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BTN/FoMT and 64 are probably my two favorites. Both are a good mix of "simple" farming combined with enough extra things to do so you're not just farming. Once you get past those games, they try to start doing required plot like "save the goddess" and such. I skipped Magical Melody because of that, and ended up selling Tree of Tranquility and Island of Happiness after barely playing either. HM DS was extremely tedious because you had to build everything but your house. Have fun carrying around all your material and fodder until you can afford a silo or shed. I was glad when my game glitched and I had a billion gold since it meant I could buy everything. What do you guys think about Rune Factory Frontier? If I picked up any HM game before RF3, it'd probably be that one.
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Aug 10, 2010 16:01
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I'm having a lot of fun with RFF, even though it annoys me at times (I need silver, dammit!) The dungeon crawling difficulty curve is much more challenging, crafting is available earlier on, bronze is no longer an ore (it's now copper  ), and I heard there's still challenges post-plot (super-hard boss battles? Finally!).A few annoyances: The runey mechanic - the fertility of the field (hence crop growth times) is affected by the populations of 4 different type of spirit, and what quantities there are in each area. Played well, your crops will grow rapidly. Abused, or ignored for too long, and your crops will take forever to grow. Hint: multiple harvests of rapidly-growing crops will fill your homestead with runeys, which you can use to replenish other areas. From what I've seen, this is in RF3 as well. You can only have one monster help with each farming chore. Only one monster helps with harvesting, one monster with watering, etc. Most of the time, they can't keep up, so you can't just ignore the work, and it may take you the entire day to harvest from your whole field. Loading times - Getting about town can get frustrating because it's segmented into relatively small areas, and it takes about 10 seconds for each loading time. To alleviate some of the boredom, the loading screen is partially interactive (tap A to make the runeys jump) In general, I'd say that each individual day takes longer to play than it does for the DS games, Runeys can be a bitch if you don't get them right (and the runey gathering animation takes so long!  ), but is strangely addictive. My brother hates it on grounds of being too anime, but still sat down and watched me play for three hours one time.
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Aug 10, 2010 16:21
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I loved the SNES Harvest Moon, then I tried to play one for the gamecube some years later and walked into some area and it was all of this hubbub about connecting your DS for this or that. It made me feel like I was playing an incomplete game and killed my interest on the spot.
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Aug 10, 2010 17:17
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I remember being completely baffled by the Runey system in Frontier. I could be wrong, but I don't remember it being explained properly anywhere in-game and the information I had to get about it came from internet forums. I had no clue why my crops weren't growing and it was frustrating. At this point I'd love a Harvest Moon game that was stripped back down to the essentials (meaning no clumsy stamina system, not having to set up a shop to sell your crops like in A Wonderful Life, slightly smaller maps, etc.), that didn't have a plot that had something to do with a troubled Harvest Goddess or something. I think 64 and Friends of Mineral Town absolutely nailed it, everything since has been futile efforts to build off of it. Though I really like Rune Factory also.
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Aug 10, 2010 17:18
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The Natsume page on facebook says that Rune Factory 3 will be coming to the US in winter, but like the OP stated, there is no set date. This week's "Nintendo Week" also featured a Grand Bazaar review. They talk about it first in the video you can watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD4RuPlatmg
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Aug 10, 2010 18:18
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Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:That's strange. I have no experience with the game myself, but the few HM fans I've talked to said it was their favorite. What didn't you like about it? Well, they had this poo poo with splicing seeds to level them up or something, I don't remember exactly, but the moment you got that ability the game was completely broken. You could make so much money in one season that you'd never need to do anything again. Not using that ability wasn't really an option, because you couldn't make poo poo for money without it. The map was tiny and as I recall, there were no calendar events whatsoever. It was when I spent probably 60 in-game days in a row just going to sleep immediately that it struck me I was playing a really poorly made game. There was something wrong with the actual farming as I recall too, instead of having a nice big field to work on you had a bunch of tiny little areas and it just rubbed me wrong.
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Aug 10, 2010 18:25
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That's the thing with a lot of Harvest Moons. They improve in some places and then get worse in others, sometimes for no good reason. They add a new improved cooking system but now the people have less dialog. Revamp the upgrading system but then the controls make no sense. Make your kid a lot more interesting and important but then have no festivals or special events at all. It's somewhat schizophrenic. I'm really digging Animal Parade, however.
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Aug 11, 2010 07:59
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So, anyone out there play the japanese version of Grand Bazaar and have any impressions? I haven't bought a new HM game in forever and I wonder what I'd be getting myself into if I got this one.
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Aug 11, 2010 09:01
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This is an updated tidbit from RPGamer, but it's based on an updated version than the one from E3, it's from last June:quote:The best part of Grand Bazaar is, of course, the bazaar. This is a weekly event occurring on either Saturday or Sunday where you can sell things that you have grown, made, collected, or caught to earn money. The bazaar will grow in size as you continue through the story, and you no longer have to use shipping bins as in previous games.
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Aug 11, 2010 10:52
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Vakal posted:Out of all the RF titles, I enjoyed Frontier on the Wii the most. It fixed most of the annoying aspects of the first RF on the DS. I picked this up last night for want of a game I could play in front of my kids. I haven't been happier with a game purchase in a long time. Though I have to admit that waiting around until the bar opened with nothing to do in the meantime, while the tranquil music played and birds chirped made me pass out on the couch at like 9pm.
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Aug 12, 2010 16:39
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Grand Bazaar tips at Nintendo Week http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD4RuPlatmg
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Aug 13, 2010 04:30
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The SNES and N64 versions were the only ones I could really get into. The art just had fantastic charm. I thank my enchantment with the original game to the fact that I never read any walkthroughs or other misc. game information. I remember spending 45 realtime minutes past sundown picking crops, waiting for the MASSIVE PAYDAY the next evening...only to realize they all perished. And the money tree! I was absolutely convinced that it gave me an x amount of money per day somehow, that it wasn't just a glorified cowbell. I was wrong. And then there was the golden egg from the hen in the sky. And the end of the year gathering when everyone meets at the peak and reflects upon the year with ridiculously reflection inducing music. Truly magical moments in my gaming career. I played 3-4 other Harvest Moon games (including the n64 version) hoping to recreate the magic I felt with the SNES version. But been there done that, with nothin really left to surprise you, they just weren't as fun. The N64 version was a great "expansion" pack to the original however. Also, I say SNES version had the best music.
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Aug 13, 2010 04:39
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You should try Friends of Mineral Town for GBA, or More Friends of Mineral Town. They are basically 2D Back to Nature and no loading times.
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Aug 15, 2010 07:02
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jngshin posted:The SNES and N64 versions were the only ones I could really get into. The art just had fantastic charm. I thank my enchantment with the original game to the fact that I never read any walkthroughs or other misc. game information. Out of all of the versions of Harvest Moon I really love the first one the best. If there was a way I could play it on my DS I don't think I'd ever play another Harvest Moon game besides that. 
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Aug 15, 2010 07:09
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I've tried to play Sunshine Islands but that point poo poo is weird and I don't like it. I don't really like the Rune Factory games either, I don't want to kill monsters I just wanna grow turnips. Friends of Mineral Town is my favorite but even that gets boring once you can hire fairies to do everything for you.
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Aug 15, 2010 07:45
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CarnivorousThing posted:Animal Parade for Wii actually reminds me a lot of 64 and FoMT. The characters are interesting and often kind of depressing and there is a poo poo load to do. Also your character and their chosen girl/boyfriend can push their giant lego heads together and kiss at the end of romantic dates. Animal Parade is my first HM game and I loved it. The wizard is adorable and I married him because of all the sweet things he says.
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Aug 15, 2010 08:20
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Nessa posted:Animal Parade is my first HM game and I loved it. It sounds like he put quite a spell on you!
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Aug 15, 2010 17:13
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be good and try hard! 
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Nessa posted:Animal Parade is my first HM game and I loved it. Yeah me too.
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Aug 15, 2010 17:21
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I married Griffin in Harvest Moon Cute and he's the best choice.  So I fell asleep playing the original Harvest Moon last night thanks to my last post, and I couple of questions. I've heard that the fence is meaningless and if you have no wood posts at all the game never does the "whoops your chickens escaped/got eaten!" check after it rains since there's no rotting wood on the farm. Also, what gives you more energy: Sitting in the hot springs, or rapidly jumping in and out?
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Aug 15, 2010 20:00
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Has anyone seen the E3 booklet for Rune Factory 3? I've played many of the HM/RF games, but I think the original is the only one I've ever beaten, probably on my first play-through too.
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Aug 15, 2010 20:45
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I used to be inot the harvest moon games back in the SNES/GBA era, then i got bored with the monotony of it. Te only thing i've ever wanted the HM games to have is hireable staff to do all of the lovely work for you, or at least the option to hire staff (you could still do all the farming if you hate yourself). I'm quite happy to start up the business, tending to my animals and fields and poo poo at the beginning, but let me hire some staff and then expand so i don't have to do all the lovely backbreaking stuff like picking and planting veg over and over and over again.
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Aug 15, 2010 21:06
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Lobster Fancy posted:I remember being completely baffled by the Runey system in Frontier. I could be wrong, but I don't remember it being explained properly anywhere in-game and the information I had to get about it came from internet forums. Yeah, the runey system was the least enjoyable addition in Frontier. Although as long as you didn't mess around with it, the system was setup to be more of less self-sufficient so you didn't get bonus or a penalty to your crops. It was kind of fun though to max out every area and have the most expensive crops grow in 1-2 days. And even the flowers that would take 100+ days to bloom, would be done in a couple of weeks.
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Aug 15, 2010 21:15
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Kin posted:I used to be inot the harvest moon games back in the SNES/GBA era, then i got bored with the monotony of it. At least one of the games sorta had this, I think. You could hire out little elves to help you. I'm thinking it might have been a Rune Factory game, or one of the later HM games. I forget if it went to the extent you're asking for, too.
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Aug 15, 2010 21:15
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Back to Nature had the nature spirits or whatever they were called and there were 8 of them, and you could befriend them and get them to water your crops, tend to your livestock, etc.
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Aug 15, 2010 21:17
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Revol posted:At least one of the games sorta had this, I think. You could hire out little elves to help you. I'm thinking it might have been a Rune Factory game, or one of the later HM games. I forget if it went to the extent you're asking for, too. That'd be DS and DS cute. It's been years since I played them, so I don't remember exactly the specific details, but you could hire a team of elves to take care of your livestock, and water and harvest your crops if you had enough medals.
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Aug 15, 2010 21:32
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Vakal posted:Yeah, the runey system was the least enjoyable addition in Frontier. Although as long as you didn't mess around with it, the system was setup to be more of less self-sufficient so you didn't get bonus or a penalty to your crops. Sometimes I debate about putting the homebrew channel on my Wii just so I can cheat the runey system and not worry about it.
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Aug 15, 2010 21:34
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I eventually stopped farming entirely just so I wouldn't have to worry about Runeys anymore. When I needed money, I went fishing in the dungeons. A Harvest Moon game should not make me want to stop farming.
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Aug 15, 2010 21:46
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Isn't there another Rune Factory game coming to the Wii? I thought I had heard something about it, but now I'm not finding any information.
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Aug 16, 2010 00:23
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Mountaineer posted:A Harvest Moon game should not make me want to stop farming. That's the problem with most of them. Your farm ends up getting so big that you simply spend all of your time farming the damned thing instead of enjoying the benefits you're getting (loadsa cash). You should be able to hire minions and begin your farmland domination as you take over the whole countryside. What we need is something that starts out like Harvest Moon but ends up growing into what Theme Farm would be like.
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Aug 16, 2010 00:46
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Kin posted:That's the problem with most of them. Your farm ends up getting so big that you simply spend all of your time farming the damned thing instead of enjoying the benefits you're getting (loadsa cash). Actually, in Sunshine Islands you can make buddies with the sprites and they do some chores. I also found in Rune Factory 1 and 2 that expanding the barns and getting about 3-4 of the watering and harvesting Monsters took care of it quite nicely too. Although I think the sprites can't work every day - so the minions idea would be kind of awesome. Or the one GBC harvest moon where your partner did half the work. Aerofallosov fucked around with this message at 01:03 on Aug 16, 2010 |
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Aug 16, 2010 01:01
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The problem with the HM/FM formula was that you'd generally just become fatigued with the game. That, and I always felt like you would end up fighting the systems of the game itself, especially with stamina. It's like a treadmill that gets faster and faster, and eventually, I can't keep up. But I always come back for more, hoping I'll find a treadmill that I can handle the entire run for. Edit: BLEH. I can't decided if I should wait for the new HM to come out, or play RF2 now. I'm bored right now, but I don't want to get into a game and then just set it aside in a week or two. Revol fucked around with this message at 02:17 on Aug 16, 2010 |
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Aug 16, 2010 01:19
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Wandering Knitter posted:I married Griffin in Harvest Moon Cute and he's the best choice. My boyfriend wanted to know why I was marrying "an old Mexican dude" when he spotted me attempting to seduce Griffin. He told me Gustafa was a better choice. Excuse me, but I am not marrying a hippy dwarf who lives in a tent. I think staying in the hot springs is the better option, energy-wise. It's also the only way to unlock a particular harvest sprite, since it requires you to sit in the spring 200 times for at least 1 hour each time. I'm still trying to track down a copy of Animal Parade, too.  I found a cheap copy on eBay with a seller who promised "international shipping" yet for some reason refused to ship to Australia. Every other copy I've found goes well over $100 including shipping, and even I am not obsessed enough with Harvest Moon to pay that much. I've heard the game was discontinued (but can't find anywhere confirming it), which would explain why no online retailers seem to have the game.
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Aug 16, 2010 05:41
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Holy poo poo, I had never played Rune Factory 2! I started playing it again today expecting me to recognize everything, when I realized I must have only played it the first time for like, five minutes, and then given up for some reason. I wonder how that happened? Anybody got tips on starting out in RF2? What's the best weapon type? Who's easy to marry? What monsters do I want to get first? What does RF2 do different from RF1 and RF:F that I should know?
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Aug 16, 2010 17:55
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Revol posted:Who's easy to marry? my method is to always go for the one with the biggest boobs
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Aug 16, 2010 18:26
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The Joe Man posted:my method is to always go for the one with the biggest boobs That would be the fortune teller, but I don't wanna get with that godless heathen gypsy. My method is to usually bag the redhead, because that's my thing, but this one is a half-Elf who's gift items are all precious gems. And she's a servant, and continues to be one after I marry her.
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Aug 16, 2010 18:35
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Revol posted:That would be the fortune teller, but I don't wanna get with that godless heathen gypsy. I know who you're talking about, and I'm going for her too  How exactly does she continue to be a servant if you marry her?
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Aug 16, 2010 21:15
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Always marry the hot harlot on my first playthrough, then marry the sweet girl next door type with cheap gift requirements on my second.
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Aug 16, 2010 22:08
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Ka0 posted:Always marry the hot harlot on my first playthrough, then marry the sweet girl next door type with cheap gift requirements on my second. I could never bring myself to marry Mist in the two RF games. It always felt you were trying to get with a high-functioning retarded girl.
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Aug 16, 2010 22:12
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The last Harvest Moon thread had a ton of people going for Rosalind in RF2. She's actually got amusing dialogue and an offbeat family to boot. There's also a way to exploit getting her favorite gift every day in the early game so she's also pretty easy to get approval with.
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Aug 16, 2010 22:25
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Revol posted:Holy poo poo, I had never played Rune Factory 2! I started playing it again today expecting me to recognize everything, when I realized I must have only played it the first time for like, five minutes, and then given up for some reason. I wonder how that happened? If this is the HM I'm thinking of, then marry the rich chick. Then you get to be in-laws with Max.
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Aug 16, 2010 22:27
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