2008 Woodie Awards
Harvest Moon: A Sickeningly Cute Game
Kristen Bussanich
Issue date: 9/22/04 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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In Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life (Natsume, GC, $39.99), the title says it all. This most innocent of video games depicts the wonderful little life of a carefree farmer, whose actions and decisions are controlled by the gamer. Unfortunately, a simple and perfect existence is just not exciting enough to become the focus for any production of the entertainment industry, especially the video game genre.
The game begins with the main character, a wide-eyed and innocent young man, inheriting his father's farm. You are also given a dog, a cow, and a pack of seeds. From there on, things really do not get much more exciting. Your character, which you name yourself, is to run a successful farm, get married, and live until old age overtakes him. This may sound mundane, dull, even mind-numbingly boring. I assure you that it most certainly is.
Chapters unfold and at the end of some of them, a significant event may happen. One of the first crucial ones is marriage. If at the end of Chapter 2 you are not blissfully wed, the game ends, since you have not accomplished one of the required tasks in the game. There are three potential lucky ladies, who you can attempt to woo. Celia is the innocent farm girl, Nami is the clever world-traveler, and Muffy is the flirty barmaid. Any of the girls' hearts can be won, but slightly different strategies are used for each. Nami would appreciate gifts from the local archeological dig, while Muffy, on the other hand, only cares about pretty flowers. The girl for your character to spend the rest of his life with is entirely up to you.
The seasons change periodically, and as on a real farm, different crops grow during different times of the year. They can then be harvested and sold, so you can buy upgraded farm equipment, and seeds to grow more crops. One of your other duties is (I kid you not) to hug your animals daily. This is a very odd game since it seems designed for very young children, but to really play and follow all the rules you need to be older. Of course this all seems irrelevant anyway, since the pure monotony of this title will bore to death gamers of all ages.
The game begins with the main character, a wide-eyed and innocent young man, inheriting his father's farm. You are also given a dog, a cow, and a pack of seeds. From there on, things really do not get much more exciting. Your character, which you name yourself, is to run a successful farm, get married, and live until old age overtakes him. This may sound mundane, dull, even mind-numbingly boring. I assure you that it most certainly is.
Chapters unfold and at the end of some of them, a significant event may happen. One of the first crucial ones is marriage. If at the end of Chapter 2 you are not blissfully wed, the game ends, since you have not accomplished one of the required tasks in the game. There are three potential lucky ladies, who you can attempt to woo. Celia is the innocent farm girl, Nami is the clever world-traveler, and Muffy is the flirty barmaid. Any of the girls' hearts can be won, but slightly different strategies are used for each. Nami would appreciate gifts from the local archeological dig, while Muffy, on the other hand, only cares about pretty flowers. The girl for your character to spend the rest of his life with is entirely up to you.
The seasons change periodically, and as on a real farm, different crops grow during different times of the year. They can then be harvested and sold, so you can buy upgraded farm equipment, and seeds to grow more crops. One of your other duties is (I kid you not) to hug your animals daily. This is a very odd game since it seems designed for very young children, but to really play and follow all the rules you need to be older. Of course this all seems irrelevant anyway, since the pure monotony of this title will bore to death gamers of all ages.