Looking for Harvest Moon Experts!
 

So I convinced my mom to buy Harvest Moon: Animal Parade at a going out sale because she likes FarmVille so much. I never would have guessed that I'D be the one playing it! A few years ago I borrowed Another Wonderful Life from a friend on two different occasions and didn't like it either time. I thought Harvest Moon just wasn't my thing but now I'm totally hooked to Animal Parade! One difference I've noticed between those two games is that there's more room for personalization. I especially like that you can buy clothing/accessories for your character to wear. Can anyone tell me if most of the new versions allow you to do this?

The biggest flaw I see in Animal Parade at least is that there is A LOT of loading. I don't mind having to run back and forth to different places all the time but the loading screens are the worst. Are most of the games this slow? I know there is a lot of stored data in these sorts of games but the graphics really aren't high end so I don't see why it should be so slow.

I'm kind of interested in trying some other Harvest Moon games now. Rune Factory looks interesting but more complex. Can anyone give me any suggestions (keep in mind I'm still a beginner)? I've been thinking about the DS versions but I'm thinking they probably won't allow for as much personalization (though maybe I'm wrong).

Feel free to discuss the different versions (which was your favorite, ones you didn't like, etc.) and give me suggestions on different titles to try! No spoilers though please!

Maybe not experts but people who have played the games at least??? Any bit of advice helps. ^^;

Rune factory is an awesome series. It has all the usual Harvest Moon game mechanics (farming, courting a bride, etcetera), with the added fun of smacking down monsters. ^_^ I have three versions of it on the DS and one for the wii. All good.

I do not actually have animal paradise yet. I have several of the gamecube Harvest Moon games, Magical Melody is my personal favorite of those. The load times haven't been noticeably slow on any of the newer HM or RF games I've played with. Not sure what is up with that.

Does that help at all?

Hm, kind of. I watched a thing about the Rune Factory game for the Wii and was a bit confused about how you had to balance these little... Magic balls of light? between the different sections of town. And about planting stuff in the dungeons.

I'm quite curious about the Harvest Moon DS games. Have you played any of those aside from the Rune Factory ones?

I see there's a Wii version of Macigal Melody but I'm hesitant to try it because it's more like Another Wonderful Life (or the art makes it seem so) which I didn't like.

I've only played the first DS Harvest Moon, which is a lot of fun if you like traditional HM games (which I do). ^_^ Magical Melody is pretty straightforward, but the fun in it is in unlocking all 100 harvest sprites. This is done by accomplishing various tasks throughout the game. I don't know if you'd like it. I can say it is more laid back than other versions. I spent the whole first year just fishing and mining without having to worry about animals or crops (though I may have planted a couple of trees I think).

RF is hard to explain, you'd just have to try it. I can say that it is a lot of fun, sort of like HM meets fantasy RPG. ^_^

If I tried Rune Factory, would you suggest the Wii version or one of the DS titles? I might get one today so I'm trying to decide on a specific title.

Hmm....difficult to choose. I think I'd go with RF 3 on the DS to start. the first two can be really hard to find. The Wii version is really good but I prefer the precise controls of the touch screen. Still, that is only my personal preference. I like them all really.

The third game for the DS looks like it has pretty art but wasn't sure how I felt about the bestial portion of it that I got from the description? From what I can the second one is the only one that allows you to be a female. I like being a girl if I have the option... There's one character that I particularly like in the Wii version which makes me interested in that version but like you said I think the touchscreen would make things easier. I dunno, I'll have to see what I find at the game store and how much I'm willing to spend.

If you can find RF2, I recommend you get it because it is more rare to find than the other two. Regardless, the best advice I can give you for any of the games is to find a guide online for how to procure equipment and unlock things. It makes any of the games a lot less frustrating.

Can you play as a girl in the second game? I only found the first and third game for the DS so I ended up getting the third one. We'll see how it goes... I can always try to find the others online if I like that one a lot.

Hmm....I don't think so. They sort of run together in my head. lol. Um... let me check.

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No, you can only play a guy. *shrugs* There are only a handful of games in either series that let you play a female, or choose your gender.

Oh, I see. There was a guy and a girl looking equally important on the front so it seemed like you could choose. ^^; I think I might have seen the second one at a game store I was in on Wednesday but didn't know what I wanted at the time. Oh well... If I end up wanting it I have some Amazon credit so I could get it new for like $10.

I love me some Harvest Moon. I don't know about Animal Paradise, but I have animal Parade? I'm guessing that's the same one but depending where you live you may have a different name for it.

I also have Tree of Tranquility and all of the HM's for DS and Gameboy/Gamecube.

Oops, parade is what I meant. For sone reason I keep thinking it's paradise. >_<

Which DS version do you like best? I've been looking at the bazar one but I'm not sure.

lol it okay, I just wasn't sure since sometimes the Japanese name of the game is different than the English one.

I like HM DS and DS Cute. I have Grand Bazaar and its okay, but its a bit more fast pace and doesn't have a few things that I like. But it does have a few elements from the Wii versions. Such as leveling your pet and then they help on the farm. Things like that.

Actually Natsume announced not to long ago that they'll be releasing Twin Villages for the DS sometime this year. Probably around Sept/October since they're fond of Autumn releases. I've been looking forward to this one for some time, been following its popularity in asia and it seems like its going to be a really good combination of classic DS + Wii. I agree about the load screens on HM AP though, they are a pain but I still really like it. Especially the Witch Princess in this one lol.

Yeah, I'm gonna go through and change it where I messed up. I don't know what the heck I was thinking. T_T

I've heard about that Twin Villages one too, I think it's going to be on the 3DS as well? I haven't really seen any screenshots or anything for it yet though so I've been pretty skeptical about that one. If it looks nice though that might be a good place to go.

Yeah it'll be for the 3DS as well, apparently they may even add in a few extra features for that version - but nothing confirmed yet.

All screen shots and info on gameplay is in Japanese as its only out in Japan right now once there are dates announced though for its release in North American normally people take the time to start translating them so that they know what they're dealing with, so that will probably happen fairly quickly.

I'm more interested in the art for starters but it would be nice to know what sort of features there are for it. I may or may not be getting a 3DS so I'm not sure which version I'd end up getting it if I did. I'd feel kinda cheated if I got the DS version and it was shorted though. T_T

Eh -shrugs- personally I'm not going to bother with the 3DS and I don't feel as though I"ll be shorted, especially because of the licensing agreement they have... they can translate the game and maybe throw in a few extra words or turns of phrase some minor things but nothing major. So I doubt there will be like a whole new mini game or anything on that level since they'd have to contact Marvelous and gain their permission first - which I doubt would ever happen. I dunno I think the 3DS version is going to flop since not many people are even buying the system.

I wouldn't even be interested in a 3DS if my dad wasn't offering to buy me either that or the new PSP when it comes out because he bought my sister a 3DS. I haven't really decided which one I want so I'm not sure which I'll end up getting. The 3D of the 3DS makes me feel sick so if I got it I'd only play it in 2D anyway. I'm going to wait for more to be announced about the NGP before I make my decision though. I've never had a SONY portable system so it would be interesting but I want to make sure that the system I pick will have the sorts of games I want. Unfortunately they don't have many Harvest Moon games for SONY systems but SONY does seem to have a lot of the other Japanese roleplay games I like.

The 3DS makes me sick to play with it. O_o' I tried one at the game store. As far as I can tell, the only difference between it and the DSi is the 3D feature. *shrugs*

I don't have a PSP but they do have some good games out for it, so if you are happy with your DS I wouldn't bother upgrading to the 3DS. *shrugs* PSP will give you a lot of new options in games that the DS can't offer. There are several JRPGs on it as well as games like Daxter and Ratchet and Clank that are really good if you like a bit of platforming. ^_^

Um....is it obvious I used to work in a video game store. lol

Well there's the difference with the analogue stick and that too but essentially it's the same thing if I play it in 2D. ^^;

I heard that they're stopping production of the PSP actually so the price will probably drop if I want to get one. I think I'd wait to see what the new one is going to be like though before making my decision. It should be announced at E3 in June along with some 3DS games which will be the biggest thing to influence my decision. In the meantime I'm happy with my DS Lite, I think it's a good system and it has a lot of the games I like. ^_^

I should have gone to work at GameStop when I had the chance. I'm kicking myself now. T_T

It had it's perks but it wasn't a very good job as far as hours go. Some months I was lucky to work four hours a week. Especially after they changed managers and the new one did not like me for reasons I have never figured out.

As far as I know from my current workplace, you have to have 16 hours minimum for part time though that may change to to school conflicts or something. Right now I'm only getting about 20 hours a week. They keep cutting back our hours; it's really frustrating to see my paychecks getting smaller and smaller.

Yeah, Gamestop doesn't go by that rule. Part time is anything under...um...I think it was 28 hours a week. *shrugs* Including them not putting you on the schedule at all. O_o'