that is for a small group of gamers. If you’re one of those people who enjoy spending hours to have a simulated life style that is different from your own, you’ll love this game. Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life gives you a chance to escape the busy life of the city to enjoy a peaceful day in the country without leaving your couch.
8.5 out of 10
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