Video Game Review: Harvest Moon Magical Melody (Gamecube)
Harvest Moon for the Super Nintendo was a charming, insanely fun cult farming game which consumed approximately 2 full years of my life. Even with its strange play controls, Engrish speaking townsfolk and repetitive chore-based gameplay, it was one of the most treasured games in my collection. Ever since then I have been a fan of this quirky series, which as of late has been lackluster. Conversion to 3rd person 3D perspectives on the Playstation and Gamecube consoles have been shaky at best, and seemed to really lack the personality that made the original so special. Harvest Moon Friends of Mineral Town (and the female version, More Friends of Mineral Town) was, in my opinion, the definitive game in the Harvest Moon franchise. It was expansive, held true to the original, and had huge amounts of replay value. Harvest Moon Magical Melody, a Gamecube exclusive, may just wrestle the title of best Harvest Moon game ever away from its GBA counterpart.
Funness: No longer are you forced to a confusing 3rd person control scheme, convoluted storylines and vague farming quests as in the previous Playstation and Gamecube games, Magical Melody is good ol' fashioned top-down farming fun. It follows the generic Harvest Moon time scheme, a month is equal to a season, and there are four seasons in a year (like Earth! How special.) What instantly strikes you is how similar to Animal Crossing this game feels. The perspective is almost identical, as are some of the various chores in the game, such as fishing. Chores? Yes, chores. Natsume is one of the only companies I can think of (barring Blizzard) who can make doing repetitive tasks fun. It is a blast watering your crops. Chopping wood? Exciting. Hitting rocks with a hammer? Riveting. The purpose of this particular version of Harvest Moon is to get enough "notes" to revive the Harvest Goddess, who has given up on life and turned herself into stone because no one believes in her anymore. This is an odd plot point because you can see the Harvest Goddess right there, at any time. Look, lady, I can SEE you. OF COURSE I BELIEVE IN YOU. Anyway, notes are earned by reaching certain goals in the game, such as taking your first step (seriously) or staying up all night the first time. It's a cool little unlockable system, as you can turn in the notes in sets of five to the harvest sprites, and eventually they start rewarding you with power berries, which increase your stamina. There is a ton of depth to this game, you can grow crops, raise animals, both or neither. You aren't restricted to one type of play, you can do whatever you want. Heck, you can fish for the rest of your life if you want to. You get to choose what your farm will look like, you can build structures on it, and basically customize it any way you want to. Another great advancement in this version is the ability to play as a boy or a girl right out of the box. Crazy, I know. This also means that you can marry anyone you want to in town, including that crazy shipping guy with the big hair (if you are a girl. I don't think this game allows for gay farmers, unfortunately. I know, I know. Write a letter.) You can spend hours with this game and get a lot done, or you can spend a couple of minutes and get a lot done. There is an addictive "oh, I'll just play one more day before I stop" factor, however, so watch out.
Shininess: The previous Harvest Moon game for the Gamecube was gorgeous. Everything was rendered beautifully and realistically (save for the townsfolk and their bulbous heads). Magical Melody has a Zelda Wind Waker style cel shaded look, but a bit more subtle. It scales back the graphics in order to have a simpler layout, and I have no problem with that. The game is more iconic this way, the graphics don't distract from the excellent gameplay. The character designs are fun and recognizable if you have played any previous games in the series, and the music is very memorable. There is nothing like a quiet winter day in Harvest Moon, or a boisterous Summer day of harvesting corn. The music is catchy and will stick in your head, and that's a good thing.
Worthiness: It doesn't matter if you aren't a fan of doing things that feel like work, Harvest Moon is a series that makes chores fun. Seriously! It is a relaxing, addictive game that is great for sitting down and playing for a couple of hours on end. There are two save slots as well, so if you have someone else in your household, like me, you both can share in the fun. It's great to have a game that I can play with my wife, discuss farming tips, and both get really into. If you are a fan of the Harvest Moon series, but were dissapointed with the more recent games like I was, you owe yourself a favor by getting this game. It redeems everything, and definitely takes the title from Friends of Mineral Town as the definitive Harvest Moon game.
Score: 4/5 Buy it!
What say you?!