Screenshots :.
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
GameCube
Matt
01-06-2007
"Speak English crazy lady!"
"Translating subtitle: 'Mmm...Cow."
"Nice house, but the carpet's a bit off."
I’ll openly admit right from the start of this review that I have little, or no, idea why the prospect of a farming simulation initially intrigued me enough to prompt me purchasing my first Harvest Moon game way back in 1999. Around that time I was quite happily still playing Ocarina of Time, GoldenEye, Final Fantasy 8 and the like, yet something about the quaint nature of running my own patch of land and wringing profit out of its muddy neck struck a chord with me.
In retrospect, it was a great decision. Subsequent versions of the game have squeezed more time out of me than a farmer squeezes fresh milk from a cow’s udder, and the prospect of a GameCube update was something that I keenly awaited. I say update, but in reality A Wonderful Life sees the series break off on a slight tangent, bringing a host of new ideas to the table along a selection of familiar elements.
The main difference for A Wonderful Life is that, rather than plot a number of continuous years of the main character, it features six chapters that span 30 game years. During this your character inherits his farm, gets a pet, finds himself a wife and raises a child, all whilst sticking to the daily grind of earning his crust from working the land.
Grind isn’t really the right word, though. The farming part of things has been bolstered for the series’ return to the big screen, with it allowing the player to not only grow fruit a vegetables alongside gaining dairy produce, but to yield their own seeds to sell as well. A whole range of machines are also eventually available to turn your cattle’s milk into cheese and to even do the milking part of the equation all by itself. Add in fishing to the mix and you’ll find plenty to do during your days down on the farm.
Not that all of this is available from the get go. As with previous instalments, early days see you having to make do with rudimentary tools with which to do your business, meaning that you’ll have to carefully manage your time. Careful planning will help the frugal player to make long-term gains for the right initial time and money investments, although for those who just want to plough into things there’s no punishment other than a slightly slower rate of progress.
In conjunction with the farming part of the game, the player is once again tasked with the rather fun task of trying to butter up one of the local ladies in order to score himself a wife. On offer is a selection of three girls: Nami, Celia and the temptingly- named Muffy. Each of them have vastly different personalities and take a liking to certain types of different gift, so it’s up to you to find out the characteristics of your favourite beau and bribe them with enough appropriate presents that they’ll want to marry you. You could be tempted to argue that this is the most accurate romance simulation to date, although obviously a nice fellow like myself would never do such a thing. Probably.
Thankfully, A Wonderful Life retains a good deal of the charm of the previous games in the series. As a result you’ll keep on plugging on through rain and shine so you can get that new watering can, or have a fully self-sustaining dairy produce section. Spending time growing your own empire from initially modest beginnings is incredibly fulfilling, and when the money starts rolling in you can sit back safely in the knowledge that it’s been as a result of all your efforts.
Graphically, A Wonderful Life is… er… wonderful. Whilst not hugely detailed the characters are bright and unique, with the same kind of endearing bobble-headedness that charmed people in Final Fantasies 7 and 9. The coastal town within which you live is full of a range of differing areas, be it the plush mansion, the beach, the mystical woods (well, I assume they’re mystical) and the muddy chaos of your farm. It all looks just how you would have imagined a 3D Harvest Moon game would look, right down to the lead character’s blue dungarees.
In all aspects, A Wonderful Life has bought the series well and truly into the next generation. Whilst the methodical nature of ploughing, planting and harvesting might not be for all, the game makes something as normally mundane as farming into an enjoyable, empire-building experience. For those who haven’t yet given the series a go and are wondering what all the fuss is about, this is the ideal opportunity for you to pick up your spade and start digging.
In retrospect, it was a great decision. Subsequent versions of the game have squeezed more time out of me than a farmer squeezes fresh milk from a cow’s udder, and the prospect of a GameCube update was something that I keenly awaited. I say update, but in reality A Wonderful Life sees the series break off on a slight tangent, bringing a host of new ideas to the table along a selection of familiar elements.
The main difference for A Wonderful Life is that, rather than plot a number of continuous years of the main character, it features six chapters that span 30 game years. During this your character inherits his farm, gets a pet, finds himself a wife and raises a child, all whilst sticking to the daily grind of earning his crust from working the land.
Grind isn’t really the right word, though. The farming part of things has been bolstered for the series’ return to the big screen, with it allowing the player to not only grow fruit a vegetables alongside gaining dairy produce, but to yield their own seeds to sell as well. A whole range of machines are also eventually available to turn your cattle’s milk into cheese and to even do the milking part of the equation all by itself. Add in fishing to the mix and you’ll find plenty to do during your days down on the farm.
Not that all of this is available from the get go. As with previous instalments, early days see you having to make do with rudimentary tools with which to do your business, meaning that you’ll have to carefully manage your time. Careful planning will help the frugal player to make long-term gains for the right initial time and money investments, although for those who just want to plough into things there’s no punishment other than a slightly slower rate of progress.
In conjunction with the farming part of the game, the player is once again tasked with the rather fun task of trying to butter up one of the local ladies in order to score himself a wife. On offer is a selection of three girls: Nami, Celia and the temptingly- named Muffy. Each of them have vastly different personalities and take a liking to certain types of different gift, so it’s up to you to find out the characteristics of your favourite beau and bribe them with enough appropriate presents that they’ll want to marry you. You could be tempted to argue that this is the most accurate romance simulation to date, although obviously a nice fellow like myself would never do such a thing. Probably.
Thankfully, A Wonderful Life retains a good deal of the charm of the previous games in the series. As a result you’ll keep on plugging on through rain and shine so you can get that new watering can, or have a fully self-sustaining dairy produce section. Spending time growing your own empire from initially modest beginnings is incredibly fulfilling, and when the money starts rolling in you can sit back safely in the knowledge that it’s been as a result of all your efforts.
Graphically, A Wonderful Life is… er… wonderful. Whilst not hugely detailed the characters are bright and unique, with the same kind of endearing bobble-headedness that charmed people in Final Fantasies 7 and 9. The coastal town within which you live is full of a range of differing areas, be it the plush mansion, the beach, the mystical woods (well, I assume they’re mystical) and the muddy chaos of your farm. It all looks just how you would have imagined a 3D Harvest Moon game would look, right down to the lead character’s blue dungarees.
In all aspects, A Wonderful Life has bought the series well and truly into the next generation. Whilst the methodical nature of ploughing, planting and harvesting might not be for all, the game makes something as normally mundane as farming into an enjoyable, empire-building experience. For those who haven’t yet given the series a go and are wondering what all the fuss is about, this is the ideal opportunity for you to pick up your spade and start digging.
8/10
