Game Concept
The primary goal of the game is to gradually build a successful, efficient farm and start a family. In most versions there are several secondary goals to achieve that can help with the primary goal.All the games come with a story premise as to why you want to restore the farm. Some it is to please a departed grandfather, save the productivity of a town, or save the mythical Harvest Goddess.
The story premise usually changes the secondary goals of the game allowing for subtle differences between each version of the game.
Game Virtues
There are a few positive aspects of the game that I'd like to highlight. It's one of the few examples of a non-violent game with fantasy elements that I can think of.The game also encourages the setting of goals and forming strategy on how to achieve the goals. It encourages the virtue of patience...sometimes too well.
It's about nurturing and the affect it has on others. What you ship from your farm in some titles will affect businesses in town. In incredibly simple terms it shows the relationship between industry and agriculture.
Relationships are viewed in a positive light with no objectification of men or women. (Granted the personalities are incredibly simple, but distinct.) Marriage and family is the goal of a relationship.
It's also fairly "pro-life" in that it really encourages the player to marry AND have a child. (Although where the baby came from is a MYSTERY TO ME. ;))
Game Vices
There are of course many flaws to the game. The major one is the repetitive and seemingly slow paced game play. At the beginning of the game its more interesting because you use old, rusty tools which makes working the land difficult, so you don't make too much money. But as you get new tools, the challenge decreases and it becomes kind of dull. This makes the game a test of patience which can sometimes be its downfall.Some may feel that it over-simplifies complexities of farm life. If you're looking for an accurate farm simulation, Harvest Moon does not provide that. There are no pests, cows always produce milk without hormones (except in the GameCube version A Wonderful Life. Cows needed to be impregnated to continue to produce milk.), and you water all crops by hand with a watering can. (It's more of a vegetable garden really.)
It could be said that its too idealistic or too happy. This is a matter of taste but sometimes even I feel bothered that there's no trouble in paradise. In a few titles there ARE a few incidents that might be considered tragic. However, there are enough fantasy elements to cushion the blow in most cases. (There is ONE that just doesn't get better.) It could be said that the beginning of most HM games are impending tragedy and failure is tragic. In earlier games, failing to run a successful farm in a set number of years meant failure. Which brings me to another vice.
Many of the later titles have the games set up in a way where you really can not lose. It just takes time. In earlier games, the time limit and farm success provided more motivation since there was an end goal. I feel like this element of suspense is not as present in later titles. The game doesn't end or it simply ends when you want it to.
Conclusion
I know this may sound like I'm poo-pooing on the game with my very elaborate vice report, but it's one of the few games...scratch that...the ONLY game I have literally played for nearly 10 hours STRAIGHT. I really like this game series. I really feel like the virtue outweighs the vices for me. However, I think if games like Harvest Moon were promoted more it might help change the public image of video games. While the graphics are anime-cartoonish, it really tackles some oddly mature topics. Or at least treats them in a mature fashion. I say mature fashion because although simplified, it's positive and not juvenile. That's is important to highlight, I feel. While the concepts are fiercely simplified, it does not feel immature. It's simple to "save game time", because you're patience is always being tested!I highly recommend the following website if you are curious about the various games of the series: Ushi No Tane (All in english despite the title.)
