Harvest Moon 64 was the first cozy game I ever played. It was absolutely refreshing to go from the pressures of saving the world in other games to a simpler virtual life, where the true measure of your success was how well you balanced your daily chores and your social life. There was no doom and gloom, just bright colors, cute sprites, and an enthralling soundtrack to do your work to.
The Story
Harvest Moon 64’s story is very basic: your late grandfather left you a farm in disrepair. You have left your previous life to move in and take care of it for a couple years. You make friends, flirt with bachelorettes, and take part in the local festivities while improving your farm. The pace of the game is intentionally slow, giving extra weight to the cozy feel of the game. It makes tending your veggies seem like a monumental task on Spring 1st, when the mayor shows you around town and introduces you to some of the locals. However, the world doesn’t end if you don’t do a good job. Nobody dies (except grandpa), and there aren’t really repercussions for your failure. So slow down, fire up that old CRT TV, and pop in a cartridge (but don’t blow in it), because it’s time to unwind.
Getting Started
When the game starts, you have a few basic tools in your rucksack and a visitor. It’s the mayor, and he wants to show you around. Go ahead and get the lay of the land, because you’ll be walking around, a lot. You have 300G to buy some seeds with. Go to the florist to get them, then return home to prepare a 9-square plot. Stand in the center and toss your seeds to the heavens! Give them a splash of water from your watering can (don’t forget to fill it up at your pond first), and by this time it is probably getting dark, so go inside and write in your diary to save and sleep.
Getting Better
You may be thinking, “OK, it just took me all day to plant 9 turnips, how am I supposed to care for a whole farm?” Well, with the powers of FRIENDSHIP and DEDICATION! As you use your tools, you can eventually have them upgraded at the workshop. Holding the B button down with a tool equipped, you will start to charge it up. A regular watering can is able to water one square at a time, but upgrade it and you can do three squares! Upgrade even more, and you can water the whole 9×9 plot in one swoop!
Getting Involved
A key part of Harvest Moon’s game-play is making friends and building relationships. Go out and meet your neighbors, give them gifts, learn their schedules and desires. Each bachelorette has a corresponding available bachelor that they can eventually marry if you befriend the bachelor. Some villagers will give you tools and gifts, and sometimes events will trigger small cut-scenes, like the drama that unfolds between Karen and her father.
Keep Going
At the end of the day, Harvest Moon 64 is a cozy game that gives back what you put in. The more you are willing to explore and experiment, the more you will be rewarded. Sometimes that reward might just be a warm and fuzzy feeling, but it’s there! It’s an old game, and it doesn’t have the polish of its newer spiritual successors (like Stardew Valley). A lot of information, like how much stamina you have left, is just not displayed anywhere. But somehow that just makes the game feel less like a game and more like an organic task. You can push your character to their limit until they begin to pass out! The one lesson I carried with me from Harvest Moon 64 is that you have to find balance in all things, including work and play. So go on, grab that weird old controller and flip the power switch. You’ve got vegetables to plant and virtual friends to make!
