Something went wrong. Try again later
    Follow

    Harvest Moon

    Franchise »

    Harvest Moon is a series of farm life simulation games that started on the SNES. Farm the field and care for animals all while managing relationships with the townsfolk, and eventually getting married.

    Which DS Harvest Moon game would you recommend?

    Avatar image for takua108
    takua108

    1596

    Forum Posts

    3503

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 16

    #1  Edited By takua108

    I've never played a Harvest Moon game in my life, but I've seen a friend or two play one once or twice, and, for some reason, it sounds like something I'd really like to have on my DS right now. Just pull out the DS, flip it open, and do some farming and shit or whatever. 
     
    So I was looking at getting Grand Bazaar, but I'm seeing a lot of people disliking many aspects of it. Which DS Harvest Moon game would be the best for me? I don't care if it's complicated or whatnot, and I'm not totally opposed to picking up a Rune Factory game either.

    Avatar image for spiralstairs
    SpiralStairs

    1020

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    #2  Edited By SpiralStairs

    Harvest Moon:Rune Factory 1&2.

    Avatar image for steampunkjin
    SteamPunkJin

    1283

    Forum Posts

    592

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 1

    #3  Edited By SteamPunkJin

    I'm also curious about this - my understanding is there have been several 'puzzle' game off shoots over the last couple of years. So my question is - which is the best straight-up-Harvest-Moon experience? I want as close to the old SNES game as you can get.

    Avatar image for captaintightpants
    CaptainTightPants

    2838

    Forum Posts

    914

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 5

    #4  Edited By CaptainTightPants

    I don't exactly know but if you think you would like those games then you might also like the Animal Crossing DS game if you haven't tried it yet. Sorry if it is off topic just a little recommendation :D

    Avatar image for takua108
    takua108

    1596

    Forum Posts

    3503

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 16

    #5  Edited By takua108
    @Resident4t: Yeah I have Animal Crossing: WW and that was pretty great, but I've kind of done everything in it, which is why I'm looking for a HM game :) 
    @SpiralStairs: Would you say that Rune Factory is worth playing before RF2? A quick glance at Internet reviews makes it look like 2 was sort of just an improved version of the first.
    Avatar image for spiralstairs
    SpiralStairs

    1020

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    #6  Edited By SpiralStairs
    @takua108:  If you have enough money then you could just buy both of them, they're probably cheap. Otherwise the 2nd is probably a better option.
    Avatar image for alphadormante
    AlphaDormante

    45

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    #7  Edited By AlphaDormante

     Rune Factories: These are standard harvest moon games with RPG elements; meaning there are dungeons, monsters you can fight, etc. I've only played about halfway through the first DS one so I won't recommend it, but I won't advise you to stay away from it either; from what I know, the dungeon-crawling aspects are completely optional anyway.
     
    Grand Bazaar: The reason many people dislike this one is because it's very, very easy compared to any other HM game. Your house is fully equipped right at the beginning of the game, complete with a kitchen, a bath, and a bathroom - whereas in others you have to gather wood and stone and actually pay money to get each upgrade at a time. Also, there aren't really any gold sinks, so once you upgrade everything you need to, the money starts piling up and the game loses quite a bit of value. 
     
    Even still it's one of my personal favorites just because it's so different in many other ways; in fact, I recommend it if you're new to the HM series, because it's easier and you can play for a while to decide whether the basic concept is your thing or not.
     
    Harvest Moon DS: This one could be called a re-hash of one of the console games, "Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life". The town is virtually the same, the characters are virtually the same, etc etc. This isn't necessarily a bad thing [unless you're a girl, in which case the bachelors suck ):], but in my opinion AWL was overall a better experience - however, I seem to be in the minority of people who actually liked AWL, so to each their own. In my opinion this is one of the least memorable portable Harvest Moons, but it's still a good game.
     
    (More) Friends of Mineral Town: This is a Gameboy Advanced game, so if your DS is one of the versions that doesn't have that compatibility, then ignore this one entirely. Another re-hash of a console game, "Harvest Moon: Back to Nature". But honestly, it's still my favorite Harvest Moon game to date; it has open-ended gameplay, something that BTN didn't have [it ended after three years], a good selection of things to do, gold sinks, good bachelors/bachelorettes...definitely my favorite.
     
    Sunshine Islands/Island of Happiness: IoH is unique in the fact that there basically is no town when you start off, and have to attract new residents and buildings through your farmwork. There isn't much to say about its gameplay features that hasn't been covered in another game; you farm, you marry, you make friends. It's a solid, entertaining HM game. The only thing that I didn't like was that the controls are completely touch screen-based, with the d-pad functioning as your equipped inventory items. That got really old, really fast; but I still got through a good three years in-game before I was distracted by something else, so that's not bad at all.
     
    Another thing: Sunshine Islands is supposedly Island of Happiness with an altered map and gameplay features, but as I haven't played it, I can't give you any insight. Apparently it's a bit more well-liked than IoH, though.
      
    I think that covers all of the non-puzzle Harvest Moon games... either way, those are my personal preferences. You can always look up gameplay videos if you're not sure!

    Avatar image for takua108
    takua108

    1596

    Forum Posts

    3503

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 16

    #8  Edited By takua108
    @AlphaDormante: Thanks for the help, I think I'm going to get Rune Factory 2 and Sunshine Islands, and see how those go.
    Avatar image for deactivated-590b7522e5236
    deactivated-590b7522e5236

    1918

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    Friends of mineral town for GBA is the best harvest moon game, ever since playing it every other one has seemed pretty mediocre. Rune factory was interesting but nowhere near as good.

    This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.