Hm.. - Blog Posts

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screencap redraws!! feels like I haven’t done any in ages haha

im havin a Thought-

so many of the top mobile games right now are centered around widely stigmatized jobs. number twenty five on the free games list, for instance, is a cashier simulator. homescapes has been on the board for weeks. but cashiers and yard workers/gardeners are considered “unskilled labor.”

so somehow it seems wrong that people are saying things like “well if you’re really that stupid then go be a cashier at mcdonalds” and then turning around and playing cashier simulator and the people making it are profiting off of that, with things like microtransactions and popup ads.

really is no ethical consumption under capitalism, is there?

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 30

Day 30: Tell the tale of how exactly you found yourself getting into the HM series. Make it long and detailed! :D

Well, I was first introduced to it when I was probably around 8 years old. I went to FuncoLand (a couple of years before it became Gamestop) with my mom and brother to sell off several NES games.

While we were waiting, my brother and I were browsing the games and I remember him showing me the cover for Harvest Moon (but I guess it was either an older print or a European copy?) and he asks me what genre I thought the game was and since I wasn’t used to simulators at the time, I said horror because of the night sky and silhouettes, which pleased him and he flipped over the box and showed me that it was a farming sim (I hadn’t heard the term “Harvest Moon” before, so what can you do?) I was intrigued, but we didn’t get to buy it, which bummed both of us.

Some time later, my brother had discovered emulators and was playing Harvest Moon, I ended up watching him from time to time and it just caught my interest, especially when he hit festivals. I remember him even asking me when I thought he should propose to Maria (we agreed the Starry Night Festival, but discovered you can’t do that lol).

Years later, I was probably a freshman in high school, my brother brought me along to go to Gamestop (different store though) and I noticed mfomt and I was going to buy it, but my brother was told that it wasn’t good by his friends and told me to put it back (I was naive and did), but it bugged me. So I ended up getting a rom of it and played it like crazy over the weekend and scolded him for making me put it back.

I was going to buy it the very next week, but it was already gone... (Honestly, not for story effect, anything with anime artwork was usually sold by the time you visited the store again).

I did eventually get it, but I had to wait a few years before it was in the wild again (I was discouraged to use ebay at the time), it was around the same time DS Cute came out (which I pre-ordered and got my black kitty! Though the house fire ate the doll... But the cartridge survived!)

HM 30 Day Challenge

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 24 - 29

Day 24: Do you tend to name your farm animals? Or is ‘cow 1’ and ‘cow 2’ more your style?

I’m lame, I usually name my animals after characters or random words that fit their appearance.

Day 25: Are you a completionist when it comes to HM games?

I suppose not....? I start off strong and then once I get married, I lazy out... But I usually have other games I want to play, so I tend to hurry the best I can while still enjoying the game.

Day 26: Who’s better, Witch Princess or the Harvest Goddess?

Witch Princess.

Harvest Goddess kinda has things coming to her with the stuff she says... Witch Princess is a brat, but I figure it’s kind of a mix of the fact that it’s a part of her nature to be impish and she just doesn’t know better.

Day 27: Do you usually find yourself going for the same type of bachelor/bachelorette in each game? (always marrying the doctor, the nerdy girl, etc…)

I do tend to gravitate towards the doctors, but I don’t always marry them, lol. I usually stick the “mature“ types though, like Gill, Lloyd and Klaus when I think of bachelors who aren’t doctors.

Allen is kind of the oddball in the group, he’s kind of mature, but he also loves to tease your character... (but sometimes it felt like he was a tiny bit full of himself, but I feel like that was a poor translation because it seemed random when he behaved that way... It would have been more likely that he was teasing you further, but the dialogue could have been done better to present it that way, like Leon in Rune Factory 4, who loves to tease, but can be serious, then tease you more when he’s being evasive).

Day 28: Weird question, but what’s your favorite crop to grow?

Ahhhhh... Turnips? Since they grow so fast... But it’s always nice to see anything grow!

Day 29: Festivals! Which one’s your favorite?

That really depends on the game... but the one that usually comes to mind is the Firefly Festival from Tree of Tranquility, though I also like version from Magical Melody (though it’s less romantic, but very pretty) and Star Festival from MM.

I still haven’t played Animal Parade (though I just recently bought it) and I know the Firefly Festival is a mix of MM and ToT’s versions, which makes me very happy and want to experience it for myself ❤︎

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 20 - 23

Day 20: Your first HM game ever?

More Friends of Mineral Town, I might have played a little of the original Harvest Moon, but I don’t really count it as my first since I probably only played one in-game day’s worth because I remember getting lost...

Day 21: So, do you think it’s weird that the same characters keep showing up in each game but with different familial relationships?

Yeah, I didn’t know that when I initially started the series. I figure Back to Nature and HM64 were likely developed around the same time and the development team needed quick, easy (and cheap) resources, so they just ended up sharing them. Plus this was back at a time where families usually only had one gaming system or were dedicated to one brand, so they likely figured it wouldn’t be a big issue at the time.

Day 22: Have you played any of the more obscure HM games? (the gameboy color ones,  puzzle de harvest moon…)

I tried GBC3, it was very limited, but it’s an old game for an old handheld system (Pokemon was very impressive at the time, if you think about it) and I had Puzzle de Harvest Moon, it was ok... nothing to write home about. I do own My Little Shop, it’s cute for a few minutes, but it’s really repetitive...

Day 23: What’s the next HM game you’re planning to get?

Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town! Really excited for this remake! I’m very curious if the dialogue/events will be improved or be about the same and if there’s a possibility of new events. I’m really loving the redesigns, I think they fit everyone much better for their set personalities and backstories now (though I will miss Doctor’s messy hair... but I won’t miss that mirror that he refused to take off...).

I also hope Doctor gets a real name... I know in Japan it’s still Doctor, but I can dream that he’ll tell you to call him by his given name when you marry him like Wizard or Harvest King............. But I know that’s very doubtful...

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 19

Day 19: Which HM game have you played for the longest in game time?

DS Cute, I was very determined to marry Trent. I’d have to dig out my game, but I think I had 4 or 5 in-game years into it, I wasted too much money and materials on other things, forgetting that I was trying to build a barn and get a  cow since Trent loves milk and you only see him once a week.

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 18

Day 18: So, not to be negative, but to make this challenge a part of a balanced breakfast, what’s your least favorite HM game?

Ignoring Natsume’s "Harvest Moon” series (because that’s too easy), it’s a toss up between Island of Happiness/Sunshine Islands or The Tale of Two Towns. I never made it into Summer in either game. I would also say Another Wonderful Life, but I’ve never given that one an honest chance, so I can’t really criticize it.

The main issue with the ToTT and the Island games... I found all the characters bland or recycled, especially for the Island ones and I was really excited for a new cast finally, but everyone felt like they were just replacing someone from Mineral Town... But that’s just me, they just didn’t catch me. I even hoped with the new controls in Sunshine, I’d enjoy it more and I did play a little longer, but nothing gripped me.

Tale of Two Towns was a really interesting concept. I was excited for its release, but I was very disappointed, again really bland characters. I’ve restarted the game in both villages to see if it would improve my experience, but no. Plus the requests always made me feel rushed. I think Trio of Towns really improved that mechanic, it’s not unreasonable with you.

That said, I do plan to give both games another chance, but... it’s gonna be a struggle for me. I really want to like them, I really do...

But that does lead me to wonder, if the games were always that bland (even in Japan) or if Natsume did a poor job translating them.

I think most fans know Natsume has edited some of the character sprites in the past to avoid issues in the states (I can only think of Grand Bazaar at the moment) and tried to hide drunk characters for a period, but it makes me wonder if they may have been censoring more than we know or if things simply got lost in translation, such as Luke’s letter having a secret message and other little things like that.

Once Xseed became the new North American publisher, the dialogue overall was vastly improved, but that could be mere coincidence and the games themselves improved.

Before the publisher switch over, A New Beginning felt like a much better game than most of Natsume’s previous titles, but I still always wondered even if something in that was changed...

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 16 - 17

Day 16: What’s your playing style? Hardcore farming? Buyin n’ sellin’ animals? Flirting with all the girls/boys?

Probably hardcore farming, while also chasing down the guy I’m pursuing around town like a stalker who knows his schedule way too well, until it’s a rains and it screws up your carefully planned out day.

Day 17: So, HM fanfic. What’re your thoughts on it? Link to a good one if you’re in favor.

Fanfics are fine, haven’t we all read them and tried to write one at some point? I used to read them years ago, but I haven’t read any since and I don’t remember any that I read...

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 15

Day 15: How many times have you reached the ‘end’ of a HM game? (ending farm evaluation, the player dying, etc)

Uhhhh.... I think I “finished” four games, hopefully five soon (right at the end of Trio!)

I know I finished “DS Cute” since found all the harvest sprites, I admit I cheated on that, lol. Pretty sure I saved the Harvest Goddess in “Magical Melody” and “Tree of Tranquility”... “More Friends of Mineral Town” is questionable... I suppose not? Only if you count collecting all the rings, which I didn’t, but I was as done as I was gonna get.

Image source

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 14

Day 14: Have a favorite heart event?

Ford’s Orange Heart Event "The Doctor's True Intentions", it’s so funny and adorable. Makes you wanna hug him if you could!

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 13

Day 13: So, how ‘bout those bonus bachelor/bachelorettes (e.g. skye, harvest goddess, leia…)? Draw/find a picture of your favorite. 

I tried to draw Jamie... Eh.

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 12

Day 12: What do you think of the HM spinoffs? (Rune factory, Innocent life…)

I still haven’t played Innocent Life... so I have no opinion on that, but I thought Rune Factory was a great idea! It has the elements of HM/SoS, while tossing in Fantasy RPG elements. It allows you to either relax and farm, visit with villagers like you would normally do or go on quests and progress through the storyline at your leisure.

I really loved RF4 and really excited for RF5!

Image Source

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 11

Day 11: Draw/find a spiffy piece of fanart of your favorite HM protagonist.

I tried, lol. I figured it’d be practice to use my tablet and I wanted to try out the Krita... but yeah, Annie/Minori from “Story of Seasons” is my favorite... I just love her outfit; very cute, while old-fashioned and rustic.

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 10

Day 10: Do you like playing as a boy, or a girl?

Girl.

I don’t know why it’s difficult to play as a boy in the HM/SoS games for me, I mean even Rune Factory. I always end up getting bored... (I can play the Persona games just fine ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Though that said, I usually don’t like the female characters in HM/SoS that much, but in Rune Factory 4, I loved the whole village! So it’d probably be a lot easier to play as a guy if I had to in RF4, but given the choice, I always play as a girl (especially if I can customized because cute outfits).

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 9

Day 9: How many kids have you had in all your playthroughs?

Been so long, I think I’ve only had kids once or twice, I know my characters were pregnant in at least 3 different games.

I know for a fact that I had a toddler with Trent in “DS Cute” (Boy/Green Outfit)

I think I had a baby in “Magical Melody” with Alex and my character was pregnant in “More Friends of Mineral Town“ with Doctor.

(Huh... that’s an odd observation, I only had babies with Doctor and his clones? What does that say about me? lol)

Image source

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 7

Day 7: Favorite way to make money?

In the classic sense...

Mining, especially in Mineral Town and DS Cute (even though you could  do the indoor farming cheat in DS Cute...)

It always felt like the fastest way to make money while trying to wait for your crops to grow, especially if you invested in a basket first instead of upgrading your bag (it feels like an eternity at first since your bag doesn’t have many slots, but it’s really worth it on the long run). Then afterwards, it became the challenge of how deep can you go before the day is through or I’m almost out of energy and I have no food!

Fishing always seemed like a mixed bag and took up too much of your time in a time-sensitive game and I would almost always get garbage. I do enjoy foraging, but depending on the game, it was extremely limited or fairly plentiful, but the amount of money is usually minimal.

And of course, farming and producing items will make the best money in the end, but I’ll be honest....  I was usually “done” playing the game once I got around to the point where I could build the makers. The makers didn’t fit my “schedule“, but I have weird priorities...

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 6

Day 6:  Chickens, cows, or sheep? Or maybe ostriches or alpacas for you newfangled Wii and 3DS people

Can I pick... All the Above???

I love animals in general, but I do get excited over ducks, alpacas and rabbits. I also loved having a pig in “Magical Melody”.

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 5

Day 5: So, what’s your favorite in game season?

I don’t really have a favorite... I suppose Spring or Summer since it’s more likely to rain (because who doesn’t love a rainy day to water your crops?)

Image Source

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 4

Day 4: Your favorite bachelor + why?

Ok, I don’t have a clear cut favorite here. It’s mainly a toss up between Ford and Gill, (though I still have a fondness for Doctor/Trent!)

(Spoilers ahead if you haven’t played Trio of Towns or Tree of Tranquility!! I mean... you guys probably already know this stuff, but still!!)

Ford is a more recent favorite (obviously), Trio did an excellent job developing his personality from being kind of a loner, mainly focused on his work, and oblivious to love. It really showed how much he changed over the course of the game as he develops feelings for your character. It wasn’t a sudden “I think I have a crush on you *blushblush*” once you hit a certain flower color, Ford has to figure out what love even feels like.

Due to his parents not being very caring of him or their home life (it’s highly suggested that they were... not very good people and it’s a good chance that they drank and gambled a lot), it made Ford socially inept and gave him several types of phobias, explaining why he wants things done a certain way. Though his personality and habits make him considered the oddball, but he just embraces this fact about himself and I like that.

I also really love his friendship with Brad and Wayne, their friend events are hilarious and makes them feel like real friends, and as much as Ford will seem annoyed with them the majority of the time, he honestly respects them. You could argue that he looks up to Brad as an example of what a good marriage should be like. Seeing how happy he and his wife are, Ford starts to rethink that marriage isn’t such a bad thing.

Oh! I also really appreciate that they finally had an older bachelor that didn’t constantly bring up how much older he was than your character, that in itself got old. The only argument I could see is that the previous “older” bachelors didn’t have the same problems as Ford, so age wasn’t a main issue for him, love was.

Gill was a surprise (as I stated in my previous post). I really thought he was going to be a snob and bratty, and can come off a little bit of a jerk in the beginning, but you kind of understand why once you find out that he had to “grow up” at an early age. He’s very hard working, trying to get more people to visit the island because he loves his home and wants others to love it too (plus you can understand from an economical standpoint as well that the town needs to generate business to bring money in).

His dad, Hamilton, is good-natured goof, but it works for their dynamic and Gill still really respects and loves his father, but he also worries about him after losing his mother, having gone into a depression (according to the official Bokomono website). Because of this, Gill tended to all the chores his mother would have likely done and cared for his father and their home until his father was able to get back to his old self. (Due to all that practice, it would explain why you always receive perfect lunches from Gill after you get married, you wouldn’t think of Gill as a house husband-type at first.)

I also really liked the tidbits you learn from his father, where it suggests that Gill was able to see the harvest sprites in his youth (he’s the only human character that I’m aware of that was basically confirmed to have able to see them other than the main characters, unless you want to count Jamie from “Magical Melody”, but I always think of them as a demi-god). They always bring up that children are said to be able to see Harvest Sprites, but I have never heard any of the adults claim to have seen them in their youth or any children pointing them out, so I just thought it was interesting that super strict and mature Gill is the one who had been able to see them.

I still have two questions after all these years, a) Why doesn’t Gill become a teacher when you marry him, but does if you marry someone else? and b) Who convinced him to play Commander Gilligan? I figure it had to be Hamilton, but still...

Image Sources x and x

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 3

Day 3: Your favorite bachelorette + why?

Probably...................... Candace and Luna.

I’ll be honest, I don’t normally interact with bachelorettes that much in the games (except in RF4, but that’s a whole different 30 Day Challenge).

I’ve always thought Candace and Luna had adorable character designs, Candace was relatable for me, due to being shy and enjoying creative things, while not wanting to stand out, where I respect Luna for being a good sister, she protects Candace if she feels like someone is bullying her, and generally speaking her mind (though I always kinda felt Luna was a bit immature at times...)

You know what... I do need to give Elli an honorable mention.

When I was kid, I didn’t really like her because she's your rival when you pursue Doctor/Trent. As an adult, you get over those silly things and I have to give her some credit for being a working lady, who also has to help care for her ill grandmother and her little brother after losing their parents. That’s a lot to deal with and she does it all with a smile.

Images Sources x and  x

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge: Day 2

Day 2: Whats your favorite handheld HM game?

There’s several I really enjoyed over the years, but I think overall... I honestly like “Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns” best.

At least to me, Trio felt like an improved version of “More Friends of Mineral Town”, my previous favorite. It's really well-balanced for farming, side jobs, and the game’s main goals. I always planned out my route for the day, just like I did in MFoMT, so that I wouldn’t miss anyone I wanted to talk to and to avoid forgetting to visit a shop since you have three towns to visit!

It even has small elements of “Grand Bazaar”, where in this case it’s not mandatory in Trio, but if you befriend people who are friends or family with the bachelors and bachelorettes, you sometimes learn a little more about the character you’re pursuing. It makes the characters feel richer in personality and makes it seem like everyone in town actually do interacts with each other and have a relationship in some way.

Plus I couldn’t believe how many random events / friend events I would accidentally wander into simply because I befriended villagers I barely knew just by greeting them every day! Sometimes I would lose track of what I was originally doing, but the events usually were interesting or entertaining, so I didn’t mind.

One more nice touch, if you end up at someone’s home at the beginning of a meal, sometimes you’ll be invited to join the meal! It’s something I found cute, you hear a variety of topics and helps your character regain a little bit of energy if you don’t have any food on hand.

Harvest Moon 30 Day Challenge

(or more, or less, depending on how boring my answers are and how lazy I am).

Day 1: What’s your favorite console Harvest Moon game? 

....It’s a toss up between “Magical Melody” and “Tree of Tranquility” (I would say “Animal Parade”, but I honestly haven’t played it yet! Like most of the console HM games!)

From what I recall, “Magical Melody” lacked actual heart events, though it was made up for with cute rival events and random events. I also found the idea of villagers moving in or leaving very interesting (though sad) and really enjoyed the festivals, but my favorite thing was the mini-game to retrieve the blue feather! It just felt like a really romantic idea to have to work to retrieve one instead of buying it.

With “Tree of Tranquility”, I really enjoyed the game’s main story.

I thought it was much more interesting than MM’s (though both have a similar idea), plus I ended up learning a lot more about Gill, making him feel like a much more developed character from the rest of the villagers, which lead me to marry him. (I honestly didn’t think I was going to marry him, I really disliked his spring outfit when the game was announced and thought he looked like a snob, lol. I originally was going after Jin or Toby!)

I also really liked the introduction of having a side job in the game, but.. I almost never had to farm, just the bare minimum, mainly to just eat or give gifts. It also took away the challenge of wooing Gill and I was married in 2 seasons! That’s a record for me!

And though you still have to look for the blue feather in this game, it wasn’t nearly as challenging as it was in MM.

Sources for the images x and x

He talking to Eggman or somethin idk

grinding on hairy and domestic toji’s stomach while you kiss

Teruhashi and Saiki are almost one in the same, kind of like foils if you ask me. But hey, don't tell the saiki k fandom I said that... 🤫

Teruhashi is a prime example of ppl hating female characters when they love male characters for the same thing (cough cough saiki is also self centered and egotistical). And lots of teruhashi haters are misogynistic, you can’t change my mind

[Confession 379]

Yeah, I like pie.