Calling all Harvest Moon fans. Recommendation Time.

[Parasitic_Chick]

Recently I decided that I wanted to expand my HM library and start playing on the GameCube again. But it seems I'm having trouble figuring out whether I want to get "Magical Melody" or "Another Wonderful Life". Both are considered classics among HM fans and both seem to get good reviews. So I was hoping the Escapist community could help me decide.

I don't know much about either game other than what I've read from old video game reviews. What I'm looking for is a HM game that has good game play, a decent difficulty level (not too easy but not too hard either), and interesting characters. A good attention to detail would also be great, for example if the marriage candidates were well characterized or if the story was interesting.

I want people who've actually played one (or preferably both) to give their opinions. Let me know what was particularly good about the games and what wasn't. I'm not a noob so I can handle many annoyances with no problem (like mining for example). So honest opinions are really important. So with the good, bad, and the ugly in mind, let me know which one you think I should get.

 

[Padwolf]

A Harvest Moon thread? AT LAST MY TIME HAS COME! You have no idea how excited this makes me!

Well hello there friend! I have played both incredibly extensively, and I have to say that "Wonderful Life" would be the one I recommend.

Wonderful Life isn't too difficult or easy, the characters grow along with your characters, there are a lot of fun stories going on, and the town really develops and it's absolutely satisfying to see. The marriage candidates are very good, they have their own personalities, their own stories going on, their own hopes and dreams. I don't want to give too much away on it, and spoil a lot of the story. The game goes in chapters, so the first year of the game is like the prologue bit, where you learn about the village, your farm, the marriage candidates and choose who you want to be with, and then it just gets better and better. And here's one of my favourite parts about it: YOUR KID GROWS UP!!! they grow, they have their own personality too, and it's brilliant. They have their own little story going on with a possessed teddy bear and a scientist who likes to watch them and your cows. It's a lot of fun. There are a LOT of little stories going on in the game, and it weaves beautifully.

Your spouse also develop as time goes on, and EVERYONE AGES! it's great! you go through your characters life, you go through the life of those who live in the village, and they all age, they all develop. People move out, people move in, the children of the village grow up. There is a lot to do in the game and a lot to see. There is also quite a bit of replayability like all the Harvest Moon games, as your child is never going to be the same, judging on how you spend your time with them and who you marry. It's also great to see how everyone reacts to who you choose to marry.

When it comes to the farming aspect, it's still a lot of fun, it is easier than many of the Harvest Moon games, because you will already have your set patch of grass for the animals, your set patches of land for crops and trees. There are a lot of options for seed making, the animals are all incredibly cute. The horse is fun to roam around on. The village is just lovely, too. The game is very relaxing.

Magical Melody is good, it's really good and I liked it a lot. But it felt so samey to me after you've gotten married and all that jazz. It's still an absolutely fantastic game, so if you can, get both. But with Magical Melody you can do the story, and then it's kinda just done. You get into that time loop where your kid is a toddler and that's about it. I found it rather too easy. The marriage candidates are alright, there are quite a few to choose from. It is very charming, but I don't think it holds quite the same amount of magic that Wonderful Life does. It's still challenging in that you have to do the right things and do certain thing to make people move into the town too.

So I say choose Wonderful Life, it's a great game, it's relaxing and a lot of fun!

 

[aozgolo]

Magical Melody is definitely my choice, A Wonderful Life's world felt a little too small, there weren't as many towns people and definitely very few eligible bachelorettes.

Magical Melody may be lacking a bit on the writing quality but it makes up for it in sheer gameplay bad-assery. In addition to the standard fair in HM games, in MM you can buy property, attract new villagers and businesses to town based off what you ship, Buy furniture and decorate your house yourself, move your buildings around, have a pet pig, choose from like 10 marriage candidates per gender, fish anywhere, plant trees, build a second home, and there's even an achievement-style system where you collect notes for doing various activities. Definitely a superior game in my book solely based on gameplay, it's my number one HM pick.

 

[Guffe]

I liked Magical Melody a lot.
Can't remember playing Wonderful Life... but it seems OK based on a quick google search.
But at least MM is worth a go!

 

[Parasitic_Chick]

Wow, people here are awesome. Thanks for the help. I've decided to be weird and buy BOTH games. Each game has features I want and after some research of my own I decided I need both. But thanks again for the tips!