Harvestella

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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K8sMum
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I pushed it and did pass out once. Dr Ness took 150 whatever the monetary system is. I'm also finding that I'm more efficient time wise on my 2nd file, but I always am. My muscle memory from whatever game I was last playing doesn't like to let go.

It would be nice if they tweeked it so that time lost on the over world was halved.
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Mikodesu
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Holding down a button to water even mimics a watering can, imo. Lower it, move, raise it. (I've only ever used trigger sprayers for pesticides or fertilizers, personally. Very, very small time gardener. Flowers and herbs, mostly.) It's just getting used to things (hold the button here, click twice here, don't forget to swap tools--hold down the button first). The worst bit is wasting limited time, honestly.

Couple things...

- I planted/watered a few things at 6pm to see if I could water them in the morning after another cutscene, and I could. So a 24-hour wait period is probably a glitch.
- I stayed out past midnight, and didn't get knocked out or forced home. There was just a warning from the game that it was now "early morning". (There was even a "you're getting tired" warning, which I ignored and ran to unlock the next shortcut.) I warped home, and was still able to get up at 7am the next day.

So however getting knocked out works, I don't get it. Unlocking fast travel was the last story thing I did, and...I don't think I like how late they introduce that. I was really starting to think you'd only be able to save your game by sleeping. (Uh. Is fast travel only used 'per area'? So you'd still have to do the long overworld walk...?)

I forgot to mention this. I noticed there are 'levels' in the main area of the farm map. NO idea what that means either, because they vanish when you go through a loading screen that's still inside the farm. ???
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K8sMum
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Yea, I mispoke. I was killed, not out past midnight. And the doctor's name is Cres. Sorry.

You get the return bell quite early, along with being able to craft them.

EDIT: On further play I did pass out after being told I was sleepy BUT I forgot to eat, which is important for regaining stamina. I'm not used to having to feed my character regularly.
Last edited by K8sMum on Sep 17, 2022 4:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Mikodesu
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I'm sorry, I should have realized. Didn't quite click with what you said about the doctor, but I realize now that I got myself killed in my last little bit with the game. :? The game auto saving right after you die is a bit cheap, though.

Also, you do get the return bell early, but there's a system that lets you warp/teleport around the area you're in later. It doesn't seem to eliminate overworld walking, though. I think for the developers the important bit is unlocking shortcuts to make the journey around areas a bit easier.

--
Aaand demo done. The combat system has a lot more complexity to it than I thought it would. There's quite a few classes to unlock, too. Story stayed pretty consistent throughout. Not great writing, but there's enough there to keep me interested.

Mild gameplay spoiler?
Spoiler:
After the first (real) boss, you see this screen that shows a bunch (10 iirc) of gems (one of them filled in now) that they're calling "closeness levels" with Aria. And by leveling that up, you get permanent stat buffs. I'm imagining there'll be other characters with "closeness" to level up as you play. Probably more people in town than your party members, but. Makes me curious.
I'd still say my biggest issue is the price. I didn't play Rune Factory 5, so I'm really itching for a good farm sim, and this is good enough to make me curious. If there's a preorder/buy in early sale I might be weak enough, depending on what else is out then.
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K8sMum
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You only seem to be able to warp within worlds, which is a pain. I'm trying saving at the warp points to see if that overrides the auto save.

I still can't figure how to dash! It's making me feel like an idiot, heheh.
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Mikodesu
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Dash took some figuring out for me... (Very late in the demo it becomes helpful--I pushed buttons, and I think I understand it.)

It's a combat ability, and I'm fairly certain it's the first one you unlock from the Jobs menu. So to use it, you have to be in combat, and using the sword. I BELIEVE the button for it is the left trigger button. I'd say save, find some enemies and push some side buttons. You'll find it! :)
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K8sMum
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I saw a post on Reddit stating the the time issue is going to be tweaked before final release.
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Shan O 123
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K8sMum wrote: Sep 19, 2022 7:10 pm I saw a post on Reddit stating the the time issue is going to be tweaked before final release.
Oh good. Then maybe I’ll buy it. That was the only thing that was holding me back
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Kikki
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K8sMum wrote: Sep 19, 2022 7:10 pm I saw a post on Reddit stating the the time issue is going to be tweaked before final release.
This would probably be a big help. The story is interesting, the world is pretty, and the music is nice. The problem is that while playing it, I feel stressed and frustrated. Changing the time progression system a bit might solve that.
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Mikodesu
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Thanks for sharing about that Reddit post! :) I love when we get stuff like this out of demos. I get what the devs were going for (with relation to the clock speed), but if they realize they were a little heavy handed and walk it back a bit, great.
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JayDucky03
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I was a bit disappointed by this. I was expecting it to be like a more mature Fantasy Life. Especially when I heard it had jobs, but from what I saw of Josh's video it's just not for me. :(
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K8sMum
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I finished the 2 chapters and I really, really love this game! I've pre ordered it from the e shop. It's taken a couple play throughs to feel comfortable with all the controls, but even the time element no longer stresses me out.

If anyone is interested, a couple of things I've learned:

1. Get the bigger bag as soon as you can. I know that's a bit of a no brainer, but you really do need the space.
2. Build the kitchen asap. I got it done on day 9. It makes all the difference, especially in boss battles. Free cooking supplies are plentiful.
3. A couple of the houses in the village have chests in them.
4. Remember to eat, even berries, regularly. Also remember to utilize the job points.

I even got a coop built and bought 1 whatever-they-call-it chicken.
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Harvest Moon kawaii
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Just sharing some of my (very early) impressions of the game as I still haven't finished the Harvestella demo. I don't think I like it very much. Maybe because I'm already playing a farming sim game (Doraemon Story of Seasons; the first one), I just felt like this one didn't grab my attention/isn't very fun. I think I like straight-up/normal farming sims (and Rune Factory) a lot more than this game. I also feel like not enough of the story (of what I've played) is explained, and that time also moves way too fast in this game.

I haven't played much of this demo, because it wasn't fun to me.
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Mabbie
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I'm a bit disappointed to read this thread. I don't know about the price in dollars, but it's really expensive in our currency, so I had high expectations about this game. It doesn't seem to be worthy at all..
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Kikki
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Mabbie wrote: Oct 06, 2022 7:20 amI'm a bit disappointed to read this thread. I don't know about the price in dollars, but it's really expensive in our currency, so I had high expectations about this game. It doesn't seem to be worthy at all..

That really depends on what you were going into it for. If you want a farming game, with the full farming-life experience, including relationships and family-raising, yeah, I'd say this is a pretty big disappointment. If you want a JRPG that happens to have a few farming mechanics on the side, then it's pretty cool. Especially if they do adjust time passage a little to reduce the feeling of being too rushed by time limits to enjoy the parts of the game you want to get more into.

Maybe the full game will be different, but from experiencing the demo, I currently feel that it was misleading to have initially presented Harvestella as a farming game, and I don't think its name should be Harvestella at all. It's a story-driven JRPG with some farming mechanics for making money and food, but it's not a farming-life sim. Well...at least that's how it is in the demo. It's possible that farming becomes more central later in the game.

I think they've done themselves a disservice, marketing the game this way. Farming-sim fans are probably going to be disappointed, and JRPG fans are probably going to overlook the game entirely. It's a cool idea but it feels like they don't know what market they're appealing to. Or maybe *I* just can't tell what market they're aiming for.

The characters were pretty interesting and the graphics are lovely, and I personally loved the farming mechanics and had some hope for further farm development judging by the many layers your farm map has (that you can't do anything with in the demo.) I'm still considering this an option, though I'd like to hear what they're going to do with demo feedback.
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