Harvest Moon and Rune Factory

[Ogremindes]

Thought it'd be worth throwing a thread out for Harvest Moon and it's spin offs. A few months ago I played Rune Factory 3 (for those who don't know, Rune Factory is Harvest Moon plus action RPG and fantasy trappings), and in the last few days I started playing A New Beginning.

I thought I just did something very silly in bankrupting myself buying chickens and feed on the last day of spring, but the first of summer was on a Wednesday anyway, so the shop was closed and I couldn't buy the new seeds anyway.

One thing that struck me comparing the two games is that RF3 seems much more polished than New Beginning, I'm noticing townsfolk teleporting around, and more minor things like the UI not being quite as nice to use and just having to put a tool away in order to pick things up. I would've thought that the main series would've had more care put into that sort of thing.

[Domochevsky]

A New Beginning... you mean Harvest Moon, not Rune Factory then, I presume. :smallsmile:

Yeah, that is a bit weird. The main series (HM) has somehow always these weird set of mechanics that sour the experience as a whole with weird bits of interface shenanigans or gimmiks with little relevance. Which is a bummer, as I liked the general idea of HM.

(And then I played RF3 and was amazed at the fun and playability of that game. Never beat it though. I should get back to that. :O )

[Starwulf]

I'm a huge fan of the Rune Factories, I have all 3 for the DS, have 200+ hours invested on all 3, all 3 have every recipe unlocked and crafted at least once ^^

[TaRix]

That's the sort of thing I'd do if I ever got enough storage space in those games. But I'm still looking forward to the next one this week.

[Ogremindes]

That's the sort of thing I'd do if I ever got enough storage space in those games. But I'm still looking forward to the next one this week.

I have to wait for the EU version :smallfrown: . That's why I only just got New Beginning.

[Sajiri]

I've been playing ANB for months (got it imported from the US since I have access to a NA 3ds), I enjoy it, though I miss when time froze inside buildings. If you have a lot of animals you kind of have to go into wifi to take care of them each day otherwise you spend the whole day grooming and milking.

[erikun]

Harvest Moon has always had this planning/time management thing going for it, where a big focus in the game is on how much stuff you can accomplish in a day due to time and stamina, in planning out crop placement and planning, and in meeting people to improve relationship levels. I haven't actually played a HM game since Musical Melody on the GameCube, so I'm not sure if the newer games are any different. However, after HM64/Back to Nature/Friends of Mineral Town, it seemed like Harvest Moon just didn't know what to do with itself. It wanted to be open and give you a lot of things to do, but that just made everything feel small.

The first Rune Factory started out very much with the idea of Harvest Moon with combat in dungeons. By Rune Factory 3, they'd pretty much given up on trying to limit how much you could accomplish with stamina, and just allowed you to run around anywhere and do pretty much everything. The game feels a lot more open, and the characters a lot wackier than what you see in the Harvest Moon games. :smalltongue: I never did finish RF3, but I did have some remarkably high stats in just about everything.

I note that Rune Factory 4 on the 3DS is coming out in a few days.

[Sajiri]

Harvest Moon has always had this planning/time management thing going for it, where a big focus in the game is on how much stuff you can accomplish in a day due to time and stamina, in planning out crop placement and planning, and in meeting people to improve relationship levels. I haven't actually played a HM game since Musical Melody on the GameCube, so I'm not sure if the newer games are any different. However, after HM64/Back to Nature/Friends of Mineral Town, it seemed like Harvest Moon just didn't know what to do with itself. It wanted to be open and give you a lot of things to do, but that just made everything feel small.



Im sure the last few HM games all froze time indoors. I'm okay with having to manage time, but even with just a few chickens, and one of each livestock animal (2 types of cows, yak, a sheep, an alpaca, dont have a llama yet) half the day is gone just taking care of them, then there's a few crops to water, after that there's no time left to run out and talk to people, especially since they spend 6 hours of the day eating and you can't give them gifts lol

[Todasmile]

I wish RF4 weren't coming out so close to W101 and Pokemon. I'd have loved to pick it up and play it, but I'm afraid I won't have the time. I'm not even sure if I'll have the time for Pokemon.

[erikun]

Im sure the last few HM games all froze time indoors. I'm okay with having to manage time, but even with just a few chickens, and one of each livestock animal (2 types of cows, yak, a sheep, an alpaca, dont have a llama yet) half the day is gone just taking care of them, then there's a few crops to water, after that there's no time left to run out and talk to people, especially since they spend 6 hours of the day eating and you can't give them gifts lol
Earlier Harvest Moon games paused time indoors, and it wasn't really until the GameCube games when you saw time ticking which standing around the house. (The original SNES Harvest Moon might've seen time pass indoors.)

But really, then it because a management of stamina rather than time. You'd have plenty of time to brush all the cows and water all the crops, but you would end up passing out if you tried to do it all with a full field of crops. To say nothing about trying to run out and chop wood for the next building you want.

This was actually a pretty good setup because once you had animals to take care of, you had a lot of time on your hands but couldn't do "work". It kind of forced you to explore a bit, grab stuff from the forest, and chat with the locals. Actually, there were a ton of little things in Back to Nature that just plain worked, which more recent Harvest Moon games don't seem to realize or have intentionally avoided.

[Starwulf]

@erikun: thanks for making me depressed :-(. I had no idea RF4 was on it's way out, and now that I do, I'm quite sad, cuz I don't have a 3ds, or the money for one :-(.

I kind of understated my love for the RF series in my initial post, I'm actually quite obsessed with them, I just find them so fun and entertaining, and once you scratch the surface you start to see how complex it really is. forging relationships, getting married, juggling crops with dungeon diving, searching dungeons for that one specific monster that drops the item you need to craft that ultimate weapon...It's awesome. It's even more awesome that it's not a hard system to pick up, so you're not put off right off the bat.

And let's not forget the capturing and raising of monsters, and getting them to love you, teaching them to take care of some of your crops for you, while obtaining milk/eggs/other stuff from the ones that are less monster and more regular animal with an attitude. Or even taking them with you to help you fight in the dungeon.

Loved the second game the most I think, picking up as my child after I've gone off to fight a great evil, then eventually (if you go back and fight the true final boss after initial credits roll) re-discovering your parent that you've thought was long gone but always held hope of finding. Ahhh..so epic.

[Sajiri]

I've never actually played RF, what's the main difference between it and HM?

[Todasmile]

I've never actually played RF, what's the main difference between it and HM?

More focus on story, more RPGish - you have skills that determine your stamina loss and effectiveness when doing certain things, it's more of a fantasy game, you tame monsters and they do different things.

You fight monsters.

It's literally a Fantasy Harvest Moon.

(The second game was totally my favorite too, even if the third did so many things better)

[Ogremindes]

I'm regretting wasting Small Lumber early in New Beginning. You need so much of it and Small Branches for the second restoration. Now I'm not sure I can get that 10 honey before winter.

[Deme]

I haven't played A New Beginning in some time, but my love of the series is well-documented.

As for Rune Factory...It's hit or miss. I loved Frontier, was just OK about Rune Factory 1, did not like Oceans, and never played 2... But 3? I started playing 3 a few months, and it is really nice. I am loving the heck out of it, and intend to buy 4.

...I am also strongly considering LPing 3, so it's good to see there are some 3 fans on the forum.

[Ogremindes]

I've been mostly down on New Beginning in this thread, so I think I should say I'm really enjoying it. I'm getting the distinct feeling that I'm just not supposed to do everything in it, there's just so much stuff and only so many minutes in the day. It's also my first main HM game, apart from briefly playing the SNES game.

I just got a dog, and suddenly livestock are less of a pain in the backside to deal with. I'm also just figuring I shouldn't spend much effort on my crops until I can save seeds from them.

[TaRix]

I'm digging into Rune Factory 4 right now. A few observations follow:

1)Player mechanics are very very similar to RF3, as far as controls, interface, and attribute/skill growth go.

2)Crafting is more interesting and less profitable, at least at first. The lower-level items tend to require more generic things--you can make an axe out of iron (or bronze), a 'hard' thing (like a field-clogging rock), and a handle thing (bug horn, field-clogging stick, lumber). Great for getting rid of useless junk and for excuses to pick it all up. Oh, there's a lot more storage space! Yay!

3)Farming is both simplified and more complex. The normal plot of land is 2X2 instead of 3X3, but one square of seeds usually produces multiple crops, provided you haven't overused the land to the point of sterility. The soil gets stats and health, trackable via the magnifying glass, and the manual hints that it can level up. Dungeon fields tend to have higher stats, too.

4)It seems a little more customizeable, too. All the furniture is portable, (though not packable) except maybe your bed. You can even tote your farm's well to parts unknown if you really really wanted to. With practice, you can throw your forge at enemies and do a number on both it and them.

[Aidan305]

I haven't played A New Beginning in some time, but my love of the series is well-documented.

As for Rune Factory...It's hit or miss. I loved Frontier, was just OK about Rune Factory 1, did not like Oceans, and never played 2... But 3? I started playing 3 a few months, and it is really nice. I am loving the heck out of it, and intend to buy 4.

...I am also strongly considering LPing 3, so it's good to see there are some 3 fans on the forum.

I suspect that the number of fans would shoot up the moment you started.

[Ogremindes]

So, is there any iteration of Harvest Moon that is considered "the best"? Or is it more like they're all kinda janky but each builds up on the last?

[druid91]

Personally, the best was 64.

But then, that was the latest one I played apart from mineral town, which I hated.

[TheZoobler]

So, is there any iteration of Harvest Moon that is considered "the best"? Or is it more like they're all kinda janky but each builds up on the last?

Every Harvest Moon game is RADICALLY different from the others in A) a lot of little ways that add up or B) a couple very large ways. Whether it's an improvement or a decline is really kind of subjective. Some games are more focused on the farming, some the relationships, some the animals, some... gathering sticks lol.

Nostalgia colors a lot of what's the "best" for people too lol. My first ever Harvest Moon game is still MY favorite, and my personal best: Back To Nature for the PS1. I love it to death and will defend it through everything.

Here, have a look at all the little things that can make this hard to get an objective look at which HM is better.

Back to Nature had the standard crop plot be 3x3 per one bag of seeds. Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland had 1 square (1x1) per one bag of seeds, so I didn't like it. Rune Factory 1 had 3x3 be the standard crop plot, so I automatically liked it more.

Back to Nature paused time when you're indoors, giving you time to breathe and relax while caring for animals. A New Beginning doesn't pause time indoors, making the day rushed and hectic to my taste. Less fun :(.

Back to Nature had gentle and friendly characters who were very supportive and good-natured. A New Beginning has a lot of selfish, obnoxious people who are constantly disappointed in you. Not good >:(.

Rune Factory 1 has monsters and dungeons and fantasy elements, which is a refreshing breath of fresh air :D (I like) but also gives it a different feel from a traditional, pseudo-realistic farm (different taste).

A New Beginning has YAKS and LLAMAS and all kinds of different animals. Back to Nature had only chickens, cows, and sheep, much less variety :(. Rune Factory has the biggest creature variety, but they're all wacky monsters instead of cuddly farm animals (plus or minus depending on your taste).

A New Beginning lets you customize the ENTIRE town, Rune Factory lets you customize your decor, Back to Nature only lets you expand your extremely static buildings a little bit.

Every game has different art styles. Rune Factory is extremely femme anime. Back to Nature was bubbly chibi people. New Beginning is animesque, cutesy, but not femmy. Save the Homeland was the closest to realistic characters and proportions.

Sometimes the game ends after a certain event or amount of time, sometimes you can keep talking with people and farming endlessly. (Back to Nature is endless, Save the Homeland was not).

It goes on and on and on and on. This is a very small glimpse into the bigger picture of "what makes a certain HM game the best". There are soooome common threads, like plenty of people loving 64/BackToNature/RuneFactories, or hating others (Save the Homeland), and it's really personal lol.

I constantly replay Back To Nature and highly recommend its psp port :).

EDIT: I don't understand how anyone can stand the characters in A New Beginning... they are the most critical, rude, and obnoxious people in the entire series.

[erikun]

So, is there any iteration of Harvest Moon that is considered "the best"? Or is it more like they're all kinda janky but each builds up on the last?
I'll always have a sweet spot for Back to Nature (PS1) for one very simple reason: it was the last game that featured the 365 days in a year. Friends of Mineral Town (GBA) and afterwards all use the same 4-month, 120-day calendar that just contracts everything into a third of the time. I know it's a minor complaint, but playing Back to Nature through the year actually felt like playing the character through a year. Playing Friends of Mineral Town through a year felt like it just went by too fast.

Other than that, what Zoobler said about a bunch of minor differences is true as well. A Wonderful Life was interesting because you went through definite life cycles, having a child and watching it grow up, although the town felt really small. Magical Melody was interesting and I remember there being a lot of do in that one. I didn't play much of the other Harvest Moon games beyond that, though. By that time, I'd switched over to Rune Factory and much preferred that series instead.

[Tylorious]

So, I'm thinking of getting Rune Factory 4 for my girlfriend. She really loves the farming and relationships from harvest moon, and her favorite game in the world is Zelda. Do you all think she would enjoy Rune Factory 4?

[Anajamois]

It would be a tragedy for this thread to fade over to page 2.


So, I'm thinking of getting Rune Factory 4 for my girlfriend. She really loves the farming and relationships from harvest moon, and her favorite game in the world is Zelda. Do you all think she would enjoy Rune Factory 4?

If she's more into farming than she is for RPG storytelling, then she may prefer Harvest Moon over Rune Factory.

If she enjoys Zelda, however, she might consider the gameplay of Rune Factory combined with the complexity of proper farming/cooking/crafting and how the results can effect relationships and gameplay, then I suppose she could think it a wonderful combination. I would say go for it.

[Tylorious]

It would be a tragedy for this thread to fade over to page 2.



If she's more into farming than she is for RPG storytelling, then she may prefer Harvest Moon over Rune Factory.

If she enjoys Zelda, however, she might consider the gameplay of Rune Factory combined with the complexity of proper farming/cooking/crafting and how the results can effect relationships and gameplay, then I suppose she could think it a wonderful combination. I would say go for it.

Thanks Anaj