kalizam's Full Review: Harvest Moon for Game Boy Color
First of all, I am simply amazed that 23 people have reviewed this game, and all 23 gave it a YES. I suppose it might have been during the early days of Epinions when everyone was still new.
Anyway, a few years back I was able to play a game on the N64 called Harvest Moon 64. The game had a very original concept, as instead of questing or collecting stars, you farmed. The game had a fair amount of depth to it, and you could play it a few times to come up with different results.
So I decided when I got my GameBoy Color that I would get Harvest Moon GBC. Harvest Moon GBC is a colored version of Harvest Moon GB, and nothing has been changed besides the color. Even the title screen says Harvest Moon GB.
Yuck. That word sums it about up. I have no idea how a great game like Harvest Moon 64 came from this.
Harvest Moon is a farming simulation game that has been given an E rating by the ESRB.
Story
---
Somewhat the usual story- guy's grandfather dies, comes to guy in a dream, gets him to take care of the broken down farm, that sort of business. That's the story, and there is nothing else to it. Unlike Harvest Moon 64, where you help to determine events in the lives of the people, the story does not continue with you.
Gameplay: Slightly more fun than watching mold grow
---
Harvest Moon GBC's gameplay is very bad. Perhaps that is an understatement. If you pick up one thousand grains of sand, drop them all, and then start again, you'll get an idea of what the gameplay is like.
To be fair, the beginning of the game is decent. You'll get your horse, you get to prepare the fields, and start to earn some money. But from there, the game really goes downhill.
First of all, and most importantly, is that there is nothing else besides farming chores. What made Harvest Moon 64 such a great game was how it balanced work with fun, just like real life. You got to talk to people, interact, and possibly even marry. You could also do this at your own pace. Want to shun social life for a year until you're Mr. Moneybags? No problem!
Harvest Moon GBC has no social life. 2 days out of the year, some of the village girls come to talk on your farm for a picnic/chance to see the stars. That's it. You cannot marry them, and they say the same thing every time.
So, lets take a look at the average farmer's day in Harvest Moon GBC.
Morning: It's gone to the animals
---
Every morning you wake up and tend to the animals. First it’s off to the cows. Unfortunately, three of your cows are still babies since they take ages to grow up, and the other one is mad at you because she wasn't fed (more on that later). Oh well, feed the cows and hope they get better tomorrow.
Next, onto the chickens! Unlike the nice little feather brained animals on Harvest Moon 64, the chickens in GBC are spiteful. They lay eggs that have such a wide sprite detection you can't get around them. To make matters worse, they lay the eggs in the same position, and jump to their spots every time you enter. So every day, the chickens and their eggs are in the same places as the day before, trying to jump in your way.
Mid-day: Reminds me of 'Our Town' (the movie)
---
So then our friendly farmer goes off to the market. First he stops at the flower shop. Unfortunately, the seeds he can pick are determined by what name he entered. Therefore, it's the same as usual.
Next we go to the church. If our farmer friend can pray all 120 days in the year, one of his cows will be gifted with golden milk. Unfortunately, if any of those 120 days has a typhoon, whereas our farmer cannot even step outside, the harvest goddess will get mad and will not grant him his wish for that year.
On to the invention shop, the best shop in town. You buy cool equipment there, which can really help you out on your farm. Unfortunately, as usual, the Shop lady has been slacking off, and kicks you out of your shop when you see she as nothing to buy.
The Elves
---
The little harvest sprites are next in line. The game has a feature where you tell the sprites to help you out, and if they like you they'll take care of your animals while the game is off. Unfortunately, they only like you if you give them a mushroom every day. While the game is off, the sprites get restless from lack of mushrooms, and they stop feeding your cows. You try to reason with the sprites, but all they say is "Hello."
Another thing about the sprites is that they'll offer to upgrade your tools, sort of. They'll ask you if your tools meet your satisfaction. If you say yes, they improve them. Say no, and you’re stuck with those tools for the rest of the game. See a problem here?
Now down to the dirty work
---
Next, it’s on to farming. If you managed to live through 1 year in the game, you have the totally inefficient sprinkler, can only water the area around you. Since you cannot step between or over the crops, your forced to water each side of the area, still missing the center plant. After a big forest, you have a number of young plants that are still waiting to be watered, which you have to get out of the way before you plant more.
There is a large bumper crop from watering the plants yesterday, so you call your horse over. Unfortunately, the crops don't let you dismount near them, so you have to dismount a little ways off. Then, just as your giving the bounty of your harvest to your horse's saddlebag, the horse moves further away, wasting veggies and becoming more annoying.
At the end of the day, you realize you had a hard day's work, but it’s all worth it when you make 6400 gold. Unfortunately, you've already reached the maximum limit of money you can carry, so it's all wasted. Oh, can't wait for tomorrow!
Graphics and Sound
---
The graphics are standard game boy color fare. I find that everything was a bit drab, though. When the girls come over, their sprite detection is so bad that you can end up appearing to stand on their heads.
Sound is terrible. There are four main songs for each season, but all of these are monotonous. They should have included some kind of Radio function, but of course if they were redesigning this game, that wouldn't be the first priority.
Replay Value
---
Since this was one of my first GBC games, I gave it a good chance. I played all the way through 2 years in the game, although looking back, I cannot imagine how I did it. Nothing ever changes, and you get to relive the same day over and over.
Multi-link
---
Yes, you can connect with another person. From this you can trade pets, cows, or chickens. Of course, first you have to find another person who has the game, and that will be a challenge in itself.
Overall
---
Don't get this game. There are many different versions of Harvest Moon out, for most every system. I know there are Playstation and Playstation 2 versions, a N64 version, two other GameBoy versions, and a few versions that should be coming out for the next-generation consoles. If you want your fill of farming, find it somewhere else than here.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.