jeremy1456's Full Review: Harvest Moon for Game Boy Color
Harvest Moon is one of the few things that still gets me excited as far as gaming goes. In modern times when a game in the series is done right it can keep me glued for days at a time it's quite a feat considering that there are only around three, maybe four other titles a year that can have such an effect on my playing habits. Not every Harvest Moon title is golden however, but there's only one that's just downright god-awful. I'm speaking of course about the first Gameboy Color entry - Harvest Moon GBC.
Harvest Moon GBC
In the beginning of the game your character's grandfather has passed away. He contacts you from beyond the grave beckoning you to take over his ranch to become the 'farming master'. He promises to meet with you at the end of each year to check your progress. It's a simple story that's not much different from the other games in this series.
Right as you start you are given a choice between playing as either a boy or girl. Honestly I haven't tried the girl's scenario before so I can't comment on it, but I assume the two are not much different from one another. It's a nice touch that they actually let you choose I guess. On top of that you're allowed to start with either a dog or a cat. Again, I don't know if there are any differences between the choices, but it's still nice to be given the choice.
Harvest Moon GBC is basically a remake of the original game for the SNES. The locales and characters are the same, and the ranch is set up very similarly to how it was in the 16-bit iteration. Fans of the original game will feel deja vu until they realize that this version is so terribly scaled down that it's only a shell of it's former self.
The Harvest Moon games pit you in the role of a young farmer as he raises up a farm. This one is no different - you will plant seeds, water the plants, and harvest the crops in the end. On top of that you can also raise cows or chickens and sell their milk/eggs for a profit. Basically you're doing chores within the game to earn money which can be spent on house upgrades and other misc items.
Harvest Moon is also a series known for allowing your character to make friends, court members of the opposite sex, marry them, and eventually raise a family. The social element provided a nice break from the daily grind and is what makes the other games fun. This GBC edition cuts all of that out to make for a more defined goal of becoming the farming master. Social interaction is cut down to almost nothing as you can now only speak to them but cannot give them gifts. This is Harvest Moon GBC's major flaw, and ultimately what ruins the entire game.
Adding insult to injury this GBC edition also manages to cut out all the exploration the series is known for. You are given a mere point and click interface for traversing from building to building inside the village. You can't even walk around inside of the various houses - instead you are given a birds eye view of the character inhabiting said structure as they speak to you. It's completely lame and makes the game even more boring.
On paper it may sound like this version of Harvest Moon could have some redeeming aspects, but once you actually jump in you'll find a game that's just plain boring. The only thing you can do is raise crops/animals for profit. Rather than being a farming/life simulation we're instead left with a chore simulator. It's about as fun as it sounds.
If there's one thing this game has going for it then it's definitely the presentation. Harvest Moon GBC is a surprisingly good looking game. It's quite faithful to the SNES version, and the farm area could easily be mistaken for it. For a Gameboy Color game it's also surprisingly colorful - on top of that the animation is pretty darn smooth too.
The soundtrack is decent, consisting entirely of toned down songs from the SNES version. That's certainly not a bad thing - and the various musical pieces still fit the action quite well. Sound effects are nothing special but I guess they get the job done. They certainly could have been a lot worse, especially given the limited audio hardware of the Game Boy.
Controls are another area that's adequate. You should be up and running in mere minutes with ease - the only thing you might need to adjust to is the inventory system. You can carry only two items at once and you scroll through them with the select button, and activate them with A. It may take a few seconds to completely grasp but overall it's pretty easy stuff.
Final Recommendation
Harvest Moon GBC is not what the series is all about. Playing this game would be a mistake given how watered down and devoid of character this entry is. Not even fans should pick this one up.
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