A gentle breeze that blows through the trees. Fields waiting to be cultivated. Delicious vegetables and juicy fruits. Oh – the farm life could be so beautiful! This is exactly what the little adventure in gave Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town. But a new edition of that time Harvest Moon Adventures from 2003 to 17 years later?
A new life in a tranquil style!
Oh, what did I miss the small but fine village of Mineralstadt. Because it’s been 17 years since Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town conquered the domestic consoles. Now we come with you Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town back to the tranquil village for the first time – in a new edition of the popular Game Boy Advanced – classic. Time to swing your own hoe again and put on your rubber boots! Because Friends of Mineral Town is the first Harvest Moon Game that I came into contact with as a little dwarf, of course it has a certain emotional value – combined with some nostalgic expectations. Nevertheless, I tried to approach the test as impartially as possible!
In order to avoid possible confusion about the general game series at this point, I would like to reiterate the debate here Harvest Moon vs. Story of Seasons Point out title. Unfortunately, many players are not even aware that the current Harvest Moon Titles are not the well-known farming adventures that we had known and loved as children. After the developers Marvelous at the beginning of the 2010s by the former partners Natsume Inc. separated, there were some problems with naming rights – and so it turned out Harvest Moon Story of Seasons! You can find all the details in our recent report read about it. But now in the middle of farmer life!
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About cows and plants, hearts and elves
The basic story of Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town was of course taken from the original – and corresponds to the typical Harvest Moon Scheme. Our beloved grandfather bequeathed us his farm again, which should bloom again with our hand. Even if it is clear that the story is taken over 1: 1 in a remake, it felt fuller after all these years Harvest Moon somewhat repetitive to take over Grandpa’s farm again. Hadn’t I done it ten times over the past few years? A small bland aftertaste was unfortunately not entirely avoidable here. Nevertheless, this is of course a new edition, so it is definitely appropriate to use the original story – it has one Harvest Moon so far never really influenced!
In order to give our farm a new shine, Mayor Thomas also welcomed us when we arrived in the village. It gives us a first overview of village life, as well as customs and customs. Players who have no touch points with Harvest Moon Having games also gets optional tips for control and the daily tasks that have to be done on the farm.
After the brief introduction, we can already plunge into the open turmoil. As usual, the gameplay is in Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town kept completely open. We do have a few neighbors who want to introduce themselves to us, but that’s about it on leading quests or storylines. Because here too it is important to write our own adventure!
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The farmer nourishes herself with difficulty!
Now plants want to be grown, trees planted and animals raised. It is also important to point out the different entry options. At the beginning we can choose between a simple and normal start. If we want it to be a little easier, our farmer starts with 2500 gold in his account and can harvest pre-sown plants on the first day. To jump straight into the adventure for the test, I also chose the easy start.
Thanks to the small head start, I was able to immediately start my beloved farmer job. And one thing was immediately clear – it wasn’t long before I regained the charm of the Harvest Moon Genres fell into disrepair. The internal days of the game flew away again in no time. Because it means plowing fields again, sowing plants. But wait, my cow has to be milked! And did I feed the foal ?! Already forgotten! It never becomes a horse like that! But wait, first a detour to the beach. Oh no, the day is almost over and the seed shop is closed!
Nevertheless, especially at the beginning, one or the other “quest” would still do the game quite well. I can imagine that as a non-veteran of the genre you are initially confused and overwhelmed, and do not know where to start now. On the farm first or in the forest? Uh, where does the beach suddenly come from? How is the business closed again? For beginners, there are some possible stumbling blocks that could have been cleared out of the way if the game occasionally led you a little.
A feeling of coming home
The engaging game principle works smoothly again, from the very first minute. The new graphic painting does the rest to suck the player into the world. At the same time, my own animals also look thirty times more loving than the original, and as an alpaca fan, I was just completely enthusiastic about the offshoots of this variety. And yes, maybe I have a few too many on the farm okay ?! Everyone has their weaknesses!
I was a little disappointed with the music of the game. Unfortunately, this is linked to both the current weather and the location of the character. The music in the city is different from that on the farm or on the beach. However, if it rains in our village, the music is missing. And we can deal with our thoughts and the rippling rain alone. Of course, this may be an absolutely subjective point, but for me the relaxing soundtrack in the background is simply part of it.
When it rained for the first three days in a row, it felt totally wrong to be without sound. I even started googling whether I had started or configured the game incorrectly – until I remembered that there was usually no music in when it rained Harvest Moon was present. I find that really a shame, and I had definitely hidden it in my nostalgic memories. At least there could have been an option to turn the music on or off when it rained. So everyone could have enjoyed the farm life in a musical way according to their own preferences.
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Farmer life also in real life – thanks to a beautiful press kit!
In connection with this test, I was very happy about the really loving press set that we from Marvelous have received. Our boss was able to get this safely from his daughter, it was a tough race! When I opened the set for the first time, a carefully designed letter greeted me – exclusively from Mayor Thomas himself, including “hand-drawn” photos of my family time together at the farm! Thomas welcomes us to Mineralstadt and tells us about our grandfather’s legacy.
It’s just a completely different feeling to have access to a game in this way than with just a small piece of paper, and it gets you in the mood much more to start your own farming life. After the letter, the key to my own farm, some “chicken feed”, and a few small stickers awaited me – from which the alpaca will definitely get a place of honor!
In the following gallery you will find the contents of the cute set. At this point I really want to thank you very much for it – I had so much joy with it, thank you very much ????
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CONCLUSION
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town really didn’t make it easy for me in the test. It was the first game of the Harvest Moon Series with which I came into contact as a little dwarf at the time. My memories of the original were correspondingly nostalgic and distorted. Nevertheless, I also fell for the remake after only a few minutes, because I simply have too much space left in my heart for games of the Harvest Moon genre – the beautiful new graphics did the rest of course! Of course, here is a pioneering graphic miracle à la Last of Us 2 Needless to say, of course. However, the style fits wonderfully into the contemplative world – and something more realistic would be absolutely out of place here!
However, the lack of soundtrack on rainy days really bothered me more than expected and tore me out of contemplative, relaxed summer days. This may definitely be “complaining at a high level” … but it just spread a slightly melancholic, sad feeling that just didn’t fit into the peaceful village of Mineralstadt. I also have to admit that despite all my love for the franchise, after a few hours I realized that I had just seen all of this in the game. However, this is probably after over ten years Harvest Moon Play quite normal – albeit a shame. This makes you feel a little older than mine would be in such quiet moments!
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Tested: Switch-Version
Developer / Publisher: Marvelous/Marvelous
Release: July 10, 2020
Link: official website
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