Return to Harvest Moon
Well, it's the last week of the holidays - we had a two-week break after the previous trimester ended, and most of us have been pretty quiet, keeping to ourselves and getting some much-needed resting time before the next trimester begins and all hell breaks loose again.
Personally, I'm sort of looking forward to the next trimester - the previous one was much rougher than I expected, but at least this one will have some interesting elements: radio journalism (like can you hear me squeeing over this?!) and a job working with USS for this year's Halloween Horror Nights! The way I see things, I'm going to be working myself down to the bone again but ahh at least this will be satisfactory.
Before leaping headfirst into the chaos that awaits come next Monday, rest - lots of it - is much appreciated. And with everything that's happened last trimester, the only thing I want during this break is a lot of peace and quiet.
I recently dug up my old Nintendo DS Lite and wow oh wow the nostalgia - it's been so long since I last played it! I think I got it as a gift from my mum when I was in secondary school, back when she used to promise me any one thing I chose as an incentive for me to work hard for my exams. She even struck me a deal when she bought it - my mum would keep the DS when school started and I couldn't ask for it, and I'd have all rights to it the moment school ended and the major school holiday started, and mum couldn't confiscate it because I'd earned the right to have it for the whole holiday.
I was really fond of it, and used to bring it wherever I went during the major school holidays. I even attached a Prince of Tennis keychain to it when I got into the series ahaha.
I played all sorts of games on it, but the one I was fondest of was always this one called Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town.
The game's story was simple: As a young boy from the city, you went on a trip with your parents to see the country, only to become lost and wind up on this old man's farm near Mineral Town. The old man helps you find your parents and lets you guys stay on his farm for a few days since he has no family, and you end up befriending him and write letters to him after you return to the city.
Years pass, and you realise that the letters from the old man have stopped. You travel back to the farm only to find it neglected and in poor state, and Thomas, the mayor of Mineral Town, informs you that the old man had passed away about half a year ago and left you his farm in his will. This is where you decide that you'll take over the farm and run it well for the old man, and the game officially begins.
It was easy enough to understand what you were supposed to do - grow crops, raise animals, make friends and start a new life as a resident of Mineral Town. Simply put, that was it. There was no win or lose in the game, and truth be told I think my mum got me that game only because it was nonviolent (she didn't like the idea of her daughter liking violent games with fighting and stuff).
I didn't really understand the game at first (like seriously, all I was supposed to do was grow crops?) but it was only after playing it for a long while that it really grew on me. I liked how straightforward and peaceful it was - I could grow crops and either ship them for cash or give them to the townsfolk as gifts to increase friendship points with them, and raise animals who would eventually give me items like milk or wool or eggs, which I could also use for shipping or as gifts or cooking.
It was a simple town with simple people, and I loved it. No stress and no drama, and it eventually became an escape I was very grateful for - I could just head back to Mineral Town and my farm and grow crops and tend to my animals.
The marriage thing in the game was something that I thought was unnecessary when I was younger, but it became more interesting to me when I was older because of the courtship - I gave gifts to girls in the town and racked up heart points, and could eventually propose to one girl and marry her.
As I said, the game really grew on me - I didn't think I'd end up becoming so attached to a tiny virtual farm in a virtual town set in the mountains, but I really did.
As with what always happens with old devices, my DS was eventually set aside as I got my laptop and started using it more and more - Mineral Town and my farm became a happy childhood memory, and I forgot all about playing it until I decided to pick up my DS again for some reason this holiday.
I didn't start up the old Harvest Moon: FOMT game this time, but decided to take a look at another game that I had inside my cartridge - Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns.
(I told you, I never thought I'd ever become so attached to a game about farming.)
You can choose to play as a male or female character, and the game is actually very much the same in the sense that you run a farm. What's different is that this time, you have to choose between two towns to live in!
Depending on the town you choose, your farm will focus on either raising animals or growing crops. What's also different is that the two towns aren't on friendly terms, and it's up to you to bring the towns and their people together as friends once again.
Harvest Moon is a huge series, with many versions of the game and several spinoffs like Rune Factory as well. I've only played FOMT and TOTT so far, though, and I think I'm more than happy with what I have right now.
I'm glad that TOTT is similar enough to FOMT, which is by far still my favourite game. It's enough that it brings such a wave of nostalgia to me, and I'm also glad that it's different, like an improved version of the old game. There are a few things that I wish were the same as FOMT (such as being able to save the game at any point instead of only when you go to bed for the night), but all in all it's more than good enough for me.
I was even happier when I did some clicking around and found out that someone actually made a fan trailer for a Harvest Moon movie - there's no way that such a thing can happen because of how simple the game itself is, but the trailer was a huge nostalgic hit for me.
So ends this post for now - my crops need watering!
Personally, I'm sort of looking forward to the next trimester - the previous one was much rougher than I expected, but at least this one will have some interesting elements: radio journalism (like can you hear me squeeing over this?!) and a job working with USS for this year's Halloween Horror Nights! The way I see things, I'm going to be working myself down to the bone again but ahh at least this will be satisfactory.
Before leaping headfirst into the chaos that awaits come next Monday, rest - lots of it - is much appreciated. And with everything that's happened last trimester, the only thing I want during this break is a lot of peace and quiet.
I recently dug up my old Nintendo DS Lite and wow oh wow the nostalgia - it's been so long since I last played it! I think I got it as a gift from my mum when I was in secondary school, back when she used to promise me any one thing I chose as an incentive for me to work hard for my exams. She even struck me a deal when she bought it - my mum would keep the DS when school started and I couldn't ask for it, and I'd have all rights to it the moment school ended and the major school holiday started, and mum couldn't confiscate it because I'd earned the right to have it for the whole holiday.
I was really fond of it, and used to bring it wherever I went during the major school holidays. I even attached a Prince of Tennis keychain to it when I got into the series ahaha.
I played all sorts of games on it, but the one I was fondest of was always this one called Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town.
The graphics may seem a little underwhelming, but give it some credit - it was released in 2003.
The game's story was simple: As a young boy from the city, you went on a trip with your parents to see the country, only to become lost and wind up on this old man's farm near Mineral Town. The old man helps you find your parents and lets you guys stay on his farm for a few days since he has no family, and you end up befriending him and write letters to him after you return to the city.
Years pass, and you realise that the letters from the old man have stopped. You travel back to the farm only to find it neglected and in poor state, and Thomas, the mayor of Mineral Town, informs you that the old man had passed away about half a year ago and left you his farm in his will. This is where you decide that you'll take over the farm and run it well for the old man, and the game officially begins.
It was easy enough to understand what you were supposed to do - grow crops, raise animals, make friends and start a new life as a resident of Mineral Town. Simply put, that was it. There was no win or lose in the game, and truth be told I think my mum got me that game only because it was nonviolent (she didn't like the idea of her daughter liking violent games with fighting and stuff).
I didn't really understand the game at first (like seriously, all I was supposed to do was grow crops?) but it was only after playing it for a long while that it really grew on me. I liked how straightforward and peaceful it was - I could grow crops and either ship them for cash or give them to the townsfolk as gifts to increase friendship points with them, and raise animals who would eventually give me items like milk or wool or eggs, which I could also use for shipping or as gifts or cooking.
This is how you play the game - you grow crops, and raise animals, and lead a simple farming life.
It was a simple town with simple people, and I loved it. No stress and no drama, and it eventually became an escape I was very grateful for - I could just head back to Mineral Town and my farm and grow crops and tend to my animals.
The marriage thing in the game was something that I thought was unnecessary when I was younger, but it became more interesting to me when I was older because of the courtship - I gave gifts to girls in the town and racked up heart points, and could eventually propose to one girl and marry her.
The game's bachelorettes.
As I said, the game really grew on me - I didn't think I'd end up becoming so attached to a tiny virtual farm in a virtual town set in the mountains, but I really did.
As with what always happens with old devices, my DS was eventually set aside as I got my laptop and started using it more and more - Mineral Town and my farm became a happy childhood memory, and I forgot all about playing it until I decided to pick up my DS again for some reason this holiday.
I didn't start up the old Harvest Moon: FOMT game this time, but decided to take a look at another game that I had inside my cartridge - Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns.
(I told you, I never thought I'd ever become so attached to a game about farming.)
You can choose to play as a male or female character, and the game is actually very much the same in the sense that you run a farm. What's different is that this time, you have to choose between two towns to live in!
The two towns: Bluebell (left) and Konohana (right).
Depending on the town you choose, your farm will focus on either raising animals or growing crops. What's also different is that the two towns aren't on friendly terms, and it's up to you to bring the towns and their people together as friends once again.
Harvest Moon is a huge series, with many versions of the game and several spinoffs like Rune Factory as well. I've only played FOMT and TOTT so far, though, and I think I'm more than happy with what I have right now.
I'm glad that TOTT is similar enough to FOMT, which is by far still my favourite game. It's enough that it brings such a wave of nostalgia to me, and I'm also glad that it's different, like an improved version of the old game. There are a few things that I wish were the same as FOMT (such as being able to save the game at any point instead of only when you go to bed for the night), but all in all it's more than good enough for me.
I was even happier when I did some clicking around and found out that someone actually made a fan trailer for a Harvest Moon movie - there's no way that such a thing can happen because of how simple the game itself is, but the trailer was a huge nostalgic hit for me.
It's a huge nostalgic kick in the face for FOMT fans, and it's so well-made too!
So ends this post for now - my crops need watering!
Oh man this brings back so many memories.
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