From Swords to Plowshares: A Loving Look at Harvest Moon - Article
by Issa Maki , posted on 16 March 2022 / 2,776 Views
One lazy Saturday afternoon, an acquaintance and I were downstairs talking shop about the children's television series Beast Machines: Transformers – particularly the plant-based character 'Botannica'. Said friend, a diehard Transformers fan that already begrudged robots turning into animals throughout Beast Wars, drew the line then and there: this was straying too far from the original concept for his liking. A more casual fan, my imagination was unlocked, forever altering the perception of what a 'Transformer' was or could potentially be. My mother, perturbed by her son's devotion to cartoon ontology (as opposed to attractive next-door neighbors) made a couple of phone calls and, subsequently, I wasn't allowed to have any visitors over for the rest of the summer.
So, in honor of our parents, neighbors, and compatriots past, let's examine Harvest Moon, the game that takes traditional notions of what RPGs are and turns them upside down. If you had tried to convince me that a farming simulator deserved a spot next to Final Fantasy VII, Diablo, Baldur's Gate, or even Pokémon circa 1998, I would have laughed. These days I pity that ignorance, but I can take my shame and use it as motivation for teaching others about having a more open mind.
The setup to Harvest Moon is essentially a more disturbing version of the movie Home Alone. Instead of accidentally being left by themselves in a mansion with enough funds to buy cheese pizzas and toothbrushes, the player is deliberately abandoned on a derelict farm with no money and a deadline. A young boy says that he'll stop by every evening to collect the goods put into a series of bins around the farm, and from there a 30-month countdown begins to fulfill your parents' expectations. After examining the meager tools in a shed and failing to shove my new dog into the selling box, I decided to head into town.
The residents are friendly and helpful, as shops advertise the fundamental gameplay. Between plant seeds, chickens, cows, and cute girls, pieces of the pattern reveal themselves, yet remain illusive. Much like our world, the lingua franca of Harvest Moon is money and, without it, the wheel of progress will fail to turn. A solid foundation is needed to get a farmer's feet off the ground, and these first building blocks rest within Mother Nature's ample bosom.
A neighboring forest serves as the catalyst where raw materials can be found. Aside from introductions with the construction workers (whose services are needed to attract a wife), the main goals are foraging and fishing. Mushrooms are easier to acquire, but a more lucrative opportunity comes from fish. Each cast of the reel is a gamble, resulting in a payout or worthless items like a can or disturbing amount of boots (seriously, how many bodies are in this pond?). Players will quickly learn the value of a productive day as the night cycle introduces itself; any item put into a bin will not earn money and in-town activities are limited to the tavern. The next day only starts after the farmer goes to bed, an important aspect to consider down the road when aligning priorities.
Once some capital starts rolling in, branching out into other avenues of revenue becomes possible. Grass is used for feeding livestock but has no monetary value, limiting its initial importance. Depending on the season, turnips, potatoes, corn, and tomatoes are what's on hand. Turnips and potatoes are fast to grow, but must be replaced once harvested. Corn and tomatoes take longer to cultivate, but with the bonus of being able to pick them multiple times. It's best to mix and match in the beginning, just don't neglect your grass or you'll regret it when winter comes like I did...
Before seeds can be put down, some work around the farm is mandatory. As players remove rocks, weeds, and tree stumps from the fields, they'll begin to notice the farmer's stamina limitations. Every swing of an implement or the watering of a plant has a cost, and when no more is possible, rest is required, moving the game into the next day. I've belted out more expletives tilling the same patch of land twice than I have dropping a combo mid-round in Guilty Gear – that's how high these stakes are to me. It's not exactly life and death in Harvest Moon, but that's no excuse not to strive for perfection.
What develops next is a cycle of trial-and-error, coalescing into an overall strategy. Planting crops near the item box ensures that optimal amounts of produce are collected. Fence posts serve as guides to properly space your seeds, preventing vegetables from being hemmed in and unreachable. Since night is perpetual, players can save their more arduous tasks like tilling, planting, and watering for the end of the day, while keeping the morning/afternoon free for other activities. Proper management of both time and energy is half the fun, selling the 'role-playing' aspect of Harvest Moon in a way that goes beyond Active Time Battle systems. It feels like you're part of an actual living community to an extent, which I find humorous as it's the only SNES RPG I can think of that isn't about saving the world.
Outside of working, the other major aspect of the game is engaging with the townsfolk. This consists of going to festivals and developing the affection ratings of various women. There are five eligible candidates to woo, all with color-coded hair and set personalities. Everyone will find a favorite, and while the flirtatious Eve is more my type on paper (occasionally nude outdoors), it's the blue-haired Maria who won my heart and didn't have to try.
Kind, modest, and honest to a fault, it was impossible not to be smitten almost instantly. A devout adherent of the vague, monotheistic religion that permeates the Harvest Moon universe, Maria is a font of wisdom that belies her age. When she says things to the effect of: “you don't have to believe in God to be thankful for life” or “it's not what you have faith in, but the ability to have 'faith' itself”, this is someone we should all desire. I had a Maria once, let her go, and have thought about it every day since. I won't complain about how life played out, yet it feels hollow without her in my arms.
Winter signals a change in gameplay, serving to remind players of the time limit. All crop-based fieldwork (and fishing for some reason) is restricted, forcing players into the woods to make a quick buck. Logging and fostering relationships are best left for the end of the year, but the biggest draw is raising livestock. One of the last pieces in our puzzle - the balancing act between plants and animals - will determine how successful a playthrough of Harvest Moon is.
There are chickens and cows to raise, with the coop/barn able to hold up to a dozen of each. When fed, chickens will lay eggs that can be sold or incubated to create a baby chick (which is also eligible for market after it grows up). Besides being a cheap way to keep your wife happy, eggs are the stepping stones to cows – where the real money is. Our bovine friends are an expensive proposition (especially when sick or becoming pregnant), but after they come of age and are maintained properly for a month or two, you'll be laughing all the way to the bank – at least until you realize that's about as far as it goes.
Spend enough days in the field and you'll eventually encounter garden gnomes from an underground breakaway civilization, secretly calling shots from behind the scenes. Alongside their ability to upgrade certain farm equipment (that they have intrinsic ties to), I'd wager these beings are responsible for the manipulations of time and space witnessed throughout Harvest Moon. I won't get into weather alteration conspiracy theories, but it's awfully convenient the farm that has a record $3800 day gets hit by a hurricane the following morning; the town is untouched, the neighboring forest is completely fine, but my property – ravaged. Had it happened earlier in the game, I probably would have taken it harder, but at this point it's a breath of fresh air in an increasingly stagnant land.
My biggest complaint about Harvest Moon is that the game appears to plateau around the 75-80% mark. From what I'm gathering, after the maximum amount of livestock has been attained, you're basically spending the rest of the game running out the clock. What was once an ascending scale of progress (seed/crop/chicken/egg/cow/milk) simply ends. I could be wrong – I haven't finished the game yet – but unless the gnomes have something drastic up their sleeves, it's going to be a strong 5+ hours of monotony before crossing the finish line. A game about chores becomes a chore to play, which would be ironic if Harvest Moon wasn't about life on a farm.
The whole 'relationships' angle is also guilty of this. I do all this work to build a nice house and win a girl's heart, only for her to spend all day sweeping dirt outside the barn? Would it kill her to pick a couple of tomatoes, while I go into town to sell a cow and buy some feed? The ability to continue raising the affection level of the remaining women after marriage is another questionable decision – but what else is there to do? I can't imagine a kid is going to make life on the farm any easier, but a skinny-dipping blonde is always a cause to celebrate.
Imagine how much farther the gameplay progression could go based on modern history: you could start setting the prices of the milk based on supply and demand; after acquiring enough money, you buy the Food and Drug Administration to allow genetic modification of the cows and milk, risking public health in the name of profit. Then you can buy congressional lobbyists, as you start to influence domestic and foreign policy (no more military aid for any of those breast feeders out there!)... you know, maybe it's better Harvest Moon ends how it does; the road of capitalism is already scary enough to drive down.
This has been one of those eye-opening revelations whose implications are terrifying to behold. I could spend the rest of my days planting digital crops while managing fake livestock, I just don't think I'm allowed to be this happy in life. My friends want me to get into Stardew Valley (where we have a communal farm together online) or Rune Factory (that adds dungeon crawling and crafting), both of which are far too tempting. I already have Harvest Moon 64 and Save the Homeland, how much further down does this rabbit hole go? I'll never know – but you can!
Farming simulators are apparently the Bob Rosses of gaming, having the dulling, sedative quality that comes with watching something grow from nothing right before your eyes. Should you need a positive bump in life, after trying one I find them almost impossible not to recommend. I'm sure modern iterations of the formula make Harvest Moon look primitive, but it's important to respect the genre's origins. After the 3DS and Wii U eShops close in 2023, access to Harvest Moon will only be available to those willing to shell out hundreds of dollars on the secondary market. This might be your last chance to hold a precious part of video game history before it falls into obscurity. If you have the shot, take it, just beware how addictive happiness can be when it's on tap.
Besides, not all of us find harmony crushed under the feet of Valkyrie queens.
More Articles
I always enjoy these sim games, whether rural (Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons) or urban (was a SimCity fan until EA shat the bed with SimCity 5, now it’s Cities Skylines for me.) I got into this series with A Wonderful Life on GameCube.
My most anticipated game this month,incidentally, is Rune Factory 5.
These old Harvest Moon games truly are masterpieces. HM64 is my favorite of the series, and one of my favorite games of all time.
I’ve always been fascinated by the first three Harvest Moon games including Harvest Moon 64 and Back to Nature on Playstation. Thank you for this. These pieces are usually fun and Harvest Moon is something where I always look forward to someone’s new take on old classics.
As a quick piece of trivia: the Harvest Moon trademark was hijacked by the localization company (Natsume) through some legal loophole in the US court system.
Any Harvest Moon games released after 2013 are fake imitations.
The authentic Harvest Moon series is now localized as Story of Seasons and the authentic spinoff is Rune Factory.
Essay Pro