Gaming can be intense at times. Fast-paced FPS like Counter-Strike, highly strategic RTS like Starcraft 2, or even MOBA like Mobile Legends drain your energy quicker than you think. So, you might consider moving on to more story-focused games like Fear and Hunger, only to realize the plot, the gameplay, and its overall vibe are absolutely horrifying, in a good way. But still, you want a real time off. A real cozy gaming. Well, look no further than the Harvest Moon franchise.
Harvest Moon is sort of the grandfather of the cozy gaming genre. While cozy gaming doesn’t always involve farming and homesteading, this gameplay loop is often found in the most popular games in the genre. Think of Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing for more recent reference. Without a doubt, this genre yearns for farming elements, and just can’t get enough of it.
Cozy Game Genre And Cozy Farming Life
Before we get too deep into Harvest Moon, let’s talk about farming. At a surface level, farming is a chore, don’t you think? Ploughing the field, planting seeds, growing crops, and when it’s harvesting season, you spend the whole day reaping the result of your hard labour. Despite that, some find it calming, and relaxing, even after an eight hours shift of work in real life.
Somehow, cultivating brown pixels so they grow some green pixels got people hooked. However, digitally living the fantasy of being self-sufficient isn’t the sole entertaining factor of the cozy game genre. Harvest Moon and other farming simulators are often rich with stories, and close attention to each of the NPC.
Furthermore, each character often has their own story arc. What’s more interesting is the dialogue usually impacts your relationship with the NPC in question. Are you going to be their friend? Rival? Or even marry them?
The original 1997 Harvest Moon also features some captivating NPCs to interact with. Their personalities and distinct quirks come as a pack with the beautiful village, making the virtual community feel alive.
Harvest Moon History
The mastermind behind this franchise is Natsume Inc. First appeared on the Japanese market in 1996 as Bokujo Monogatari (Farm Story) and officially entered the North American market one year later. There are some differences between the two versions due to localization.
Harvest Moon was quick to gain popularity among gamers. The 2014 Harvest Moon: Connect to A New Land sold over 130,000 in the first week of its release alone. The core premise is it’s a farming simulation where you play as a guy who inherited his grandfather’s land. With that simple premise yet the highly explorable open world, plus it is being a family-friendly game, this farming simulator became the game almost everyone plays or at least knows of.
Once the gameplay gets going, it’s quite addicting. It’s easy to lose track of time when we tend to our crops, especially when it’s virtual crops. Not only that, the rest of the gameplay revolves around socializing with the villagers, sounds familiar?
One of, if not the most popular farming game out there is Stardew Valley. And, Stardew Valley’s developer took inspiration from Harvest Moon. Although it’s easy to say they are carbon copies of each other, there are distinct qualities each game offers.
Many fans argue that Harvest Moon is more story-focused, while Stardew Valley offers more freedom in the gameplay. Despite seemingly being overshadowed by Stardew Valley among the more recent audience, the game still has a huge chunk of fan base. Nevertheless, Natsume.Inc. successfully pioneered one of the best genres out there.
Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home Mobile Release
Good news for us, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home is just around the corner. Natsume announced its anticipated release will be in August 2024. And, if you think it’s only for PC and/or console, you’d be wrong. It will be available on IOS and Android.
Harvest Moon on mobile devices is not a new thing. However, the previous mobile titles were simply too distinct from the original late 90s version. The best part about this game is Natsume promised traditional gameplay.
This means we can expect the farming and socializing gameplay loop. The best appeal of farming in a village simulator. Unfortunately, Natsume hasn’t released any trailer yet. Although, they posted a few screenshots of the game on their website.
To add to that, they also announced that the game won’t only feature farming. There is also mining and fishing, and even we will be encouraged to keep the village happy and invite tourists to prosper the village even further.
While we can’t judge the quality of the gameplay just by looking at a couple of still images, by the look of it, it will turn out quite good. The low poly-esque aesthetic seems easy on the eyes and similar to Harvest Moon: Wind of Anthos. Hopefully, it will be easy on the devices too.
Leave a comment