Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town

by Natsume, Inc.

Product Features

• You'll live out the life of an everyday farmer in Mineral Town -- tend to the crops, feed the livestock, and sell your goods. See if you can explore the area to find ways to make money, win the love of a beautiful girl and start a family!
• Choose from a wide range of vegetables to plant and harvest, and make sure you turn out a good crop and a hefty profit
• Raise your animals and take good care of them, while befriending the people of the town
• No set game path -- do whatever you want, follow any route you wish, and watch as the adventure of a lifetime unfolds
• The game also connect to your GameCube version of Harvest Moon - A Wonderful Life, for even more wide-ranging adventures!

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000A03CT
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 5 x 1 inches
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 11, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (131 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,686 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town is the advanced role-playing game that guarantees a new adventure with every new start!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, Addictive fun for all ages, November 21, 2003

By 

Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast" - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town (Video Game)

Harvest Moon has been HUGELY addictive on the SNES and N64. The GBA version is just as addictive - and can be played anywhere!

The familiar, fun gameplay is here. You're a kid taking over a farm. The farm is in disrepair and needs help. You start out by weeding the garden, chopping the logs into boards and breaking up rocks. You slowly start growing crops, raising horses and chickens, and making a name for yourself.

You might think this would get boring, but time is running all the time. You have to get food to your animals, play with them, keep your crops watered, get your field cleared, mine for supplies, go into town and chat it up with the local girls.

There are the usual goodies - horse races, other festivals that come on certain days of the year. There are upgrades to your tools and little sprites that help you out with your tasks. You can fall in love with the girl of your dreams and build a life together. With lots of customizable names, from your farm to your dog to your horse, it really begins to feel like your own little world.

The graphics are great, and while it's not a button-mashing extreme, the clock is always ticking so you get a sense that you have to get going with your life in order to feed yourself and your animals. There aren't goals to meet or points to score - there is a farm to tend to and responsibilities to manage. It's a great game for all ages and VERY rewarding.

My one complaint about this game - and keep in mind that this is a HUGELY addictive game for me so I love it - is that it only lets you be a male. Why?? I would LOVE to be a girl on the farm who is dating boys. It can't be THAT hard to switch a few names and pixels. Why am I forced to be a boy? Why can't a girl run a farm?

That being said, it's a ton of fun and well suited for the GBA. Grab a copy - but be warned, you'll be playing it a lot!

84 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun on the farm!, December 20, 2003

By 

"jcover555" (St Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town (Video Game)

My fiancee and I picked up Harvest Moon FOMT right after it came out. Niether of us had ever played a Harvest Moon game before, but we did enjoy Animal Crossing and had heard that the games were somewhat similar.

I've got to say I am very impressed! It is a very enjoyable, highly addictive game. We've been playing it regularly since we've got it. Certain parts can get a bit monotonous at times, but overall the game is a fun-filled experience.

The owner of the farm passed away and left the farm to you. You raise and harvest a wide variety of crops over the Spring, Summer, and Fall. You start with a dog to care for and raise, and you will get a horse early in the game as well. You can purchase and then raise cows, chickens, and sheep. You'll need to make certain they are well fed, kept out of the bad weather, and get lots of love and attention. Raise them well, and you can enter them in various contests and have champions!

Another major aspect of the game is finding a girlfriend, who will eventually become your wife if you can win her over. You have 5 girls to choose from, 6 if you count the Goddess. You have rivals for your girls, so you have to really impress your girl if you want to make her your wife! You'll need to visit her everyday, participate in events with her, and buy her gifts CONSTANTLY. This is one part of the game I can't say I'm terribly happy with. Getting a girlfriend/wife basically means you just buy her nice presents everyday. I had hoped it would be a bit more interesting than that.

There's plenty more to keep you entertained. You can fish, get lumber, go mining, expand your house, befriend the townspeople and magic sprites, play with your dog, or even just watch tv. Its a never-ending fun adventure!

In summary -

PROS

Enjoyable change of pace from the majority of games.
Good graphics for a GBA game.
Decent sound.
An in-depth game, with many different things you can do.
Long varied gameplay without a set ending, you can continue playing as long as you like.

CONS

Certain parts, such as the harvesting, can get a bit repetitive at times.
The dialog is somewhat limited.
Getting a girlfriend/wife really means buying them presents everyday... and those are the kind of girls I prefer to avoid!

Again this is a very enjoyable game. If you have tried and enjoyed Animal Crossing, or any of the previous Harvest Moon games I'd say you'd like this. If those kind of games aren't really your thing, then you won't find what you are looking for here.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Game! (A review by an experienced gamer), June 29, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town (Video Game)

Harvest Moon has been a very successful series since the debute of the classic SNES version in 1997. Natsume made it hold it's one of a kind RPG with this title. Harvest Moon FoMT has a ton more new features than the other GB or GBC games, and combines the classic features of the other console playing games. All packed into a tiny cartridge for your GBA.

Graphics: 5/5 - The graphics in this game are amazing. They have Gamecube quality detail all packed onto a tiny screen. The partial bird's eye view of your character is at the perfect angle, so all of the animals, townspeople, and crops are visible. Unlike Harvest Moon BTN (Back to Nature) nothing in this game looks like a cardboard cut out. These graphics push the GBA to its max!

Story: 4/5 The story is also pretty good. As a kid, you visitted an old man's farm over summer vacation and loved it. The two of you have kept in touch with letters, until the old man passed away. The main character (let's call him Jack), visits the farm. The mayor of the town invites Jack to fix up the farm, and you recall all of the memories and fun times you had. At least in this game they have a decent length cutscene explaining every bit of the storyline.

Controls: 5/5 Plus, the controls in this game are great! Every button has a specific use, and there are some "fast combos" to access menus quicker than scavenging around to find them. The controls are nice and simple, and can be changed under the 'Diary' menu to adjust to your preference. Just another great aspect of Harvest Moon FoMT.

Gameplay: 5/5 This is where every Harvest Moon game always has a good review. The game play is outstanding with over 100 interactions and activities.

Getting upgrades in the game is a well known aspect... but this time the upgrades have changed! Not only can you upgrade your house two times, but there is a shopping channel too! Every Saturday, a new item is put on sale for a certain amount of money. You phone in to purchase the item from the inn, and eventually it will arrive within 2-3 days! Some items include a mirrior, a clock, a cabinet, a refridgeorator a kitchen, eight utensils (on different weeks), a big bed, and a power berry. In order to get married, you have to have EVERY SINGLE ONE of those items (exlcuding power berry). Finally, the unique aspect of this game is that you can own up to FOUR HOUSES!

Crops now hit the spotlight. Each season ,except winter, there are at least three different crops to grow that produce a different income. Some crops may sell for low and be able to get reharvested, and others sell for high but can only be harvested once. It all depends on what crops you choose to plant in a season. And if you need some help, refer to the Harvest Sprites. By giving them gifts, they can play games with you to improve on taking care of animals, watering crops, and harvesting livestock. Then, the sprites can help out with your farm for up to a week.

If you have played a different Harvest Moon game, you know about raising livestock. In this game, it holds the same aspect. There are three money making animals that you can buy. There are cows, sheep, and chickens. These all produce items that you ship to make a standard income. Plus, once you upgrade the barn and chicken coop, the 'makers' are avalible. These little barrels take either eggs, milk, or wool into them, and give you mayo, cheese, or yarn (Which are shippable for higher prices)

Next comes marriage. There are five girls you can marry... so make a choice. In order to marry a girl, you have to have all of the upgrades and furniture in your house. Plus, her heart has to be at the red level. Finally, there are four cutscenes (also called heart events) that you will go through as the girls heart level increases that you have to see. But beware! For each girl, there is a guy trying to get her. These are your rivals for marriage, so you better get that red heart up before the two of them get married. I've covered most of the main aspects of gameplay, leaving out the obscure stuff and spoilers. Now on to audio.

Sound - 4/5. This is probably the low point of the game... but still good! Natsume could've added more tunes for the different areas. Instead, there is only a seasonal tune on your farm, a tune to the mountain, and a tune to the town. Now, the sound would have gotten a 2... but linking up with the gamecube HM comes in. By linking up, the travelling merchant 'Van' comes into town at Doug's inn. From him you can buy a record player and up to 12 tunes to play to change that boring old farm tune. But the tunes in other areas still remains the same.

Overall: 4.75. Overall this game is great! Every aspect is detailed and understandable. But still puts up a challenge! I highly recommend buying this... there is just too much to do within that small period of renting the game. And besides, the game is significantly cheaper than other GBA games (saw it on other sights for under $19.95). Trust me, you'll get your money's worth from 40 hours+ of gameplay. So what are you waiting for... get out there and start planting!