Harvest Moon:  Another Wonderful Life
System: Gamecube   Publisher: Natsume   Developer: Natsume   Genre: Simulation   Release Date: 07/26/05

Van opens his shop up on the 3rd and 8th of every month; the months only last ten days so there is not a lot of time to wait in between. The most useful item to buy from him is a fishing pole. Fish can bring in good money when you sell them at Van’s store or open up your own shop. The two best places to fish are by the waterfall or the pond that is near the waterfall. The fish in the river will fetch a better price than the fish in the pond.

There is a farm on the opposite side of the river from where she lives that you can buy seeds from to plant in her garden. The vegetable seeds are only good for one use, but the fruit seeds will last her forever. Have her hoe up one of the squares then sprinkle a seed down; water the crop and wait for it to grow. Once a vegetable has grown there she can pick it and sell it. The fruit trees work the same way with planting, but you cannot plant trees next to each other like you do with vegetables. When the trees sprout fruit she will get multiple produce instead of just one from each seed that was planted. The trees will then bloom again next year at the same season. The best way to make money with the vegetables and fruits is to buy the seed maker when it becomes available through Takura. Each vegetable or fruit is made into two seeds; this doubles your money.

If you are the type of person that plays games strictly for the stories they tell then this game would be a horrible choice for you. The story line is horrendously boring and superficial. The conversations are often repetitive and nondescript. There are basically no twists or turns in the story that make you want to keep going to find out how it’s going to end. The game-play itself is very repetitive and what you see in the beginning is what you get in the end. There is no new developments that are worth waiting around for. If it doesn’t grab your attention right away there is no reason to hang around waiting for it to.

You can interact with the story line and change it in certain areas only . You have the choice between three husbands; which will also change the story of the child and the future that the family shares together. There are a few other questions that are asked, usually at the beginning of a new year that will also develop the story line. However when you are having a normal conversation with people throughout the rest of the game it usually doesn’t give you a chance to respond. Most of the dialogue is repetitive and if you want to develop a friendship with anyone you must spend a lot of time listening to their inane chatter. Making friendships will unlock certain items and change the play of the game to a small degree.

The game-play drags on for quite sometime and eventually there is nothing else to do that you haven’t already done before. After you buy everything you can from Takura, Van, and the Farming Lady the only thing left is playing along with the story line; which I already established earlier is not any good.