Ushi No Tane Forum

I liked the game play and features, and I could get past how choppy it was. There was one thing I couldn't get past though...

HOW FREAKING LONG IT IS

I would waste an entire day playing the game, I and would be past a week in the game, MAYBE. I just couldn't take how long it took time to pass in the game. I was so excited for the game, and I never made it past year 1. The characters were also kind of bland

I don't recall feeling any resentment when I first got it, however, looking back I can't imagine how I got as far as I did when the game had SO MANY flaws.

So, yes, I am disappointed in-

-The characters
They were awful, and they weren't oustanding in ToT to begin with

-The farming
Isn't this supposed to be the focus of the game? It really feels more like an afterthought in this case. Also, only three animals? I'm sorry but I'm still trying to figure out their motivation to put something like that in a game.

-The economy
How high the prices were and how easy it was to make a seemingly large amount of money until you look at how expensive everything was just... awkward, it made very little sense

-The framerate
How is it that games on the PS2, GC, GBA, and DS have no loading screens (except AWL:SE), and no framerate problems, and yet the games that are most recent are so choppy?

-The mining system
*twitch*

-The time
Good « Harvest Goddess » the time ... how bout we just eliminate the middle man and you just put the gun in my hand so I can shoot myself, eh Marvelous?

white66 wrote: -The framerate
How is it that games on the PS2, GC, GBA, and DS have no loading screens (except AWL:SE), and no framerate problems, and yet the games that are most recent are so choppy?

Not trying to play devil's advocate or anything (I love the Wii games but everyone's entitled to their opinion), but cartridge games like DS and GBA generally have no loading times by nature. Everything comes directly from the cart, for some reason carts read at a much higher speed than discs (though it doesn't mean there can't be lag-- I remember in RF2 I slowed down considerably on the dock area during festivals etc). Disc games all have loading times. The compression on AWL/MM was probably better and the maps weren't nearly as complex or vast, I'm guessing. I know everyone talks about AWL's gorgeous environments but the textures etc. were all really simple, I think most of the fancy effects people mention were achieved through lighting.

I remember having to wait a bit for MM actually-- I haven't played it in a while, though the loading time then was maybe 2 or so seconds compared to AP's 3-6 or ToT's 5-10 >.> It's something that is fixable, but takes work. I'm guessing the dev team didn't have it high on their priority list. They must have worked on it a little for AP though, since they had higher resolution textures and models and even though there were loading times, they weren't as long as ToT's. It's been a while since I last played but I think some of the more massive maps might have loaded progressively, leading to small bumps of choppiness now and then (I only really noticed it in the beginning, when it showed the large pan-out scenes). It doesn't LOOK as pretty, but as a whole it prevents lag. I'll take choppiness over lag.

Nurse Fin wrote:

white66 wrote: -The framerate
How is it that games on the PS2, GC, GBA, and DS have no loading screens (except AWL:SE), and no framerate problems, and yet the games that are most recent are so choppy?

Not trying to play devil's advocate or anything (I love the Wii games but everyone's entitled to their opinion), but cartridge games like DS and GBA generally have no loading times by nature. Everything comes directly from the cart, for some reason carts read at a much higher speed than discs (though it doesn't mean there can't be lag-- I remember in RF2 I slowed down considerably on the dock area during festivals etc). Disc games all have loading times. The compression on AWL/MM was probably better and the maps weren't nearly as complex or vast, I'm guessing. I know everyone talks about AWL's gorgeous environments but the textures etc. were all really simple, I think most of the fancy effects people mention were achieved through lighting.

I remember having to wait a bit for MM actually-- I haven't played it in a while, though the loading time then was maybe 2 or so seconds compared to AP's 3-6 or ToT's 5-10 >.> It's something that is fixable, but takes work. I'm guessing the dev team didn't have it high on their priority list. They must have worked on it a little for AP though, since they had higher resolution textures and models and even though there were loading times, they weren't as long as ToT's. It's been a while since I last played but I think some of the more massive maps might have loaded progressively, leading to small bumps of choppiness now and then (I only really noticed it in the beginning, when it showed the large pan-out scenes). It doesn't LOOK as pretty, but as a whole it prevents lag. I'll take choppiness over lag.

I was a little unsure about including the DS games, thanks for clearing that up
And I suppose the map size would contribute to the problem as well, however the loading time is still ludicrous

white66 wrote:I don't recall feeling any resentment when I first got it, however, looking back I can't imagine how I got as far as I did when the game had SO MANY flaws.

okay, you have your oppinions. here's mine.

-The characters
They were awful, and they weren't oustanding in ToT to begin with

i actually like the characters. they're very different from your standard fare in most cases (with kathy being like karen and eve combined)

-The farming
Isn't this supposed to be the focus of the game? It really feels more like an afterthought in this case. Also, only three animals? I'm sorry but I'm still trying to figure out their motivation to put something like that in a game.

LOL! you didn't play very far, did you? with a max level watering can and all 3 fields, you can water 450 crops in 2 in game hours, if that long! and they can make you a #$%! load! also, 3 animals? okay, you didn't play very far at all. the barn can be expanded to hold 8, which was the same amount you can have in AWL.

-The economy
How high the prices were and how easy it was to make a seemingly large amount of money until you look at how expensive everything was just... awkward, it made very little sense

first off, the way you typed that is confusing. second, the economy is about the same in BTN, which by the way, is considered one of the best HM games of all.

-The framerate
How is it that games on the PS2, GC, GBA, and DS have no loading screens (except AWL:SE), and no framerate problems, and yet the games that are most recent are so choppy?

okay, now i'm beginning to wonder if you're even being serious here. unless you're being specific to just HM games, tons of ps2 and gc games have loading screens. also, no framerate problems? did ya even PLAY AWL:SE!? game's a $%^&in' lag bomb!

-The mining system
*twitch*

ok, i do agree with you there. it stinks. big time.

-The time
Good « Harvest Goddess » the time ... how bout we just eliminate the middle man and you just put the gun in my hand so I can shoot myself, eh Marvelous?

aHEM. sir, allow me to remind you that some of us actually LIKE the extended time. besides, the time passes at the same EXACT speed in AWL. the only difference is that in this game, time stops while you're doing ANYTHING but walking or riding a horse, and also stops indoors.

^
You didn't really need to be so rude about it. White was just saying their opinion, which is what the topic asked for. Plus as for the time, while time passes the same amount of time in AWL as in AP, AWL only had 10 days in a season, where as AP has 30. This is why many people didn't like how long it took

Well, actually there are 28 days per season.

pshycho is right, though. Everyone is allowed to state their opinion. However, if I am being honest, I don't even like to read half of the threads to do with certain topics because there is so much negativity. I don't mean opinions either. I sometimes think people like to start arguments. Also, this is like the fourth thread with people discussing AP and saying the exact same things.

^ When white talked about only having 3 animals, he meant you could only have 3 types of animals. Yes, you can carry up to 8, but you couldn't have every type of animal, only 3 types. To me that is a big no no, especially considering this is a farming game, it was an unnecessary feature, we should be able to carry every type of animal like we did in every other HM besides this one.

We can have our own opinions, and yes, in my opinion the farming was a mess. The fact that you could fertilize as much as you want and end up with a bunch of decent crops really got on my nerves. I dreaded doing the farming in this game because it was boring, I couldn't play long enough to get all the upgrades cause the game was painful. If I dread doing the farm chores in a farming game, then to me and in my own opinion, their is a problem.

Oddly enough I like this game more than I thought I would. From what I've read the game can get tedious, and these opinion threads did help me figure out what to expect from this game. Initially I didn't play because I didn't like the art style, but... everything's kinda grows on you.

The characters don't seem much better than the most recent DS HMs, which is disappointing but also kind of expected. More features sometimes means less character development. It's nice to see a lot of villagers and they all flow pretty cohesively together. I do like the family system, it's much more advanced than previous games.

Farming is... interesting. I'm happy they moved away from a weather/watering system like IoH and SS, but yea, the fertilizing/rating thing doesn't make sense. At least I don't have to deal with freshness on top of that ^^;; The three types of animals only thing IS really obnoxious, but I only want to use 3 of the animals anyway so I can kind of understand what they were after. I like the pet system (soooo cute)!

As said, the economy seems pretty normal compared to the other games. I like how the seeds vary in price and the prices seem reasonable. You also have more control over when to unlock things (ie you don't have to wait a year for certain crops to unlock). Also, the plot with the bells seems to go pretty quickly, which means after I unlock everything I can focus on farming and generally overtaking the market XD

Ehhhh... load times x.x I mean, compared to AWL this isn't that bad, especially considering all the features you get WITH the stupid frame rate. I actually don't mind the graphics or the sound - this is one of the most relaxing HM games I've played, and it's a really nice change of pace :D

But yea... mining... SUCKS. And refining sucks. All of that mining business just... ARGH.

Anonymous Me wrote:Well, actually there are 28 days per season.

I knew it was something like that. Thanks for correcting me though

I take it that I'm the only one who thinks the ToT/AP cast is one of the best developed casts in recent memory?

While I appreciate the longer timespan, I do feel making the world unnecessarily large was a considerable setback when they could have grouped the living areas better.

And now, going off track in defending/going against AP...

I must say that I'm pleasantly surprised with Kathy in these games. I thought I was ultimately going to merely friendzone her without a second thought upon playing the girls, thinking she'd have a FoMT Karen-esque personality, but she's really quite the sweetheart. She gave Anissa and Phoebe a run for their money in both games, and even though I ultimately rejected her twice, I still acknowledge her down-to-earth appeal. I would say she and Odette from ToD are on the same level, though Odette is far more easily stressed out. XD

Anyway, in my eyes, Animal Parade didn't fail in retaining Kathy's appeal to me. I felt they cut down on Gill's snobbishness, Luna's hilarious bluntness, and Selena's overbearing self-importance, but I thought Kathy, Phoebe, Anissa, Candice, along with a bunch of others, survived the transfer process nicely. In fact, I felt those that weren't cut down had their character expanded quite a bit with some of the friend events. (See Candice, Phoebe, and Anissa's "Love Advice Events" and you might come to respect them if you don't instead view them as spineless. )

But yes, I'm a guy saying that Animal Parade is among my favorites in the series up there with Magical Melody, which I also acknowledge to have a dubious position amongst the fandom. (Yes, I understand I can't really win here)

But I'll say this:

If you enjoy a more straightforward experience that you can play at a quicker pace, or are a complete HM Newbie, I would suggest Tree of Tranquility.

If you'll marvel at an expanded world, enjoy a better use of plot integration with the gameplay, appreciate more features that would otherwise be derided as "gimmicks", and are a relatively patient gamer, then I would suggest Animal Parade.

But it wouldn't hurt to play both to get a feel of your preferences.

Dragoonwing wrote:The framerate can go die along with the rest of the game. Seriously, there's no excuse for framerates that choppy and loading times that frequent.

Hey I've seen videos of Tree of Tranquility on youtube and The loading times are as frequent on ToT too! Atleast the loading times in Animal Parade don't take as long!

pineapplelvr wrote:

Dragoonwing wrote:The framerate can go die along with the rest of the game. Seriously, there's no excuse for framerates that choppy and loading times that frequent.

Hey I've seen videos of Tree of Tranquility on youtube and The loading times are as frequent on ToT too! Atleast the loading times in Animal Parade don't take as long!

But once you consider the time it takes to get around, it's probably just as long/bad as ToT
Either way it's extremely annoying and unnecessary

I don't see how the games graphics makes the plot in general any less enjoyable to play through.. I agree it's choppy and there's lots of glitches but it is still a great game in general.

Chicken Yuki wrote: I must say that I'm pleasantly surprised with Kathy in these games. I thought I was ultimately going to merely friendzone her without a second thought upon playing the girls, thinking she'd have a FoMT Karen-esque personality, but she's really quite the sweetheart. She gave Anissa and Phoebe a run for their money in both games, and even though I ultimately rejected her twice, I still acknowledge her down-to-earth appeal. I would say she and Odette from ToD are on the same level, though Odette is far more easily stressed out. XD

I retract my statement about the characters/cast and must now admit I agree with you. The cast is actually well developed - I just hadn't spent much time with them. My impression of Kathy was similar to yours but after talking to her every day and such she's actually jumped to the front runners of who I will pursue. Anissa and Renee are also top choices for me haha.

It's nice to see the cast react more to everything around them - they are down when the town seems almost lost, and they actually TRY to help you with the bells (except Chloe because she's a brat). After playing this game a bit longer I can definitely see it's appeal. It's actually gotten to the point where I play this more than RF ToD... o.O;;