I really miss the old Harvest Moon series. :(

[Mr. RPG]

I haven't really enjoyed a game in the Harvest Moon series (well I guess now it is Story of Seasons...) in over a decade. I think Harvest Moon DS was the last game I really played at all.

There hasn't been a new major game in the series for quite some time. It's really heart breaking that this series is basically forgotten. I rarely ever think about this series anymore, because of how irrelevant it is now to people because of the popularity of Stardew Valley. The only reason I've been thinking about the series again now is because of the Friends of Mineral Town remake (which I'm super excited for).

This series really means a lot to me, though. It was my favorite series until I got into Final Fantasy. Harvest Moon 64 is one of my favorite games of all time! It's probably also the game that I have the fondest memories of playing as a kid other than Pokemon or Zelda. It is probably the closest of any game (in my opinion) that I would call "perfect". As much as I love this series though, there's only a handful of games that I actually really like. :/

And before anyone mentions Stardew Valley... To me, it isn't a replacement for Harvest Moon. It isn't traditional a Harvest Moon game. I would place it closer to Animal Crossing than Harvest Moon. Despite how popular Stardew Valley is, I really just have zero interest in playing it. None of the characters interest me in the slightest and I feel that the characters are one of the most important aspects of a Harvest Moon game.

A long, long time ago I once tried to make a game like Harvest Moon because there weren't any good Harvest Moon games coming out anymore. I never finish it, but now I feel trying again...

 

[Fat4all]

i still have my Harvest Moon GB cart

every now and again I replay a couple years on it

 

[CloseTalker]

They're remaking friends of mineral town, but sadly the visuals look ass ugly

 

[kittens]

as I was laying in bed half asleep this morning I started thinking about what a Body Harvest x Harvest Moon could be like

 

[Mr. RPG]

i still have my Harvest Moon GB cart

every now and again I replay a couple years on it

Click to shrink...

The first few Harvest Moon gameboy games were really simple, but darn, I loved them. They were my go to games for long trips.

 

[Kamiyouni]

I've always said that the best Harvest Moon game would
>AWL Ranching (animal Care taking) and weather mechanics.
>ToT relationship and kid mechanics, art style, and wild animal mechanics
>BtN/FoMT town/map style and festival style. >DS Music and customizability
>Isle of Happiness farming mechanics (sun/water pts, stages)

 

[Mr. RPG]

They're remaking friends of mineral town, but sadly the visuals look ass ugly

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the artwork, but I'm still very interested. This is the first remake in the entire series (unless you count Harvest Moon GB or Friends of Mineral Town as remakes).

It's also the first HD Harvest Moon game, too (I think?).

 

[tadale]

I agree. I've tried to play Stardew Valley at least a couple of times, but it's never grabbed me. There's something about the art/characters that does not hold my attention the way that the original few Harvest Moon games did.

 

[CloseTalker]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the artwork, but I'm still very interested. This is the first remake in the entire series (unless you count Harvest Moon GB or Friends of Mineral Town as remakes).

It's also the first HD Harvest Moon game, too (I think?).

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Totally. Gameplay is king, so as long as they don't ruin that it will at least be worth a shot.

 

[Mr. RPG]

I've always said that the best Harvest Moon game would
>AWL Ranching (animal Care taking) and weather mechanics.
>ToT relationship and kid mechanics, art style, and wild animal mechanics
>BtN/FoMT town/map style and festival style. >DS Music and customizability
>Isle of Happiness farming mechanics (sun/water pts, stages)

Click to shrink...

I just want a game that goes back to the series roots. 64 and Back to Nature were perfect.

 

[udivision]

I was in for SNES/64/GBA but Wonderful Life was my last one.
I feel like I "outgrew" them or something. Or just fell out without interest without getting back in. Not even Stardew could get me back.

 

[Mr. RPG]

I agree. I've tried to play Stardew Valley at least a couple of times, but it's never grabbed me. There's something about the art/characters that does not hold my attention the way that the original few Harvest Moon games did.

Click to shrink...

Same here! I'm happy I'm not alone on this.

 

[Sandfox]

Animal Parade and the recent games have been well received. The DS games have a more mixed reception though.

 

[ffgameman]

As simple as it was, the original SNES Harvest Moon is one of my top 10 (maybe even 5) games of all-time.

 

[Mr. RPG]

I was in for SNES/64/GBA but Wonderful Life was my last one.
I feel like I "outgrew" them or something. Or just fell out without interest without getting back in. Not even Stardew could get me back.

Click to shrink...

Wonderful Life had great music, but I didn't care for the characters. :/ I should give it another try though... It's been so long.

 

[Procheno]

Friends of mineral town is best game

 

[Mr. RPG]

As simple as it was, the original SNES Harvest Moon is one of my top 10 (maybe even 5) games of all-time.

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I feel like Harvest Moon 64 perfected the formula. It has much more developed characters than the original game and more events, things to do, etc. The original game is great, though.

 

[udivision]

Wonderful Life had great music, but I didn't care for the characters. :/ I should give it another try though... It's been so long.

Click to shrink...

It had good music and interesting mechanics (aging and stuff) but I didn't like the characters either.
It was a really weird experience to say the least, coming from 64... personally I think it killed the series for me.

 

[Kamiyouni]

I just want a game that goes back to the series roots. 64 and Back to Nature were perfect.

Click to shrink...

We're getting a BtN remake on Switch Soo .

 

[Lunir]

Harvest Moon 64 is amazing. I tried the DS ones but it felt like they were trying too much. The pressure was real for events. I was trying to play to relax and I wasn't relaxing at all.

Yes. I'm one of those people that played Stardew Valley and felt for it. I understand that the art of the game is not great but the game feels like a natural evolution from what Harvest Moon was.

My main issue with Story of Seasons is that they don't give enough love to the art direction and they are still into heterosexual relationships without any option for gay/lesbic marriage. In that way, I felt more involved in Stardew Valley knowing that I could marry both genders.

I hope that the new one does great but I do think that they could be more open with some mechanics in general.

 

[Wil Grieve]

I've been playing Stardew co-op online with a friend lately and it is really scratching that FoMT itch. I don't know how you think it's more AC than HM.

That said, I really loved the finality of AWL and I wish that kind of thing would be worked into a game like Stardew

 

[slothrop]

I just disagree about the stardew comments. It is nothing like animal crossing to me, and it has completely sated my desire for old school FoMT or HM64 style games. Like I don't even feel the need to play them now that I have Stardew.

I really don't even see anything Animal Crossy about it honestly... Especially compared to Harvest Moon. Is it that you can decorate and design your farm more freely? The all around gameplay is quite different from AC

 

[Sandfox]

Harvest Moon 64 is amazing. I tried the DS ones but it felt like they were trying too much. The pressure was real for events. I was trying to play to relax and I wasn't relaxing at all.

Yes. I'm one of those people that played Stardew Valley and felt for it. I understand that the art of the game is not great but the game feels like a natural evolution from what Harvest Moon was.

My main issue with Story of Seasons is that they don't give enough love to the art direction and they are still into heterosexual relationships without any option for gay/lesbic marriage. In that way, I felt more involved in Stardew Valley knowing that I could marry both genders.

I hope that the new one does great but I do think that they could be more open with some mechanics in general.

Click to shrink...

The Friends of Mineral Town remake has same sex marriage.

 

[B.K.]

Friends of Mineral Town is the last game in the series that I liked. To me, the game lost something when it made the shift to 3D. I haven't liked any of the 3D games.

 

[ConfusedOwl]

I'm with you. When I got a PS1 with Back to Nature for Christmas back in the day it was magical. One of my most cherished games to this day alongside Friends of Mineral Town. Stardew is no replacement but I still love it as well, I think it's a worthy spiritual successor to HM.

They're remaking friends of mineral town, but sadly the visuals look ass ugly

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That remake bums me the hell out. I seriously don't even want to buy it because of the art style change.

 

[ffgameman]

I feel like Harvest Moon 64 perfected the formula. It has much more developed characters than the original game and more events, things to do, etc. The original game is great, though.

Click to shrink...

HM 64 and Back to Nature are both fantastic games. And you're right, 64 is the "better" game without a doubt. The original is just my personal favorite largely due to the simplicity (and nostalgia).

 

[Deleted member 5334]

Confirm the Origin of Fire.

Spoiler

Real talk, I honestly haven't touched the series in awhile, but I loved the crap out of the old ones I did play around with. I played a bit of the spin-off series, Rune Factory, as well as the PoPoLoCrois Cross Over game, but that's about the extent of the recent stuff.

That said, never actually beat any of them. I know there's an end goal technically in the games, but I never progressed anywhere near that.

 

[Lunir]

The Friends of Mineral Town remake has same sex marriage.

Click to shrink...

That's good to know!

... Oh... It's called "Friendship" instead of Marriage. Well... I think that's a lot better than having nothing? I guess. Hope to see how XSeed localize it.

 

[CloseTalker]

That's good to know!

... Oh... It's called "Friendship" instead of Marriage. Well... I think that's a lot better than having nothing? I guess. Hope to see how XSeed localize it.

Click to shrink...

as a queer person, i'd honestly rather have nothing than patronizing bullshit

 

[Faiyaz]

I suggest you play Rune Factory 4, one of the best Harvest Moon games (and coming to Switch in the West soon).

 

[Jintor]

I can't wait for Friends of Mineral Town again. Though what did they do to you all, Karen... my wine lush wife...

Rune Factory though is great, though it depends on your tolerence for dungeon crawling, which makes up a lot of the structure.

 

[Jimmy Joe]

I think my ideal Harvest Moon game would be just about farming. That's one thing that's kept me away from Rune Factory (though I did enjoy Frontier a lot when I tried it) and Stardew—I don't like the idea that the "best" version of a playthrough involves using combat mechanics. I just wanna water my plants and deal with typhoons and try to get married

I recognize that Story of Seasons still kind of does that but I haven't enjoyed a game in the series since... God, Magical Melody?

64 is still my favorite game, though. Is it still in my all-time top 10? Very possibly

 

[Sandfox]

That's good to know!

... Oh... It's called "Friendship" instead of Marriage. Well... I think that's a lot better than having nothing? I guess. Hope to see how XSeed localize it.

Click to shrink...

They will likely just call it marriage in the west. It's identical in every other way.

 

[Mr. RPG]

I suggest you play Rune Factory 4, one of the best Harvest Moon games (and coming to Switch in the West soon).

Click to shrink...

I played it on 3DS and I really didn't care for it very much. :/ I loved the original game, though!

Harvest Moon 64 is amazing. I tried the DS ones but it felt like they were trying too much. The pressure was real for events. I was trying to play to relax and I wasn't relaxing at all.

Yes. I'm one of those people that played Stardew Valley and felt for it. I understand that the art of the game is not great but the game feels like a natural evolution from what Harvest Moon was.

My main issue with Story of Seasons is that they don't give enough love to the art direction and they are still into heterosexual relationships without any option for gay/lesbic marriage. In that way, I felt more involved in Stardew Valley knowing that I could marry both genders.

I hope that the new one does great but I do think that they could be more open with some mechanics in general.

Click to shrink...

To be honest, I'm quite jealous of Starfew Valley's success. I tried to make a Harvest Moon many years before Stardew Valley came out, but I never finished it. I honestly didn't think Stardew Valley would be a big success. Harvest Moon was/is quite niche. It has never sold that well.

 

[KushalaDaora]

What I would sacrifice for Bokujou Monogatari games with proper budget/production value.

I enjoyed the 3DS titles but I would be lying if I said I wouldn't want a new title in the vein of the PS2 or Wii games.

 

[Mr. RPG]

What I would sacrifice for Bokujou Monogatari games with proper budget/production value.

I enjoyed the 3DS titles but I would be lying if I said I wouldn't want a new title in the vein of the PS2 or Wii games.

Click to shrink...

I think the Wii games had pretty good art. I really should give them a chance sometime. Do you know if the Wii games in particular are any good?

I can tell you that Save the Homeland is great, but there's no marriage and that keeps it from being on the league of 64 and Back to Nature.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

I mean they never stopped making them. Story of Seasons games are great, as is the Rune Factory subseries.

 

[rawhide]

I mean they never stopped making them. Story of Seasons games are great, as is the Rune Factory subseries.

Click to shrink...

They kinda did, there was a point where they came out pretty regularly but they've slowed way down in recent years (since around the time Stardew blew up, which I'm sure is no coincidence).

I think my ideal Harvest Moon game would be just about farming. That's one thing that's kept me away from Rune Factory (though I did enjoy Frontier a lot when I tried it) and Stardew—I don't like the idea that the "best" version of a playthrough involves using combat mechanics. I just wanna water my plants and deal with typhoons and try to get married

Click to shrink...

I can't give a glowing recommendation to any of the Natsume-original Harvest Moon games but the one thing their Minecraft-looking 3D games in particular got right was the farming, and if they'd just stuck with that instead of reverting to (really bad) 2D I think they could eventually built their games into something respectable.

 

[KushalaDaora]

I think the Wii games had pretty good art. I really should give them a chance sometime. Do you know if the Wii games in particular are any good?

I can tell you that Save the Homeland is great, but there's no marriage and that keeps it from being on the league of 64 and Back to Nature.

Click to shrink...

Admittedly I mostly watch my little sister play the Wii games. But like you said, I like really like the presentation and artstyle.

Agreed on STH. Would love to see a new HM with similar style/presentation to STH but without the gutted feature.

Really dissapointed when they reveal the SoS for Switch to be a remake for FoMT and they keep the topdown view. I kinda expected a new HM with Little Dragon Cafe style.

 

[Vareon]

I mean they never stopped making them. Story of Seasons games are great, as is the Rune Factory subseries.

Click to shrink...

This reminds me they were targeting Rune Factory 5 for 2020, hopefully they can make it.

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

I think the Wii games had pretty good art. I really should give them a chance sometime. Do you know if the Wii games in particular are any good?

I can tell you that Save the Homeland is great, but there's no marriage and that keeps it from being on the league of 64 and Back to Nature.

Click to shrink...

They remade Save the Homeland for the PSP and fixed the problems the original had while increasing the scope of the game tremendously, including adding marriage. If it weren't for Magical Melody existing, it would probably be my number one favorite in the series. It also has (in my opinion) the best mining system in the entire series, where all the mining floors are actually chain reaction puzzles. If you can play this game, I can't recommend it enough. The loading times are onerous but that's the only real flaw the game has to offer.

ETA: The remake's name is Hero of Leaf Valley. I can't believe I forgot that, big drunk energy.

 

[Scheris]

I loved the original SNES game for its simplicity, the more recent ones (Story of Seasons included) felt like there was way too many things for its own good (and the tutorials in the SoS games taking what seemed like forever to wrap up). GBA FoMT was my second favorite, as it wasn't too simple but also wasn't overloaded initially (as most of the more intricate stuff unlocked as you progressed).

Haven't had the time to play Stardew yet, so can't comment on that.

(Also hoping XSEED just uses marriage for the term in the FoMT remake, since IIRC it was basically named the way it was in Japan due to cultural issues over there.)

 

[batfax]

Classic Story of Seasons is amazing in every way. I've replayed 64 so many dang times. I get what you mean about most recent titles in the series just plain not living up to the expectations the series should have. The last games that felt like they hit the highs in the series were probably Animal Parade and Tree of Tranquility, which is a shame since in spite of Trio of Towns being a pretty ridiculously huge game, it simply didn't have the same spark. I have (probably unrealistically) high hopes for the next mainline Switch title though. It was first revealed alongside the console itself and has been in development since then, with the FoMT remake being handled by a separate team. With Stardew Valley being as big as it is, and also being released around the same time as the last mainline game from the team, I can't help but wonder what lessons they've learned and how much they want to make sure this one's particularly excellent now that there's real competition in the genre. Doing anything besides their absolute best would feel ridiculous this time.

As for Stardew, I could never get into it. It felt like kind of a less interesting imitation right off the bat by having identical festivals and characters who didn't feel anywhere near as strong as, say, the cast of 64. The deluge of updates over the years have helped it out a lot, and I should really look into the modding scene in particular, but I just end up feeling like I'd rather just play one of the classic games in the series instead of forcing myself to like it.

edit: Pretty sure it's just "Marriage" in what appears to be an early English draft that hackers found in FoMT's JP version's files. Considering that the draft is obviously pretty early, I'd say it's a good indication if that was one of the first things they did.

 

[Yarbskoo]

Magical Melody is still my favorite. Yeah, everyone looked like Nendoroids, but the Animal Crossing influence brought a ton of features and freedom with it.

 

[Glimlocker]

The 3DS game A New Beginning is easily one of my favorite entries, apart from 64 and the GBA games. Folks should give it a chance.

Also, they somehow need to get the Harvest Moon name back - Story of Seasons sounds pretty generic.

Definitely agree on going back to solid basics - preferably with a more charming art style, which is what got me into the games to begin with.

 

[fleet]

i loooooved the early harvest moon games growing up. but stardew valley literally ruined them for me. i can't get into any of the new story of seasons games without getting annoyed about weird gameplay decisions or a lack of quality of life features. and tbh, any of my qualms with stardew valley can be chalked up to the fact that one guy made it.

imagine stardew valley with the budget of a studio and a dev team behind it.

 

[Tiber]

I used to. Then Stardew Valley came out and was so much better than Harvest Moon that I never need to miss it again

 

[Ryouji Gunblade]

I lived and breathed Harvest Moon 64 before Animal Crossing happened. I want another like that one again.

 

[Giga Man]

Harvest Moon Animal Parade for Wii is the only one I've played, and I liked it a lot. I wish the games that came after it looked more appealing presentation-wise, but I guess that's the trade-off for being DS/3DS games. The Friends of Mineral Town remake looks like it should be on the 3DS rather than the Switch.

 

[Symphony]

I feel the same way, Friends of Mineral Town was the last one I really enjoyed, DS and Hero of Leaf Valley were alright and Animal Parade has an awful lot to love but is bogged down with clunky controls. Beyond that I've tried most of them and didn't enjoy anything, including Story of Seasons, it feels like the series has become about a new gimmick each game (much like Sonic) which never really works, while everything surrounding it just hasn't progressed at all - particularly stamina management.