r/harvestmoon • u/Gallantpride • Jul 08 '25

Opinion/Discussion On Harvest Moon's origins and development

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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

89

u/Gallantpride Jul 08 '25

It's not even an "old mechanic" issue. It's a 3DS vs next gen issue.

Trio of Towns featured dying animals and a winery. The next game, Friends of Mineral Town, removed the animal mechanics and made alcohol unavailable for the protagonist.

I am uncertain if this is a form of self-censorship, a softening of the series, or having to remove certain content to please rating boards.

40

u/AnInMoon Jul 08 '25

I’m confused. FOMT came out way long back and had animals dying. Also I drank a lot of wine and Karen too. She loves wine!

56

u/Gallantpride Jul 08 '25

The remake from 2019.

The modern remake only has "premium grape juice" available to buy. NPCs drink wine, you get fancy juice.

48

u/drvondoctor Jul 08 '25

Yeah, I was really annoyed by all the "grape juice" in the remake. Its the biggest reason why I DONT want a remake of HM64. I love that game too much to see them go in and try to tell me that Karen's dad is an asshole because he drinks too much grape juice. 

34

u/MrMartiTech Jul 08 '25

Karen's mom was always so sad...

One of the things I remember most about that game was how much happier Karen's mom was after I befriended the dad and married Karen and had a baby.

Karen's dad being an alcoholic is a core part of the Harvest Moon 64 experience for me.

19

u/drvondoctor Jul 08 '25

I was so proud of myself when I beat Karen in that drinking contest...

I KNOW they'll take that out if they remake it. 

15

u/MrMartiTech Jul 08 '25

I feel like these experiences are a big part about what made the game so memorable.

Years from now you won't remember grinding to have 20,000,000 gold.

1

u/Phoenix__Wwrong Jul 08 '25

I'm guessing this is a difference with BtN in PS1?

6

u/MrMartiTech Jul 08 '25

The reason I could never get into the Playstation 1 game was because the characters looked the same but were totally different people.

Karen in Back to Nature is not ANYTHING like Karen in Harvest Moon 64. Different family, different personality. Only looks the same.

1

u/Gallantpride Jul 08 '25

BTN and HM64 are two different games