When I was younger, I loved Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland. It's a rather random entry point into the series - not to mention the farming genre as a whole - but it's what we had at the time. I remember booting up my PS2, brushing the cows and horses, fishing, trying to make the lake fairy appear... a wave of nostalgia hits me every time I think of it.
So, this year, I decided to go back to where it all began.
There are many ways in which Harvest Moon for the SNES is near-identical to Save the Homeland. Despite the obvious difference in graphical capabilities, it scratched many of those same itches. You can still brush cows and horses. You can still fish. There's still a mysterious lake fairy.
Yet, there were also many glaring issues that really hindered my enjoyment. I doubt StH was a perfect experience, but time has aged HM96 in ways that later entries just won't suffer from, even the most forgettable ones. Distractingly bad English translations, repetitive gameplay, and unintuitive systems are the worst of the problems.
Don't get me wrong, it's a charming experience in its own right. But HM96 definitely won't be for everyone. The people who will feel most fulfilled by it are those that enjoy that repetitive gameplay, who like having a to-do list, and who don't mind a lack of set pieces.
SHORT REVIEW
Visuals: 4/5
Sound: 3/5
Story: 2.5/5
Gameplay: 3/5
Worldbuilding: 3/5
Overall score: 3/5 [3.1/5]
Visuals:
It's hard to go wrong with the art direction of Nintendo-published SNES games. While HM96 is not the best the console has to offer, it still boasts beautiful, professional graphics. The farm animals are adorable, and the changes between seasons (such as winter snow or brown fall leaves) keep the game from stagnating visually. There are a surprising amount of little details, too, like the crops perking up a bit when watered, or the cows blowing snot bubbles while they nap.
I particularly liked how nearly all of the townspeople had unique looks. This is best seen in the romanceable girls, whose personalities are expressed in their clothing and haircuts. Ann, the inventive tomboy, wears pants and keeps her red hair tied back in a ponytail. Eve, the most promiscuous and adventurous of the girls, wears a (comparably) revealing red dress and has long, blonde hair tied loosely with a bow.
All of these little aspects added up make the visuals the best part of HM96, easily. While I have qualms with every other aspect of the game, it's nothing short of delightful in the art department.
Overall, 4/5.
Sound:
With 20 tracks to accompany you from the title screen to the credits, HM96's music is - for the most part - pleasant and calm. It's a classic 90s SNES soundtrack through-and-through, with the 16 bit style we all know and love. Each season even has its own theme, though I will say that I wish there was more diversity in the tunes during these rather long periods of time. They can get repetitive after a while.
But that's not even my main issue, really. I'm no music expert, and I sometimes find it difficult to distinguish what, exactly, makes any particular soundtrack 'good' or 'bad' to me, except if I enjoy it or not. But it's not difficult to put my finger on the problem here.
Some of HM96's tracks are downright grating at best. Certain notes sound like something being scraped against my ears, the high-pitched tone and limited capabilities of the system making a few moments almost unbearable.
I wish I could say that I enjoyed the music here more than I do. I think these kinds of laidback simulation games benefit a lot from good sound direction. While HM96's soundtrack certainly isn't the worst, and it does have a few particularly good tracks, it could've been a lot better.
Overall, 3/5.
Story:
As I’ve already mentioned, the English translations for this Japan-made game are not the best. Almost all of the dialogue is broken English, with quite a few mistranslations that make little-to-no sense. Although it’s kind of charming in a way, it is rather funny to see Nintendo allow this kind of presentation for the North American version of one of their published titles.
As for the rest of HM96’s story, it’s very loose. You are a young man who has inherited a farm from his grandfather; your job is to rebuild the farm, while also (ideally) finding love and starting a family. Getting married is one of the few ways to push the little plot forward, with only a few other moments sprinkled throughout your playtime to give it any sense of narrative. There are ones to show mechanical progress (such as people upgrading tools for you), and random events to provide some sparse new interactions.
The only other notable events are the annual festivals you can attend. There are seven different holidays sprinkled throughout the year, each with their own premise - a Thanksgiving, an Easter, a Star Night festival. I found myself really looking forward to these. They’re a great way to break up the monotony, and are spread out enough that they don’t get old or annoying.
Aside from that, you won’t see much of a story until your parents visit during the endgame. You are subsequently given stats about how you’ve run your farm and grown your relationships. It’s a pretty satisfying and cute closing sequence.
But besides those little gems, there’s really not much going on here. I don’t expect to be taken on an epic adventure in a farming simulator, of course, but I do wish there was a bit more of a focus on events and character interactions.
Overall, 2.5/5.
Gameplay:
The supposed bread-and-butter of HM96. This game entirely focuses on your running of the farm - raising crops, keeping chickens and cows, taking care of your land. Like I’ve said, it’s very repetitive.
Now, repetitiveness in gameplay is not a bad thing. In fact, I quite enjoy games where I can get into a little regimen and roll with it. My problem is more with the many small mechanics that add up to a lot of frustration.
Take the crops, for example. You can only keep so many at a time, because you’ll run out of energy watering all of them. While you can increase your overall stamina, I still found it difficult to keep more than a few dozen at once. Eating food or swimming in the lake to regain stamina is time-consuming, and I found myself leaning towards working with the animals because of the lower energy costs.
You also can’t keep an entire 9x9 path growing evenly. As the plants get bigger, you can no longer walk over them to reach the middle, meaning you can’t water all of them. So you either sow the ground in a way where you don’t plant that one at all, or you have one crop growing behind all the others in the patch.
The fact that you can only plant crops in Summer and Spring gets annoying, too. That takes away a huge chunk of the gameplay, leaving you with little to do during Fall and Winter. I would be completely done taking care of my tasks before noon, and I’d just have to aimlessly pass time until evening.
Another big gripe I had was with the inventory system. You can only hold two tools at once, and if you want to switch them out, you have to go to your shed to retrieve the new ones. It’s another little thing that gets really annoying when each and every day rotates around using these tools around your farm. Watering crops, fixing fences, and taking care of the animals mean you’ll deal with this a lot.
The stagnation in story really affects the gameplay, too. There’s just never anything new to do. Visiting town feels completely unnecessary after a certain point. Everyone keeps the same lines of dialogue, and nothing ever advances.
Then, of course, there’s the time changes. Maybe it’s just a ‘me’ thing, but this is why it’s hard for me to click with farming sims such as Stardew Valley. I feel pressured by the limits of each day and the changing of the seasons, even though the genre is supposed to be relaxing.
To be fair, I did get into a rhythm in this one, but only because of that stagnation. It’s hard to feel like you’re missing anything when nothing new ever goes on. A blessing and a curse.
Despite all my problems with it, I still found some joy in HM96’s gameplay. You do eventually get into a pleasant routine, watering your crops and feeding your cattle, making tasks for yourself. Playing it in short bursts is ideal, getting a few days out of the way, then coming back later to farm some more.
Overall, 3/5.
Worldbuilding:
The world of HM96 is a simple one. While the towns and farm are aesthetically beautiful, it’s hard to appreciate them fully when you’re so limited in interaction. That lack of change, not ever seeing anything new, really hurts things. No lore, very little character activity, and a limited number of events make everything around you feel empty, in a way.
I wish I had more to say here, but I really don’t. I’m the kind of person who loves to explore every nook and cranny of a game, but there was literally no reason for me to in this case. There were parts of buildings I simply never visited again after I realized they’ll never matter. It’s disappointing.
Overall, 2/5.
Overall game score: 3/5. I think Harvest Moon deserves recognition for its place in the history of the farming sim genre, but I don’t recommend going back to visit it unless you have patience for its obvious flaws. The visuals are its strongest talking point, but everything else falls flat - the gameplay has numerous issues which hold it back, and there’s almost nothing to appreciate about it beyond that.
So, this year, I decided to go back to where it all began.
There are many ways in which Harvest Moon for the SNES is near-identical to Save the Homeland. Despite the obvious difference in graphical capabilities, it scratched many of those same itches. You can still brush cows and horses. You can still fish. There's still a mysterious lake fairy.
Yet, there were also many glaring issues that really hindered my enjoyment. I doubt StH was a perfect experience, but time has aged HM96 in ways that later entries just won't suffer from, even the most forgettable ones. Distractingly bad English translations, repetitive gameplay, and unintuitive systems are the worst of the problems.
Don't get me wrong, it's a charming experience in its own right. But HM96 definitely won't be for everyone. The people who will feel most fulfilled by it are those that enjoy that repetitive gameplay, who like having a to-do list, and who don't mind a lack of set pieces.
SHORT REVIEW
Visuals: 4/5
Sound: 3/5
Story: 2.5/5
Gameplay: 3/5
Worldbuilding: 3/5
Overall score: 3/5 [3.1/5]
Visuals:
It's hard to go wrong with the art direction of Nintendo-published SNES games. While HM96 is not the best the console has to offer, it still boasts beautiful, professional graphics. The farm animals are adorable, and the changes between seasons (such as winter snow or brown fall leaves) keep the game from stagnating visually. There are a surprising amount of little details, too, like the crops perking up a bit when watered, or the cows blowing snot bubbles while they nap.
I particularly liked how nearly all of the townspeople had unique looks. This is best seen in the romanceable girls, whose personalities are expressed in their clothing and haircuts. Ann, the inventive tomboy, wears pants and keeps her red hair tied back in a ponytail. Eve, the most promiscuous and adventurous of the girls, wears a (comparably) revealing red dress and has long, blonde hair tied loosely with a bow.
All of these little aspects added up make the visuals the best part of HM96, easily. While I have qualms with every other aspect of the game, it's nothing short of delightful in the art department.
Overall, 4/5.
Sound:
With 20 tracks to accompany you from the title screen to the credits, HM96's music is - for the most part - pleasant and calm. It's a classic 90s SNES soundtrack through-and-through, with the 16 bit style we all know and love. Each season even has its own theme, though I will say that I wish there was more diversity in the tunes during these rather long periods of time. They can get repetitive after a while.
But that's not even my main issue, really. I'm no music expert, and I sometimes find it difficult to distinguish what, exactly, makes any particular soundtrack 'good' or 'bad' to me, except if I enjoy it or not. But it's not difficult to put my finger on the problem here.
Some of HM96's tracks are downright grating at best. Certain notes sound like something being scraped against my ears, the high-pitched tone and limited capabilities of the system making a few moments almost unbearable.
I wish I could say that I enjoyed the music here more than I do. I think these kinds of laidback simulation games benefit a lot from good sound direction. While HM96's soundtrack certainly isn't the worst, and it does have a few particularly good tracks, it could've been a lot better.
Overall, 3/5.
Story:
As I’ve already mentioned, the English translations for this Japan-made game are not the best. Almost all of the dialogue is broken English, with quite a few mistranslations that make little-to-no sense. Although it’s kind of charming in a way, it is rather funny to see Nintendo allow this kind of presentation for the North American version of one of their published titles.
As for the rest of HM96’s story, it’s very loose. You are a young man who has inherited a farm from his grandfather; your job is to rebuild the farm, while also (ideally) finding love and starting a family. Getting married is one of the few ways to push the little plot forward, with only a few other moments sprinkled throughout your playtime to give it any sense of narrative. There are ones to show mechanical progress (such as people upgrading tools for you), and random events to provide some sparse new interactions.
The only other notable events are the annual festivals you can attend. There are seven different holidays sprinkled throughout the year, each with their own premise - a Thanksgiving, an Easter, a Star Night festival. I found myself really looking forward to these. They’re a great way to break up the monotony, and are spread out enough that they don’t get old or annoying.
Aside from that, you won’t see much of a story until your parents visit during the endgame. You are subsequently given stats about how you’ve run your farm and grown your relationships. It’s a pretty satisfying and cute closing sequence.
But besides those little gems, there’s really not much going on here. I don’t expect to be taken on an epic adventure in a farming simulator, of course, but I do wish there was a bit more of a focus on events and character interactions.
Overall, 2.5/5.
Gameplay:
The supposed bread-and-butter of HM96. This game entirely focuses on your running of the farm - raising crops, keeping chickens and cows, taking care of your land. Like I’ve said, it’s very repetitive.
Now, repetitiveness in gameplay is not a bad thing. In fact, I quite enjoy games where I can get into a little regimen and roll with it. My problem is more with the many small mechanics that add up to a lot of frustration.
Take the crops, for example. You can only keep so many at a time, because you’ll run out of energy watering all of them. While you can increase your overall stamina, I still found it difficult to keep more than a few dozen at once. Eating food or swimming in the lake to regain stamina is time-consuming, and I found myself leaning towards working with the animals because of the lower energy costs.
You also can’t keep an entire 9x9 path growing evenly. As the plants get bigger, you can no longer walk over them to reach the middle, meaning you can’t water all of them. So you either sow the ground in a way where you don’t plant that one at all, or you have one crop growing behind all the others in the patch.
The fact that you can only plant crops in Summer and Spring gets annoying, too. That takes away a huge chunk of the gameplay, leaving you with little to do during Fall and Winter. I would be completely done taking care of my tasks before noon, and I’d just have to aimlessly pass time until evening.
Another big gripe I had was with the inventory system. You can only hold two tools at once, and if you want to switch them out, you have to go to your shed to retrieve the new ones. It’s another little thing that gets really annoying when each and every day rotates around using these tools around your farm. Watering crops, fixing fences, and taking care of the animals mean you’ll deal with this a lot.
The stagnation in story really affects the gameplay, too. There’s just never anything new to do. Visiting town feels completely unnecessary after a certain point. Everyone keeps the same lines of dialogue, and nothing ever advances.
Then, of course, there’s the time changes. Maybe it’s just a ‘me’ thing, but this is why it’s hard for me to click with farming sims such as Stardew Valley. I feel pressured by the limits of each day and the changing of the seasons, even though the genre is supposed to be relaxing.
To be fair, I did get into a rhythm in this one, but only because of that stagnation. It’s hard to feel like you’re missing anything when nothing new ever goes on. A blessing and a curse.
Despite all my problems with it, I still found some joy in HM96’s gameplay. You do eventually get into a pleasant routine, watering your crops and feeding your cattle, making tasks for yourself. Playing it in short bursts is ideal, getting a few days out of the way, then coming back later to farm some more.
Overall, 3/5.
Worldbuilding:
The world of HM96 is a simple one. While the towns and farm are aesthetically beautiful, it’s hard to appreciate them fully when you’re so limited in interaction. That lack of change, not ever seeing anything new, really hurts things. No lore, very little character activity, and a limited number of events make everything around you feel empty, in a way.
I wish I had more to say here, but I really don’t. I’m the kind of person who loves to explore every nook and cranny of a game, but there was literally no reason for me to in this case. There were parts of buildings I simply never visited again after I realized they’ll never matter. It’s disappointing.
Overall, 2/5.
Overall game score: 3/5. I think Harvest Moon deserves recognition for its place in the history of the farming sim genre, but I don’t recommend going back to visit it unless you have patience for its obvious flaws. The visuals are its strongest talking point, but everything else falls flat - the gameplay has numerous issues which hold it back, and there’s almost nothing to appreciate about it beyond that.