After you play it for a while,Magical Melody becomes a great and addictive game.
A Wonderful Life introduced 3-D graphics. Sadly,these 3-D graphics were wiped out in A Magical Melody. When a cutscene is shown,the scene is sometimes 3-D,but it doesn't stay that way. But all is not lost. Animal Crossing also has the same style of a fixed camera angle and now Magical Melody has this as well. The only camera control you have is zooming in and out outside. Other than that,there is none. The rest of the graphics look good. The water effects are nice and the buildings look great as well. The seasons look real and there's even a wavy effect to show heat in the summer time. The framerate is usually steady but sometimes drags in the summer time. But its minor. The games graphics are great,and actually better than Animal Crossing but not the best. It is somewhat dated,depending on personal opinion.
As mentioned before,this game is similar to Animal Crossing. Both games share some stuff like the fishing method,the fixed camera angles,how a character displays his/her mood by displaying a icon on top of his/her head,being able to find and sell seashells on the beach,being able to arrange your furniture,and more. However,they are still different games as Harvest Moon is a farming sim and Animal Crossing is more of a life sim.
Back to the game,you start the game by entering your name. Then,you choose from three locations to place your farm. The locations have their pros and cons,as they are close to some things and far from other things. After you choose your location,you then get your house and really start the game. At first it may seem boring as you learn the basics and do some things over and over,but as you play it you begin to enjoy it more,at least I did. Your character also has a stamina gauge,which depletes as you work. You can get more stamina by eating things you find on the ground,so it actually isn't that limiting. You actually had a invisable stamina bar in A Wonderful life too. As you go through the game new stores open,so this keeps the game fresh for a while. There are also many events throughout each season,and you can join in with the others,although sometimes a farm animal is required to preticapate,so you may not be able to do some events at first. The games clock goes quickly. I think there's 5 seconds in every 10 minutes in the game,so each day will go pretty quickly. Good news is that time pauses inside buildings. You can also go to sleep and start the next day from any point and no matter where you are,so this avoids the need to keep returning to your house. You can also upgrade your upgrade your house if you have the wood and the money. You can also buy furniture for your house,and even other land. Other things to buy include food and juice like pizza,sandwiches,and various dishes at the bar and inn,various items at the junk shop,tree and crop seeds,farm animals,and accessories for your farm animals.
The games sound is nothing to brag about,but its not really bad either. There are sound effects like rain falling,waves on the ocean,the river and water fall,the farm animals,and other things. But these sound effects could sound better overall.
So,if you are fan of Animal Crossing you will love the things that are similar to it in this Harvest Moon. Also,if you are big Harvest Moon fan you will like this too,although you may be a slight disappointed if you liked A Wonderful Lifes 3-D graphics.