PlayStation

Harvest Moon: Back to Nature

While impatient players may want to avoid the considerable time investment required, those looking for a game with hours and hours of highly addictive, nonviolent gameplay should find a comfortable chair and a copy of Harvest Moon: Back to Nature. Be warned: You'll find yourself saying, "I'll play just one more day" more times than you can count.

Harvest Moon is not a game for the Street Fighter crowd. It requires a large time investment, but for those willing to put in the time, it can be quite rewarding.

Gameplay is Harvest Moon's backbone, and it relies on it greatly. If your attention span is pretty short (like I am), this doesn't come highly recommended. If you're able to sit down and enjoy a game that is creatively deep, this is the one for you. Back to Nature gets high points for being unique and reaching out to a new crowd of fun-loving would-be farmers. But as aforementioned, I personally don't find heaps of enjoyment in games this incredibly slow. Unless you're a Harvest Moon veteran, I recommend that you give this a rent before you buy.

Most games attempt to keep things fresh by offering new ideas and challenges. Here, routine is not only encouraged, but it's an integral part of playing the game. Waking up, checking the weather report, feeding the animals, tending the fields and going into town make up the bulk of your duties. Perform them well, and the fruits of your labor will soon show. Despite its simplistic appearance, Harvest Moon: Back to Nature is an engaging, always entertaining title overflowing with charm. A few minor problems (annoying load times being one) aside, this is an experience not to be missed.

Personligen är jag oerhört svag för Natsumes bondspel. Livet på landet är verkligen så skönt som jag hade tänkt mig. Men precis som i verkligheten blir jag uttråkad om jag stannar för länge. Och eftersom jag alltid har tyckt att Harvest Moon är som gjort för ett bärbart format har jag lite svårt att förstå poängen med en stationär version. Även fast den igentligen är minst lika bra som sina föregångare.

This farming simulator is actually quite entertaining. That is, if you’re into raising crops and livestock. I wouldn’t go as far to call it a sequel to the N64 release, but an update.

I’ll say this– Harvest Moon’s agrarian mix of role-playing and farm simulation is a unique package to say the least. Between tending to your crops, raising livestock, attending local festivals, and searching for a mate, there are a huge number of things to do in this game. I have no doubt that this game will attract a rabid cult of followers who succumb to its quirky charms. I will not be one of them. Maybe it’s the fact that, growing up on farm, I’ve done enough chores for one lifetime. Tending to fields every day is not my idea of fun. To add to my boredom was the slow pace at which the game unfolds. There are only two or three events each month, and you must spend the rest of the time working and talking to the slack-jawed yokels that populate the village. I respect Natsume’s efforts, but there are dozens of better RPGs out there.