Way back before Farmville and Facebook even existed, there was a little-known series of farming sims known as Harvest Moon. First released on the Super Nintendo back in 1996, Harvest Moon tasked you, the player, with taking care of an old, dilapidated farm and bringing it back to its former glory. The first game turned out to be a hit and has since spawned over 30 different sequels and spin-offs, ranging from puzzle games to fantasy-themed RPGs. But out of all of them, one of the most popular and well-known entries in the series is Harvest Moon: Back to Nature for the original PlayStation.
Story
Back to Nature tells the tale of a young farmer named...well, whatever you want to name him. Let's just call him Jack for now. As a little boy, Jack spent his summers at his grandfather's farm, where he learns all about animals, crops and befriends a cute young girl from the nearby village. Many years later, Grandpa passes away and little Jack, now a young man, decides to take it upon himself to restore Grandpappy's farm. The mayor of the nearby village and the rest of the villagers make a deal with the young wannabe farmer: if Jack can restore the farm within three years and learn to get along with the villagers, they will recognize him as the farm's rightful owner.
Gameplay
When you first arrive on the farm, it's in pretty sad shape. You start out with a tiny house, a beat-up barn and chicken coop and a large field littered with weeds, branches and rocks. You also have an array of tools at your disposal: an axe, hammer, sickle, watering can, and a hoe. After you clear out your field, you can start farming right away. Growing crops like turnips, corn and potatoes will be your primary source of income, especially early in the game. Each crop grown at a different rate, and only certain crops are available in each season. So careful planning and good time management are key to getting the most money out of your crops.
Once you get a little cash in your pocket, you can start buying animals for your farm. There are 3 animals you can purchase: chickens, cows, and sheep. Chickens are the cheapest, and lay eggs every day once fully grown, but the eggs don't sell for much. Sheep are a bit pricier, and will produce wool every week. Cows are the most expensive animals, but once fully grown, they will produce milk every day. You can also receive a horse early in the game. It won't produce any products for you, but you can ride it around once fully grown and use it to help collect crops. All your animals must be fed every day in order to produce their by-products, and brushing and talking to your animals will also help increase the quality of their products.
There are also two major areas other than your farm: the mountains and the village. You can forage for food and supplies in the mountains, as well as fish in the streams and lakes, mine the caves for ores to upgrade your tools. In the village, you can purchase everything you need for life in the village, from seeds at the Supermarket to animals at the nearby ranches, as well as food, tools and other items. You can also find and befriend the numerous villagers by talking to them, doing favors for them, and giving them gifts they like. In particular, there are 5 bachelorettes your character can befriend, woo and eventually even marry. The village is also where most of the festivals will take place, special get-togethers where you can get to know your neighbors and play mini-games, like horse racing, swimming and...throwing tomatoes at each other. Must be a small town thing, I guess…
Style
The game is broken up into 4 seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Each season brings with it its own set of crops and food, as well as different festivals. Certain seasons also bring certain disasters with it, like hurricanes hitting your farm in the Summer or blizzards in the Winter. You only have 30 days in each season to get your crops planted and harvested, and only a set amount of daylight hours in each day. And with time passing fairly quickly, (specifically, 5 seconds of real-world time equals 10 minutes of in-game time) your time management skills become even more important.
Music-wise, the soundtrack is simple and charming, but will get repetitive very quickly, particularly the song that plays every time you enter the village. As for graphics, the hand-drawn character sprites are charming as well. However, the in-game graphics are muddy and pretty weak, even by PS One standards, and time has not done it any favors. The presentation is also a bit odd. The game is presented from a semi-isometric viewpoint, and coupled with the fixed camera, it can sometimes be tricky to determine where exactly you are standing, sometimes frustratingly so. There have been plenty of times where I stood right in front of a feed box or shipping bin, but when I tried to put an item in, it splattered all over the ground instead.
Thankfully, none of this really takes away from the game’s immersion. Because what really draws you in to Harvest Moon isn't the graphics or even the characters. It’s more the relaxed pacing and laid-back environment of the game that puts you at ease while you play it. While you do have the overarching objective of “save the farm,” you also have the freedom to go about it anyway you wish, and more importantly, go at your own pace. You never really feel rushed while playing Harvest Moon, despite how fast time moves in-game. It’s actually quite calming, which is admittedly weird to say about a game that focuses on manual labor.
The Test of Time
Personally, I’m a big fan of the Harvest Moon series. But it’s definitely not a series for everyone. Some gamers will quickly grow tired of the repetitive gameplay and relatively slow progression. Others may not care for the charm and novelty or raising a farm, or how much time it takes to really get the farm going. But for those looking for something a little different or for gamers who enjoy these sort of task-oriented, laid-back “life simulation” games, this is one trip to the farm that’s worth taking.
Back to Nature was re-released for the PSP as Harvest Moon: Boy and Girl, and included the original game along with the previously unreleased Harvest Moon for Girls, which is exactly the same as Back to Nature, only with a female protagonist. Both Boy and Girl, as well as the standalone original game, can now be found on PlayStation Network.
