From what I hear about the games, pretty much every aspect of gameplay sounds incredibly unfun. It seems like people like them, though.
It's one of those situations where the whole is greater then the sum of its parts.
Most of the fun comes from the fact that days are so short, especially at the start. There's always something else that you wish you had done and then you're juggling eighteen different things at once etc etc. It's a lot less fun (at least for me) if you try to take it easy instead of min/maxing the fuck out of everything and still knowing at your heart of hearts that you're failing somewhere.
Seriously, how the heck are you people enjoying those games? Pretty much every single thing I hear about them makes them sound worse, even when you're actively praising them.
From what I hear about the games, pretty much every aspect of gameplay sounds incredibly unfun. It seems like people like them, though.
It's one of those situations where the whole is greater then the sum of its parts.
Most of the fun comes from the fact that days are so short, especially at the start. There's always something else that you wish you had done and then you're juggling eighteen different things at once etc etc. It's a lot less fun (at least for me) if you try to take it easy instead of min/maxing the fuck out of everything and still knowing at your heart of hearts that you're failing somewhere.
Seriously, how the heck are you people enjoying those games? Pretty much every single thing I hear about them makes them sound worse, even when you're actively praising them.
I really wish they would make sort of "Best of" Harvest Moon game. There are tons of little touches in various games that are incredibly useful or really ingenious that sometimes don't get put into other games.
I really wish they would make sort of "Best of" Harvest Moon game. There are tons of little touches in various games that are incredibly useful or really ingenious that sometimes don't get put into other games.
Something I always thought would be neat that they've never implemented was crop price variation. Supply and demand! Forget always just growing the cash crop season after season. Reward variety! Make people think about the benefits of shipping now and getting more stuff immediately or waiting to the off-season.
More conversations per character would be fantastic and easy as fuck to do, so it really surprises me that they haven't yet. That just seems moronic. I'm surprised that they haven't yet gotten around to programming a real rival that runs around and possibly gets to the mountain herbs or crap before you too. Or befriend them and get to low levels in the mine or share a farm etc. More family stuff would also be great. Once you get married, they're mostly just... there. Never really changing ever again except for popping out a kid or two. Even if it's just a generic "wife" script with slight variations depending on who. It'd be nice if they did something.
I also like festivals, but they seem horribly designed in the way they skip days and always annoy me for that. I'd personally love if they doubled the number of festivals, but made most of them every other year except for like, the cow/chicken/horse stuff.
I think I like the change to the crop system that the latest games made (req: x sun, x water, x days, die if you fuck up and give too many of any), but I haven't actually played one with that to really try it out.
I am glad that they didn't try to stick with AWL's more realistic livestock/milking nonsense though. That blew. It'd also be nice if they gave the friendship stuff with townsfolk a little lower bar. You shouldn't have to spend half a year plying some kid with cakes just to get... whatever.
Yeah, I totally get what you mean. There are tons of little changes you could make to the game to make it better... or worse in some cases. Like the AWL milking mechanic.
One thing I was happy they implemented, was the bell that brings all your animals outside. That thing is a GOD SEND. I would also like a button that feeds all your chickens at once. They tend to get in the way and waste more time than anything, thus why I hate raising chickens.
Yeah, I totally get what you mean. There are tons of little changes you could make to the game to make it better... or worse in some cases. Like the AWL milking mechanic.
One thing I was happy they implemented, was the bell that brings all your animals outside. That thing is a GOD SEND. I would also like a button that feeds all your chickens at once. They tend to get in the way and waste more time than anything, thus why I hate raising chickens.
God, yes. The mass summon inside or out was amazing and made leaving critters outside actually worth it.
I'm really hoping they improve the shipping mechanic some day too so you don't need to spend a few minutes every day dropping items one by one into the crates. I'd accept a 10% hit to item prices or a slightly shorter day just to have some kind of "put everything in the rucksack into the crate" option, or even just a menu that pops up where you select what you want to ship out of your backpack.
There are so many tiny little QoL improvements that could have been made from even the SNES era. It's kind of amazing that they haven't been done yet.
The shipping bin is now an actual menu bin. You go up to it and a menu opens up. You basically drag and drop your STACKS of items to throw them in there. It's sooooooo much easier. Stacks only go up to 9, if I remember right, but it's still awesome.
I had every crop on my farm growing one day. Total shipping time? Probably about five seconds.
There's also a few of the games that give you a glove item that, while wearing it, whatever you throw (aside from animals and other non-shippable things) instantly disappears to the shipping bin. Obviously, it's a reward item but it exists at least.
The shipping bin is now an actual menu bin. You go up to it and a menu opens up. You basically drag and drop your STACKS of items to throw them in there. It's sooooooo much easier. Stacks only go up to 9, if I remember right, but it's still awesome.
I had every crop on my farm growing one day. Total shipping time? Probably about five seconds.
Spectacular. And no, I have not, like I already said. :P Know if that carried over into the latest DS ones? I lack a Wii (but have been thinking about getting one lately). Apparently nobody's touched Sunshine Islands or knows anything about the one due in a month or two.
There's also a few of the games that give you a glove item that, while wearing it, whatever you throw (aside from animals and other non-shippable things) instantly disappears to the shipping bin. Obviously, it's a reward item but it exists at least.
I also remember a basket on the PS1 version that you could set down anywhere you like, and toss items into it, then just pick it up and run it to the bin and press [] and everything in the basket would dump into the bin.
Yeah, the Basket was a great item. It could hold up to 30 things at once. The only problem was that you couldn't take anything out of the basket; everything put in had to be shipped.
The magic glove item was in the GB versions of HM, I believe. I don't think it's ever really made a reapperance though.
Yeah, the Basket was a great item. It could hold up to 30 things at once. The only problem was that you couldn't take anything out of the basket; everything put in had to be shipped.
The magic glove item was in the GB versions of HM, I believe. I don't think it's ever really made a reapperance though.
They were in Harvest Moon DS. (And by extension, Harvest Moon DS Cute, I imagine) Not sure about any other ones, though. There's also a version of them on crack where you harvest things straight from the Map screen by touching them with your stylus.
I didn't play much of HM DS. My friend had it and liked it, but I never ended up picking it up.
I still have my copy of BTN for PSX sitting on my "To Play" pile. I pop it in every once in awhile to relax... yet I end up playing for half a day and end up worrying about getting as much shit done in one day as I can.
Well, apparently nobody here played it, but Gamerankings has Sunshine Islands at about a 20 point bump over Tree of Tranquility and whatever the hell the other island one is, so I think I shall purchase it this weekend! Also, it has 100 starshit things to obtain and then shove down the goddess' throat or something. I'm unclear on the details really.
Considering it's supposed to be the IoH sequal, I'm betting the latter. And if they're really rehashing the mcguffen quest from DS, every penny I've got on the latter.
Man, all this talk reminds me that I've still got to finish Rune Factory 2, and I think I picked up Friends of Mineral Town/MFOMT a little while ago too but never got too deep in it. Time to dig the suckers out (and it's perfect for ths hot-as-fuck weather we're getting, too).
RF2 is pretty fun, but I always run out of things to do during the day and end up just sitting there until it turns to night so I can finish my request/get a certain item/finish a statue request
The last Harvest Moon game that I actually liked was Magical Melody what with the multitude of notes you earned doing random things, the big focus on farming and how much you could actually affect the town.
You know, I'd forgotten all about it, but I actually bought FoMT used and the previous owner never cleared out their own save file and I never had the heart to do it myself, so it's been sitting in the first save slot while I've taken the second. Never even opened that file, but since we've got this thread here maybe I'll finally dust it off and report back on the status of the Cupcake farm. Maybe.
I've had that happen before. Like my copy of Final Fantasy Tactics A2. I loaded up the previous save file on there and took a look... the guy really didn't know how to play. He basically had every person with one ability and that was it.
Considering it's supposed to be the IoH sequal, I'm betting the latter. And if they're really rehashing the mcguffen quest from DS, every penny I've got on the latter.
Every review I've read (granted, not many) says that it fixed every major issue with IoH. So... *shrug*
Not that it's a shock to anybody, but Rune Factory 3 was confirmed as getting a stateside release in a few months. Some of the changes sound great, like people actually wandering around the town and doing shit... along with them being marked at all times on the minimap. Weather changes during the day too.
Other things, like the ability to turn into a sheep... not so much.
I never did pick up Sunshine Islands since the Gamestop availability was a lie and then finals hit. Maybe this week though. STAY TUNED.
Honestly? I'd say to wait for 3: 2 isn't really bad per se, but there's a good deal of artificial slowdowns in the main story where you have to grow/obtain X amount of crop/item mcguffens for point Y, several of which are sequential and might require you to do it 2 or 3 times per roadblock, and with some of the skills and crafting and shit it feels like it took after some of the more grindoriffic parts of the more recent Harvest Moon games.
So I've already played RF2 and RF1, I don't want Harvest Moon DS Girl version, and I hate any game where the goal is something besides be an awesome farmer. Also, I have a Wii.
Is there any Harvest Moon game out there to sate my appetite until RF3?
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Simcity also confuses you, doesn't it?
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
No kidding. I tried Friends of Mineral Town to make fun of it. It sucked me in, and I've never looked back.
Something I always thought would be neat that they've never implemented was crop price variation. Supply and demand! Forget always just growing the cash crop season after season. Reward variety! Make people think about the benefits of shipping now and getting more stuff immediately or waiting to the off-season.
More conversations per character would be fantastic and easy as fuck to do, so it really surprises me that they haven't yet. That just seems moronic. I'm surprised that they haven't yet gotten around to programming a real rival that runs around and possibly gets to the mountain herbs or crap before you too. Or befriend them and get to low levels in the mine or share a farm etc. More family stuff would also be great. Once you get married, they're mostly just... there. Never really changing ever again except for popping out a kid or two. Even if it's just a generic "wife" script with slight variations depending on who. It'd be nice if they did something.
I also like festivals, but they seem horribly designed in the way they skip days and always annoy me for that. I'd personally love if they doubled the number of festivals, but made most of them every other year except for like, the cow/chicken/horse stuff.
I think I like the change to the crop system that the latest games made (req: x sun, x water, x days, die if you fuck up and give too many of any), but I haven't actually played one with that to really try it out.
I am glad that they didn't try to stick with AWL's more realistic livestock/milking nonsense though. That blew. It'd also be nice if they gave the friendship stuff with townsfolk a little lower bar. You shouldn't have to spend half a year plying some kid with cakes just to get... whatever.
/random rant
One thing I was happy they implemented, was the bell that brings all your animals outside. That thing is a GOD SEND. I would also like a button that feeds all your chickens at once. They tend to get in the way and waste more time than anything, thus why I hate raising chickens.
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
God, yes. The mass summon inside or out was amazing and made leaving critters outside actually worth it.
I'm really hoping they improve the shipping mechanic some day too so you don't need to spend a few minutes every day dropping items one by one into the crates. I'd accept a 10% hit to item prices or a slightly shorter day just to have some kind of "put everything in the rucksack into the crate" option, or even just a menu that pops up where you select what you want to ship out of your backpack.
There are so many tiny little QoL improvements that could have been made from even the SNES era. It's kind of amazing that they haven't been done yet.
The shipping bin is now an actual menu bin. You go up to it and a menu opens up. You basically drag and drop your STACKS of items to throw them in there. It's sooooooo much easier. Stacks only go up to 9, if I remember right, but it's still awesome.
I had every crop on my farm growing one day. Total shipping time? Probably about five seconds.
Spectacular. And no, I have not, like I already said. :P Know if that carried over into the latest DS ones? I lack a Wii (but have been thinking about getting one lately). Apparently nobody's touched Sunshine Islands or knows anything about the one due in a month or two.
The newer DS one is decent. I wasn't a big fan of it to be honest. I guess I don't really like the whole island motif or something.
The new one for DS... are you talking about Great Bazaar? Or whatever they decided to call it? I know very little about it.
I also remember a basket on the PS1 version that you could set down anywhere you like, and toss items into it, then just pick it up and run it to the bin and press [] and everything in the basket would dump into the bin.
The magic glove item was in the GB versions of HM, I believe. I don't think it's ever really made a reapperance though.
They were in Harvest Moon DS. (And by extension, Harvest Moon DS Cute, I imagine) Not sure about any other ones, though. There's also a version of them on crack where you harvest things straight from the Map screen by touching them with your stylus.
I still have my copy of BTN for PSX sitting on my "To Play" pile. I pop it in every once in awhile to relax... yet I end up playing for half a day and end up worrying about getting as much shit done in one day as I can.
Did you play RF1 at all?
I did. Hence looking for which one represents the greater improvement.
RF2 is full of interesting things that expand upon the core concept of RF1 and take it further.
Also, Frontier has that dumb wonderful system which I don't get.
Frontier is basically a story sequel to one and mechanically is closer to that game as well.
PERHAPS I SHALL REPORT BACK.
Or get drunk.
We'll see.
Man, all this talk reminds me that I've still got to finish Rune Factory 2, and I think I picked up Friends of Mineral Town/MFOMT a little while ago too but never got too deep in it. Time to dig the suckers out (and it's perfect for ths hot-as-fuck weather we're getting, too).
2 it is, then. I don't really need to play RF1 again in 3D.
Now I want to play it again...
Time to dig out the gamecube.
Every review I've read (granted, not many) says that it fixed every major issue with IoH. So... *shrug*
Other things, like the ability to turn into a sheep... not so much.
I never did pick up Sunshine Islands since the Gamestop availability was a lie and then finals hit. Maybe this week though. STAY TUNED.
Or maybe not.
But especially the minimap.
Is there any Harvest Moon game out there to sate my appetite until RF3?
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