Even if you never liked Harvest Moon before, you still should try this game.
You can of course do the same old thing as the original HM games and build up a super farm with tons of crops and that could be the end of what you do. OR you can go cave spelunking and work to have the biggest monster farm around. The fighting in this game is an awesome addition. It almost seems like a whole new side game when your in the caves.
The caves force you to use strategy and plan out what you'll do in the next days to prepare for boss fights. You need to destroy all the monster creation machines throughout the level to get to the boss. Doing so uses up rune points which can only be replenished by finding runes that sprout along with ready to pick crops.
The monster designs are awesome and the fact that each can have its own job, i have my mage watering and my orc harvesting, and then be able to bring them along to help you fight is a nice touch.
The game looks beautiful and the characters are all very original and look great as well. It makes finding who you want to marry all the more fun with their lifelike appearances.
Everyone should give this game a chance, even if you've hardly thought any of the other HM games were ok.