Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life (Special Edition) (PS2)

Harvest moon is a strategy game something along the lines of the Sims series. It is set in Forget-Me-Not Valley, and you must find a wife, raise a family and take control of your father's farm and turn it into a successful business.

The game is divided into chapters, each the length of a 'year'. In the first chapter you must find a wife for yourself. You have a choice of four girls, and you must woo them by finding out their interests ...
...their personality. (Personally I chose the one who would make do with a wild flower and the odd mushroom, but then I've always been a cheapskate.) The game booklet gives some idea of the girls' personalities and likes. To find out if a girl likes you, check their diaries in their houses, this will indicate whether you are in. A wife must be found by the end of the first year or the game ends.

As well as chasing the women, you must ... more

Harvest moon is a strategy game something along the lines of the Sims series. It is set in Forget-Me-Not Valley, and you must find a wife, raise a family and take control of your father's farm and turn it into a successful business.

The game is divided into chapters, each the length of a 'year'. In the first chapter you must find a wife for yourself. You have a choice of four girls, and you must woo them by finding out their interests and presenting them with flowers, or ancient relics, depending on their personality. (Personally I chose the one who would make do with a wild flower and the odd mushroom, but then I've always been a cheapskate.) The game booklet gives some idea of the girls' personalities and likes. To find out if a girl likes you, check their diaries in their houses, this will indicate whether you are in. A wife must be found by the end of the first year or the game ends.

As well as chasing the women, you must find time to work your farm to raise money. You start off with one cow, a pet dog, and a barn, chicken shed, two crop fields, a food store and a shed. Other buildings, animals and equipment are available to buy as the game progresses.

You need to build up a successful business in your farm, and there are several ways to make money. The cow will give milk for one year, providing a small income but this will stop after the first year (40 days) until they give birth again. So, you will need to think about other ways to provide money. Other animals can be bought, such as sheep which will provide wool, chickens for eggs, and goats for milk. Remember though, that all of these animals will need to be fed, and if they get sick you will need to buy animal medicine, so be sure you have the means to look after them.

As well as basic care such as food and medicine, animals need love and attention. Giving them a brush down or a cuddle will help to keep them in good health, and the produce they give may be of better quality. Animals can also be sold, but this should be done as a last resort.

Another way to raise funds is by raising crops. Seeds can be bought from the other farm nearby, and later on in the game a seed maker can be bought into which you put some of your crops to get seeds, which can then be sold or re-planted. The seedlings also need care, firstly make sure you plant them in the right season or they will wilt and if they are not harvested by the end of the season they will wilt. Adding fertiliser to your crops will create better quality ones, and so they will sell for more. You must water them regularly if it doesn't rain or again, they will wilt. You can choose to keep some or all of your crops for yourself by storing them in your fridge.

Your produce can be sold by Takakura (your helper) in the nearby town, you can set up your own stall to sell to the locals, or sell it at Van's store which opens up twice a month. Van's stall also sells some useful stuff, such as the fishing rod (you can sell any fish you catch), a goat, and some not so useful stuff, such as gramophone records. Van will buy anything you have, including wild plants (so don't be too generous with your wooing!).

At the end of the first year, assuming you find a wife, you have a child and must raise him well. I won't offer too much advice on this as mine seems to be turning out to be a bit of a loner, but well, they're all different eh? Basically their skills and interests are somewhat determined by the different things you show them.

So Is It Good?
Well, bearing in mind that the age rating is 3+ it was probably designed with little kids in mind, but this game is actually quite good and very addictive. There's something quite satisfying about seeing your little plot with the fruit trees laden, but maybe that's because I don't have a garden of my own. It could just be because I'm easily pleased. It's easy enough to play for hours when you don't have the inclination for anything too stimulating or taxing, but there's enough to do to keep you occupied. Having said that though, it can be a bit slow at the start, because you don't have much in the way of animals to look after, and you can't really do much until you've built up some money, which can take time. I don't know how long the game actually lasts, how many 'years' you need to complete, I'm on year three and my child is now a toddler.

The graphics are not brilliant, they're very simple, but to be honest given the age group it's aimed at you can't really expect anything too spectacular. They aren't bad though, they are good enough for the game in hand, and are enough to set the atmosphere- for example the changing light during the course of the day and the different seasons.

The only thing that really annoyed me to start with are the slow loading times. Every time you walk through a door or go to the inventory screen it takes a while to load up. Also irritating are some of the animations - for example the one after you get married just shows you going around the village visiting the townsfolk and goes on for over two minutes, I know because I looked at my watch thinking it would never end. You can't skip through them, they are not spectacular and they don't add anything to the game. Another one is when you order something that goes in the tool shed. It has to show an animation of Takakura going in there to put it on the shelf - every time!

Despite being similar to games such as Simcity, it does not allow for much use of the imagination. The farm is already laid out for you and any buildings you buy are put in place automatically so you can't really design the farm as you want it.

Well, crunch time. Do I regret buying it? No, aside from the slow loading times which I have somewhat got used to, and the unnecessary animation; it is a really good game. Simple, and it plays on our need to control things - even if it is a virtual farm in our bedroom. (Some people have real farms festering under their beds.) I can play this for hours on end and not get bored, on the other hand I could leave it for weeks and come back to it without losing the thread.

If you like games like the Sims or Simcity, it might be worth giving this a go. Prices are between £10-£15 so it is worth shopping around online. 

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