Harvest Moon - Friends of Mineral Town is easily one of my favorite games of all time, and absolutely in the top three of my desert island/zombie apocalypse games.
Never beaten it. Been playing it since 2003. I've written long essays about this game before. In short, it's like The Legend of Zelda, if Link were a farmer. I know. I didn't think I would like it, either.
Damn me if this isn't the MOST addictive game I have ever played outside of fighting games. Which no one will ever play me at. I feel like Saitama in that regard, but I digress. And prove why I don't have a girlfriend.
Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons beats the brakes off of Farmville or Stardew Valley. Although the latter does its very best to capture the charm of the original inspiration, nothing can beat the best, and that's Friends of Mineral Town.
No enemies to fight. No real level-up system. You're a humble farmer who can beat his dog, cat, capybara, penguin, rabbit, horse, sheep, alpaca and cow with a scythe, if so inclined. Or an axe. Or a hammer.
You can enslave an entire tribe of peaceful Harvest Sprites to toil and labor for you, and provide them nothing more than a bag of flour for their services, then ignore their birthdays.
You can present unwitting townsfolk with your garbage, or force them to consume their least favorite and sometimes poisonous foods. You can litter wantonly, and allow an orphan to lose his job and home, and seek to find greener pastures elsewhere, as long as it isn't in the village you have chosen to betray.
You can win the hearts of seven different ladies, accept a marriage proposal from all of them, then leave them standing forlornly by the altar. Or men; this game does not discriminate when it comes to breaking hearts. Charm the pants off of all of the boys AND girls, at the same time, if it tickles your fancy, and leave them all hanging while you abuse their goddess by yeeting burned and poisonous junk into the pond she lives in.
You can commit mass animal genocide, and stock your farm with all sorts of creatures to neglect and refuse to feed and intentionally leave outside when you know a hurricane is coming. Are you a fan of chicken fighting? Cool! Force your poultry to fight to the death in the arena. Ever forced a penguin to chase a frisbee for over 100 meters, or wish you could? Your wish is granted. Run, Chilly Willy. Run as if your life depended on it. It does. You can watch them all die from the comfort of your bed, built by a man who comes by daily to bitch at you for having Golden Lumber anywhere on your property.
Or, you can play the game normally, and raise a bunch of happy, healthy livestock, participate in all sorts of festivals and events, grow dozens of different crops almost every season, go fishing, mining, and foraging. You can get married and become a parent. You can have up to five different pets, and win the love of all of the townsfolk and visitors.
Retire a multi-millionaire with three homes, beloved by a Goddess, as the paragon of Mineral Town, with magical stones providing you wth infinite health and stamina, and the ability to teleport anywhere you wish to be, fulfilling all of your not really grandfather's wishes for the farm that he left you, for being the only kid who cared about an old, lonely man.
This is why I love this game. You are doing yourself a disservice if you don't ever at least TRY some version of Friends of Mineral Town.
Never beaten it. Been playing it since 2003. I've written long essays about this game before. In short, it's like The Legend of Zelda, if Link were a farmer. I know. I didn't think I would like it, either.
Damn me if this isn't the MOST addictive game I have ever played outside of fighting games. Which no one will ever play me at. I feel like Saitama in that regard, but I digress. And prove why I don't have a girlfriend.
Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons beats the brakes off of Farmville or Stardew Valley. Although the latter does its very best to capture the charm of the original inspiration, nothing can beat the best, and that's Friends of Mineral Town.
No enemies to fight. No real level-up system. You're a humble farmer who can beat his dog, cat, capybara, penguin, rabbit, horse, sheep, alpaca and cow with a scythe, if so inclined. Or an axe. Or a hammer.
You can enslave an entire tribe of peaceful Harvest Sprites to toil and labor for you, and provide them nothing more than a bag of flour for their services, then ignore their birthdays.
You can present unwitting townsfolk with your garbage, or force them to consume their least favorite and sometimes poisonous foods. You can litter wantonly, and allow an orphan to lose his job and home, and seek to find greener pastures elsewhere, as long as it isn't in the village you have chosen to betray.
You can win the hearts of seven different ladies, accept a marriage proposal from all of them, then leave them standing forlornly by the altar. Or men; this game does not discriminate when it comes to breaking hearts. Charm the pants off of all of the boys AND girls, at the same time, if it tickles your fancy, and leave them all hanging while you abuse their goddess by yeeting burned and poisonous junk into the pond she lives in.
You can commit mass animal genocide, and stock your farm with all sorts of creatures to neglect and refuse to feed and intentionally leave outside when you know a hurricane is coming. Are you a fan of chicken fighting? Cool! Force your poultry to fight to the death in the arena. Ever forced a penguin to chase a frisbee for over 100 meters, or wish you could? Your wish is granted. Run, Chilly Willy. Run as if your life depended on it. It does. You can watch them all die from the comfort of your bed, built by a man who comes by daily to bitch at you for having Golden Lumber anywhere on your property.
Or, you can play the game normally, and raise a bunch of happy, healthy livestock, participate in all sorts of festivals and events, grow dozens of different crops almost every season, go fishing, mining, and foraging. You can get married and become a parent. You can have up to five different pets, and win the love of all of the townsfolk and visitors.
Retire a multi-millionaire with three homes, beloved by a Goddess, as the paragon of Mineral Town, with magical stones providing you wth infinite health and stamina, and the ability to teleport anywhere you wish to be, fulfilling all of your not really grandfather's wishes for the farm that he left you, for being the only kid who cared about an old, lonely man.
This is why I love this game. You are doing yourself a disservice if you don't ever at least TRY some version of Friends of Mineral Town.
Last edited by CraddaPoosta,
