Which Harvest Moon game is best to play first?

[le geek]

I'm thinking of get a Harvest Moon game for my girlfriend. She likes RPGs and games in general that rely on strategy and puzzle solving over hand eye coordination etc...

Here's a list of US releases:
Harvest Moon (Game Boy)
Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town (Game Boy Advance)
Harvest Moon (Game Boy Color)
Harvest Moon 2 (Game Boy Color)
Harvest Moon 3 (Game Boy Color)
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life (GameCube)
Harvest Moon 64 (Nintendo 64)
Harvest Moon: Back to Nature (PSOne)
Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland (PS2)
Harvest Moon (SNES)

I'm leaning towards either the Cube, PS2 or GBA game as older games are a hard sell for her.

But to broaden the topic a bit, feel free to just say which Harvest Moon is your favorite. :)

Cheers,
Ben

[vultar]

I don't know too much about the Harvest Moon games, but I can tell you I wasn't very impressed with the Gamecube version. It just seems to run out of stuff to do, and there are some really bad glitches in the game like the fact that you have to breed your cows in order for them to give milk, but they can't be bred if all of the stalls are filled. I haven't acctually finished it yet, but I have something 5 or 6 years of game time left and I already have all my buildings, animals, etc., so there's really nothing for me to do other than sleep and pull fruit off the trees. I guess they expect you to have the GB version as well to get the most out of it.
I've also played the SNES version, which I thought was much better paced, although there was a lot of slow down once I had a barn full of cows (that could have been the emulator I was using though).

[Sylentwulf]

Wife played it a LOT for about a month straight, don't think she finished it though, never asked why she stopped playing, but she's only played 3-4 games in the entire time we've been married, and this was one of them so......

[Daria]

I'd say either the n64 version or the snes original are really the best of the series.

That said the PS2 version was cute but extremely short and limiting (shorter seasons, less crops, can't get married). I loved it, and it may be a very good starter for your girlfriend, but it may turn out to be a turn off if she assumes the rest of the games play like that one.

You may also want to wait a little while though, Another life is set to be released for the Cube. It's basically A Wonderful Life but you play as a female character. There's a GBA girl version as well.

[NESVIDIOT]

Not really into playing this series, although I can tell you that the most popular in the series are the PSX or the N64.
The SNES original is also quite good, as are the GBC versions. The PS2 version is by far the least popular. Of the current versions the GC and GBA games are quite good too.

[le geek]

I'd say either the n64 version or the snes original are really the best of the series.

That said the PS2 version was cute but extremely short and limiting (shorter seasons, less crops, can't get married). I loved it, and it may be a very good starter for your girlfriend, but it may turn out to be a turn off if she assumes the rest of the games play like that one.

You may also want to wait a little while though, Another life is set to be released for the Cube. It's basically A Wonderful Life but you play as a female character. There's a GBA girl version as well.

Yeah, I just read up a bit on the upcoming play as a girl versions. Unfortunately, her birthday is a month before they get released. I might go with either the PSOne or PS2 version for now and pick up one of the upcoming games later, since I don't know how much the new GBA and Cube games will have in common with their play as a boy counterparts...

[Lone_Monster]

Personally, I'd suggest Harvest Moon 64 or the PSX version, since I think they are the same game. Harvest Moon 64 is definitely the best Harvest Moon game I have played. In my opinion, the Playstation 2 one was terrible, although for a first try, you could probably get her that one, and when she's done, and likes it, you can move her onto a better one.

[GobopopRevisited]

Definately the SNES version... its the only complete game in the series. Everything after that got rid of most of the fun things to add a few *annoying* Bells and Whistles. SNES version is also the only game that actually looks good for the system it was released on... And it has music... Music!

Then, A Wonderful Life. Simply because it reintroduced the Marriage system (that still doesn't work as good as it did on SNES...) N64 version is fine too, it plays almost exactly like the SNES version sans the marriage system and with slightly improved graphics.

[goatdan]

I have the Playstation version and GameCube version. I hate to say it, but the GameCube version I bought nearly six months ago and have yet to actually crack it open to play it :(

The Playstation version was really good though, in my opinion. The first few hours with it when I was just trying to figure out what I was doing was really tedious and I almost gave up, but once I figured out what was going on it was awesome. I would definitely recommend that version to anyone.

There is a new GameCube version that is just about to be released or just was released too. It could fix the problems with the earlier one that people were describing. I'm interested in it, but I want to actually play the one I bought first ;)

[slip81]

Harvest Moon A Wonderful Life for the GCN was the one that got my GF hooked.

[Daria]

Personally, I'd suggest Harvest Moon 64 or the PSX version, since I think they are the same game. Harvest Moon 64 is definitely the best Harvest Moon game I have played. In my opinion, the Playstation 2 one was terrible, although for a first try, you could probably get her that one, and when she's done, and likes it, you can move her onto a better one.

No they're different. I liked the PSX version but personally I think it suffered from terrible loading times, the GBA one is practically the same game but suffered from some very silly typos. If she has a GBA though, that's the one I'd get out of the two.

[Lone_Monster]

Oh, well I never played the PSX one, but from what I saw, it looked the same.

[squidblatt]

I'm playing the GBA Friends of Mineral Town right now and am really enjoying it. I agree that GC version runs out of stuff to do, and the gameworld is rather small. However, it's still fun. I haven't tried linking the two together yet because the process is a slight pain in the ass. I've also heard from someone on this board that the connectivity feature doesn't really add much.

Still, I give each a high recommendation.

[PDorr3]

I only own the 64, PSX, and PS2 games, but I must say that I enjoyed Save the homeland alot, it was truly charming and very addictive, the n64 game is great as well, but for a starter try the PS2 game.

[Dobie]

She may like the upcoming title "Harvest Moon: Another wonderful life" as the main character is a female. It looks to be exactly the same as the first GC verion, but with genders reversed. Plus if you preorder, you get a free stuffed dog similar to the one in the game.

[Aussie2B]

Out of the ones I've played, I think the N64 version is the best. The original is nice as well, but the slowdown can get terrible and there is practically nothing to do in winter (and in fall to a lesser extent).

The N64 took everything from the SNES original and improved upon and added to it. I don't think it's a coincidence that it's often the most expensive US N64 game. It's just a damn fine game. :)

[Frankie23]

I've played both the N64 version and the GBA version, and would recommend either, with preference given to the N64, due to the fact that, with only four buttons, the GBA's controls feel a bit cramped for such a deep game.