Harvest Moon

Been attracted to this game ever since I first read about it waaaay back in the day. I don't recall ever seeing it for sale in Australia, so the interest was always a craving of sorts. I very much like the simple notion of living depicted here: work, family, happiness, etc... Start from nothing, end up with all you can achieve. No Nazis/zombies/aliens to kill, no mindboggling maps/puzzles to work your way through, no button smashing... just easy, pleasing work.

You play as Jack, a young man who has been handed the land of his late grand father's ranch by his parents. Along the way, you'll need to harvest crops, develop the ranch, raise livestock, and potentially find a partner to raise a family with.

It's all very cute and simple, like so (SPOILER ALERT... well given the size of the picture, it's likely you've already scanned it. Never the less, the following pictures are not in-game screen shots. Rather, they are screens of ending sequences):

It would require extreme determination to lose this game. The level of difficulty is low, and providing you have a firm understanding of how things operate in the land of Harvest Moon, it should be smooth sailing. Some of the work does get a little gruelling at the early to middle stages, but thanks to the cycle of seasons, you'll be forced into rest during autumn and winter.

The dating aspect was interesting. You're given a choice of five girls to choose from, and after working on your relationship points to a certain level, you can propose to one and they move in with you soon after. I chose Ann, mainly because she's a redhead/ginger. Plus, she doesn't like religion, haha. "Q. How do you turn a fox into an elephant? A. Marry it" The same kinda applies here. Ann was all interesting and cool while you were still chasing her, but as soon as she moves in, she becomes very boring, highlighted especially with her plain mama dress. Pity.

There are a host of extra things in the game to keep the interest high. Various secret items, events, and locations to discover throughout the course of the game. An assortment of festivals to break up the monotony of farm life.

I was about to comment on how it was unlikely that I'd be able to play the other games in the series, seeing that they're all on consoles that I don't own, but I've just discovered that N64 roms are available, so Harvest Moon 64 may be on the menu soon. Tiny files as well, less than 10mB.

So yes, the first game in the Harvest Moon series was very enjoyable to play. Particularly to the tunes of mainstream metalcore.