Harvest Moon
Harvest Moon for the SNES is the first Harvest Moon game that ever appeared in the Series. Even though the game has lots of flaws, many retro Harvest Moon gamers still enjoy the game as it is now. In the series, this is my third Harvest Moon game that I’ve played in my life. I first encountered Harvest Moon SNES after playing Back to Nature for a while. It was a bit tough to play at first, but I got used to it. This is my review:
Story:
The storyline is simple and unclear. BUt as we play the game, we start to understand it little by little. At first, we just see three people in the opening sequence. A young man in blue, a middle aged man with a moustache, and a weeping woman. Later on, we learn that the two older people are supposed to be your parents. Your mother cries, and wishes you could stay, but your father stops her, and basically says that it’s your choice to run a farm. We don’t know until later that the farm used to belong to your dear departed grandfather, and you decide to run it in his place. It’s a common storyline, but for it’s time, quite unique.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is simple, yet well done and funcional. The only glitch that I have seen yet is the one where you can work as much as you like in a single day without worry that you’ll suddenly wake up at 6:00 AM. The rucksack was never implemented yet, so we have to carry all goods one by one by hand. This was hard, but accomplishable.
Farm:
The farm had almost limitless places where you can grow crops or grass to make a great pasure. The tools only upgrade as you collect golden versions accomplishing long tasks as easy as pie.
Village:
Village was huge for a SNES game. It had many shops, and places to visit.
Crops:
The crops were few, and you had nothing to grow during Autumn and Winter seasons, but there were many things to pick from the forest or mountainside. Winters were slow, and without any storage in the house, you had not much to do.
Animals:
Impressively, you have the capabilities to raise many animals for such a simple game. You are allowed to have as many as 12 cows and 12 chickens, even more than many of our modern games. Animals were fair, yet easy enough to care for to get the best crops.
Extensions:
Extensions are few, and only limited to your house.
Tools:
All the basic tools begin in the game. As the series goes on, we impliment more tools. But the usual watering can, hammer, hoe, sickle, and axe are still used in modern games. Without a strategy guide in the SNES era, most people had to find the tools, and earned bragging rights to collecting all of them.
Marriage:
Simple, yet good for it’s time. All the girls liked the same gift of crops or flowers, and you complete an event. Give the blue feather after getting max numbers of hearts to get married. You can have a max of two kids, which is rare for the Harvest Moon series.
Festivals:
Most of them were fun or challenging. Flower festival was cool where you give the girls perfume, then invite one to a dance. My favorite is the egg hunt. It was hard, yet fun to play.
Powerberries:
Gathering all 10 of the powerberries without a guide earns you bragging rights in the game, and you can also accomplish more in the day without getting tired.
Ending:
The game ends in 2.5 years, and you’re tested on your accomplishments in the game. Just about every Harvest Moon player gets a different ending in the game. Such uniquness is rare for even modern day games.
Conclusion:
The game is difficult, yet fun at the same time. The graphics are lacking, even for the SNES, but gameplay makes that up. Even now, many people say that this is the best game of the Harvest Moon series. It’s unfortunate that many people don’t get the chance to play this epic story.
