When the N64 first came out, I was pretty hard up for games. It was a neat console, but good games were far and few between. So I eventually got desperate enough to try a game about farming. A game I had made fun of my friend for buying a week before. That was 17+ years ago and I’m still farming! Of course, now Harvest Moon has split into two main franchises one still using the Harvest Moon name and the other called Story of Seasons. But they’re both based on the same timeless game concept—grow your farm, woo someone, and enjoy the simple life.

Although the games stick to these parameters, each new one adds just enough of a twist to keep the series feeling fresh. The big twist in this one is…there are three towns! That probably doesn’t sound that exciting, but one’s a wild west town, another is a tropical paradise and the last is…old Japan! Now we’re talking!

Having three towns gives you a lot more options for everything in the game. More areas to scavenge sellable items from, more options to buy seeds, animals, clothing, recipes and just about everything. It also gives you more dating options with different types of girls or guys. And most importantly, it gives the game a larger sense of scale than many of the previous Story of Seasons entries.

Like most games, the town will grow as your farm does. But in this case, you can choose who to ship crops to and make your link with that town grow even faster. You can ship exclusively to one town to make it grow or spread the love around to all three. Raising the Town Link will make folks more friendly, unlock more stuff to buy and open more stores.

Another new edition to the series is the ability to do part time jobs. This not only nets you some cash, it raises the Town Link level based on which town you’re doing the jobs for. And it doesn’t affect stamina, so it’s a great way to finish off a day after you’ve done your chores and are pooped out.

And in this game, you will get pooped out! The difficulty in these games comes from stamina management. You only have so much per day, and doing chores zaps it pretty fast. If you play these games long enough, you’ll know stamina drainage changes from game to game. Sometimes it’s not that big of a factor and you seem to always have enough. Other games, like this one, you have to manage it very closely. Of course, there are ways to get your stamina back, like eating a meal at a restaurant, or cooking and eating your own food. Despite that, you’ll need to keep an eye on your gauge, I almost passed out a few times when I wasn’t paying attention.

Naturally, the graphics, character design, art direction and music are all quite charming. But that’s no surprise if you’ve played a Harvest Moon or Story of Seasons game, that's one of the main selling points of these franchises. But with three towns, you get three times the charm!

While this game doesn’t do anything drastically new to the tried-and-true formula, the addition of exotic new locales is enough to keep old timers like me intrigued. And if you’ve never played the game, this is a perfect place to start as it will provide you with the classic experience that’s allowed this series to continue for nearly two decades!

Hint: Keep an eye out for families eating meals in their house. If you talk to them, they'll give you a free meal that will replenish your stamina and even give you some bonuses!

by Urian Brown