Harvest Moon's Farming Moves into a New Dimension - Preview
by Karl Koebke , posted on 19 June 2014 / 3,711 Views
The Harvest Moon series has always been one that attracts my attention for a while but then my interest suddenly just drops like a rock. There's usually a point where I'm totally sucked into the game and every moment I get the chance to do so I work at building up my little farm. However, after some time, the tedium will always get to me. Natsume have done their best to try and make sure that Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley never gets to that point.
Everything has been streamlined as best they could manage. As an example, you no longer have to have a specific farming tool directly equipped to use it; if you walk up to something like a tree and want to chop it down a single button press will use the appropriate tool for the job, just like if you walked up to a rock that needed smashing.
Whenever there are multiple options like seed types or choosing between compost or fertilizer, the L and R buttons can be used to switch between the options quickly and easily instead of going to a menu. I was told that the developers had tried their best to avoid the downtime of going into the menu or equipment screens as much as possible.
Other nice touches include the ability to ride a horse to move around more quickly, and a more robust cooking system that comes with some new crop types to use like garlic. Barn animals now have day and night cycles for their behavior, and a farmbook shows the status of the animals at any given time.
Probably the most noticeable change is the ability to build up and dig out the farm in three dimensional space, similar to building things out of cubes in Minecraft. This isn't just an aesthetic change, as where exactly you grow your crops can have an effect on the end result of your efforts.
Of course, you can still build a family and do quests for people to build up your friendship with them. Story segments and hints are provided as dreams by the main character. When you first come to the Lost Valley it's stuck in perpetual winter, which in past games would put a huge damper on your activities. I was assured that there are things to do in this game even in winter and you'll soon unlock the other seasons as well.
Taking out some of the repetitiveness of Harvest Moon is definitely something I can get behind and the 3D farm management system sounds like it could add some depth to how you design your farm. Look out for Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley on 3DS when it releases this Fall, and if you're a lost fan of the franchise then this might be a good time to jump back on board.
