Harvest Moon (video game)

Infobox VG
title=Harvest Moon


caption=North American boxart
developer=Pack-In-Video
publisher=Natsume
vgrelease|EU=Nintendo
designer=
engine=
released=Virtual Console

genre=Simulation/Role-playing
modes=Single-player
ratings=vgratings|ESRB=K-A (Kids to Adults)
platforms=SNES, Game Boy Color, Virtual Console
requirements=

nihongo|"Harvest Moon"|牧場物語|Bokujō Monogatari|Ranch Story, a 1996 game originally released for the Super Nintendo system in Japan, was published in the United States by Natsume in 1997 and was the first installment of the "Harvest Moon" series. The game revolves around the player tending a farm.

"Harvest Moon" is one of the most notoriously expensive SNES titles. The game cartridge alone is commonly listed on eBay for high prices, [http://search.product.ebay.com/Harvest-Moon_UPC_719593030102_W0QQfifptsZ1QQfvcsZ1453QQsoprZ4858 Harvest Moon (Nintendo, Super, 1997)] eBay.] while a factory sealed copy can fetch over $100. The game was released on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console on January 4, 2008 in Europe and on February 11, 2008 in North America. [cite web|title=Harvest Moon, Lord of Thunder Hit Wii Virtual Console|date=February 11, 2008|url=http://gamefreaks365.com/newsarticle.php?sid=2629]

Gameplay

The game play consists of daily tasks, and strategically using your time wisely for the best outcome in the end. For vegetables to develop, they must receive water each day; lack of water does not kill crops, but does keep them from growing. Animals must be fed once a day to keep producing. While the only care that chickens require is feeding, cows must be continually talked to, brushed, and milked to retain their health. A cow may become sick and even die if not fed for a day. The only way a chicken can die is to be left outside and allowed to be blown away in a storm or eaten by wild wolves. After dark, the only business in town that the player can access is the bar, where a number of non-player characters gather to drink and talk.

Overworld

There are three different areas that the player can go to: his farm and its buildings; the local town and its houses and shops; and a local forest, where a carpenter and his fellow colleagues live. North of the forest is a mountain.

The house can be upgraded twice. Additionally, wood can be used to construct fences around the crop areas. While rain releases the player from having to water crops by hand, it usually damages the fence. After winter, no matter how well the player takes care of the land, much of it and the fence is destroyed.

easons

Each year has four thirty-day seasons, and the player has limited time each day before it becomes dark. The clock stops at 6 p.m. Unlike in later Harvest Moon games, the player can effectively stay outside as long as he wants without penalty, as long as he does not run out of energy. However, when married, the character loses a few affection points with his wife if he comes home at 6 p.m.

Farming

Crops, eggs, and milk can be placed in collection boxes, from which a shipper will collect them at 5 p.m. each day, the player being paid the next morning. The player can also gather herbs and wild fruit in the forest for sale. A small pond can be fished. The player can farm vegetables only during the spring and summer. During fall, the only thing that grows is the hay grass. In winter, nothing grows.

Tools

The player starts with basic tools, such as a watering can, axe, hoe, sickle, and hammer. All these tools can be upgraded if the player completes certain side quests (although the watering can's improvement must be purchased). Only two tools, (or in combo a bag of seeds), can be carried at a time.

Animals

At the beginning of the game, the player adopts a dog, though it requires no special care and its only contribution to the game is barking to warn the player that the farm's fence requires fixing. Although the dog's default name is "Koro", it can be changed to whatever the player wants. In the winter of the first year, the player also adopts a horse, which is helpful at harvest.

The barn and henhouse are each capable of holding up to twelve of their respective animals. All cows are purchased from a livestock dealer in town, as is at least one chicken. Additional chickens can be hatched by placing an egg in an incubator instead of selling it. Cows, when first purchased or born, require time to grow before they can be milked; afterwards, they grow larger and produce greater quantities of milk. Fully developed chickens and cows can be sold for profit.

Town Girls

There are five single young women living in town that can be married:
* Maria, the mayor's daughter, spends her time reading and tending the grounds of the local church.
* Nina, the daughter of the flower-shop owner, enjoys nature.
* Ann, a tomboy and the daughter of the tool-store owner, works as an inventor.
* Ellen, the daughter of the cafe owners, enjoys animals.
* Eve, a waitress at the local bar, tends tables nearly every night.

Each girl has her own tastes and preferences, and a diary, which the player can regularly check to see how attracted the girl is to him.

After marriage, aside from their hair color and particular phrases, they tend to look alike, and the player's activities are severely curtailed: he is expected to come home by a specified time, and not doing so lowers her affection towards you. If her affection drops to a certain point she will leave you. But you can get her back by talking with her. When the player has both house upgrades, is married to his wife for 20 days and his wife has high enough affection towards him, she will get pregnant, later giving birth in the farmhouse. It is possible to have another baby if the first baby is one season and a day old (30 days after his birth), and the wife has a high enough affection towards the player.

pecial Events

At random points in the game, the player has the opportunity to take part in side quests that provide benefits. There are a number of events (some scheduled, some not) that break up the gameplay:
* Festivals. At set dates, the townspeople gather at certain places to celebrate an event. Examples include a harvest festival (revolving around a communal stew), an egg festival (which features an Easter-like colored egg hunt), and a flower festival. Certain days, such as New Year's Day and the winter solstice, are celebrated more solemnly. Otherwise, festivals usually allow the player to engage in mini-games, and to dance with girls.
* Disasters - During the summer, it is possible that the area will be struck by a hurricane. If this happens, the player loses a day of work while barricaded in the farmhouse, and many of the crops, large sections of the fence, and even cultivated land itself will be destroyed. And while less common (and unpredictable), earthquakes sometimes appear, and have some of the same effects as the hurricane.

Some of the game's special events require one of the above disasters to allow the player to access it. After an earthquake or lightning strike, for example, the player can meet the "Harvest Sprites" who live in tunnels under the farm. They can also gain access to a pond where the "Harvest Goddess" lives. Doing these things allows the character to upgrade his tools without paying money.

tory

The player takes on the role of a young farmer (age not specified, although he is able to bear children) whose parents left him in charge of his late grandfather's farm. Over two and a half years, the player must develop the decrepit, weed-choked farm into a money-maker, and, if able, get married and have children. At the game's end, the player is evaluated on a number of factors to determine his success or failure. Post Harvest Moon games could also be never ending.

Development

In the censored version of the game released in America, all alcoholic beverages are referred to as "juice," even though anyone who drinks said "juice" clearly becomes intoxicated. While many elements of the game were Westernized for its American release, some Japanese references were overlooked. For example, although the church is presented as Christian and includes a cross, townspeople sometimes discuss the church and its religion in Shinto terms, such as referring to the existence of both a "God of the Harvest" and a "God of Business." In several "New Day" cinematics, the character eats an onigiri, a food not familiar to many Americans. The news anchor on TV in the game bows to the audience in a welcoming manner. This is uncommon in western countries.

Reception

With the exception of HonestGamers, who gave 'Harvest Moon' a 3/10, the game received mainly positive reviews and has a Gamerankings standing of 66.9%. [>cite web | title=Harvest Moon on Gamerankings | format= | work=Gamerankings | url=http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/562623.asp?q=harvest%20moon | accessdate=2008-02-12]

For the release of Harvest Moon on the Wii's Virtual Console, IGN rated the game at 8.5, praising the game's still gorgeous 16-bit graphics and addictive gameplay. [cite web | author=Lucas M. Thomas| date= February 11, 2008| title=Harvest Moon Review | format= | work=IGN | url=http://wii.ign.com/articles/851/851039p1.html | accessdate=2008-02-12]

References