I need help finding a game.

[Rebel_Raven]

I'm looking for a special variety of game.
On Wii U/Wii, 360, or ps3 (preferrably ps3) first off. My laptop is terrible.

I'm looking for a game where you play as a female.
A low stress, up beat, happy game. Maybe with in game festivals, or something. Something that kinda shows life away from all the fighting, and stuff. A game where you can chill. Maybe talk to NPCs, do some repeditive tasks, etc.

Preferrably nothing MMORPG like.

Kinda like Harvest Moon, I guess, though looking at the handful available on PSN, none have gender select.

Sims might jump to mind, and I have sims 3 pets, but it's pretty demanding, dealing with wants, jobs/school, etc. It's not quite what I'm lookign for.

P.S. English language stuff. I know there's prolly flarghtons of games like I'm describing in Japan, but I don't read Japanese, or speak it, and don't import.

 

[BQE]

Have you seen this particular entry? It's on the PSN and you can actually play the entire game as a female, and you get married and do farm things. There's really not much to say other than it's Harvest Moon as a girl.

 

[aozgolo]

as far as Harvest Moon Games go there's always Magical Melody, an older title but you can play as a female, it takes all the best elements of Animal Crossing and incorporates them in. It's a gamecube game but you can play those on a WII.

For PS3 try Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny, it's pretty much a fantasy based RPG with Harvest Moon elements, it does have fighting but is very cheery and upbeat. The Alchemist of Arland series is pretty good as well, with several non-combative mechanics. Look for Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland.

If you don't mind older titles, try Legend of Mana on PS1 Classics library, it's a great game, very upbeat and cheery, it has combat but it's very simple and basic and lots of variety in the tasks you can do.


Unfortunately most games that have what you are looking for are either on PC or handhelds.

 

[TrevHead]

Possibly Recettear on PC. Although it does have some casual dungeoning to it. It's indie so your laptop might run it

 

[Maximum Bert]

Okami is what you are looking for go get it now its available on PS2, PS3 and the Wii. I played the PS2 copy when it came out and it was amazing I have heard that the Wii controls arent as sharp but havent tested it myself but any version should be good.

There is fighting in it but I think its low stress there are festivals and the game world is so beautiful you cant help but be happy playing it. When you think about the content I suppose it could be considered dark but you never feel that when playing at least I didnt. Also you can talk to people and accept quests etc yeah anyway give it a go its amazing.

 

[Rutabaga_swe]

Thought of Recettear as well, but you kinda need to get cracking in order to pay the bill each week. A lot of fun though, and certainly not too demanding.

 

[aozgolo]

Another game I forgot about, Beyond Good & Evil HD is on the PSN, it has combat but it's more of a stealth action puzzle solving game with lots of non-combat activities to partake in (photographing wildlife, talking to townspeople, doing races, etc.)

Possibly Recettear on PC. Although it does have some casual dungeoning to it. It's indie so your laptop might run it

Recettear is a fun game but if we're talking PC I think there's a few others to consider as well.

Most Elder Scrolls games can be modded to allow for other modes of non-combative play, I played a merchant in Oblivion who ran his own store, bought mines, and even had a working farm, all without needing to fight.

Going to a site called renpy.org you can find tons and tons of ENGLISH visual novels, several of which with female protagonists, and all very lightweight games.

Stardew Valley is a classic farming sim style RPG coming out in the not too distant future.

and... King's Quest VII

 

[evilengine]

Not sure if Journey would suit your needs? No fighting, genderless main character, lovely scenery, etc.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

Fable 2 and 3? Sure there is some fighting you'll have to do, but get a decent part into Fable 2 and you can just dick about in towns doing repetitive jobs and stuff.

I'll look into it. I hadn't played fable 2 or 3 in a while for some reason.

Have you seen this particular entry? It's on the PSN and you can actually play the entire game as a female, and you get married and do farm things. There's really not much to say other than it's Harvest Moon as a girl.

Unfortunately it's PSP/Vita so it won't play on a ps3 AFAIK.

as far as Harvest Moon Games go there's always Magical Melody, an older title but you can play as a female, it takes all the best elements of Animal Crossing and incorporates them in. It's a gamecube game but you can play those on a WII.

For PS3 try Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny, it's pretty much a fantasy based RPG with Harvest Moon elements, it does have fighting but is very cheery and upbeat. The Alchemist of Arland series is pretty good as well, with several non-combative mechanics. Look for Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland.

If you don't mind older titles, try Legend of Mana on PS1 Classics library, it's a great game, very upbeat and cheery, it has combat but it's very simple and basic and lots of variety in the tasks you can do.


Unfortunately most games that have what you are looking for are either on PC or handhelds.

Magical Melody sounds interesting! I'll look into that!

I've heard that Rune factory 4 makes you be a guy until you beat the game. I must not've researched thoroughly enough?

There's Atelier Mereru Plus, and Atelier Totori plus, but they both seem to be Vita/PSP only. :/
I've been considering Atelier Ayesha quite a lot, but I've heard that the Atelier Series in general places a time limit on how long you can play the game. The very notion of a time limit is sort of intimidating, but I don't know how strict it is.

I have Legend of Mana on an actual psx cd! I think I'll look into it again!

Possibly Recettear on PC. Although it does have some casual dungeoning to it. It's indie so your laptop might run it

I played a demo of it. It's not quite what I'm looking for as it seemed to lack wandering around town manually as opposed to clicking a location, and going there. It's a very nice game otherwise! I'd go for it if I weren't in such a strong mood for something specefic.

Okami is what you are looking for go get it now its available on PS2, PS3 and the Wii. I played the PS2 copy when it came out and it was amazing I have heard that the Wii controls arent as sharp but havent tested it myself but any version should be good.

There is fighting in it but I think its low stress there are festivals and the game world is so beautiful you cant help but be happy playing it. When you think about the content I suppose it could be considered dark but you never feel that when playing at least I didnt. Also you can talk to people and accept quests etc yeah anyway give it a go its amazing.

Hrm, I always felt pressured to do stuff in Okami. Fight, progress through the story, and stuff. I must have missed the festivals, and social stuff. I'll have to play it again, and see if I can see it in a new light.

Another game I forgot about, Beyond Good & Evil HD is on the PSN, it has combat but it's more of a stealth action puzzle solving game with lots of non-combat activities to partake in (photographing wildlife, talking to townspeople, doing races, etc.)

Possibly Recettear on PC. Although it does have some casual dungeoning to it. It's indie so your laptop might run it

Recettear is a fun game but if we're talking PC I think there's a few others to consider as well.

Most Elder Scrolls games can be modded to allow for other modes of non-combative play, I played a merchant in Oblivion who ran his own store, bought mines, and even had a working farm, all without needing to fight.

Going to a site called renpy.org you can find tons and tons of ENGLISH visual novels, several of which with female protagonists, and all very lightweight games.

Stardew Valley is a classic farming sim style RPG coming out in the not too distant future.

and... King's Quest VII

I had no idea BG&E had RPG elements like talking to towns people. o.o Looked like it was a linear action game to me. It's been on my wish list a while, so it seems to handle my goal.

Elder scrolls games don't quite work. I have oblivion, skyrim, and a lot of DLC, but no particular pull towards them.

Renpy looks very promising! I didn't know the site existed!

I'll keep Stardew Valley, and Kings Quest VII. I hadn't kept up with King's Quest at all since early pixeley looking entries. Or that's my bad, fuzzy memory kicking in.

Not sure if Journey would suit your needs? No fighting, genderless main character, lovely scenery, etc.

Does it involve more than running around, and puzzeling? There's nothing wrong with it, but that sort of thing doesn't quite suit my goals at the moment.



Also, I appreciate everyone's input!

 

[Sack of Cheese]

I'm looking for a game where you play as a female.
A low stress, up beat, happy game. Maybe with in game festivals, or something. Something that kinda shows life away from all the fighting, and stuff. A game where you can chill. Maybe talk to NPCs, do some repeditive tasks, etc.

How's about point and click adventure games?
Most of them feature female protagonists. Games like Syberia, Still life or The longest journey are older games hence they don't demand powerful machines to run.
Cherry Tree High comedy club on the PC features a female protagonist, your main objective is to spend time wisely and recruit members to your group by passing certain stat checks. It's pretty light-hearted.

Maybe try Lara Croft and guardian of light, it's not very heavy on the action and is awesome in coop.

Then there's Valkyria Chronicle, a mix between SRPG (turn-based) and 3rd person action. It has a lot of female characters, you can make your own team full of women if you want too, there're several main characters both male and female.

Phantom breaker: Battlegrounds has a cast full of female and is super fun! A 2D sidescroller on XBLA.

Halo Reach on easier difficulty can be a lot of fun. The main character is customisable, so you can play as female Noble Six, her voice is pretty cool too!

I'll look into it. I hadn't played fable 2 or 3 in a while for some reason.

There's Atelier Mereru Plus, and Atelier Totori plus, but they both seem to be Vita/PSP only. :/
I've been considering Atelier Ayesha quite a lot, but I've heard that the Atelier Series in general places a time limit on how long you can play the game. The very notion of a time limit is sort of intimidating, but I don't know how strict it is.

You don't have to play Plus version, they just add extra costume and DLC characters which are not necessary to enjoy the game.
You can just jump right into Totori and Meruru, ignore Rorona because the timeframe is rather strict. Totori's time is very generous, you just need to move on to the new areas, craft items you need and don't put time into grinding the old areas and you will be fine.

I find Fable 3 quite poorly made, Fable 2 was a more enjoyable game with more options. Fable 3 has really annoying menu where you have to enter a building and a room just to change outfit and weapons, it has less emoticons you can use and the map is just horrible. Magics are totally OP too! Although in Fable 3, the hero can talk, that's about it.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

I'm looking for a game where you play as a female.
A low stress, up beat, happy game. Maybe with in game festivals, or something. Something that kinda shows life away from all the fighting, and stuff. A game where you can chill. Maybe talk to NPCs, do some repeditive tasks, etc.

How's about point and click adventure games?
Most of them feature female protagonists. Games like Syberia, Still life or The longest journey are older games hence they don't demand powerful machines to run.
Cherry Tree High comedy club on the PC features a female protagonist, your main objective is to spend time wisely and recruit members to your group by passing certain stat checks. It's pretty light-hearted.

Maybe try Lara Croft and guardian of light, it's not very heavy on the action and is awesome in coop.

Then there's Valkyria Chronicle, a mix between SRPG (turn-based) and 3rd person action. It has a lot of female characters, you can make your own team full of women if you want too, there're several main characters both male and female.

Phantom breaker: Battlegrounds has a cast full of female and is super fun! A 2D sidescroller on XBLA.

Halo Reach on easier difficulty can be a lot of fun. The main character is customisable, so you can play as female Noble Six, her voice is pretty cool too!

I'll look into it. I hadn't played fable 2 or 3 in a while for some reason.

There's Atelier Mereru Plus, and Atelier Totori plus, but they both seem to be Vita/PSP only. :/
I've been considering Atelier Ayesha quite a lot, but I've heard that the Atelier Series in general places a time limit on how long you can play the game. The very notion of a time limit is sort of intimidating, but I don't know how strict it is.

You don't have to play Plus version, they just add extra costume and DLC characters which are not necessary to enjoy the game.
You can just jump right into Totori and Meruru, ignore Rorona because the timeframe is rather strict. Totori's time is very generous, you just need to move on to the new areas, craft items you need and don't put time into grinding the old areas and you will be fine.

I find Fable 3 quite poorly made, Fable 2 was a more enjoyable game with more options. Fable 3 has really annoying menu where you have to enter a building and a room just to change outfit and weapons, it has less emoticons you can use and the map is just horrible. Magics are totally OP too! Although in Fable 3, the hero can talk, that's about it.

Point and Clicks are okay, but I don't think they'll scratch the current itch I have for something more social, and cultural. A lack of wandering around smoothly kinda hurts Point and Clicks at the moment, too. I'm not against them, but they're just not what I'm looking for right now, basically.

Guardian of light is a good game, I ahve it, but it has little interaction between characters which is something i'm kinda craving.

I can't just jump into the Atelier series because the PS3 doesn't play Vita/PSP games.
Do you know anything about Atelier Ayesha's time limit?

the rest of the games don't seem to quite meet my criteria of being laid back, cultural, and social with NPCs.

 

[mitchell271]

Possibly Recettear on PC. Although it does have some casual dungeoning to it. It's indie so your laptop might run it

Seconded. [sub][sub]Stupid ninja...[/sub][/sub]
Lots of fun and even a machine from '98 could run the game seeing as it's literally 64-bit graphics. It's part store management, part action-RPG and a great time sink so let your family know that you're getting it in advance.

 

[Sack of Cheese]

I can't just jump into the Atelier series because the PS3 doesn't play Vita/PSP games.
Do you know anything about Atelier Ayesha's time limit?

the rest of the games don't seem to quite meet my criteria of being laid back, cultural, and social with NPCs.

Hmm, I'm not sure if you know this, but Atelier Totori and Meruru are both available on the PS3. Only the Plus versions are on the Vita. The upcoming remake of Atelier Rorona will be available on both PS3 and PSVita, it will have the same great gameplay of Meruru and upgraded graphic. The girls of Arland trilogy are totally adorable haha! You might be missing out their amusing interactions if you put it off.

I have yet to play Ayesha because I prefer the art of Arland trilogy's artist. (Rorona, Meruru and Totori)

I'd say Hyperdimension Neptunia games, they have easy-going turn-based mechanic, but they don't seem your style and you already played Saints row games.

How's about Dragon's crown? It's a great 2D sidescroller with good art direction and straightforward story. A bit combat-y but since it's in arcade style, it's easy to just pick up and play. It has 3 female characters and each of them play differently: Amazon is a muscular melee character which relies on accumulative damage and dodging, my favourite; Elf is a range character, has a rather steep learning curve but dish out tons of damage; Sorceress can be both healer and damage dealer.

Torchlight and Diablo? Torchlight 1 (2 is not available on consoles, it seems) has one female character, an Archer.
Diablo 3 has a female counterpart for each of the class. Barbarian is pretty fun to play as! Then there're Wizard, Demon hunter, blah blah, each with their own skills to explore. Dungeon crawlers are very addicting and fun!

It's rather difficult to think of possible recommendations for you, since you ask for female protagonists because they're scarcer than male counterparts, and don't have a 3DS or a Vita. The new Fire emblem is just as good as others said, you can play as female too. Plus there're Pokemon, Etrian odyssey and Harvest moon (with gender select) and the likes.
Persona 3 Portable, Gravity Rush, Soul Sacrifice (although the female option feels like a cop-out since the protagonist is known as male at the beginning then can be rewritten as female)... can be played on Vita too.
PSP has Sweet fuse and Hakuoki games. Visual novel where you play as a girl, you can make choices and pick your favourite sidekick to fall in love with. Even though they have dating sims feature, they are not necessary romance tho.

I'm not sure what light-hearted games mean because most games I play seem fun to me. :">

 

[Rebel_Raven]

I can't just jump into the Atelier series because the PS3 doesn't play Vita/PSP games.
Do you know anything about Atelier Ayesha's time limit?

the rest of the games don't seem to quite meet my criteria of being laid back, cultural, and social with NPCs.

Hmm, I'm not sure if you know this, but Atelier Totori and Meruru are both available on the PS3. Only the Plus versions are on the Vita. The upcoming remake of Atelier Rorona will be available on both PS3 and PSVita, it will have the same great gameplay of Meruru and upgraded graphic. The girls of Arland trilogy are totally adorable haha! You might be missing out their amusing interactions if you put it off.

I have yet to play Ayesha because I prefer the art of Arland trilogy's artist. (Rorona, Meruru and Totori)

I'd say Hyperdimension Neptunia games, they have easy-going turn-based mechanic, but they don't seem your style and you already played Saints row games.

How's about Dragon's crown? It's a great 2D sidescroller with good art direction and straightforward story. A bit combat-y but since it's in arcade style, it's easy to just pick up and play. It has 3 female characters and each of them play differently: Amazon is a muscular melee character which relies on accumulative damage and dodging, my favourite; Elf is a range character, has a rather steep learning curve but dish out tons of damage; Sorceress can be both healer and damage dealer.

Torchlight and Diablo? Torchlight 1 (2 is not available on consoles, it seems) has one female character, an Archer.
Diablo 3 has a female counterpart for each of the class. Barbarian is pretty fun to play as! Then there're Wizard, Demon hunter, blah blah, each with their own skills to explore. Dungeon crawlers are very addicting and fun!

It's rather difficult to think of possible recommendations for you, since you ask for female protagonists because they're scarcer than male counterparts, and don't have a 3DS or a Vita. The new Fire emblem is just as good as others said, you can play as female too. Plus there're Pokemon, Etrian odyssey and Harvest moon (with gender select) and the likes.
Persona 3 Portable, Gravity Rush, Soul Sacrifice (although the female option feels like a cop-out since the protagonist is known as male at the beginning then can be rewritten as female)... can be played on Vita too.
PSP has Sweet fuse and Hakuoki games. Visual novel where you play as a girl, you can make choices and pick your favourite sidekick to fall in love with. Even though they have dating sims feature, they are not necessary romance tho.

I'm not sure what light-hearted games mean because most games I play seem fun to me. :">

Starting off with light hearted, 'd say humerous, not serious. Bright, cheerful. The opposite of Diablo, pretty much.
They'll have seasonal festivals, and optioonal NPc relationships, and stuff. Very little to no combat. A more laid back, adoreable sims, or something.

And yeah, I'm well aware Vita, and DS have games I'm looking for. I gotta get around to buying one, but stuff keeps getting in the way. X(

And yeah, I know it's difficult. 'z why 'm asking for help. lol

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

If you're a fan of Harvest Moon, try Rune Factory.

 

[busterkeatonrules]

Okami is what you are looking for go get it now its available on PS2, PS3 and the Wii. I played the PS2 copy when it came out and it was amazing I have heard that the Wii controls arent as sharp but havent tested it myself but any version should be good.

There is fighting in it but I think its low stress there are festivals and the game world is so beautiful you cant help but be happy playing it. When you think about the content I suppose it could be considered dark but you never feel that when playing at least I didnt. Also you can talk to people and accept quests etc yeah anyway give it a go its amazing.

I second this one. Okami is basically a traditional Japanese painting come to life. Sure there is fighting, but the main focus is on exploration and the overall experience is peaceful and relaxing. You're undertaking a journey, not a series of fights, and there's always plenty to do besides following the main storyline.

I should also mention Mini Ninjas, which is kind of similar. Journey through diverse, beautiful landscapes heavily inspired by mythical Japan. You'll face legions of enemies - but they're 90% cannon fodder, and once defeated, they STAY defeated, allowing you to explore each area at your own pace. You can breeze through it in a matter of hours, or you can explore each nook and cranny for extra rewards - and while there is not a lot of repetition, finding absolutely everything in each area should prove a welcome challenge! Yeah, main man Hiro is male, but you'll quickly unlock several additional playable characters, at least two of whom are female!

Both games are available for the PS3.

 

[Sack of Cheese]

Starting off with light hearted, 'd say humerous, not serious. Bright, cheerful. The opposite of Diablo, pretty much.
They'll have seasonal festivals, and optioonal NPc relationships, and stuff. Very little to no combat. A more laid back, adoreable sims, or something.

You know, this describes Persona 4 -on easier difficulties where you can level up quickly and bypass dungeon grinding- perfectly, only the main character is a guy. Too bad! (Maybe if you really really really try, you can sort of a bit perhaps possibly picture him as a girl?)
Persona 3 on PSP has the option to play as a chick, although the story is rather grim dark (with occasional humour). It's still very good though, but again, PSP.

Costume Quest!!! Yes! You can choose to play as a chick or a guy! I saw it on XBLA or was it PSN recently. It has a super cute cast and is rather light-hearted. (maybe?) With turn-based gameplay where you can transform into whatever outfit you're wearing.
edit: I mean, look at these faces, how can you say no?

Spoiler: Costume quest

How's about Katamari games? You can change your default character to a more feminine models. It is super light-hearted with incredibly charming songs! Easy to pick up and play.

There's Beyond two souls that just came out, but I have yet to play it. Although it seems a bit depressing, if it's anything like David Cage's previous games, Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain.

I'd recommend you some visual novels like Aoi Shiro, (it has English fan patch) but it's a bit wordy.

Come to think of it, there's not that many light hearted games, is there?

 

[Eve Charm]

Look at Rune Factory tides of destiny to, both that and 4 let you select the female character off the bat and are different really with each.

Other then that, hmm Little big planet if you haven't played it, just going through fun user levels is a really big change of pace from everything else.

Animal crossings any of them.

Guilty party for the wii, basically a fun clueish board game like.

Hmm other then that how about doing some heavy roleplay in skyrim/fallout and not really play a combat character.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

Starting off with light hearted, 'd say humerous, not serious. Bright, cheerful. The opposite of Diablo, pretty much.
They'll have seasonal festivals, and optioonal NPc relationships, and stuff. Very little to no combat. A more laid back, adoreable sims, or something.

You know, this describes Persona 4 -on easier difficulties where you can level up quickly and bypass dungeon grinding- perfectly, only the main character is a guy. Too bad! (Maybe if you really really really try, you can sort of a bit perhaps possibly picture him as a girl?)
Persona 3 on PSP has the option to play as a chick, although the story is rather grim dark (with occasional humour). It's still very good though, but again, PSP.

Costume Quest!!! Yes! You can choose to play as a chick or a guy! I saw it on XBLA or was it PSN recently. It has a super cute cast and is rather light-hearted. (maybe?) With turn-based gameplay where you can transform into whatever outfit you're wearing.
edit: I mean, look at these faces, how can you say no?

Spoiler: Costume quest

How's about Katamari games? You can change your default character to a more feminine models. It is super light-hearted with incredibly charming songs! Easy to pick up and play.

There's Beyond two souls that just came out, but I have yet to play it. Although it seems a bit depressing, if it's anything like David Cage's previous games, Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain.

I'd recommend you some visual novels like Aoi Shiro, (it has English fan patch) but it's a bit wordy.

Come to think of it, there's not that many light hearted games, is there?

Can't suspend disbelief enough to pretend a guy is not a guy. And a game I'm looking for I'm in it for the long haul, so I don't want to spend a ton of time as a guy.

Costume Quest doesn't seem to be social so much as a string of battles, and collecting. maybe I missed something, though.

Katamari is pretty linear.

Beyond two souls, I plan on getting this weekend if things go my way, though it's not gunna scratch the gaming itch. Linearity, and all.

Visual novels might stem from the same issue of linearity.

Look at Rune Factory tides of destiny to, both that and 4 let you select the female character off the bat and are different really with each.

Other then that, hmm Little big planet if you haven't played it, just going through fun user levels is a really big change of pace from everything else.

Animal crossings any of them.

Guilty party for the wii, basically a fun clueish board game like.

Hmm other then that how about doing some heavy roleplay in skyrim/fallout and not really play a combat character.

Rune Factory's getting enough suggestions. I'll try that. Hopefully I can get to playing through as a girl soon enough.

Never considered Animal Crossing for some reason. I'll look into that, too.

 

[aozgolo]

It seems like all of your criteria stems from experience with Harvest Moon style games and wanting something similar. Unfortunately not many games like that exist, but as far as HM goes, Magical Melody is by far my favorite on the consoles. My g/f tends to prefer the DS one Sunshine Islands or Back to Nature Cute (Back to Nature you play as a female, sadly it's only available on PSP afaik).

Most other games that have social aspects like developing relationships are either combat heavy RPGs like Mass Effect or Dragon's Age, or are Visual Novels which by nature are very subdued and don't offer much in the way of gameplay outside of social situations (though some more robust ones do exist).

Adventure games tend to be more focused on delivering their own predefined narrative than letting you interact with people. Finding games in general that don't have combat are fairly difficult outside of puzzle or skill games.

The closest thing I can think of for PSN is actually Terraria which is just a 2D Action Game, the early game is mostly just fighting but eventually you do get a small legion of NPCs attracted to you that you can build individual houses customized to them or just specific rooms in a massive castle. There's a huge crafting element to the game that lets you just build your own home how ever you please, unfortunately until you get those first couple of NPCs in one spot you will be harassed nonstop by enemies while trying to do any of this (The more NPCs you have together the less monsters spawn in that area)

Beyond Good & Evil also has combat but it's very basic one-button approach, it's action is more about stealth and puzzle solving.

Sadly I wish there was more I could recommend but ultimately unless you stick with Harvest Moon or Sims you will have to do some level of combat in your games, it just depends on how much. Consoles in general offer little selection for niche games like this. PC or Handhelds is your best bet.