Harvest Moon: Magical Melody beats all HM Games.
I don't think this is the right HM game to start out with though. If your new to the series then go with Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life if your a guy, and Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life if your a girl.
There is a lot to do in this game and that's another thing that I give a thumbs up about because limited activities means limited play time. There actually is an objective to this game and its to find all the "Music Notes" and bring the Harvest Farie back to life. In all there are 100 notes. But some are extremely easy to get. There are still festivals and the classic HM features but with a slight twist somewhat like Animal Crossing so this games pretty much a Harvest Moon Animal Crossing collaboration.
This game is worth buying. Period.