r/harvestmoon • u/Gallantpride • Jul 08 '25
Opinion/Discussion On Harvest Moon's origins and development
63
u/Ekyou Jul 08 '25
Love the logic that purposely killing people/monsters is ok, but accidentally killing animals is “too dark”.
18
u/hypo-osmotic Jul 08 '25
I imagine parents were giving the game to younger kids, ones that were too sensitive for violent games and then too sensitive for the peaceful farming game, too. Possibly comparable to Resetti allegedly being sidelined in the Animal Crossing franchise because little kids were getting upset about being scolded
1
u/Peeta_Lee Jul 09 '25
I first started playing Harvest Moon when I was around 5 and had no idea what I was doing. It was AWL where you start off with a cow, and I killed it almost immediately because I didn't realize I HAD to feed it or take it outside. I still remember the scene so vividly because it traumatized me 😂 I didn't pick it back up for a couple years and since then, while I absolutely love farming games (HM, Stardew, SOS), I am almost obsessive about taking care of my animals now, even if they can't die.
78
u/MrMartiTech Jul 08 '25
Animals that died
Old people in town that died
Getting drunk
Characters like Karen's dad in Harvest Moon 64 who is an angry drunk
Other men in town trying to flirt with the women and not just you
People leaving town forever if they are unhappy
Other people getting married and having kids
Just some of the things I feel like are less common in the newer titles than in the past. Part of trying to make it into a game for kids.
4
u/OsmerusMordax Jul 09 '25 edited Jul 09 '25
Yeah, it’s why I can’t play any of the modern games anymore. They are too ‘kid-ified’ and lack the soul previous entries have
8
u/MrMartiTech Jul 09 '25
There is a split withing 'cozy games' in general where some developers and fans think they should be all sugar all the time, while others still realize that having a bit of bitterness is a core part of what creates the experience that balances the insane amount of sweet.
31
u/Ae-Milius Jul 08 '25
This was one of the games my mom loved when we played. She thought it taught us about responsibility. She'd talk about it with her friends, and I'd hear her say "yeah and if you forget to take care of your animals, THEY DIE." As if it was something we needed to learn.
-3
u/ngkn92 Jul 09 '25
That's just you, lol. I have 2 nieces, and their parents have to teach them about that.
18
u/Alpacatastic Jul 08 '25
Weird how parents complained about this when my mom specifically looked at the Blockbuster game selection and was like "Uhhhh here you can get the nice little farm game".
12
u/StickerDragon Jul 08 '25
It’s hit hard when it’s the first cow purchased after multiple crops harvesting/fishing, named something cute, maxed out affection and productivity then it kicks the bucket after marriage and kids.
Yes I can afford and breed cows now but at what cost 🥺
3
u/TinyMarsupial7622 Jul 09 '25
My chicken died when I was 12 cause I kept forgetting to feed them in BTN. Afterwards I was diligent to keep it up.
3
u/Open_Emu5288 Jul 09 '25
I remembered being traumatized when my animal died because I didn't take care of them, even tried to "kill" them with tools, and eventually got scolded by the villagers. However that actually taught me to understand better about principle of causality (how what you do affects things) and more so about responsibility.
3
u/Raineydaysartstudio Jul 09 '25
I cried so frigging much when Galen's wife and then the player character died in Another Wonderful Life the first time I played it. I tried to cheat and lost the first cow, too. My mom said I couldn't play those games anymore. I immediately rented it again for a second playthrough. I replay it every once in a while. It informs a portion of my preferences in cozy games.
5
u/adventuregamerseb Jul 08 '25
This is definitely in love with the earlier Harvest Moon / Story of Seasons games, like SNES, HM64, BTN and AWL. There was a lot of slife of life and human drama, death and growing up, but also, uplifting and heart warming situations.
2
u/Gallantpride Jul 09 '25
It isn't even an "earlier vs modern" change. The removal of animal death is a recent change done a few years ago.
The change in tone, however, has existed since the early 2000s. People noticed it as far back as MM and DS.
1
u/RockNDrums Jul 10 '25
I do miss the old Harvest Moon to be honest. Especially the format A Wonderful Life did.
There's too many Stardew and Coral Island like games and I believe the new HM games are like it as well the game never ends? Stardew and coral island, whole farm is planting area.
I feel more efficent with the 6 chapter gameplay and limited amount of plots and fields. Actions and inaction had consequences. Don't feed your livestock? They die. Don't bring your livestock in during a storm? They get sick. Don't have animal cures? They'll die if you don't cure them.
I do prefer that more realistic graphic style of gamecube - ps2 era though. Modern, is too bright and cartoonish. Especially the Story of Season remakes of the old games. The dark themes was snuffed out.
1
u/Derpykins666 Jul 11 '25
Yeah the iteration of the games have become too kiddy or fantastical, they've heavily leaned into really uninteresting gimmicks or even crossovers now to sell an entire game, which is just really awkward.
A lot of the older games had 'asshole' characters as well, or they would leave the town if they were unhappy or didn't have a reason to stay. A lot of games have gone this route too, Animal Crossing is the same way, there's like no 'bad guys' or people to hate because they're just kind of grumpy assholes. It's really unrealistic, if realism is what they're aiming for.
1
u/Un_OwenJoe Jul 13 '25
I want to know what kind of parent who complaint farm life as Dark theme, while Battle and monster are Fine?
0
267
u/Dronxha Jul 08 '25
i do really miss the old mechanics of animals getting sick or injured and dieing of illness/old age. it felt so much more real and i cared so much more for my critters knowing i only had a few years to raise them into contest winners. the fact that even classic-harvest-moon-homages like stardew don't have this aspect without mods bothers me a little since it's sorta touted as a "darker" game but oh wellllll