Oddities of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life

Ever play a game riddled with things that just... didn't seem quite right? Or spend hours doing research on a rumor that you heard, only to find out that it wasn't true? I know I have. What's your favorite rumors, tropes, or underlying themes in games? Is there something in a game that is slid under the radar making it more "E" rated? My favorite game that has examples of both would have to be from Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. Here are a couple of my favorite 'wtf' moments.

• The rumor that Rock is adopted. Ah man, this gets me every single time. Probably because it's most likely true. The thought of Rock being happily adopted with parents who never bothered to tell him makes me laugh, as Rock is just happy go lucky in his own little world. Rocks bears absolutely no resemblance to either of his parents. His parents are hard working people of Asian descent with black hair. Rock is white, laid back, blond, and 'lazy' doesn't even cover it. His parents don't even seem to like him, and they aren't seen conversing much in the game. Even as a kid I asked myself, "am I crazy or is there something wrong with this picture?"

They totally look related.

• The rumor of being able to get a chihuahua and a lizard.  I remember researching this for myself for hours without coming up with any result. It bothered me that there were these animals out there I thought I could get or my farm! It was a widely spread rumor that a lot of people believed to be true which I think just made things even worse. To this day, people still believe that this fact may be true, but it's not.

• "Cheating Husband" If you've watched all of a girl's three heart events, and continue to maintain your friendship but marry ANOTHER girl, you will witness cut scenes of the jealous girl coming to your house, verbally abusing you night after night. If you try to talk to the girl, she'll explain that she's mad at you, but will soften up after gifts. It's implied that you have a "woman" on the side, as you're trying to maintain a friendship and impress another woman, but you don't really. There's no cheating in Harvest Moon!

• Grant and Samantha's awkward marriage. Samantha is.. a crazy, crazy woman.. never could stand her. It is heavily implied in the game that she's an incredibly bossy, demanding and controlling wife and mother. She constantly tries to control the way that her daughter acts and dresses. Grant appears in the game as a "businessman", when really, he purposely gets up early to leave his house before his wife wakes up. He stays out as LONG as he can to avoid his wife, and even when he does come home, he goes directly to the bar. In Harvest Moon DS, Grant and Samantha are divorced. Samantha dumps Kate on Grant, and leaves him for another man. It's implied that she left because Grant worked too much and never paid any attention to her, but I think it's her fault as much as his.

• Murry and "Po-Po Valley". Did anybody else hear as a kid that Murrey would go back to Po-Po Valley if you donated enough money? I sure did! What a mistake that was, handing over all of my hard earned dollars. Instead, that bum steals food out of my fridge when I'm not looking and begs for the other villager's hard earned dollars.

• Daryl's strange mannerisms. I'm sure that one or two of you were afraid of Daryl as a kid playing AWL. He's a weird guy. He's one of those characters that just doesn't quite fit. Not to mention that he has a creepy fascination with your child, and he can be often seen peeping into your windows when you're not looking to "observe" your son. CREEPY. His fixation on your cows was also something that made you back away slowly and run the other direction when you saw this guy pacing around your farm. He then tries to capture Makumuku in winter time. He was definitely the "weird" factor for this game, and maintains this title even to this day throughout the series.

• The rumors surrounding Carter and Flora's relationship. Just like in real life, rumors are started that are... well.. rumors. Although it seems like Carter and Flora are going buck wild in their tent every night, the two are completely oblivious. If you talk to Carter and Flora, the idea about a relationship has never even crossed their minds, and they seem totally unaware that the villagers think differently. Their innocence about their situation is just plain adorable to me. Strangely enough though, when Harvest Moon: DS was released, Carter and Flora were both marriage candidates. They are also paired as a rival couple. So hmm, its up to you decide on that one!

• Patrick's Crush. The subject is nothing to joke about, but Harvest Moon somehow managed to slide pedophilia into the game under the radar. If you talk to Patrick when Lumina is nearby, he makes comments that very heavily imply that he has a crush on her. Now, while Lumina is technically 18 in the game, Patrick is still in his 50's and the reference is odd. You never really pick up on it as a kid, but you go back to play the game, realize it and go, "well that's wrong."

• Daachan the Bear. There's a bear that you're able to purchase from Van for your child. Throughout the course of the game, there's several cut scenes that indicated that this teddy bear is actually real. The bear creeped me out so badly that I wish I had never purchased it for my child. Late at night (on two different occasions), Daachan can be seen seen stealing food out of your fridge. Your child also speaks (or is presumably) speaking to the bear on a couple of occasions. The bear can also be seen walking, if he's laying on the floor out of place. You can also zoom in on the bear and stare it for a couple of in game hours - and the bear 's head will be turning side to side. o_o Not to mention that the bear also breaths... to this day, it's one of those things in a Harvest Moon game that legitimately freaked me out.

• Bad parenting. You may or may not have witnessed an example of bad parenting if you married Nami. Nami is hardly ever at home, even when your child is a toddler. Although the other spouses that you can marry will leave your farm during the day, Nami does this much more then the other candidates. She stays out late (often past 10PM at night), and frequently visits the bar. When your son is a teenager, she tends to have a short temper, and often fights with your son. Nami's son will be one of the most depressed as a teenager, partially because of Nami's behavior, and he mentions this if you try to talk to him. Maybe Nami wasn't cut out for this whole parenting thing.