• Hey everyone, staff have documented a list of banned content and subject matter that we feel are not consistent with site values, and don't make sense to host discussion of on Famiboards. This list (and the relevant reasoning per item) is viewable here.
  • Do you have audio editing experience and want to help out with the Famiboards Discussion Club Podcast? If so, we're looking for help and would love to have you on the team! Just let us know in the Podcast Thread if you are interested!

StarTopic Harvestella |ST| Oreacle of Seasons

Reader mode
Irene

Irene

Soar long!
Pronouns
She/Her
JAB9lq8.jpg

uKC2Jzv.jpg

hxZ8k7c.jpg

frgfBQS.jpg

hzP5867.jpg

LcpVLZc.jpg

a2MryNp.jpg








Here we go. Did a little different ST for this game, to sort of evoke an early 00's game magazine feel to it. Happy sowing, all!
 
Your ST are always incredible! You put a lot of effort and it looks so great.

Started to play the game last night and can’t wait to play more of it, always a good sign.
 
Fabulous ST!
I'm picking this up sometime next year though, but I'm excited! Hope it does well enough to become a series, it has a lot of potential.
 
0
Great looking ST! I'm looking forward to reading more impressions on the game but I might hold off on it until next year, there's just too much to play right now.
 
0
I'll definitely be waiting for (more) reviews. Not all too happy with how they've handled this.
 
0
Amazing ST! Curious what people think of this one before I decide to jump on it or not.
 
still working on its review.
codes are out, but have been pretty late, so this could be the reason for so few reviews out there.
I gave to DioField Chronicle a 8/10, higher that average score the game got from other outlets (I can't understand why on Metacritic the Switch version has only a 6.8/10, with Xbox version being 7.8/10 honestly) while I think that Harvestella will score lower, on my website

I think the game is very nice, but suffers from some issues.
especially in terms of "QoL" structure: it's not relaxing, but stressing due to the bigger/tougher dungeons, the crops diyng each season, the need to sleep at home to save/rest/keep your progresses and so on
I still need to play it more, before making a definitive judgment but I think DioField did a better job at its own game, or maybe it's just me being more "invested" in strategic rpg than farm sim

Hope this can be useful for people to better understand the game, but let's be realistic: the demo set the general tone/game loop pretty weel so I totally suggest everyone to download it
 
I guess the question for the "dungeons are big and your stamina/time is limited" comes down to how quickly do you open up fast travel points. In the demo there were obvious "this'll be a fast travel point" in the various locations you could access.
 
0
Aostia82 said:
still working on its review.
codes are out, but have been pretty late, so this could be the reason for so few reviews out there.
I gave to DioField Chronicle a 8/10, higher that average score the game got from other outlets (I can't understand why on Metacritic the Switch version has only a 6.8/10, with Xbox version being 7.8/10 honestly) while I think that Harvestella will score lower, on my website

I think the game is very nice, but suffers from some issues.
especially in terms of "QoL" structure: it's not relaxing, but stressing due to the bigger/tougher dungeons, the crops diyng each season, the need to sleep at home to save/rest/keep your progresses and so on
I still need to play it more, before making a definitive judgment but I think DioField did a better job at its own game, or maybe it's just me being more "invested" in strategic rpg than farm sim

Hope this can be useful for people to better understand the game, but let's be realistic: the demo set the general tone/game loop pretty weel so I totally suggest everyone to download it
Click to expand...

Thanks for writing this! Eagerly awaiting all the reviews, and excited to come home and play it over the weekend.
 
0
Lovely ST, interested to hear what people make of this one as I might pick it up at some point down the road. Would also be interested to know how many beefy dudes I have the option of marrying in this one, I think that's something that is extremely important to agriculture.
 
Aostia82 said:
I think the game is very nice, but suffers from some issues.
especially in terms of "QoL" structure: it's not relaxing, but stressing due to the bigger/tougher dungeons, the crops diyng each season, the need to sleep at home to save/rest/keep your progresses and so on
Click to expand...
I don't think this meant to be a "relaxing" game at all. What I played in demo screamed Ys, it felt like Square's attempt to have a traditional action RPG, a Diablo/Ys like but with some farming elements added. Farming feels like an after thought because Harvestella at core is still a pure dungeon crawler. Very old school, traditional but satisfying dungeon crawler.
 
0
Aostia82 said:
still working on its review.
codes are out, but have been pretty late, so this could be the reason for so few reviews out there.
I gave to DioField Chronicle a 8/10, higher that average score the game got from other outlets (I can't understand why on Metacritic the Switch version has only a 6.8/10, with Xbox version being 7.8/10 honestly) while I think that Harvestella will score lower, on my website

I think the game is very nice, but suffers from some issues.
especially in terms of "QoL" structure: it's not relaxing, but stressing due to the bigger/tougher dungeons, the crops diyng each season, the need to sleep at home to save/rest/keep your progresses and so on
I still need to play it more, before making a definitive judgment but I think DioField did a better job at its own game, or maybe it's just me being more "invested" in strategic rpg than farm sim

Hope this can be useful for people to better understand the game, but let's be realistic: the demo set the general tone/game loop pretty weel so I totally suggest everyone to download it
Click to expand...
There aren’t a whole lot of farming RPGs I’ve played where your crops don’t die at the end of the season. Rune Factory has always been the notable exception for this, but only since 3 iirc.
 
Should be getting my copy today, I enjoyed the demo and the updates they mentioned since seem like they'll cover basically the only nitpicks I had. Happy to give it a spin and answer questions people have in here after I do! o/
 
Wonderful ST, Irene

But how the f do you pronounce "Lethe"
 
Absolutely loving what I'm playing so far. I did already hugely enjoy the demo, so no surprises there.

The vibes are just so incredibly cosy. You can spend half of an in-game day just chilling, doing a quest and some fishing and some shopping done, and just take it all in. I keep returning to Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles in my mind. The OST and art direction just reeks of it. And I actually think the "AA quality" of the game works in its favour - the segmented world, the stiff animations, the lack of voice-acting.. they all bring this sort of GameCube feel to it that makes me incredibly nostalgic.

Bear in mind, though, that this is the first farm sim game that I've ever played, so it might just be me going "oh, this is a very cool genre". But I really like the farming and the rhythm to the game loop it brings. Sowing, sleeping, reaping and selling through the box, or cook it.. even watering the crops before bedtime feels so chill.

On the contrary, I actually think combat is the weaker element of the game. The job system, skills and stamina elements works for me, but the execution of combat feels iffy as heck, there's no sound cues or general "oomph" in anything, so it's hard to tell if you've been hit or if you've killed an enemy, leading to a lot of confusion, and the button placements feels super unintuitive. I don't actively dislike it, but it's a part of the game where there's maybe too much lack of polish.

And I do think time moves maybe a little too fast. Some preview mentioned it as an "overbearing parent", and I think that's a somewhat accurate description, there's definitely a little feeling of having to rush things in the areas.

But overall, really into it. Now, let's hope that this feeling lasts for tens of hours..
 
Irene said:
Absolutely loving what I'm playing so far. I did already hugely enjoy the demo, so no surprises there.

The vibes are just so incredibly cosy. You can spend half of an in-game day just chilling, doing a quest and some fishing and some shopping done, and just take it all in. I keep returning to Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles in my mind. The OST and art direction just reeks of it. And I actually think the "AA quality" of the game works in its favour - the segmented world, the stiff animations, the lack of voice-acting.. they all bring this sort of GameCube feel to it that makes me incredibly nostalgic.

Bear in mind, though, that this is the first farm sim game that I've ever played, so it might just be me going "oh, this is a very cool genre". But I really like the farming and the rhythm to the game loop it brings. Sowing, sleeping, reaping and selling through the box, or cook it.. even watering the crops before bedtime feels so chill.

On the contrary, I actually think combat is the weaker element of the game. The job system, skills and stamina elements works for me, but the execution of combat feels iffy as heck, there's no sound cues or general "oomph" in anything, so it's hard to tell if you've been hit or if you've killed an enemy, leading to a lot of confusion, and the button placements feels super unintuitive. I don't actively dislike it, but it's a part of the game where there's maybe too much lack of polish.

And I do think time moves maybe a little too fast. Some preview mentioned it as an "overbearing parent", and I think that's a somewhat accurate description, there's definitely a little feeling of having to rush things in the areas.

But overall, really into it. Now, let's hope that this feeling lasts for tens of hours..
Click to expand...
Fwiw Harvestella has by far the most "complex" combat in any of these farming sims with combat. I get the feeling Harvestella's combat will expand a lot more then say Rune Factory 4 where the most combat evolves is you get a charge attack, a dash attack, and a combo ender with your one button combo.
 
BassForever said:
Fwiw Harvestella has by far the most "complex" combat in any of these farming sims with combat. I get the feeling Harvestella's combat will expand a lot more then say Rune Factory 4 where the most combat evolves is you get a charge attack, a dash attack, and a combo ender with your one button combo.
Click to expand...
I feel like Sakuna has it beat on the combat front but Sakuna is a more unique case in the genre (and even then you could argue that Harvestella has more combat progression with its job system)
 
NabiscoFelt said:
I feel like Sakuna has it beat on the combat front but Sakuna is a more unique case in the genre (and even then you could argue that Harvestella has more combat progression with its job system)
Click to expand...
Sukuna's combat is also a 2d side scrolling perspective so it's going for something very different then what Rune Factory or Harvestella is going for.
 
Interested to see what Fami makes of this one. May have to jump on it over the holidays or something!

Fantastic ST. I felt like I was flipping through Harvestella's manual if it were a PS1 RPG. 💜
 
Irene said:
Did a little different ST for this game, to sort of evoke an early 00's game magazine feel to it.
Click to expand...
Great work on the ST @Irene ! Really like the early magazine spread to give it some extra cozy vibes :)

Irene said:
I keep returning to Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles in my mind.
Click to expand...
That was the impression I got from the TGS presentation with the very clear indication you're going to be returning to the dungeons multiple times over the course of the game. Plus the towns with the crystals as a centerpiece (ok, not that unique to CC since XIV does that too). The game really looks like it may have originated as a Final Fantasy spin-off but they opted to cut it loose to stand on its own.

I'm looking forward to reading more impressions and reviews when they eventually land. Just too many games right now coming out all at once and I feel like I can probably pick this up in a little bit when things slow down a little more.
 
Enjoyed my first couple hours with it so far, pretty nice loop with some intrigue thrown in. Though I will say the game feels a little lower budget than I was expecting, with the fairly static models and animations. But the music, lighting, and art design help cover for that a bit.
 
Put in a few more hours now and the story is really picking up. I find all the characters to be likable, and there's intrigue here for sure. I also really enjoy the sidequests, been doing every one I stumble across, and they're well developed, the character bonding quests as well.

On the other hand, more flaws in combat are starting to open up, I wish there were more strategising going on, and more defence options. For the most part, you rush into a mob, spam special attacks, and hope to finish it without being attacked, and when you are, you're left to just use a healing item. The dungeons can be cool though, they're linear but not too "corridor-y".

I don't mind much - it's serviceable, and I'm here for the lovely vibes, characters and harvesting, (and cooking, which is also opening up) which are all basic but still very satisfying.

bellydrum said:
Wonderful ST, Irene

But how the f do you pronounce "Lethe"
Click to expand...

I emphasise the first "e". So "Leee-the".

And thanks!
 
After having read some impressions, I'm definitely going to wait for a sale with this one. Seems like the general consensus is that it's a solid game, but lackluster in terms of mechanical depth and sheer content compared to the frontrunners in the genre, mostly/namely Stardew and Rune Factory.

I think I'll bite at around 40€ or so. I've still got enough other stuff to get through anyways, but I'm still looking forward to picking Harvestella up eventually!
 
I’ve put around 5-6 hours in and I don’t think comparing it to other farming sims really makes sense.

In something like Rune Factory or Stardew, the dungeon crawling seems to exist to make the farming aspect easier. In Harvestella, the opposite seems to be true, the farming/base building/crafting exists to make the dungeon crawling easier. This might change as the game drags on, but the story/dungeons seem more centered than the farm/life sim aspects.

I think this is why Harvestella is clicking with me more than those other games.
 
Ray00101 said:
I’ve put around 5-6 hours in and I don’t think comparing it to other farming sims really makes sense.

In something like Rune Factory or Stardew, the dungeon crawling seems to exist to make the farming aspect easier. In Harvestella, the opposite seems to be true, the farming/base building/crafting exists to make the dungeon crawling easier. This might change as the game drags on, but the story/dungeons seem more centered than the farm/life sim aspects.

I think this is why Harvestella is clicking with me more than those other games.
Click to expand...
Hm haven't played Stardew but RF 4 at least felt more like the farming existed to make the dungeon crawling easier, or maybe that's just how I played it. But Harvestella does seem to go even further in the dungeon crawling direction

Seeing impressions of this game does kinda make me feel like impulse buying, but I'm still playing Bayo 3 and Pokemon is right around the corner...
 
NabiscoFelt said:
Hm haven't played Stardew but RF 4 at least felt more like the farming existed to make the dungeon crawling easier, or maybe that's just how I played it. But Harvestella does seem to go even further in the dungeon crawling direction

Seeing impressions of this game does kinda make me feel like impulse buying, but I'm still playing Bayo 3 and Pokemon is right around the corner...
Click to expand...
Have you decided yet on where to get it eventually? Steam or Switch? Still torn myself, tbh.
 
Imitatio said:
Have you decided yet on where to get it eventually? Steam or Switch? Still torn myself, tbh.
Click to expand...
Hm Switch has my demo save data and I honestly think the low resolution/blurriness adds something to the visuals for this game for some odd reason. But Steam is cheaper (and should have better performance but that's kinda whatever for me)

Yeah I'm undecided too for now, will probably depend on sales
 
0
Great ST once again @Irene, reading it does take me back to the days of gaming magazines. In fact it was through Nintendo Power that I discovered Harvest Moon (SNES) which became my introduction to the farming sim genre.

Unfortunately since Tactics Ogre and Pokémon are so close I won't be getting this one anytime soon, but keep giving your impressions since it's great reading the insights of a newcomer to the genre.
 
Reviews
  • Index
    • www.nintendolife.com

    Review: Harvestella (Switch) - A Promising Genre Hybrid That Needs Some Watering

    Sowing seeds
    www.nintendolife.com www.nintendolife.com

    www.eurogamer.net

    Harvestella is a deliciously dark blend of farming sim and fantasy RPG

    Harvestella is the latest take on the marriage of the farming simulator and fantasy RPG genres. Developed by Live Wire …
    www.eurogamer.net www.eurogamer.net

    www.pockettactics.com

    Harvestella review – time travel, tears, and turnips

    Flawed but beautiful, Harvestella offers an enticing blend of action, JRPG, and farming sim, with a grand, overarching plot studded with mysteries
    www.pockettactics.com www.pockettactics.com

    www.rockpapershotgun.com

    Harvestella review: a traditional JRPG with a farming twist

    Harvestella is an engrossing JRPG that uses the framing of a life sim to ground its twisty and overblown story.
    www.rockpapershotgun.com www.rockpapershotgun.com

    www.destructoid.com

    Review: Harvestella

    Harvestella Review: Square Enix tries its hand at the farm sim/RPG genre with some surprisingly good results.
    www.destructoid.com www.destructoid.com




    Adding as they pop up.
     
    Last edited:
  • Index
    • Started this a couple of days ago and been working my way through the first season. Very much enjoying it so far. I echo comments here in how it subverts the usual farming sim by making the farming crucial to you saving the world, and not the other way around. It feels like a more grounded Xenoblade in some ways where you're doing your farming and maintenance before going out on quests. It's certainly a lot more RPG than the trailers would have you believe.

    But overall the farming and crafting gameplay loop is great fun, and there's lots of neat systems to keep you engaged. Combat does seem simplistic for now, despite the varying job systems on display, and the story is a bit simple, but crawling dungeons looking for new materials is great, even if there aren't enough hours in the day.

    A solid recommendation for RPG fans from me for now. Will keep playing.
     
    Irene said:
    But overall, really into it. Now, let's hope that this feeling lasts for tens of hours..
    Click to expand...

    It sure does!

    The game doesn't have a timer, and Switch has this 7 day limit thing, but I think I'm a bit over 20 hours now (Chapter 5 just started) and dang, the game just has me hooked, still. Story is really engrossing, characters are great, and the farming elements are just so addicting to me.

    I adore the sidequests here, and the way they build upon themselves to create continuous character stories. This is doubly true for the character specific bonding quests, I have almost maxed out both Cres and Istina, and Istina especially has a really moving questline. That being said, the story can at times get a sense of urgency, so settling down with sidequests at that point feels a bit immersion-breaking.

    My critique regarding combat and certain other elements remains, so it's still a game with flaws, but I really, really enjoy it.

    shoptroll said:
    Not sure if Eurogamer is working on a proper review but their Guides Editor had some nice things to say in a feature that went up today:

    www.eurogamer.net

    Harvestella is a deliciously dark blend of farming sim and fantasy RPG

    Harvestella is the latest take on the marriage of the farming simulator and fantasy RPG genres. Developed by Live Wire …
    www.eurogamer.net www.eurogamer.net
    Click to expand...

    I think they'll settle for that feature, they usually do so with smaller-ish games. But who knows!
     
    0
    Is there any pressure to complete dungeons before a certain season or X days as in a Persona game? Or do the farming sim and dungeon crawling elements exist independently of each other in this regard?
     
    shoptroll said:
    Is there any pressure to complete dungeons before a certain season or X days as in a Persona game? Or do the farming sim and dungeon crawling elements exist independently of each other in this regard?
    Click to expand...

    Not at all, I was well into Summer before tackling dungeon 3.
     
    Irene said:
    Not at all, I was well into Summer before tackling dungeon 3.
    Click to expand...
    Sweet. I still need to play the demo but I’ll definitely be picking this up since it really sounds like they didn’t swing for the fences on this but I would love to see what a sequel looks like.
     
    Bought this yesterday, it runs really well on my Steam Deck. I just finished day 7, still exploring the first area. The visuals and character portraits are gorgeous, and I love the music.
     
    shoptroll said:
    Another review!

    www.rockpapershotgun.com

    Harvestella review: a traditional JRPG with a farming twist

    Harvestella is an engrossing JRPG that uses the framing of a life sim to ground its twisty and overblown story.
    www.rockpapershotgun.com www.rockpapershotgun.com

    Seeing PC sites covering JRPGs is still weird to me
    Click to expand...
    It's just been exponential growth for nearly a decade now. I could be misremembering but I think Dark Souls coming to Steam was kind of a watershed moment, coupled with the fact that so much of the Japanese industry has shifted to Unreal 4 which makes it easy to publish games to many platforms. Capcom recently confirmed that PC makes up half of their revenue.
     
    Belinda Blumenthal said:
    It's just been exponential growth for nearly a decade now. I could be misremembering but I think Dark Souls coming to Steam was kind of a watershed moment, coupled with the fact that so much of the Japanese industry has shifted to Unreal 4 which makes it easy to publish games to many platforms.
    Click to expand...
    Oh yea, I remember when RPS started leaning heavier into RPG games because there was a resurgance of dungeon crawlers and CRPGs coming out of the indie space and it clicked for me that stuff like SMT/Persona would do very well on the platform because JRPGs have always been closer to Wizardry than trying to recreate the tabletop experience like BioWare. And well, I'm glad that realization was spot on.
     
    If someone can answer without spoiling too much, how many seasons / years are there? I’m still in Spring, year 1. And wondering if the game will just suddenly end after X years 😅
     
    Belinda Blumenthal said:
    If someone can answer without spoiling too much, how many seasons / years are there? I’m still in Spring, year 1. And wondering if the game will just suddenly end after X years 😅
    Click to expand...

    Don’t know how many years. I suppose there are more than one? There are 4 seasons at least. (Excluding quietus, which only lasts for 1 day)
     
    I'm around 35 hours in, just about to finish my first summer, and I have to say I'm enjoying the game way more than I was expecting? I was expecting to have a pretty good time but not a ton past that, and I'm actually having a great time and it's definitely going to be a contender for my personal GOTY.

    The gameplay loop works really well and I personally prefer it to Rune Factory's, and the writing is grabbing me way more than I was expecting it to. I got out of the demo thinking that it was neat and I was kind of curious to see where it's going, but by now I'm genuinely invested and the sidequest writing especially has made me tear up a couple times just from how heartfelt the writing is. Also I'm getting to throw out some super wild lore theories with friends, which is always a bonus.

    I only just finished chapter 3, so I assume this will probably come up in the main story at some point (no one confirm or deny please), but I'm reading the implication that 1) Aria is from the past and not the future, which has been hinted at for a while and 2) We're on the real-life moon after there was an apocalypse on earth a couple centuries ago.

    Which if true is an absolutely amazing direction for this game to go.

    Also the music and visual design are absolutely fantastic.
     
    Reader mode
    You must log in or register to reply here.


    Back
    Top Bottom