Innocent life

I love HM. I hope you are a Harvest Moon fan too.

I have greatly enjoyed Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town (FoMT), Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town (MFoMT), and Harvest Moon: Back To Nature.

In FoMT, I play as a guy who has just inherited a farm from a deceased old man. Since the old man didn't have any relatives, I was supposed to be the one closest to him (I met him many years ago as a young boy, when I was on vacation with my parents).

Then my farming life starts.

FoMT is very addictive because the game does not only feature farming; it requires the character to socialise with the other people there. Lots of secrets can be unlocked in mines. In addition, there is even an opportunity to bond with the other characters, allowing you to get involved in courtship and even marriage. Now, that is definitely a plus.

MFoMT is almost similar to FoMT, but you play as a girl instead of a boy. That's what made me buy the game in the first place. Plus, you get to change the colour of your clothes and the character is actually pretty, too.

Back To Nature is another older version of Harvest Moon, which I played on PlayStation One (I played FoMT and MFoMT on my Gameboy Advanced SP) many years ago. I still miss it, though. It was my very first HM game I had ever played.

I checked out the new HM for PSP. I felt pretty thrilled when i read about the new HM game, Harvest Moon: Innocent Life. However, my excitement only lasted for an instant. There are a few reasons:

1. The new character is actually a robot
WTF!! A robot! Where has the originality gone to? I don't want to play my new role as a machine; I want a human! I thought Harvest Moon was all about playing your role as a guy (or a girl) running a farm to make a living.

2. The courtship and marriage has been omitted.
Of course, as a robot, you can't possibly fall in love or get married, right? That makes the game a little more boring, don't you think?

3. Money is easy to come by
That should be a plus point, but think about it. If you earned money that easily, where is the thrill? According to a review I read, you actually earn more than you can spend, and there isn't even much worth buying. Of course, you can buy lots and lots of seeds, but once you plant them, they will just produce lots of crops and that just gives you more useless money.

4. There are too many helpers
In the game, there are even helpers to help water the plants, feed the animals and care for your farm. All you have to do is enjoy your earnings from your helpers' hard work. Where is the fun in that? It makes you feel like the game is on auto-pilot.

Of course, I have not actually bought the game yet, and the information is from reviews I have read. But I still think the new Harvest Moon: Innocent Life is a real let down to all HM fans.

Will I buy the game, then? Well, that depends on how much money I will have left by the end of this month.

P.S: Here is a full review on Harvest Moon: Innocent Life.