VGRC

The mid 90s was an interesting time for video games. The drums of the early console wars were just beginning to rumble as the Nintendo 64 and the Playstation were fresh off the assembly line and new types of games were beginning to become popular with the American audience. Final Fantasy VII launched the modern popularity of the story based RPG and  little series called Grand Theft Auto brought nonlinear gameplay and remorseless slaughter for the first time on the PC. Also during this time some companies were still making games for the past generation of systems, games that harnessed the revolutionary new concepts that new gen games used and brought them to the tried and true (and now cheaper to produce for) systems of the past generation. Some of the best unconventional SNES games were created during this time period such as Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, and Chrono Trigger.

It was during this time period that Natsume released the first game in it's flagship series, and the crown jewel to the late collection of SNES game, Harvest Moon. Harvest Moon was a huge departure from what would be expected of a mainstream game. Taking RPG elements involving character development and interaction and combining with near sandbox style freedom to build the digital farm that the user inhabited reminiscent of SimCity. Harvest Moon allowed the player to take on the role of Jack, the proud new owner of a fixer-upper ranch outside of a quaint town in the countryside. Harvest Moon asked gamers to trade their broadswords for a garden hoe, their machine guns for a water pail, and kill counts for relationship points. They were asked to guide Jack in developing his empty fields and barns into a self sustaining ranch, and integrating the newbie rancher into the local town's society by forming friendships, participating in the economy, wooing one of the town girls, and ultimately starting a family.

Needless to say Harvest Moon was a niche game. Though never attaining the vast sales and blockbuster exposure that many younger video game series enjoy, Harvest Moon's status as a cult classic with a strong fan base has spawned a stream of sequels and remakes numbering over 20 related titles since the original in 1997. The creator of the series since in inception in 1996, Yasuhiro Wada, reasons that this strong following and success of such an unconventional series is because "the core system of the game - of the series - hasn't changed", and this is quite true. The time tested, familiar conventions of the series were all first developed in the original and they still remain today, and are powerful enough to attract and maintain a contemporary audience while other series strive to produce new and ridiculous techniques and gimmicks to keep their games afloat.

Visually the game is still as pretty as it was over a decade ago. The sprites are still beautifully designed and the entire world is both colorful and attractive. The colors are actually the game's most artfully used device. The pale greens of spring give way to the more vibrant colors of summer in a way that sets the tone perfectly and makes the player believe that in this little world the seasons have really changed. Attention to player animations is abundant as well. Jack will yawn deeply, he will stretch to get ready for the day, and depending on the amount of energy the little guy has left will swoon and faint if overworked. Conversely the other inhabitants of the town have very little animation. Aside from a few constantly looped animations (ie. Ann hammering out an invention, Maria sweeping in front of the church) there is relatively very little to the other townsfolk. They will mostly content themselves with spending  their days wandering around a stationary post and not interacting with anyone or anything.

There are a few things that sequel incarnations of the game fixed from the original are noticeably annoying and you can really see how the developers addressed the problems that the gamers saw. One of these nuisances is the fact that Jack has an entire tool shed filled with gadgets, and gizmos yet he can only carry two of them at a time. This makes for a lot of tedium in backtracking to the tool shed just to pick up a single, yet essential, tool to complete the day's chores. Also though Jack has some bag space for tools he has absolutely no inventory for dispensable and consumable items. He can't so much as put an egg he found in his pocket to be taken out later. And since items can either be sold, given as a gift, or thrown away and destroyed there isn't much room for error with the items you pick up. This also creates more backtracking when harvesting as you must pick the plant then run to the storage box and then back to the plant to pick up a single potato and repeat.

Aside from all the farming and chore work Harvest Moon was ahead of it's time in that a good portion of the game comes from social interaction with the NPCs that reside in the town. Jack will attended various local festivals and gatherings ranging from a Flower Festival (reminiscent of Valetine's Day) to more meaningful events like New Years. Jack must also sustain good relationships with his neighbors and to establish himself in the town Jack must woo a local lady and start of family. If you have played any Harvest Moon game you know what to expect when it comes to the choices of mate. The mayors daughter, the aloof hottie that works at the bar, the pink haired chick that likes flowers, all these mainstay women of the Harvest Moon series are present in this first game. Each lady has a specific back story and personality that is uncovered through events that are unlocked through courtship. However once the wooing is complete and the ennui of marriage settles in Jack's wife, whoever it may be, becomes a useless part of the game. She will don a boring dress, do no tangible farm work, and become upset with Jack if he doesn't go to sleep with her by 6 pm every night. This is something that newer incarnations of the series have tweaked and changed of course.

Though not the perfect game Harvest Moon was the spark that launched one of the most loved series in gaming. Games like The Sims and the newest Facebook craze Farmville owe much to the series which first posed the question, why jump on a mushroom when you can grow one? The formula has been refined of course as the series has matured and the game expanded in various new ways, even a couple of female versions where the lead, Jack, becomes a girl named Claire. However, the Harvest Moon series has remained true to the core concepts and tone that the original game began. That is grow crops, take care of livestock, and make friends in a little countryside town. A nice little vacation I think, no matter how dated, from the chainsaw bayonets and kill-to-death ratios of modern gaming.