{"id":1200,"date":"2023-07-07T19:00:50","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T23:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gaminginsurrection.com\/reviews\/?p=1200"},"modified":"2023-09-06T18:18:23","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T22:18:23","slug":"harvest-moon-snes-issue-45","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gaminginsurrection.com\/reviews\/index.php\/2023\/07\/07\/harvest-moon-snes-issue-45\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvest Moon (SNES<\/span>) \u2014 Issue 45"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Farm\u00ading life begins with
\nSNES<\/span> sim\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtor classic<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Leav\u00ading every\u00adthing behind and tak\u00ading up the life of a farmer does\u00adn\u2019t seem to be half bad. Sure, it\u2019s back-break\u00ading daunt\u00ading work with a large reser\u00advoir of poten\u00adtial fail\u00adure. But it\u2019s hon\u00adest work and high\u00adly sat\u00adis\u00adfy\u00ading. Or, at least that\u2019s what Har\u00advest Moon wants you to believe. In a tale as old as video game time, the orig\u00adi\u00adnal farm\u00ading sim\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtor wants you to live that life and suc\u00adceed, no mat\u00adter the cost.<\/span>
\nHar\u00advest Moon\u2019s orig\u00adi\u00adnal entry is the stark\u00adest of all in the series. You, the name\u00adless farmer, are tasked with rebuild\u00ading the fam\u00adi\u00adly farm and prop\u00ader\u00adty. There are ani\u00admals to raise, crops to nur\u00adture and sell, and \u2014 if you play your cards cor\u00adrect\u00adly \u2014 a fam\u00adi\u00adly to start. You have rough\u00adly a year to do this before your par\u00adents come back and judge your efforts. If you\u2019ve suc\u00adceed\u00aded most\u00adly, you\u2019re in the clear. If not, well, you\u2019ve failed and it\u2019s game over. This is the basis for the series that you see today in Har\u00advest Moon and Stardew Val\u00adley, and though most\u00adly unchanged in basis, it\u2019s sim\u00adple and effective.<\/span>
\nThe depth comes in learn\u00ading the game sys\u00adtem. Crop nur\u00adtur\u00ading and ani\u00admal hus\u00adbandry are not easy, but once you\u2019ve got the nuance it\u2019s a whole new world of prof\u00adits. The con\u00adtrols are sim\u00adple to pick up and once you\u2019ve built your\u00adself up sta\u00admi\u00adna-wise, the fruits of your labor are obvi\u00adous. There\u2019s some\u00adthing super sat\u00adis\u00adfy\u00ading about work\u00ading the land, plant\u00adi\u00adng crops and car\u00ading for your ani\u00admals in a day\u2019s work and then reap\u00ading the ben\u00ade\u00adfits. There is plan\u00adning involved also, which adds an extra lay\u00ader of depth. Know\u00ading how to spend your day wise\u00adly \u2014 whether it be tend\u00ading to the farm or social\u00adiz\u00ading in town \u2014 is impor\u00adtant, and adds to the over\u00adall experience. <\/span>
\nPart of that expe\u00adri\u00adence is the pre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtion, and it\u2019s not bad for a SNES<\/span> game. Giv\u00aden that this is 16-bit, the sprites are bright and pop with the gor\u00adgeous SNES<\/span> palette. Some areas are a lit\u00adtle too brown but over\u00adall, it\u2019s a pret\u00adty game. The music is slight\u00adly monot\u00ado\u00adnous but it\u2019s a lit\u00adtle catchy so it does\u00adn\u2019t nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly grate the way you\u2019d think hear\u00ading the same tune would for more than 20 min\u00adutes of farm work and socializing.<\/span>
\nBecause this is the entry point to the mod\u00adern series, Har\u00advest Moon has work to do. Time \u2014 though not explic\u00adit\u00adly shown on screen \u2014 runs too quick\u00adly. Also, the start\u00ading hand\u00adi\u00adcap of low sta\u00admi\u00adna and mediocre tools is not fun. This does become eas\u00adi\u00ader in lat\u00ader entries, but this frus\u00adtrat\u00ading mechan\u00adic began here and does not enhance the series in any way. <\/span>
\nDespite some frus\u00adtra\u00adtions with the game, it\u2019s a nice, relax\u00ading start to a fun, quirky series. Mod\u00adern fea\u00adtures may be a draw for the lat\u00ader games, but don\u2019t let the orig\u00adi\u00adnal fool you. There\u2019s a won\u00adder\u00adful life to be had even in the 16-bit starter.<\/span><\/p>\n