Hey so yeah a few months ago I bought this when it came to Switch. I played for a few in-game days and put it away to keep playing BOTW.
Then a week and a half ago I finally loaded it back up and I've been hooked since. It's so gosh dang fun. I LOVED the original Harvest Moon (Even though it had a save file problem on my cart that kept deleting the game and it turned me off) and owned the N64 version but didn't like it as much. I never played a HM game since. But Stardew Valley is like the real HM sequel we never got. I love it. I picked the Forest farm. Probably should have gone with something with more space but I like the trees.
I'm in year 3 now. I'm not even married yet. I've kind of been courting Penny but I'm not sure. It would either have been Penny or Leah. But I went with Penny. I just haven't jumped into the whole dating thing yet. She's only at 3 hearts right now. I guess you need a lot more because she kind of turned me down when I asked her to dance in the Spring. That really kind of hurt. So I guess I'll just keep giving her diamonds from my duplication machine as it spits one out every 5 days.
So far I just plant whatever crops I feel like. At first I would go for money makers, now I just pick a bunch of each of the good stuff. Eventually I might just go with the stuff that keeps growing and a large batch of the current seasons "big" crop. I started with no sprinklers and it was such a chore. No time for anything else. Eventually I got animals too. Chickens, then cows, ducks, sheep, a pig, rabbits. I have all of them. But for a while they were a chore until I finally crafted a few sprinklers. I have 6 Iridium ones and a bunch more of the second tier ones. They help SO much. I don't have to water anymore. So all I have to do every day is tend to the animals then some random things around the farm then I have the rest of the day for whatever.
I spent a lot of time in the Mines and got all the way to the bottom. Got the key. Now I just visit from time to time for ores or to try and fill my Adventurer's Guild points.
I fixed the bus. The desert is nice but I failed the Skull Cavern so badly. I was able to get to like floor 10 but then died because I wasn't paying attention to my HP. Oops. I don't go back much because it's too much work to get all my chores done then go pay 500G to take the bus to the desert. But it's there at least. I plan on at least making it to floor 25 for the quest. I also really want Iridium. It's so rare. I hate it. But I really want to replace my sprinklers with all Iridium ones and put some in the greenhouse, which I also unlocked but don't use much right now because it's a chore to water in there and I don't have any iron for more sprinklers. Eventually I will. It's nice to have the option.
I only have the Aquarium part of the Community Center to finish. I have 4 fish left. A few I can only get in the fall or winter and one is in the mines. No luck so far but hopefully I'll do it. Speaking of fishing, at first I HATED fishing. I didn't understand how it worked like at all. Eventually I figured out what it looked like I was supposed to do but couldn't do it. Then I found a comment on a YouTube video about leveling up in the hidden forest lake. OMG, it worked so well. I was up to level 1 in no time. Then 2. Now I'm up to 6, almost 7 with the best rod. I love fishing now. But apparently tackle breaks after some time? Because I had one and it disappeared without fanfare or a message. That sucks. But whatever.
Speaking of big crops. I got a Giant Melon to spawn on day one in the first year (Exactly as the melons finished growing) but haven't had one happen since. Shame. Even with my iridium sprinklers. Oh well. Maybe once I put some iridium sprinklers in the greenhouse I'll grow some if the major crops and let them sit and see if they all eventually turn into big ones.
And I'm not even bothering with the Joja stuff. I've gone in a couple times to look but screw it.