GOTD – Harvest Moon
Harvest Moon – Simulation (SNES)
Natsume
Harvest Moon is unlike nearly any other game there is. There are no enemies to fight, no evil villains, no number-crunching and little strategy is required.
This is because Harvest Moon is a farm simulation. You plow fields, plant crops, raise animals, and woo and potentially marry one of the five girls in town.
It’s really an uncomplicated game, which is part of its beauty. There are only four kinds of crop and two kinds of animal you can raise (although you will also get a dog and a horse). You’ll spend most of your time taking care of your crops.
The main goal of the game is to make money – to be a “successful” rancher. You decide how the rest of the game goes – whether or not you want to marry, if you want to expand your house, how you want to make your money – you could actually go through the game without raising a single crop if you wanted to.
To do all this, you’l have to interact with the nearby town. You’ll have to buy seeds, chickens, cows, and whatever tools you might need from them. Also nearby is a mountain path; although you do not especially need anything from there, it is useful to wander through the area every once in a while and pick some wild fruit or herbs to sell.
I recall reading once that in Japan’s highly modernized culture, it’s almost as much a dream of children to have their own farm as it is to don armor and fight dragons. Although it’s a bit of an exaggeration, it’s probably not too terribly far from the truth. This game is designed for that mindset – in that respect, it’s sort of a “build your own life” game.
In terms of recent games, I’ve heard Animal Crossing (and of course more recent Harvest Moon games) have much the same theme. This is an interesting genre and I recommend taking a look at it. Who knows? You might be halfway through Summer before you even know it.
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