Harvest Moon 2 Game by Natsume Reviewed by pikamom pikamom@supernet.com shark mx (e-mail for gameboy!) pikamom1@gamesharker.com Save: battery Released: 2000 Works with: any gameboy **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: Many people from DMG Ice were raving about this game. I wasn't planning on getting it though, since I've been sticking to a budget and already bought Donkey Kong Country, Pokemon Puzzle Challenge, and The Grinch in the last month or so. But....well....how can I resist a game that everyone loves, especially Philip. **************************************************************************** Gameplay Descripion: You have 3 years to turn rocky, weedy and stump laden land into a productive farm. If you can't do it, it will be turned into an amusement park! That just can't happen, so you better get to work! And I mean WORK! Get that land cleared and start hoeing the soil. Sow your seeds. Water them everyday. When you get enough money and have plenty of fodder, you can buy a cow and chicken. But don't forget to talk to your cow and brush and feed it every day! Hmm....maybe you could breed it and get a calf! Liked: I don't know what it is about this game, but it's very addictive. The work goes on and on and on...the same thing day after day after day... so why do I keep playing it? I don't know. But I do. Can't let the cows down, I guess. Hated: It's so much work. My dad (in real-life as a boy) was a dairy farmer. He had to get up every morning at 4 am. and go out to the barn and milk cows. Then come home from school and milk them again. Among plenty of other chores. E-v-e-r-y day. Never a day off. Why would anyone want to do that in a video game? It's beyond me! **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: This game uses bold color, everything is big and easy to see. Has a clean look to it. The cows have different statements depending on whether they love you or are grumpy. They're cute too, and come in 3 different sizes...calf, young, and adult cow. There's a lot to see in this game even if it is repetitious. For example, the weeds grow back, and when you pull them you'll have to hoe the area again if you want to plant seeds there. Your crops grow too, in a couple of different stages until you finally are able to harvest your produce. Also, as you go through your day, if you work too hard you will get tired and wipe your brow, or have to sit down a spell, or actually collapse in a heap! The seasons change, and lest you forget which one you are in, just look around. It's quite easy to tell it's winter when there's snow on the ground, or it's fall when the foilage turns brown....Oh, it's so pretty when it snows. Translucent snowflakes fall gently in front of your gameboy screen. I worked one day in the snow, and the next morning I was feverish and had to stay in bed all day. Couldn't make it out to the livestock, and when I recovered I discovered to my dismay that the cows and chickens were all grumpy. No milk or eggs when they get in that kind of a mood. For three days. Make sure to take time out of your busy schedule to look at the cherry blossoms in the spring. They sure are beautiful! Liked: Natsume did an excellent job with this game in the graphics department.... it's amazing to me that when I milk my cows it comes out already bottled! The girl behind the desk is resting her chin in her hands. She must be really bored waiting for me to come along and buy something. And when you go fishing sometimes you get old cans or boots! One of the cooler aspects of the graphics are the overall change in color depending on the time of the day. Hated: ...it just gets old after awhile. I'm in the winter of my first year. Can't believe I have to get through another 2 years of this backbreaking work before I can see the ending credits. It just better be worth it, that's all I can say! **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: I hate the music in this game. I turn it all the way down! It resets e-v-e-r-y time you enter a new area, which is all the time. It's totally annoying. There are very few games where I just can't stand the music, and this is one of them. The sound effects are good, different sounds for pulling weeds, using tools, and the like. Your dog barks. Liked: Well, the music changes for each season. But it's bouncy and upbeat (another thing I hate in games) and it constantly is resetting. Didn't the game testers point out this glaring deficiency?!!! Hated: It resets ALL THE TIME. It's bouncy. It's cheerful. I hate it. **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: When you first start the game you have to decide if you want to be a boy or girl and if you want a dog or cat. Name yourself, and later on you'll get to name your pet. You have to name your horse and cows too. I don't know about the sheep, I don't have any yet. My cows are Bess, Bett, Bell, and Boni. Dog Rose, horse Ben. I'm Tery. Here is what you do in Harvest Moon 2, from the time you get up in the morning until you lay your weary body down at night: Check the tv for the weather. If it's going to rain or snow, just go have the guy come and give an estimate on building something for you, and it will be nice the next day. Check your pantry to make sure you have enough food, then get out the tools you'll need in the barn. Pick up your dog (or cat) and put it outside. Go to the barn and milk, brush, feed, and talk to your cows. (This is assuming you've planted grass and cut enough fodder for them). Call them out to pasture with your cow bell. Then call the chickens out with the whistle and gather the eggs. Back home to rummage in your toolbox for what you'll need for the day... a watering can, hoe, some seeds. Next go out to the field and harvest/water/plant your crops (again, assuming you've cleared the land of weeds and roots and rock, and tilled the soil). If you need money, go fishing! (you have to buy the fishing rod first). Or pick wild fruit and mushrooms in the mountains. If you are tired, take a dip in the hotsprings while you're up there. Go to town, stock up on food and seeds and stuff, and talk to everyone so you can make friends. That way you will earn upgrades on your tools. Don't forget to pray at the church, either. Check to billboard too and see if there are any messages for you. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that you should check your schedule at the beginning of every season so you don't forget to attend any events! You can bring presents to the town people too! After 6:00 if you're not tired yet you should probably chop stumps in the woods so you have enough wood to build a sheep pen, bridge, and some other things. So head on home and get your axe. Get your sickle so you can cut fodder for your animals. Don't want to run out! Pull those weeds too. Nothing worse than a sloppy farm! You'll need a bell and whisle too so you can call the cows and chickens in. Get your pet, and turn in for the night. Make sure you get a good nights' sleep, because you'll have to do this all over again tomorrow! P.S. If you ever are stuck in the house because of a hurricane or something, you can play tv games (if you've earned them). Try digging up moles and stuff. Also, if you have time, you can catch bugs and look at them in a picture book, even print them out (if you have the gameboy printer)! Liked: There's a lot to do in this game. Tons of different crops to grow. You can breed your cows or incubate your eggs to get more livestock. I don't have any sheep yet, but when I get them I'll have to shampoo their wool and shear them. There's something I could build to grow flowers, and then I can cut them with scissors and sell them, too. Actually, you'll have a lot of decisions to make in this game since you won't have enough time in one day to take care of everything you can own. I think when I get enough livestock, I'll quit growing crops. I can make cheese and butter and .... Hated: Even though there's so much to do, and things change with the seasons, it is highly repetitious. It gets old fast. The town people will usually say the same things to you, and there's rarely a new message on the bill board. Events are few and far between. And for all the work you do and how long it takes to get through this game, you'll be really upset if you forgot to do something important! Here's something else that's upsetting: You'll work really hard making enough money to plant grass and crops, and then a hurricane will come along and damage a lot of it! But I guess that's the pitfalls of being a farmer. (See Editor's Note!!!!) **************************************************************************** Improve: I know a lot of people love Harvest Moon and are looking forward to the third gameboy installment. But it's not for everyone. For this version I wish I could see how much time I've invested in it, and I wish the town people said different things to you each time you talk to them, I wish there were more events, AND I WISH THE MUSIC WOULD QUIT RESETTING EVERY TIME I ENTER A NEW AREA! RIYL: Harvest Moon, Survival Kids, Legend of the River King. (I think the last two mentioned are getting a second version too). **************************************************************************** Final Words: For me, this is a game I love AND hate. It's one of the more addicting games I've played. There's alot to accomplish. I want to keep playing to see what the sheep are like and earn enough money to build the fence and other upgrades. I already fixed up my house once, but it's just a little bigger, that's all. Plus it's one of the more unusual games as well, which I like to collect. But, it get's old, it's repetitious, and the music is HORRIBLE. I doubt I will ever play it again after I beat it, if I DO beat it. Maybe you should rent before you buy it. **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: *** Graphics: ***** Sound/Music: Play Control/Game Design: ***** Personal Opinion: *** Total: 16X4 Final Score: 64% (This doesn't accurately reflect my opinion of it. I would give it a higher score, like 80%) **************************************************************************** Currently Known Codes: Something that's obvious but easy to overlook...your tools are in a box by your front door. For some reason it doesn't say that in the instruction manual. I could not for the life of me figure out how to plant seeds until I checked on a Harvest Moon Message Board and discovered the seeds were in the toolbox! In the mountains there is a warp back to your farm in one of the trees behind the hotsprings. EDITOR'S NOTE: In the manual, I think it says this. But you can "beat" out a snowstorm or a hurricane by having Ken -The Carpenter guy- do an estimate on something you can't afford... or can afford.. doesn't matter. just have him do something. It will cancel out the Hurricane.