As much as I love the series, I dislike this one!
This game however, was a bit of a disappointment for me. Don't get me wrong, it's a good game, but in my humble opinion it doesn't fit well with the rest of the games in the series, which I believe the producers though too since they haven't released another Harvest Moon game like this one. It's like Final Fantasy VIII, it's good but because of it's flaws, it isn't as good as some of the other games in the series.
I'd like to start by stating generally what harvest moon games are about. The first harvest moon game was about a boy who inherits a farm which he has to take care of and earn money from. He does this by doing basic farm chores such as planting, watering and ,obviously, harvesting crops as well as taking care of farm animals such as chickens and cows. It sounds simple enough but it really isn't, as you have to work a lot each day to earn any money at all. I always found myself rushing a lot just so I can finish watering all my crops, harvesting the ones that are ripe and feeding all the animals before the day is over. That kind of rush was the main feeling that made me fall in love with the series.
So let's look at Harvest Moon A Wonderful Life. I'd like to point out the good aspects first.
Unlike other Harvest Moon games, this game gives you a really liberated feeling. In other harvest moon games, you basically don't want to leave your farm until you have gotten the hang of things, but in this one you are encouraged to go out, explore and meet all of the residents the very first day. These residents are probably one of the game's best features. They all behave differently and will often have different things to say, other than repeating themselves like robots which was the case in other Harvest Moon games. They will tell you tips, tricks, secrets and even gossip. They are truly three-dimensional. It is very important to befriend most (if not all) of the residents because you will have a hard time progressing in the game otherwise. To befriend them you need to give them gifts (Aaaahhhh Materialism, what would we do without it... ). Each character likes different things but isn't really hard to figure out what they like. Most women like flowers, while men like fish, fossils or milk (some of them like flowers too). The more you befriend them, the more they will tell you, and sometimes they will give you gifts too. The residents also vary. You have the village musician Gustafa, the local Rich lady Romana, the bar owner Griffin, the local Mad Scientist Daryl, the metal arti... wait, wait, wait,... let's stop right there for a while,... Mad scientist, Metal Artist,... imagine this for a moment...
Imagine a peaceful valley, with barely any electricity. If you climb atop a hilltop you can just see the entire valley. The warm sun is gently shining at the the crops on the two local farms. The river that floats through the valley is making a pleasant sound as the fish are swimming in it. The local Inn smells of home-made food and welcomes people who want to stay in this tranquil place for a while. People who have reached their golden years come here to spend the last days of their life surrounded by the beauty of nature. The mad Scientist whose laboratory is located in the very center of the valley is strolling around the farm again planning to use the cows for his new experiments. The twin firework makers are again making noise in their water-tower home coming up with new kinds of fireworks. The huge artist who makes sculptures out of metal is again making a rhythmic noise out of his banging sounds while storming through the valley... aaahhh how tranquil and peaceful everything is...
See, this game is has probably the weirdest characters in the series. Seriously, when I think of a nice, peaceful valley, I'm gonna start looking for the Metal Artist! It's pure Japanese Genius, and I love it!
In almost all harvest moon games you have an option of getting married and having a child, but in this game they don't give you an option. You have to get married! That's right, this town doesn't tolerate single men,... except if you are a Metal Artist of course.
You have a choice of three wives, which is a bit disappointing considering that the Gameboy version lets you chose 1 out of 6, but oh well. I don't want to give much away, so all I'll say is that you can have either the down- to-earth nice girl, the slightly mean smart girl that keeps most of her feelings bottled up and the slightly naughty blond girl... to buy them,... I mean win their hearts, you give them gifts every day and before the first year is over, they should be yours.
Another nice new feature in the game is the ability to raise a child. Depending on which wife you chose, your child will have different interests. As he grows up you can give your child gifts to inspire him on which path he should chose. So if you want you child to be a farmer you should probably give and show your child seeds, plants and harvesting tools. Warning: If you want your child to be a farmer like you, don't chose the blonde girl!
The game is divided into a few chapters which pretty much follow your child's growing up, and hopefully in the last chapter your child will also get married and also, if you are lucky, inherit the farm! *sniff* I'm so proud! The game looks beautiful. The graphics have a cartoony-anime style which sets you in the right mood.
There are barely any loading screens because the entire game happens in one "stage" which needs no loading, so that's always a plus!
If you have actually survived reading all this, you might be wondering why on earth did I not mention any farming so far (heck, now looking at the above text, I feel like I just wrote a review for a nice Sims 3 neighborhood). The answer to that question is : because the farming in this game is terrible (with the exception of Animals I guess).
Any experienced harvest moon player will know what to do first in a Harvest Moon game: Go to a local store, buy (Turnip) seeds and take care of them until they sprout so you can ship them and make money so you can do the same thing over and over again until you are a millionaire! Well in this game you plant a 30g turnip, and you water it for about ummm... 6 days, standard, and you sell it for ummm,... 30-40g, yeah! Is it worth it, NO! And you would be even lucky if you got 40 g for it, but in order to get such money you have to use a fertilizer which costs 120g, so in a way you actually LOSE MONEY! I really wish I was making that up. In the early Harvest Moon games one bag of seeds produced 9 crops, but in this game just one! But ok, it can't be that bad, I mean, what about those crops that produce a couple of times a season like sweet potatoes, strawberries. They also take 6 days to sprout, so I guess if a season has 30 days, they will sprout 5 times, so that't 60g *5=300g, well that's some profit, not much but still something, I guess you can earn something out of field work,... oh wait, you only have 10 days PER SEASON! Why 10? Well, because one day takes way too long. WAAAAAY too long! Remember what I said earlier about rushing to finish everything before a harvest moon day is over, well here you will actually be able to do everything... 6 times and go fishing... and I actually like it that way. The days are long enough so you can do most of the things you would want for an average Harvest Moon day, except of course raising crops, which is pretty much the most IMPORTANT thing in any harvest moon game, except in this one. Ok, to be fair to the game, crop planting wasn't really the main focus of "A wonderful Life" and if you "read between the lines" you can pretty much tell that the main reason for planting crops is to grow them as best as you can so you can give them as gifts or cook them. I forgot to mention that you can also plant trees, which will stay on the field forever unless you remove them. Trees produce fruit which grows like crazy, but you still won't earn much from it unless you do a cheat-like stunt for making seeds out of it...
So to sum this up in order to make some money in this game instead of using a hoe and a watering can like in any other regular harvest moon games, and getting a nice feeling of accomplishment, you will simply plant a tree and wait for it to grow... that's right, you don't even have to water it. Oh and get this, you remember that wonderful wooden box from ANY harvest moon game in which you put all your products and then at the end of the day that creepy guy comes over to buy everything and pays you right away. Well guess what? That creepy guy lives on YOUR FARM, and trust me, he is the creepiest of them all, oh and he only takes dairy products, (just milk, eggs, butter, mayonnaise and such).
Taking care of animals is nice though. Cows give about 2-5 bottles a milk twice a day depending on the season, but this time in order to milk them you will have to impregnate them first and then once they give birth they start producing milk. To impregnate them you will either need to buy or rent a bull. Cows produce milk of better or worse quality depending on how much you are close to them. It's kind of annoying but that's how it's done in real life and I rather like it that way! The chickens also won't give fertile eggs (eggs that can hatch into chicks) unless you have a rooster, that's also very nice! The sheep are just like the crops, they take forever to grow their wool and once it has grown you sell it to the creepy guy for barely any money at all. Oh and all your animals have a nice HUGE pasture where they can play and graze, the only downside to it is that it takes forever to cut!
So even with everything I have said, the ups and the downs, I guess you can say that this game is kinda enjoyable.
Well, to be perfectly honest, it is enjoyable. That was until I found out just HOW MUCH I have to ''enjoy'' in it in order to complete it.
Up till this one, most Harvest Moon games have had a goal, which was a pretty simple but enjoyable task, such as, make your farm big enough so it doesn't close, get married, find magical music notes and such. After the goal has been completed you watch the credits and reflect on everything you have done in the game. And after the credits you can continue your adventure in a sandbox style (never-ending game) so you can get some things you have missed or grow more crops or whatever.
So do you want to know how to see the end credits of "A Wonderful Life"? All you have to do is spend 9 game years playing the game! 9 YEARS! Yes, you can pretty much just get married in a year and spend the following 8 years talking to your son and wife without lifting a finger and you will beat the game! I barely survived 3 years, after which I went online and saw how much more I had to endure! After I saw that "the fun had just begun" I deleted my save game and almost destroyed the MiniDvD.
Harvest Moon games are supposed to say, do this as fast as you can and usually last for about 3-4 game years, but this one says, just relax for 9 years.
I have bought all the upgrades for my house, befriended everyone and grew most of those hybrid crops during my 3 years on HMAWL and the game expects me to just run around for 6 more years. Thanks but no thanks!
This is, what I believe, the biggest flaw of this Harvest Moon Game!
I should also mention the linking between the two games. You can link this game to Harvest Moon Friends of Mineral town, which I find really strange since the two games are so different( Harvest Moon Friends of Mineral town is Awesome by the way). So in order to link you need to have the Gamecube-Gameboy advance cable and a copy of Harvest Moon friends of Mineral Town. By linking you can have some characters from A wonderful Life come to Mineral Town, gain a few more record tracks and get a beach house in Mineral Town, so it's basically more beneficial for Friends of Mineral Town than it is for A Wonderful Life, but it is still nice when you hear characters talk about your other character in Mineral Town. Not that useful but a nice and a charming feature.
Natsume (serious fun) made a few changes to their original recipe for Harvest Moon. They focused more on building relationships with NPC's rather than the good old fashioned farm work we all love and expect from harvest moon. This formula does make a nice sim game which you will remember and tell stories about (like the Metal Artist) but not a very good Harvest Moon game like it says on the box. You will not feel the harvest moon rush that you get from other harvest moon games, but you are more than likely to have a good time exploring and talking with the characters.
In conclusion, this is a good game, but in my opinion the worst in the series. If you are looking for a really relaxing sim game, and have like 2 real life years to spare (assuming you want to beat the game) this might be perfect for you, but if you are looking for a true Harvest moon game, get a newer version or some of the older great Harvest Moon games like "Magical Melody" , "Friends of mineral town", "Back to Nature", "64", or any other normal Harvest Moon game. This one may be the most relaxed one but is certainly the longest one!