Ushi No Tane Forum

Innocent Life is awesome! My favorite Harvest Moon game to date. The beginning is a little slow but it speeds up considerably later on. It's the only game in the series to have an actual plot that's any good, it holds a lot more mature themes than other HM games, the farming is really great, lots of crops some can even be harvested multiple times in one day, and lots of pretty places to explore. Very atmospheric with the changing seasons and gentle music. The story's told in both in an explicit manner but also implicit.

Since the game focused on Life's ability to learn how to love humanity in a pure manner, marriage and such would pretty much ruin the whole plot of the game. Besides it was more focused on self discovery and trying to understand all these complicated emotions humans hold so building relationships would be pretty complicated since Life changes quite a bit through the story(though this is all pretty implicit as you can only tell by how people react to him throughout the storyline) And if they tried to generalize and make Life a bland protagonist so they could put in the making friendships and such it would have ruined what made this game unique. Changing dialogue throughout the story, yes. But ones that are dependent on affection... no.

I just really adore the concept though personally. A robot trying to understand the value of life, burdened with the ability to have human emotions but not be quite like them, and through cultivating the earth and the companionship of animals he grows internally. But not without seeing the ugly parts of mankind such as death, the unnatural way they grow crops and raise their animals, and having a responsibility that he didn't bring upon himself to over-come for the sake of the people who do not trust him. It's just... amazing. <3

The story follows a robotic lifeform, which is actually an 'Innocent Life'(Explained in the storyline), whom is left on a large farm to learn and understand love and the meaning of life. As well as tasked with saving the Island from an impending eruption. On his way, he has to speak to many mythical creatures such as spirits, witches, and even a Mermaid(Nothing like Leila, the scary mermaids). Set in a world where human kind has become complacent with leaving machines to do everything for them. Animals are taken care of in glass barns full of machinery and taken care of by robots, crops are also auto-farmed in big machines. Part of the reason the fire spirit threatens to destroy the island. However, it turns out it is a result of an ancient fued that barred off most of the island.

All this is tasked to Life, whom by the interaction of people around him show how he changes and develops. While doing so in this subtly deep world of Heartflame Island traveling across deserts, meadows, into the depths of a volcano, and into an icy grotto Life travels a beautiful land with an atmospheric touch such as cherry blossom leaves wafting across the screen or snow slowly falling. It's a beautiful and enchanting world to explore if you'll open your mind and look past the fact there is no making friends or getting married. This is a game of self discovery, humanity, and the ability to love human kind itself in a pure way.

And of course, no matter how good a story or graphics or atmosphere you need good gameplay right? Well Innocent Life is still ahead of modern day Harvest Moon games when it comes to farming. When you first start out, you only have a few crops, and a few fields. Then it expands, grows. You start using the basket. Then several as you use the rail system to help pick your hundreds of crops. If you find yourself over-burdened with harvesting, you need only grow flowers and herbs which can be collected automatically through a television channel! You can place down moss so that your plants stay watered longer, or leave Forte to do it. Or do it yourself!(Which you should do so until you max your watering can level) You can literally spend all in-game day farming. Where as your lucky to do that in some Harvest Moon games today.

So yes, it's a good game. It's awesome,amazing, wonderful, needs more fans, and I'm a huge Innocent Life fangirl and I've been playing it for the last two days for my second playthrough all day!