If you consider buying the game because you loved the old Harvest Moon-games (for Game Boy and 64, etc.), there might be worth considering that this IS a different game. For example: - The map is a huge so you will spend a lot of time just running around from place to place. To compensate for this I believe the days last longer than in HM, but that means you need to have a lot of time on your hands to get any progress in the game. - There is a LOT of resources (especially minerals) that you need to improve your farming (new buildings, getting animals, upgrade tools, etc.) - To get minerals you need to work in the local mine, located far away from your farm (resulting in a lot of time just walking around) - In the mines you will face monsters that you need to fight (making the game also an adventure game where you fight monsters). So to get animals you essentially have to spend lots of time killing monsters. - When you eventually got some materials, you need to process them. Some is processed at the blacksmith (also far away from home), and some is processed by stuff you craft yourself at your farm (demanding even more peculiar kinds of recourses you need to gather. - In theory you can buy most if not all the recourses you need, but it is too expensive to be a viable solution to fully rely on if you want reasonable progress any time soon. Also there are so many options in the stores that it can be quite overwhelming. I will give credit for adding more farming options (honey, fruit trees, etc.), and improving fishing a lot. However I personally wished they leaved the mining and fighting only as an option, not as something one almost is required to do. Also the esthetic side of the game is important to me. And even though the esthetics is not bad, I feel like some of the rustic, quaint charm is lost by several features. However the game is obviously good on its own terms, and all critique I put forward is clearly a matter of taste.
