Harvest Moon is a series that’s been around a long time, and in its many years has been published by a number of different companies, both in Japan and the West. Earlier today, Xseed announced that they will be publishing the next game in the series in North America, and we thought it would be a good occasion to take a look back at Harvest Moon’s publishing history over the last 18 years.
The confusion around Story of Seasons and Harvest Moon explained.
BLG writes: "Farming sims come in so many different styles, versions and even systems. We have rounded up the best farming simulator games you can play now!"
VGChartz's Issa Maki: "In honor of our parents, neighbors, and compatriots past, let's examine Harvest Moon, the game that takes traditional notions of what RPGs are and turns them upside down. If you had tried to convince me that a farming simulator deserved a spot next to Final Fantasy VII, Diablo, Baldur's Gate, or even Pokémon circa 1998, I would have laughed. These days I pity that ignorance, but I can take my shame and use it as motivation for teaching others about having a more open mind."
Great read. I disagree about one thing though. Rune Factory does not contain everything that makes the Harvest Moon series great. Sure, it has eligible bachelorettes, but there's no heart system, and they pretty much fall in love with you instantly, once you find their favorite item. The love system us my favorite aspect of the Harvest Moon games, but it's not even there in spirit in Rune Factory, since it lacks all the fun of it. Sure, it has dungeon crawling, and sim aspects, and that was kind of neat at the time, but I would much rather play games like Persona 3 and 4, or Conception II(to cite a more modern title).