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All other video games not related to the main farming series - Pokemon, Stardew Valley, My Time at Portia, and other indie-developed games.
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greensara
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To be honest, I didn't care much for Harvestella when I was first playing the original demo. I didn't really feel much differently about the full game until I got into chapter 3 and everything really opens up. I actually really liked it with all the post-demo elements added. I don't remember if I got there by the 15th or not, but it was still spring for sure. I haven't gotten through all of chapter 4 yet, but I've enjoyed it so far.
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Kikki
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Mikodesu wrote: Mar 19, 2023 10:06 amIf you've got the "this could be good" feeling, I think that's probably all you need to know.
Weeeell...I do. I think I'll just go back into the demo and try the fishing, the farming and the combat again just to remember how they worked, and otherwise not worry about it. I don't want to have to go through the first two chapters three times if I decide not to carry over the save data. I've not yet returned to a phase where I really want to play Harvestella. That's happened a few times, but it's never coincided with a sale so far, and I've already decided I won't buy it on full price. 30% off is the minimum sale I want for it, I think. Squeenix is great with sales so I'm pretty sure it'll start getting better than 30% sales after it's been out a year...so in time for the holiday sales of 2023. It is nice to have an 'outdoorsy' game for winter, too.

Somehow farming games never seem to release then. They always release in spring and summer...just when I need them the LEAST because I'm farming IRL!

~
greensara wrote: Mar 19, 2023 1:00 pmI didn't care much for Harvestella when I was first playing the original demo. I didn't really feel much differently about the full game until I got into chapter 3 and everything really opens up.
Thanks, greensara. :) I guess even in the full game, chapters 1 and 2 are kept really simple. I suppose in that case I can't really end up with a 'bad start' by completing chapters 1 and 2 in the demo, if I decide to do that and carry over the save data. Perhaps the side content doesn't open until after that in the main game, either. That's like Xenoblade 3, actually. Chapter 1-3 were pretty drab because they were SO linear and you couldn't explore much and you mostly had to go from point A to point B...but then it blew open hugely and you suddenly had more to do than you could keep track of. (Except that the tracking in the game is actually really good with the quest logs and the maps and everything.)
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Kikki
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This is...slightly off-topic. It's a recommendation, but not a requested one.

Y'see, I saw Lonesome Village again. On sale, both on Switch (25% off) and on Steam (30% off). And I was in doubt about it, because I don't like animal protags, or animal villagers, or puzzle games, and that's what this game is. I DO love repopulating and rebuilding towns, and that is ALSO what Lonesome Village does, and I hear it does it in a very interesting way, primarily by freeing villagers from some tower dungeon, and that the puzzles are interesting and of a good variety and reasonable difficulty level (not that easy, but also not infuriating or unfair.)

I haven't played it, though, since my personal prejudices make it one I'm pretty likely to be unable to get into. But I thought it might be a good game for Mikodesu, in particular (assumption based on her liking indies and puzzles and not disliking animal protags. Not that there aren't others who also like puzzles and animals and indies...) Not that I'm all that confident, but the thought persists, all the same. The looks are rather cute? I feel hesitant to say so, it sort of looks like a pixel game, and yet...there are little to no visible individual pixels (jaggedy lines, dots for eyes, that sort of thing that I flat out hate). The lines in this look sort of hand-inked. I'm not an artist, so I'm not sure how to say it, but the graphics don't frustrate me the way the more obvious of pixel art does. So perhaps it isn't pixel art at all, I dunno! Seriously, someone tell me if this is pixel art or not.

~

Also, I am playing No Place Like Home right now, and I had to restart because I couldn't remember how to make it work on Steamdeck. The controller scheme doesn't have 100% functionality (or didn't when I last played...I was never, for example, able to use the 'see details' function on Steamdeck, and you NEED it sometimes to be able to tell what the heck your inventory items even ARE. I also couldn't use the 'sort' inventory feature. Both require analog stick presses that for some reason didn't work with my controller.) and for some reason, the game was also deleted off my Deck. Dunno how or why, but...it was on sale on Switch, and I wanted to restart anyway, as I had forgotten how the game worked.

It actually works BETTER on Switch than on Steam. Well, than on Steam Deck with a controller, at least. And it looks just as good...not even an atom less good, as far as I can tell. (Which is just weird, isn't it? Maybe they were always aiming for optimal Switch performance, even more than PC performance? I dunno!) I have encountered some problems with side quests, but I don't know if my game is glitched or if I just don't understand what to do.

Anyway, anyway, anyway...it is a super fun game that I recommend to 1) farming-sim lovers and 2) 'cleaning'-sim lovers. The premise is that humanity turned Earth into a (fairly literal) trash heap. Its surface is about 95% covered in garbage, much of which has basically fossilized into something bordering on rock. THe main character, Ellen, has this vac-pack that has a drill and a vacuum attached to it. The drill breaks down the heaps of fossilized garbage (though you have to upgrade the drill depending on the nature of the garbage...rubble, rubber, glass, electronic) and the vacuum then sucks up all the loose garbage. You also find livestock in traps all along the way, and set them free. You can make friends with them if you have a place for them to live and a treat they like. Then they'll come back and live on your farm and produce stuff for you. Some of the livestock are robots. I don't yet know why. There may not be a reason except it's 'futuristic' and everyone thinks robots are the future.

The vacuum also sucks up all the resources to be found in the garbage. Seeds, glass, rubber, other recyclable materials, etc. There are often also suitcase treasures to be found with decorations, recipes, customizables like hats for your livestock (WHY???) and so on. In the process of cleaning up the area, you'll find stuff you need to progress in finding your grandfather, who wrote to you often, but stopped responding recently, just before you were due to set out to your new home on Mars. (VERY few people are left on Earth, at the point when the story begins.) So you go looking for him to find out if he's okay. He's not there when you arrive...and the story begins, since you decide to find him.

NPLH has:
  • Farming (you find several different types of seed in each region as you clean up the messes, and there's livestock as well)
  • Crafting (most things are made out of different types of recyclable materials...there are several makers and crafting stations, including a furniture and decor station where you can make items for your house and garden. You need to make yourself preserved meals as a currency to trade for upgrades.)
  • Upgrades (to buildings, your health and speed and combat strength and to your drill, vacuum, and water tank...cuz your vacuum is also your watering can and your drill is also your weapon to destroy the aggressive type of robot. Once gotten rid of, though, they never seem to respawn.)
  • Cleaning (the way you progress is by clearing areas of garbage, both above ground and below it.
  • Quests (you have to do tasks for the handful of NPCs that exist, such as rebuilding their house or freeing 5 pigs from traps, to get various things unlocked to help with story progression.)
  • Nature-restoring (minor, but in some areas you have to replant trees, or clean toxic rivers, or break a dam to free water into the desert, or etc.)
  • A creative mode (everything unlocked from the beginning, etc...really just to focus on farming and making things pretty without any of the story/work, afaik...I haven't tried it. It's unlocked from the beginning.
  • A challenge mode (makes all the tricky bits trickier.) YOu have to play for a bit before the challenge mode unlocks. Dunno what the trigger is, but in my first file, it was unlocked if I wanted to start a new game.
It's great fun. I also like the 2D art very much, and the 3D art/animation is not bad, even if the MC lumbers like an ogre...the colours are nice, anyway. But what it does NOT have is:
  • Social/relationships. There are other characters, but unless this is something that unlocks later, you don't seem to be able to form relationships with them. You can't gift them and they only have limited topics you can talk to them about.
  • Good music. It does HAVE music, but it's all the same everywhere, I think. That or it's so low-key that I haven't even noticed it differing anywhere.
  • Multiplayer. ZERO connectivity. Single player only.
  • An interesting story. I frankly haven't been made to care if I ever find grandpa or not, I just want to clean the place up. I haven't reached the end, so maybe it'll have a really interesting twist, but so far, I don't really care where grandpa is, or why. I just want to find pinwheels and seeds and make Earth pretty again.
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Mikodesu
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There's a lot of weird things you can do with art these days (pixel art can be made of 3D models with a filter over them), but I would be SHOCKED if that's pixel art. It looks to be very very simple 2D animation.

As for me playing Lonesome Village...maybe! It looks cute enough, but it would depend entirely on what the story is, how interesting or complex the puzzles are. Right now I'd say it falls neatly into the category of "sure, I'd try it". The trouble with that category is I don't know if I'd buy it. :lol: I'll go wishlist it for now, so I don't forget the name.
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Kikki
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Mikodesu wrote: Jul 04, 2023 7:47 pmAs for me playing Lonesome Village...maybe! It looks cute enough, but it would depend entirely on what the story is, how interesting or complex the puzzles are. Right now I'd say it falls neatly into the category of "sure, I'd try it". The trouble with that category is I don't know if I'd buy it. :lol: I'll go wishlist it for now, so I don't forget the name.
I'm not set-up to judge puzzle quality, so even if I'd played the game, I still wouldn't be able to confidently say whether the puzzles were good or not, as that'd be like me trying to review wine. Every review would be 'tastes like oozy rotten fruit'. But even the most critical of reviews never seems to target the puzzles as a con of the game, and much of what I've seen seems to be praising them. The criticism seems to land very firmly on the inventory...apparently inventory management in Lonesome Village sucks, and people have been telling them that all along, but they never improved it, as far as I can tell, which is the real problem, imo. If you're being told by practically everyone that your inventory system sucks, you need to do something about it.

I don't know what the story is, beyond that Lonesome Village has been emptied of all its villagers, who have been turned to stone in the nearby tower. There is no combat. Each floor is a puzzle you have to solve, and when you do, the villager/s on that floor will be de-petrified, and will return to Lonesome to take their lives back up. You find out what's behind it all as you progress, but I have no idea what's behind the situation...haven't seen any spoilers. Apparently on one side it's a puzzle game, and on the other, it's a social life-sim, where you go around doing quests for people (I think mainly to get hearts, as hearts are what unlocks each floor of the tower for you). And as each person returns to the village, there are more things you can do in the village. The game appears to be a 15-20 hour game, to get all the goals and quests completed.

That's about all I know. My reasons for not buying are kind of unique to me. I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't think puzzles are all that fun, but I'm probably in the minority on not being able to get into any game where all the characters are anthropomorphized animals. And these games never have the characters being animals actually MEAN something, so why do they even need to be animals? I can't get invested in a talking, fishing, gardening, puzzle-solving coyote. All the characters being animals ever seems to mean is that people think animals are cute, so it's a visual choice only, with no further meaning behind it, and I'd rather just have them be human.

Anyway, I figure I wouldn't end up liking it even if I suspect that the sim side of the game might be really fun. But there's no need to even wishlist it if nothing about it strikes you. Most people don't like community-building features as stupidly as I do, in that it'll make any other trait, even if I know I hate it, look like it might be acceptable as long as the community-building part is deep enough.
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Mikodesu
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I still think I'll keep the game wishlisted so I can keep an eye on the devs...but I dunno, nothing about Lonesome Village is popping out at me. It feels like the devs went with animal protagonists as some sort of distinguishing feature more than anything. Which maybe it does work for some people. Totally cool if so. I'm pretty neutral on it. Just no real preference for it.

But it does seem like a competently made game, if simple. So if these devs keep making games, I think their next go will be one to keep an eye on. They might just need a little more experience making games.

If I was younger (more free time) it'd totally be worthwhile. I'm already so bad about managing my games I've got 30+ from bundles sitting around untouched. :lol: Probably for the next couple years unless something really screams "Buy Me", it's gonna be a wait and see.
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Harvest Moon kawaii
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Looking for:
Summary: Almost anything
Preferred genres/categories: JRPG/RPG, visual novels/Otome games, survival horror/horror, Pokemon-like (monster taming/collecting), easy platformers (think recent Nintendo/Kirby), some puzzle games, educational games (especially foreign languages), time-management/management sims (especially combined with dating sims) Farming/Simulation, mystery/detective, Japanese/Korean/Chinese games, western/eastern indie games, anime/manga (art style), third-person
Other desired features: Great stories, interesting characters/character development, good premise/initial hooks, engaging gameplay, nothing too challenging (grindy or too precise), nothing that requires too much physical movement (I am physically disabled),
Examples of games I love that fit my qualifications: Pokemon, Mario (especially recent Mario titles), Yoshi titles, Kirby, Yo-kai Watch, Fatal Frame (also known as Project Zero, or Zero), Higurashi/Umineko/Ciconia series, Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series, Pikmin series
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, Steam (via PC) (*Note: I have no access to VR.)

Hopefully I did this right. I'm currently playing Pikmin 4 (Switch), Knockout Home Fitness (Switch) and Learn Japanese to Survive Kanji Combat (Steam/PC)

I have a ton of games on Switch (nearing 450-500 games) and around 350-400 games on Steam. As the Nintendo 3DS e-shop has closed down, I know that'll be harder to recommend for. You can recommend me games that I might have (already released) or that are coming out in 2023-2024 and beyond.

Currently, I have Detective Pikachu Returns (Switch) and Hogwarts Legacy (Switch) pre-ordered.

Also, on Steam. It can't be anything that *has* to be played with a controller. I don't have one that works with PC/Steam.

And, if possible, if you can recommend me games I can import from Japan, preferably for learning Japanese, I'd appreciate it. I'm looking for both physical and digital. I'm able to play games from Nintendo DS/Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, and Steam/PC.
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greensara
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I'm not sure of any particular game to recommend since you already have a lot of choices. Regarding using games to help with language learning, I think it is a fun idea. I've already tried it some myself in conjunction with picking some other language tools back up to try to help my brain to get active again, but it's kind of hard since I am so rusty.

One example is replaying Pokemon in Spanish and Japanese. Just started Japanese so it's pretty much impossible to read the majority, but it is nice they have Hiragana and Katakana with the Kanji since I can't read that at all. Spanish was better but I am rustier than I thought, plus I think it's more like Spain's Spanish than the Latin American Spanish I'm more used to. Still fun though. I'd say it would be easier with less word heavy games (looking at Dragon Quest X... someday).

As for games that actually help teach Japanese, outside of apps like Duolingo, I'm not sure. The irony is if you look in the Japanese eShop, there are multiple games that are just for working on learning English! Too bad they don't do reversed releases on those.
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Code_Name_Geek
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Harvest Moon kawaii wrote: Jul 25, 2023 11:48 am And, if possible, if you can recommend me games I can import from Japan, preferably for learning Japanese, I'd appreciate it. I'm looking for both physical and digital. I'm able to play games from Nintendo DS/Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, and Steam/PC.
It's not a language teaching game, but for possible imports I've heard Yo-kai Watch has some of the easiest Japanese to read as far as RPGs go. Since you're already familiar with the gameplay and it has some newer Japan-exclusive games that might be a fun one to try! There's an HD port of the first game as well as Yo-kai Watch 4 on Switch as far as I know, but not sure if those are the only ones.

Also agreed that Pokémon is a good choice as well, and you can play it right on your NA cartridges (3DS and newer) just by starting a new file (on a new Switch profile if you don't want to lose your old file) and choosing Japanese. I think Legends Arceus and anything newer than that usually have kanji with furigana, while for older games you'll have to choose between all hiragana/katakana or kanji without furigana. I bought Pokémon White 2 in French back when I was in French immersion and had a blast seeing Pokémon names in French (although I never finished the game... someday!).
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Harvest Moon kawaii
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Code_Name_Geek wrote: Jul 26, 2023 11:00 am
Harvest Moon kawaii wrote: Jul 25, 2023 11:48 am And, if possible, if you can recommend me games I can import from Japan, preferably for learning Japanese, I'd appreciate it. I'm looking for both physical and digital. I'm able to play games from Nintendo DS/Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, and Steam/PC.
It's not a language teaching game, but for possible imports I've heard Yo-kai Watch has some of the easiest Japanese to read as far as RPGs go. Since you're already familiar with the gameplay and it has some newer Japan-exclusive games that might be a fun one to try! There's an HD port of the first game as well as Yo-kai Watch 4 on Switch as far as I know, but not sure if those are the only ones.

Also agreed that Pokémon is a good choice as well, and you can play it right on your NA cartridges (3DS and newer) just by starting a new file (on a new Switch profile if you don't want to lose your old file) and choosing Japanese. I think Legends Arceus and anything newer than that usually have kanji with furigana, while for older games you'll have to choose between all hiragana/katakana or kanji without furigana. I bought Pokémon White 2 in French back when I was in French immersion and had a blast seeing Pokémon names in French (although I never finished the game... someday!).

Thanks!!! :) I've never imported a game from Japan before. Might have to look into it.
greensara wrote: Jul 25, 2023 6:17 pm I'm not sure of any particular game to recommend since you already have a lot of choices. Regarding using games to help with language learning, I think it is a fun idea. I've already tried it some myself in conjunction with picking some other language tools back up to try to help my brain to get active again, but it's kind of hard since I am so rusty.

One example is replaying Pokemon in Spanish and Japanese. Just started Japanese so it's pretty much impossible to read the majority, but it is nice they have Hiragana and Katakana with the Kanji since I can't read that at all. Spanish was better but I am rustier than I thought, plus I think it's more like Spain's Spanish than the Latin American Spanish I'm more used to. Still fun though. I'd say it would be easier with less word heavy games (looking at Dragon Quest X... someday).

As for games that actually help teach Japanese, outside of apps like Duolingo, I'm not sure. The irony is if you look in the Japanese eShop, there are multiple games that are just for working on learning English! Too bad they don't do reversed releases on those.
Thanks!! Actually some exist on the Nintendo Switch on the American e-shop, but it's for learning Japanese hiragana and katakana only. And, I'm ahead of that. Also, there's some Japanese educational games on Steam, but I already have most of those, and several are wishlisted.

Back in the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS days, there was a ton of Japanese learning games for the Japanese market (mostly kanji learning/practice or dictionaries). Unfortunately, while the DS is region free, the 3DS is region-locked. I know the Switch is region free.

As for apps/websites (free, freemium, etc...) I use Duolingo and Busuu.
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Code_Name_Geek
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Harvest Moon kawaii wrote: Jul 26, 2023 4:39 pm Thanks!!! :) I've never imported a game from Japan before. Might have to look into it.
I believe you can make a Japanese eShop account and buy Japanese games digitally on your own Switch, but you may need to get Japanese eShop cards from Amazon or something. I’ve never done it myself.
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greensara
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Thanks!! Actually some exist on the Nintendo Switch on the American e-shop, but it's for learning Japanese hiragana and katakana only. And, I'm ahead of that.
That's fun, I haven't come across them. The learning English ones looked like more than ABCs, like some comprehension and conversation stuff. That would be fun for learning Japanese in my opinion.

I've one used the Japanese eShop thus far just for demos and freebies, but from what I've read, the easiest way to add funds is buying them from somewhere like Play-Asia, as Amazon Japan will only sell digital products to people with Japan addresses.
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Mikodesu wrote: Jul 04, 2023 7:47 pm As for me playing Lonesome Village...maybe! It looks cute enough, but it would depend entirely on what the story is, how interesting or complex the puzzles are.
Puzzles are very simple. I was hyped for this game because of puzzles :(

The story is ok, but I haven't finished because I got bored with the puzzles. YMMV, but in my opinion this game is too simple in general, it should've been marketed to kids or teens. But it's alright.
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