If you're a fan of the Harvest Moon series, you know that a faithful instalment will leave only two questions: who do I get to marry and just how much free time can I afford to sacrifice over the next month or two? Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town sticks closer to this original formula than some of its more modern cousins, and the Wii U Virtual Console release still packs the farm life into a formerly portable package. Is it still worth the effort?
The foundation of Harvest Moon - at least in most titles - is a blend of balancing the resources and time of farm labour with an enjoyable life among neighbours, festivals, and an eventual family. While some might find it repetitive, the type of player who gets hooked on life sims is liable to find it charmingly addictive or addictively charming. A day in the game can go by quite quickly depending on the tasks at hand, and it's all too easy to adopt a "just one more" mentality.
The introduction and back-story are simple yet fondly so, told with small scenes that are reminiscent of the SNES days. An old farmer with no family of his own befriends the main character (there is only a male option in this version) while he's on vacation as a child. The elder leaves the farm to the now-grown lad after passing, and of course it has to be fixed up and expanded in classic Harvest Moon fashion.
Players have the freedom of determining how best to use their land, mixing tilling fields and raising animals as they desire. There are no major goals or deadlines, but progress on the farm tends to tie in with progress in the game entire. Harvest sprites are eventually capable of lending a hand with chores and improve at their tasks with time and training, opening some more time for exploration and social activities.
Getting to know the townsfolk adds a lot of essence to Friends of Mineral Town, as it does to many Harvest Moon games, especially when it comes to pursuing one of the six eligible bachelorettes. Five of these ladies are mainly ported over from 1999's Harvest Moon 64, with the sixth being the Harvest Goddess with more special requirements for wooing. Getting to know the ladies through the festivals and various cutscenes can be endearing, and the effort to stal - er, court one of choice by learning her schedule and favourite things is a slow burn that feels very rewarding once marriage finally occurs. The other people of the village can also grow more fond of your character as you converse with them and give them gifts, and you can go so far as to buy a kitchen and create dozens of different recipes to find what piques their palettes.
Friends of Mineral Town faced a bit of a button crunch being on the GBA, but the developers worked around the limitations quite well. Most common actions such as switching between inventory items or accessing maps can be done through handy two-button combinations. It might take a little practice to remember them all, but they soon become second nature. The option to save in-game at any time instead of having to head to your bed was also implemented for this version and still works, but is rendered rather moot with Restore Points now available.
Controls are quite sound overall, although there is one small quibble with running. Holding R will switch your character from a normal plod to a more widely preferred run, but he will shoot off in whatever direction he's facing even with no direction pressed on the pad. There's also the option to make running default and having the R button reduce to walking speed. This works quite well after the field is cleared and things are set up on the farm. When starting out, however, your character will auto-hop over everything you're trying to clear away from the cluttered soil. It's a relatively minor thing, but still annoying when you're looking to speed things up early on.
The overall presentation should hit the mark pretty well with those who lean toward the earlier Harvest Moon games, landing somewhere between the original and 64 versions. A bright, colourful, natural atmosphere shows forth throughout the environment and town, although it does look a bit simple and choppy. The Virtual Console's screen smoothing effect helps things out considerably well. The music is simple yet pleasant, and while the text has occasional grammatical or translational hiccups, conversations still read well enough to get into.
Conclusion
Friends of Mineral town is a good pick-up for cultivating types who enjoy core Harvest Moon gameplay. It's seasoned with additional fun and secrets outside land-working, but not overwhelmed with the twists or gimmicks of a "gotta keep it fresh" era. This would also serve as a great jumping in point for anyone who may be new to the series, but those who would prefer to play as a female farmer might want to wait for the Virtual Console release of Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town, which has been announced for later in 2015.
Comments 14
Easily my favorite of the series.. I just wish it had an ending instead of just going on for ever. Games like that are the bane of completionists like myself lol.
@GMB-001 Getting the Vacation House at Year 50 and playing maybe another year is what I see as the end. I never play beyond like year 5 though, but I might this time...
I'm tempted, but I think I'll wait for More Friends in Mineral Town. Besides the female option, it has more characters you can talk to, as well as more marraige options.
I am eagerly waiting for the EUR release. Though I might wait for More Friends too.
So when are we getting the much lauded Harvest Moon 64?
This is in my opinion the best Harvest Moon game ever.
Needs a remake, because I think that the way the game controls hasn't aged well (I still have it on GBA). A 3DS remake would be nice (more buttons, and a touch screen for inventory management)
I really enjoyed this on Ps 1, Actually did like the GBA version more, not sure why. I agree this is the best harvest moon game, but its a very tricky 3 way tie for me between hm64, this and HS on DS (which was a gba looking version of wonderful life).
My favorite harvest moon game. Wouldn't mind a 3ds port.
Yong
As an owner of the original GBA cart of More Friends of Mineral Town, I encourage everyone to wait for that, if you don't mind being the female protagonist. There's just more to the game than in FOMT, just as with Another Wonderful Life for GC.
Yeah, a 2DS port would be nice.
This is one of my favourite games of all time. I sadly can't find the cart for the GBA so will definitely be picking this up when it comes to the EU.
@CanisWolfred
does it give the option to choose a gender or is the protagonist a girl by default? Not that it matters much, I almost always play female characters, but just out of curiosity?
I bought this game, on my Wii U Virtual Console awhile back now I'm just waiting for More Friends of Mineral Town and Pocky & Rocky with Becky on the Wii U eShop.
Tap here to load 14 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...