Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning

Genre: Management Simulation / RPG

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Online), StreetPass Supported

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Review:

Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning, released on Nintendo 3DS in 2012, is a Management Simulation with RPG elements that brings the Harvest Moon franchise fully into the realm of 3D on a Nintendo handheld for the first time. However, while this game is titled A New Beginning, in a way it is also the end of an era – this is the final game in the Harvest Moon franchise to be developed by series creators Marvelous before that developer branched off to create the Story of Seasons franchise while publisher Natsume continued releasing Harvest Moon games with different developers.

The Harvest Moon series has had releases in 3D before, and even 3D releases on a handheld device – the PlayStation Portable received the solid Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley just a few years prior in 2010. So one would expect that this transition wouldn’t be too difficult or jarring for the franchise by this point. However, even with this being the case, the presentation in A New Beginning is pretty rough. The 3D visuals in this game are extremely simple, the textures are unimpressive, and the environments are largely empty. In part this is due to the game’s theme of reinvigorating a small town and making it grow, but that doesn’t excuse the boring emptiness of much of the game’s area. There is at least a decent river/mountain/forest area to explore that looks nice, but it’s certainly nothing impressive… and then, there’s even some slowdown! These unimpressive visuals are backed by a dull, repetitive soundtrack. In short, this is not the impressive leap one might have hoped for in the series.

Sadly, the gameplay doesn’t fare much better. While the latter stages of the game do afford players with some degree of customizability as they build up their farming town, the opening hours of the game are a dull slog, with players given very little to do, and very little control over how they do it. You can’t even choose where to grow your crops – an area has been designated for that. It’s stifling, in a genre where personal freedom in how you go about accomplishing the game’s goals is vital.

As a result, while Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning may present itself as a big step forward for its series, I can’t help but feel like, in all the ways that matter, this seems like a big step backwards. If you’re looking for a Farming RPG on Nintendo 3DS, this game may entertain you, but I expect that anyone more used to modern experiences like Stardew Valley would only be disappointed at how limiting this game is.

tl;dr – Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning is a “Farming RPG” where players aim to build up a small farming town. Unfortunately, the game’s presentation is underwhelming, and its early hours are a horrible slog, without anywhere near the sort of player choice you would want in a game like this. It’s still enjoyable in a limited way, but this isn’t the sort of experience I think most players want from a Harvest Moon game.

Grade: C

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