Back when I was very new in the Youtube community I did a very amateur job of capturing footage of this game. Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life was the first Harvest Moon game that I had ever played. I have this game to thank for my love of the series as I grew up. I have, and will always love Harvest Moon. I have played and own both the male and female version. Since they are very similar, I will be only reviewing the main male version, but I will include examples of the female version: Another Wonderful Life. I put the female version on my Youtube page, which can be viewed here. I apologize for the quality!
Synopsis: For those of you that are not familiar with the series, Harvest Moon is a game that never ends. With no ending, the player can play as much or as little as they'd like and they have many choices to make to effect how their life turns out. Because it is a simulation game, it's very similar to The Sims. Your character (either a female or male, depending on the version) has come to a quiet valley to start a new life. Your father has passed away, and you've decided to take over his farm. That's all - the rest is up to you! Have a... WONDERFUL LIFE. See what I did there?
Pros:
1. The pace in which time passes in game.
In traditional Harvest Moon games, a year is 120 days divided into 4 seasons. This gives the player plenty of time to do time specific tasks and events in a month. Each month has 30 days, and you generally have 16 hours (approximately) in a day to do what you need to do. A minute in real life generally causes 10 minutes in game to pass. This makes for a very, very long game. Especially when the game never ends, and some things are missable!
However, A/Another Wonderful Life is unique in that they do not have the same system! Each month only has 10 days rather then 30. They've kept the four seasons, and having 40 days in a year instead of 120 makes a huge difference. The game has compensated so that it does not interfere with game play. A second in real life is a minute in game time, and you can see the minutes tick by so you know exactly what time it is. It's a much more effective system. I love it and wish that more Harvest Moon games would do the same.
2. The amount of content was perfect. I never felt overwhelmed!
Everything in this game was planned out so nicely that you never felt you were on a tight schedule. There wasn't so much to do that you never got around to things you wanted to do, but there wasn't a lack of things either! It was perfectly acceptable to do your chores for half of the day, and still have time for other things later on in the day. The number of love interests and villagers incorporated into the town was just right, and you actually really wanted to engage in conversation with everybody. They included various Harvest Moon variables from other games, but they did it in moderation. It is honestly very invigorating, and makes the game so much more enjoyable. Even to do those mundane tasks that nobody likes doing in Harvest Moon games (generally)!
3. It's got a touch of realism to it that other Harvest Moon games don't have.
Harvest Moon is meant for audiences of all ages, and so the content of the game is clearly very G rated. Harvest Moon: A/Another Wonderful Life got away with having a E rating, but still adds very real life characteristics that other games didn't have. A few examples include: divorce, aging, characters dyiing, and somewhat graphical scenes when your animals die. I enjoyed that your own character, your family, and villagers actually aged as the years went by. You had to maintain relationships with people, or else things wouldn't stay the way they were, and characters were "killed" off. It bought a very refreshing bit of changes as the years went on, and allowed for some great character development. This game also technically has an "ending" unlike a lot of games, just like your life eventually comes to an end. It made this game so much better, and put it in my list of favorite Harvest Moon games.
4. Your children actually develop, grow up, and you have influence in their lives.
By far my FAVORITE part of this game, which puts it apart from every single Harvest Moon game. In most games, your child goes from a baby stage to a small child, but then growth stops. A/Another Wonderful Life is beautifully unique in that your child grows into a young adult! It takes 7 full game years (until the game ends), but it was so rewarding in a sense to see something come out of your efforts. Your child develops his own unique personality, own appearance, and you can even sway your child's career choices. It's something that I am praying more Harvest Moon games of the future do, because it's such an under rated idea that Natsume really ought to look back on. It is again, part of that realism part of the game. You don't just have this little baby forever, you age, along with your child. You run into the good (and the bad) as they grow up, and you see them blossom into a human being. Metaphorically, of course. The amount of diversity in this feature is something that again, is sorely missed.
Cons:
1. The map is unfortunately very dull, small, and doesn't offer much variation.
As much as I love the pace of this paticular Harvest Moon game, it slows down after a few years of playing. You don't want to stop playing, because things change every year. However, things easily become dull and repetitive and it's very hard to keep playing after 3 or 4 years. The terrain doesn't change much, villagers don't hustle and bustle or change often, and there's never any new areas unlocked. The only area that you are able to go that's outside of the actual village is only accessible by connecting a Gameboy to the Gamecube. It's a huge hill that just teases you! Other villagers will come and go, but you never can. *sigh* Even expanding onto your farm isn't all that interesting, unfortunately. If the map was bigger, there might be more to explore, and more things to do in a day to keep the game a bit fresher as the years went by.
2. Your character gets hungry, and the game reminds you. CONSTANTLY.
One of the most annoying bits of the realism part of the game is that your character does in fact get hungry! He/she does have to eat. If you choose not to feed your character, then be ready to face the consequences. The game is not shy in reminding you, every few minutes (or so it seems) that your character needs to eat! Your character will hold their stomach as it growls. The more time you allow to pass without feeding your character, the less of a gap there will be in between growling. This really interferes with game play. It slows you way down! Fortunately, your character can and will eat practically anything edible in game. Having to go and search for food when you are trying to perform another task, however, is just an added nuisance.
3. The game forces you to have children and get married.
This isn't something that bothers me personally, because I always get married in the game (eventually). You always have a child when you get married, so that comes naturally. But I don't think it's fair that the game forces you. If you don't know much about the game, or about the girls/boys that are available to marry, you might not get the results you want. You may miss events, or miss opportunities to impress one person or another. You only have 40 days to impress the one you want to marry, and if you don't propose to somebody they will come to your house and propose to you! If you say no to the proposal, the game will only go on for another year before it ends for good. The game will not let you continue without getting married, and you lose your chance after the first year. Most games give you plenty of time to get married, giving you time to get used to the game. Luckily for you, you only have three choices to choose in between... but be prepared to make a quick decision!
