Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life for GameCube

GF Rating

10

Perfect

Life in the Farm Never Felt So Good!

posted by vg2007 (SUGAR LAND, TX) Mar 13, 2007

Member since Jun 2006

8 out of 8 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life is a lot similar to the Animal Crossing, but is a whole lot better.

Basically, you start off as a young farmer who inherits his father's farm in a place called Forget-Me-Not Valley. There is a lot to do in the game (and I mean A LOT). Let's see...you have to tend your crops, take care of the your farm animals, make new friends, buy extra materials for your farm, make some money so you won't go broke, and did I forget mention that you'll have to find yourself a wife within a year?

The setting of the game changes on its own free will. One day it'll be sunny bright and shining while the next day it'll be pouring rain. It's pretty random (but not a lot). As the seasons go by, the area of Forget-Me-Not Valley becomes breath-taking. The environment changes like real life. In winter, the snow will gradually increase in size and volume as the days goes by. In the spring, cherry blossoms will appear in the trees and fall right past your television screen.

Unlike Animal Crossing, the game's clock is a lot similar to those who've played Pikmin. For one thing, the clock in Harvest Moon: Wonderful Life doesn't go by your internal Gamecube clock. Hours act as minutes while minutes act as seconds.

Farm life is similar to real farming. You'll have to take care of your animals and raise them well. They act similar to real farm animals in which they will appear grumpy, stubborn, and ignorant if you forget to feed them each day. Later on, you'll be able to buy different animals with opposite gender allowing them to reproduce. For crops, each crop reacts to the different seasons, and they each have a specific number of days to grow. If you harvest them too late, they WILL DIE.

Finding a wife limits you to three female characters each with a certain personality. Your job is to impress them through gifts and questions that they ask you. It's pretty easy!

The game is fun and nice to play to pass the time for those with nothing to do!

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GF Rating

10

Perfect

ROCK ON Natsume!

posted by BULLY123 (PRATTVILLE, AL) Mar 24, 2009

Member since Jul 2008

3 out of 3 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

I got this game when I was six or seven and I have liked it ever since! I like ALL harvest moon games old and new ones. I hope Natsume will make harvest moon games just like this one! However... it has a few glitches. [Like how it spells male!] Look if you reading this now are a parent then listen. Buy this game for your kids trust me. Anyway this game is nice and peaceful and everyone in this game is friendly. Now... rent it and have a wonderful life!

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GF Rating

10

Perfect

Very fun game

posted by Farris (KENNEWICK, WA) Sep 15, 2009

Member since Jul 2008

2 out of 2 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

In Harvest Moon, you run your own farm. You can have animals like Sheep, Chickens, Cows, a Horse, and a couple of personal pets. Every second for you is a minute in the game, and the clock doesn't continue when you aren't playing. Each season is 10 days, so you have a 40 day year. At the end of the first year, you get to marry one of the three girls, the one you talked to most and gave gifts to. If you don't talk to any of them, one if them is a default. You also get a child, and through the next year or two you watch your child grow up. Your child's personality depends on how many toys you buy it, and how much you talk to it.

You can have your cow get pregnant, and after the calf is born she produces milk for about a game-year. The first few days the milk has to go to the calf, but after that its all yours.

You can also buy seeds. Different plants grow in different seasons. You can have Tomatoes, Watermelons, Melons, Yams, Different fruit trees, and many more. You can also buy fertilizer to add to your crops and to your field. If you give the field some, the grass will grow and you can cut it to feed it to your cattle.

Your animals can also get sick, in which you need to order some medicine for them. If your not careful, and you starve or let you animal remain sick, it might die.

Its a really fun and realistic game, and you can in a way connect to the city if you hook up your gameboy to the gamecube and you have the harvest moon game Mineral Town.

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GF Rating

10

Perfect

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

posted by Videoboy (MODESTO, CA) Jan 2, 2007

Member since Jul 2006

2 out of 2 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

THIS GAME ROCKS!!!!! IT IS EVEN BETTER THAN FRIENDS OF MINERAL TOWN!!! IT IS COMPLEX AND HAS A BETTER CHILD SYSTEM THAN OTHER GAMES!!!! THOUGH IT HAS TO END, IT ROCKS!!!!!!

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GF Rating

10

Perfect

Fun but repetitive

posted by Ninjalord (BIDWELL, OH) Jun 24, 2009

Member since Mar 2009

1 out of 1 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

I like Harvest Moon andthis is personally my favourtie of them all.....but like all harvest moon games its a little to much rinse and repeat, cause you know what to expect every day. Now the good side to this game is its fun easy to learn and is good if you dont spend every waking moment on it but there is alot of negativity that i have aleayd mentioned.

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GF Rating

8

Very Good

Runt of the Litter

posted by Thechubby1 (SNOW CAMP, NC) Jun 19, 2006

Member since Jun 2006

1 out of 1 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

I saw this game advertised in a magazine, I said, aw that's a terrible idea. Then I saw it get a 4/5 on a tv show. So I decide to pick it up. Man, this game was great. You know how fun can a farming sim be? Pick this one up since it's like 10$ at stores it's a great buy. The farming is easy and the village is nicely rendered, I think you should be able to go to town instead of Takakura though. The valley could be bigger but it's still a great game.

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GF Rating

8

Very Good

Not to Shabby

posted by Suphafly (GRAYSLAKE, IL) Jun 8, 2006

Member since Oct 2003

1 out of 1 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

As weird as it sounds, this game makes watching crops grow fun. While the first year of the game was packed with events, as time progressed I found myself just trying to further the story line. Its a fun game, and I really liked it a lot, the AI is a great deal more interactive than in previous Harvest Moon games, and thats a good thing, but its not really saying much, you can pretty much talk to one person everyday for a year and get the same answer again and again and again. But it is still really enjoyable, and I do reccomend it to anyone who likes sims.

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GF Rating

8

Very Good

A big surprise.

posted by Ragnex (SILVER SPRING, MD) Jun 20, 2006

Member since Jun 2006

6 out of 7 gamers (86%) found this review helpful

I originally rented the game because I was curious how it worked. I didn't expect to actually like it. But I was blown away at how much I enjoyed it.

Pros:
You get a horse.
Fun general game play.
Nurture relationships with villagers as well as plants.

Cons:
Watering crops can get tedious.
For some reason, no matter what I do, my pet dog hates me.

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GF Rating

9

Excellent

OK, Wasn't A Big WOW

posted by Pet101 (TUCSON, AZ) Apr 17, 2006

Member since Nov 2004

3 out of 4 gamers (75%) found this review helpful

It was OK, Although I think there was too many things you had to do in a short amount of time.
I would recommend this game for people who either like to multi-task, or really like to work.
I was just OK.

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GF Rating

10

Perfect

One of the best Harvest moon games!

posted by Mariobro (CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH) Sep 18, 2006

Member since Apr 2006

2 out of 4 gamers (50%) found this review helpful

I've played other Harvest Moon games befor and this takes the cake alright!You'd be suprised how much fun you will have playing it.I recomend this game for all you people who want to settle down from all th action games.I could not get off this game until my parents made me!

Mary one of three lovley ladies!
Muffy-A sweet girl who is out going,perky, and fun loving.She works at the Blue Bar.
Celia-A nice calm farmer.She isn't as out going as Muffy,but your child will be a farmer.
Nami- She is a tom boy.AHH! I forgot I never marid her so I don't know th much about her.

You can own so many animals!
Cows,Bulls,chickens,ducks- ,Gaots(!).Also you can have a pet turtle,a pet cat and dog!

WARNIG:
You can not teach your pet tricks!That part was erased!

MEGA WARNING:
Do not buy a gaot!It only gives milk for year.Then it gose dry.You Can not sell the goat at all!

So I hope you like the game if you rent it.

Have agood day to all you harvest moon fans.

I forgot this game is only for BOYS!

Have a good day again.

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GF Rating

10

Perfect

cool

posted by wero890 (MICANOPY, FL) Apr 25, 2010

Member since Feb 2009

1 out of 2 gamers (50%) found this review helpful

It is like a game that you would keep very fun exiting and you get to restart

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GF Rating

4

Weak

A lot more boring than I expected

posted by Dewwar (BELLEVUE, WA) Apr 19, 2006

Member since Nov 2005

1 out of 10 gamers (10%) found this review helpful

All right, you might ask how entertaining did I expect a farming sim to be? Well, this is the first Harvest Moon game I've played, so maybe I was expecting to much.

The actual farming bit was all right. Milking cows and raising crops is an easy routine to fall into, and I found it repetitive but enjoyable. My problem came with what to do after I had finished farming for the day.

I found fishing to be overly simplistic and pointless once your farm starts yielding. Digging for fossils was basically just mashing the button at the right time to get the chore done with as fast as possible. And then there was the character interaction.

This is the bit I expected to be most interesting. The build up about all the people you can marry sounded good, and the houses and such seem to have a real personality.... But the people don't. There weren't enough random events, and each character has about three lines they spit out over and over again. I was hoping for a little more variety in the social events and such, but all I pretty much did was give one crappy gift a day to the girl of my choice and waited for the hearts to build up.

I hear Magical Melody is better. I plan on trying it next month.

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GF Rating

7

Good

Harvest Moon is always a good game but...

posted by MadieMoo123 (LAKE ORION, MI) May 3, 2013

Member since May 2013

I am a huge fan of all of the Harvest Moon games! I have a lot of them except for this one. I rented it and I got bored fast. For HMAWL there is not much action in the beginning. Yeah, I know i just started and stuff but they dont really explain anything and there is nothing really going on. I played for about 20 minutes and got off and sent it back in the mail. Boring! I reccomend other Harvest Moon games other that this one!

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GF Rating

10

Perfect

Always great.

posted by LordMuffinman (SALLISAW, OK) Feb 4, 2013

Member since Feb 2013

I own this game and the very first time I ever played it was at my freinds house. He asked if I wanted to play and I asked what what it about? He told me you farm and take care of animals, I will say that I thought it was kinda dumb at first but I played it and it was love at first play. I love the Havest Moon games and can never get enough of this one. I've had my copy for years and I keep coming back to it. Play it if you like Harvest Moon or have never played one before and if you don't like HM well......why are you reading this?

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GF Rating

4

Weak

don't wanna be a hater

posted by jak1998 (AURORA, CO) Jun 25, 2012

Member since Jul 2011

This game is fun for people who love harvest moon games but,well I don't really like it.Time seems to slip away too fast for the painful task of farming,which in this game requires you to press the button move and readjust,which can take away to much of your time.Over all i wouldn't rent this game,but maybe a different harvest moon game.Thank you for reading

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GF Rating

10

Perfect

This game was great!

posted by konigblade (LA MESA, CA) Oct 10, 2010

Member since Oct 2010

This is a great game! It really gets you sucked in. It requires a lot of focus, and is a great time strategy game.

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GF Rating

8

Very Good

a normal harvest moon

posted by backfire (LAKE ELSINORE, CA) Jul 4, 2010

Member since Jun 2010

now if u saw my other review of harvest moon animal parde i said its very kiddy same for the wii and ds ones 2 but this was what i mean by normal or better harvest moon its not like a kid will only play adluts play it to myy mom and dad love this game u get marryed and your child slowly grows to a adult and u die as your son choose a job of how u treart him example muffy son will likely be a cheif but can be a farmer if u take care of hi good its a really good game i think u should get this game

of a 8 out of 10 game

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GF Rating

10

Perfect

Harvest Moon

posted by MRDRPROF (LEESBURG, VA) Sep 12, 2008

Member since Jul 2006

Harvest moon is a one of a kind game. For a long time i was looking for a game just like this. You start out as a farmer with little money. Basically your objective is to get rich as possible and have a succseful ranch. You can visit the dig site and find some hidden treasure, you can go to the farm near yours and purchase seeds to start growing crops, you can marry one of three Celia who will marry you if you bring her a flower everyday and give her the blue feather, you can bring Missy a flower everday and give her the blue feather, or you can bring Nina artifacts from the dig site everyday and give her the blue feather. You get the blue feather randomly one day why the harvest sprites find one and argue over who gets it. They will give it to you in the end. So my tip to you is to buy the most exspensive seeds for a plant that harvest several times and you will make a fortune. Well that's all i have to say about this amazing game. Oh i almost forgot if you look outside at 10pm in the game you will see the scientist trying to catch the monster in the woods. He fails every time though.

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GF Rating

5

Fair

didnt work

posted by nelson1158 (ORLANDO, FL) May 24, 2008

Member since Jan 2008

The game said it was there was an error so i tryed cleaning it and it still didnt work.So if you could please send it again but one that works or do something else.

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GF Rating

8

Very Good

Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life

posted by Crazygamar (EASLEY, SC) Apr 7, 2008

Member since Mar 2007

Harvest Moon: AWL is the best in the harvest moon series ever! I found it highly related to animal crossing, so you should try this game out if you are a fan of animal crossing, farming, or life simulation games.

You literally build your farm from scratch, starting out with a little money, a cow, 3 fields ready for tilling and planting, a small cabin, a barn, and a chicken coop. You can buy animals such as cows, sheep, and chickens. Later into the game, you get a free horse, and in the second year you can buy a goat! You have 3 fields: a small non-fertile field, a medium fertile field, and a huge very fertile field. You can buy seeds such as potatoes, tomatoes, watermelons, and way more! There are even trees you can plant, like bananas and peaches! There is also a secret way to make hybrid plants, with endless possibilities!

You can interact with over 20 villagers, each with a unique personality and role in the game. You can explore in Forget-Me-Not Valley, where you live. The environment graphics are beautiful! There is an ocean, a river, and a luscious forest.

You also HAVE to marry in the game. You choose from 3 brides, one who is gentle and polite, one who is quiet and hard-to-get, and one who is average. If you don't marry, you can't get past the first chapter. When you marry, you have a baby that you can interact with, watch grow into a young adult, and influence which career he chooses.

The game has a chapter system. There are six chapters, each with a different number of years, equaling 30 years total. As each chapter passes, people get older and different events happen with you, your wife, and your son. It took me 2 years to complete the game, and I played an average of an hour a day. So, its a long-lasting game worth purchasing.

I HIGHLY recommend this game! I hope this review was helpful, and I hope you enjoy this game! Bye!

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GF Rating

10

Perfect

harvest moon:a wonderful life

posted by wheelchair (Albany, OR) Oct 10, 2007

Member since May 2007

i have been a gamer for about 2 years now. this has got to be the most addictive game ever. i loved animal crossing but the challenge of hm:awl had me hooked from the start. i made a whole bunch of money in the first year and had my milking room and processing room by the end of that year. didn't find out about the marriage thing until the winter of the first year. thank goodness celia was sweet enough to think i was worthy of her. from then on it was do my best to excel with everything. it also created very late nights(or early mornings). i am 53 and i just could not put it down. now i am playing harvest moon:magical melody and its the same. ADDICTIVE. can't wait for hm:another wonderful life.i figure i will sleep enough once i am gone from this world. until then it is (GAME ON)for this cool grandma of 5

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GF Rating

9

Excellent

As the years go by...

posted by Demonic4ce (LANCASTER, CA) Jul 20, 2007

Member since Jan 2007

Well i can't truly say whether or not i enjoy games anymore, but i sure enjoyed this one. I'm not sure if it was because it was the only game in stock i hadn't beaten yet or what, but this is truly my achilles heel, i can't technically "beat" it! You start off with your father's friend introducing you to everyone one in the village and your three ponential wives, a flirty blonde whom works at the bar (i bought some drinks but i don't know what the heck they do, its just a waste of money), and innocent brunette which works at the seed shop and a creative, yet quiet short haired girl living at the inn. I married celia because she's hot...anyways... You progress through the years marry, have a child, watch him grow, and time passes slowly much like real life. Expect surprises each year but they get more rare as the years go by. Farmwork can be extremely boring, especially planting and watering seeds, i would suggest creating an agenda to get everything done in time by the end of the day, every second should be useful for something.

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GF Rating

9

Excellent

Excellent, but not perfect.

posted by sabreskid (BATAVIA, NY) Jun 27, 2007

Member since May 2007

When I rented this game (blockbuster), I just rented it because 1. I wanted to see how it was. 2. I really didn't find anything else I wanted. I personally thought it would just be one of this boring, annoying boredom-buster games. When I just played 5 minutes of this game, it knocked my socks off . I was absolutely... flabbergasted because this game was SO much fun. There were a few pros and cons.

PROS: :)
1. You actually own your own little farm.
2. You can, after year one, have a family.
3. Once you " get going" money comes, (snap fingers) just like that so can become a farming tycoon.

CONS: :(
1. Takes a little while to "get going ".
2. The farming is a little boring and takes a little while.
3. Only 3 potential wives to chose from.

Overall, this game is well worth 4 and a half stars and 9.5 out of ten, and I put it in my Top 5 favorite games ever played list.
I absolutely recommend you rent this game AT LEAST once. (unless you ARE a farmer because it would just be your life on a video game!)

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GF Rating

3

Bad

Boring and monotonous

posted by Tokaia (PEORIA HEIGHTS, IL) Apr 23, 2007

Member since Jan 2007

This game is a travesty to the Harvest Moon series, as is it's partner, "Another Wonderful Life". It takes you through about 30 game years of the same old stuff. The town is small and useless, and there are only 3 bachelorettes. There are none of the classic Harvest Moon crops, fruits or flowers. The animals are now uber-realistic. They have to have had a calf to give milk, need a male to breed, and can get pregnant without your consent if you keep a male around. You need a rooster and a hen to breed chickens. The music is monotonous. You only start with 2 music choices, and both get old pretty quickly. You also have no music if you leave your farm. The fishing is worthless and it takes forever to catch anything. The characters are sub-par at best. The graphics are good, but they don't make up for the horrible gameplay. This game was very ill-concieved.

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GF Rating

1

Horrible

bad game

posted by gamerrrrrr (PHILADELPHIA, PA) Feb 24, 2007

Member since Feb 2007

it was awful.

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Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life for GameCube Reviews by Gamers

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