HARVESTELLA

Harvestella can't decide if it wants to be a farming sim or RPG, and it does neither of them well. Every aspect of gameplay feels half-baked and lazy. The town and the characters feel dead and copy and pasted. Because literally, a lot of the character models are copy and pasted. The side quests are fetch quests that add nothing to the storyline or depth of the world. The main plotline is both convoluted and overly simple, with it feeling linear but also not making much sense. There are so many better farming, RPG, JRPG, exploration, etc. games out there.

Ok I cant believe I never reviewed Harvestella, I love harvestella, its so good. Even tho its been about 18 months since I last played it I still have really fond memories of playing this. My memories are not complete and some things are a bit hazy but I want to right this because I still care about this game. I wouldn't say Harvestella is the best farming game I've played, I also wouldn't say its the best JRPG or action game I've played, but I can say that it is good enough in both aspects to hold up over the length of it all. The farming is certainly not complicated, but it does all the right things, I always wanted to make sure I was being smart with what I grew and where, always looking for small efficient improvements i could make, always looking for the next thing I got to grow, hunting for the new thing so i could make some new stuff, Its maybe a little slow in how long it takes to expand but I think it mostly works when mixed with the other half of the game. The combat, also, is kinda simple in its parts but it still leaves room for some smart decisions as well as letting you have fun with what you want, there is a pretty decent class system with good variety and while you can stick to what you like they give you good incentives to change it up and find a new fav. While the combat isn't the most complicated, its also not the most demanding and strikes a nice balance, there are certainly some difficulty spikes, but you also have all the time in the world, there is no real pressure and i really liked that. What I want from a farming game and a JRPG as far as story and characters go are, surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly, very similar, What i want from a farming game is some mild pressure from a story and some fun and memorable characters that ill get to know over time and fall in love with. What I want from JRPG, is heightened emotion, melodrama, memorable characters. these two thing really mesh well together, things start slow, strange mysteries abound, what is quietus, who is this strange girl, what's with the weird things in the ruins. Its all a little predictable if you've played enough games. but I think they handle it really well and all the characters and story live well in my mind. A final note, but a big one, I care about music, A LOT, it more often than not is a make or break thing for me, a bad OST can really drag down a game for, just as a great one can really elevate a average game. I can happily say that Harvestella has a wonderful OST, sure there's some standard fare here, but there are also some really incredible stand out stuff that I still listen to now. I really enjoyed my time playing this game and its a bummer to know I'm probably not gonna get another like this from square enix. As I sit here, trying to drag out my memories, thinking about what to write, It really helped me realise how much a appreciated this game, and now as I finish I cant help but really want to load Harvestella up and give it another run though, I just, c'mon square, please give me a harvestella 2.

[h1] 半額セール以下なら買え [/h1] 　フルプライスには値しないが、 　「タダでも嫌だ」という内容ではない。 　だいたい3000円～4500円くらいの価値はあるだろう。 　 　このゲームが一番詰まらないのは、無料プレイできる部分だ。 　2020年代でキャラのカスタマイズ設定ができないだって？ 　んでもって複雑かつ操作性皆無の戦闘設定と単純な戦闘、 　なによりも陰惨な世界観がプレイヤーをドン引きさせる。 　で。 　繰り返すが、フルプライスに値しない。 　ただ、酷評されるような内容ではない。 　まず、このゲームが牧場物語っぽくない、 　ただのRPGだ、という批判は、少々アンフェアだろう。 　この作品は、牧場物語のRPG版である 　『ルーンファクトリー4』に、よりRPG色を強めた程度と解すべきだ。 　で、牧場経営としては、思ったよりもずっとちゃんとしている。 　すくなくともおまけでは全然ない。 　これは声を大にして言っておくべきだろう。 　英語圏のトップレビューで農業経営が単純で退屈だ、 　となっていたが、『どこが？』と思わざるを得なかった。 　やれることは実に多様だ。 　牧場物語のスタンダードな畑作＋養鶏＋酪農＋加工販売だけでなく、 　水耕栽培、洞窟栽培まで備えている。 　そして調理できる食事メニューも多様で豪華と言って良い。 　そして食事メニューでの納品、 　クエストでの褒賞はよくバランスが取れている。 　英語圏のトップレビューで大した報酬が貰えないなどとなっているが、 　少なくとも序盤においてこれらの褒賞が拡張のブーストとしては 　かなりきちんとバランス調整が為されている。 　（偶然かどうかは知らないが。） 　 　このゲームは、おそらく水耕栽培に入る前後くらいからが面白い。 　豊富なクエストと豊富な拡張選択肢に満ちていることに驚くだろう。 　そしてやることに比してお金がないことに愕然として 　[spoiler] スイカ栽培→加工 [/spoiler]の金策に走ることになるだろう。 　ストーリーが魅力的か？　と言われたら、 　英語圏のトップレビューにある通り、 　「already-seen（どこかで見てきたような）」内容だと言わざるを得ないし、 　お使いクエストとの批判は避けようがない。　 　（それを気にしてるのか、主人公の「おひとよし」さが強調される。 　　これはストーリーの自由度と選択肢を求める 　　海外RPG主流とは大幅に距離がある。） 　戦闘としてはスキルの複雑さと多様性にも関わらず、 　つまるところ回復力（従って食事体制の整備）で 　戦闘を乗り切るスタイルとなる。 　タクティカルなRPGを期待する向きにはやや不満が残るだろう。 　ただ、「回復力＝牧場経営の成果」と考えると、 　だいぶん意味合いが違ってくる。 　興味深いことに、経営に特化するのであれば、 　加工品の必要はあまりない。 　加工品が必要なのは、むしろ食事の調理であり、 　そして、調理品が、回復のみならず、 　『戦闘でのブースト』に連動している。 　飲み物ではスタミナが回復せず、ブーストはつかない。 　食事にこそブーストが重点的についている。 　これが、この作品が、 　『立派な牧場経営物語』であることの証座であり、 　バランスはここに絞り込まれて突き詰められているように感じる。 　縷々述べたようにいろいろと不満はある。 　（もっといえば、不満しかない） 　が、『遊べないゲーム』では全然ない。 　『ルーンファクトリー5』が残念なUIで台無しになったことに 　失望しているユーザー諸君は、半値以下になったら買って良い。 　そして、春の20日までの無味乾燥さを 　長いチュートリアルと割り切り、耐えて進めろ。 　その先はきっと、驚くと思うから。

メインストーリーをクリアしました。 ボイス無し、会話スキップ無し、ぎこちない挙動... などの残念な点はありますが、それを補って余るほどのストーリーとBGMの良さがあります。 特にBGMは秀逸で、作曲家：椎名豪 渾身の楽曲がゲームに華を添えています。 一曲、二曲ではなく最初から最後まで良曲神曲が目白押しで、 ゲームBGMが好きな方には是非プレイして欲しい作品です。 動作については、ノートPC（laptop 3060）でプレイしましたが、 美麗なグラフィックの割にカクつきやフリーズは皆無で、ストレスなく進行できます。 マップ切り替え、インベントリ開閉、ムービー読込なども一瞬で、switchよりもサクサクプレイできます。 バグにもエンディングまで一度も遭遇しませんでした。 そして農場シミュレーションの出来についてですが、 一言でいえば、奥行のないあっさりとした仕上がりです。 そのため、「農場要素は不要」のレビューがつくことも十分に理解できます。 ただ、本作は想像以上にシリアスで濃厚なストーリーで、 農場まで深い要素があると頭がパンクしてしまうでしょう。 農場が浅いからこそ、朝起きてルーチンワークの農作業をこなしながら、 「昨日あんなことがあったな・・」と思いふけり日々を過ごすことができます。 FPS・ハクスラ・ローグライト等の緊張感のあるゲームをプレイする日々の中で、 JRPGの王道をいく本作は、ゆっくりと心に沁みる、ほっと息をつける作品です。 BGMを聴けば春夏秋冬の各シーンが頭の中に蘇り、 最後までプレーしてよかったな、と心から思える作品でした。

*Recommend ONLY IF ON SALE!!! This game is NOT a full-price (USD $60) value. Artistically, it's a beautiful game. Graphics, music, backgrounds, character art - no complaints in any of those areas. Story? Quite interesting, some neat ideas, lots of side-quests had entertaining story as well, with only a few exceptions. (lighthouse quest chain) Gameplay? Not so much. The farming is basic, but serviceable. What really brings the game down is the COMBAT. You can't dodge most enemy attacks like you would expect to in an "action RPG" style game. There are obvious "red damage zones" painted for large spells that you can avoid, but that's all. Some classes have a "dash step", but it isn't usable as a dodge and takes a LOT of stamina to use. Also, your NPC allies generally won't tank hits for you - most enemies will ignore them to target you instead, and kiting is generally ineffective. They also do fairly weak damage... If you get your NPC Allies between you and larger "Elite" foes (FEARs), acting as a wall? The FEARs ignores NPC Allies, and eventually just despawn & reset. This leads you to just face-tanking even the toughest enemies & bosses, and spamming healing items to get through the fights. The only "strategy" or "skill" in fights is identifying and using the correct elements to do more damage and break defenses. All major fights become a DPS race against your supply of healing foods & (gallons of) juices. Overall, if you enjoy a good story with interesting twists, great art/music, and are willing to slog through mediocre combat mechanics to witness the story..... watch for a good sale. I felt for the story, it was worth the price at 50% off (USD $29.99). Such a shame, if the combat had been enjoyable, it would have been a much better game ....

I like that this game introduces itself as a fantasy farming game, and then the plot almost IMMEDIATELY hits you with some wild sci-fi nonsense SUMMARY: This game has a lot going for it, but it does feel like a rushed or budget title. + Pretty music, pretty environments + Almost all keys can be rebound + Levels and skill trees (even if they're simple) + I like that I can form a party of people to adventure with + Some neat creature designs + A surprising amount of detail regarding each class (I enjoy all the different outfits!) - SUPER minimal visual character customization - Character designs are either too wacky or too simple - Not very free-moving combat (clunky) - Some of the ugliest excuses for animations I have seen - So many things that SHOULD have SFX don't. - Some important activities lack animations at all, like mining ore or cutting trees - So little voice acting, that it actually kind of feels weird when you DO hear a voice line - A hunger bar in a farming game...? Really...? - The stamina system in this game is restricting enough that it makes things less fun - Invisible walls TL;DR The amount of money they're asking for (60 USD) feels WILD to ask for when other games in the same genre do much better.

This is the only game that made me fall in love with the graphics alone. It's mainly an RPG with some farming elements. It's not a game solely for farming alone. The rpg and story is pretty good and I finished it without too much difficulty. Story: The story drew me in, but didn't go how I thought. It was still interesting enough to keep playing. Even after the storyline you can complete the achievements/ goals, finish the character story lines, quests, job completion etc. Farming: You can store anything and access the items from various storage boxes throughout your farm. Sowing, harvesting makes the character feel slow and stiff which I find annoying. You have an achievements book for each of the four fairies with goals. You can purchase upgrades for livestock and farm size. The book lets you unlock better farm quality, machine upgrades etc. It's not the worst farming, but not the best either. If you want to get this game specifically for the farming, look elsewhere. Graphics; I fell in love with the graphics more than any game i've ever played. I love how the trees light up your farm, which change color depending on the season. I love how the giant crystals shine over the landscape and the small crystals shine and give off their own light. It's all enjoyable until a "you are sleepy" splashes across your screen and forces you to go to bed. Luckily screenshots are available to take and look at later. The graphics alone bring me back in now and then. Jobs: There are a variety of jobs to choose from. I have unlocked all but one. You play that job and unlock skills for it as you go, advancing in that job. You can continue playing each even after the story is over. Cooking: There are a variety of recipes you get. Some are unlocked through quests, some can be bought etc. You can do a group break scene with a dish and see how conversations play out. I didn't focus on this all that much, but it helps to have some on hand when fighting. If you are full, carry drinks. Marriage: This is the biggest joke and the worst marriage system in any game i've ever played. I waited the entire storyline to get married. It's nothing more than a roommate system. You are basically replacing Aria but with less dialogue. The character you chose makes about 2 comments on repeat. There is no getting rid of them either. The entire thing makes me feel like I got scammed. I married Brakka and regret it. Sarcastic little... Characters: Each party member has their own storyline that plays out over time allowing you to get closer to them. I love this feature in the game. Character Customization: I hope you love your character you choose in the beginning because you are stuck with them. No hairstyle changes, nothing. The only way they change their clothes is through job choices when fighting. Overall: If they ever make a Stardew Valley type game with harvestella graphics, I'd probably never stop playing lol. Sadly, it's not. It's a pretty good rpg and a pricey one at that. With enough gameplay, you should overcome the guilt eventually. If you love rpg's it's worth playing i guess. i can't really give a strong no or yes. I hope this was helpful enough to make your own choices.

This is not a Farming Sim with JRPG elements. It is an amazingly written JRPG with some farm sim on the side. As someone who's grown up on Final Fantasy and Fire Emblem and Persona, the plot of this overlooked gem genuinely shocked me (it GREAT ways) multiple times. Also: I have never been so invested in NPC sidequests, and I LOVE sidequests

It's okay, but it feels like the game had a "farming team" and an "adventuring team," and they barely talked. While adventuring gets you mats for crafting, farming is really just a way to make money and temporary buffs...and even then, adventuring for minerals nets you more money. It feels like an adventure game with a farming sim tacked on. If you're looking for a farming sim, try any of the Rune Factory titles, Sakuna, or even No Place Like Home. 6/10