This game has some of my favorite writing in a JRPG in years. It is wholesome, emotional, and beautiful. Even the side quests will get me to cry from time to time. This game is a master at story telling and defies is presentation as a farming sim game, cause it is an RPG first and foremost.
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this so much! I only spent like half an hour in the demo and may have set it down too early. I think I was initially put off by the time limit (which I think they may have changed in the actual release) & how slow moving the demo's intro was. But I should probably give it another shot 😅
I never played the demo, unfortunately, so I can't speak to that, but I'll say that things really pick up and the gameplay loop sort of "normalizes" by Chapter 3, which is only a few hours into things. One thing I like is how the dungeons are made to not be solvable in a single game day -- as you go, you find and unlock shortcuts so that when you return another day, you can make further progress without taking as much time.
Awesome review ! I had some difficulties myself when playing the demo. Nevertheless I went for the game on black friday and started all over again. I have no regret buying it because after the slow beginning, it becomes a lot of fun ! Happy to have it in my collection !
I am in your same boat as someone who could never get into farming sims, but I always feel left out when my friends talk about Stardew Valley or Rune Factory. Might actually try this one out... love the visuals, and the promise of a story makes me think I might like it. Thanks for the great review as always
I’m just over 20 game days in and *EARLY GAME SPOILER* The orphanage story just completely sold me. I love the heart and character of this game so much.
Really digging the scenery. I might pick this one up. I am going to platinum Ragnarok and I think I got live a live as a present. So hopefully along with some other indie games and 3d platformers I can squeeze it in. I recommend Ender Lillie’s if you like metroidvania. Great art and atmosphere, good story, and gameplay.
@@JustTheGems I really appreciate your video. So many reviews seemed overly critical to me and felt like they were made by people who either didn't appreciate farming sims or action rpgs. And I was like, why did you play this game? 😆
I tried the demo, but couldn't get into it. Maybe I'll give it another shot. I really need to branch out with my games and your channel always give me ideas which I appreciate. I just started playing Final Fantasy 12 for like the 5th time but I plan to play Trails in the Sky next if I can get my hands on it.
Heartily recommend Trails in the Sky if you’re even considering it. I haven’t played the demo of Harvestella myself, so I’m not sure what vertical slice of the game it covers (maybe it’s just the beginning?) but I found that my enjoyment grew the longer I played.
All I take from this review is that you're a square fan. I wish you talked a bit more in depth about combat and farming tbh. Glad you're enjoying it tho.
@@JustTheGems The aesthetics are great! Totally agree. And it's tricky to talk too much about the story without entering spoiler territory. So I get you. Pretty unique game! Enjoy!
Clearly I need to play the demo! Your review really has piqued my interest SO I have a few questions... 1. Are there difficulty settings? I may be a veteran...but I am a veteran n00b... 2. How much crafting/farming is there? I ask because I don't like farm sims but I love JRPGs...if that isn't a huge part of the game then I may be into it.
1. There aren’t difficulty settings. I’m trying to think of a game with comparable difficulty… It’s definitely not a super skillful game like Nier Automata or anything like that. (There was one boss that gave me a whuppin’, but that’s okay, I think I deserved it 😅). So it’s not “easy” per se, but it’s also not “mean,” if that makes sense. 2. Farming is fairly important, but in terms of raw time spent doing that versus the other JRPG stuff (fighting/dungeons/side quests/etc.), I’d say farming is less than 10% of the experience. Each new “game day,” I spend about five minutes doing all my “chores” for the day, and it feels good having done it because you know you’re gonna be getting money from it.
just bought it at 30 euros on a sale... to convince me was not just ur review but I tried the demo and the music in the opening scene reminded me of the Dead Can Dance quite heavily therefore I said f*** it let's get it... I cannot just keep reading visual novels after all.. let's try my first farm sim... uhm... I dunno... uhm... hey I also bought norn9 and neptunia sisters.. I still have mato anomalies to finish... so if things don't click with farming - the only part of farming I like is eating let's be honest - I have a b plan ;)
As a fellow Chicagoan, I hear you on the seasons! I would love to know if you've played Okami yet. I played the PS2 version and it is one of my all time favorite games.
Despite many negative reviews of Harvestella, I finally bought it when it was on sale, and I must say that I didn't regret it. I think it's a wonderful game, and contrary to many rather negative opinions about it, I don't find it shallow at all. While it does have some kind of "time limit" in respect to the fact that you've got to get your daily stuff done before night falls and you also have to watch your stamina, because once you keel over from exhaustion, Cres' doctor fees, which increase each time you need treatment, will burn a hole in your wallet really fast. (Did I mention that the game at times is frighteningly realistic?) Yet, in spite of this, the game never puts you under any kind of real pressure, since you can decide when to do your chores or when to go on which quest or when to continue a quest or side quest. So if you don't have too much time left on the current day, you can hit the hay and procrastinate as you wish, which makes it a very laid back experience. Most of the characters are quite endearing, and while the general atmosphere is harmonious, it occasionally touches on some very serious issues and difficult moral dilemmata. Speaking of atmosphere, I think this is where the game really shines, and this is mainly due to the phenomenal soundtrack, which even changes according to the situation. There's even different music depending on the situation. In funny moments there is a rather comical, uplifting melody, in dangerous situations or sad settings the music is different again. One can clearly sense that Square put a lot of thought into this game. At least to me it doesn't seem as if they just hurriedly put together some run-of-the-mill rpg components to make a few quick bucks. However, there is one huge "but" (no pun intended) concerning Harvestella, a trait that, for me at least, almost ruined the whole experience. I'm talking about the faulty use of pronouns in the game. Now I'm not even talking about the option to play as a "non-binary" character per se, but rather about the problems that occur because the game persistently uses "they/them" as a pronoun for persons in the singular form so as not to hurt the feelings of a certain minority. This is not just grammatically wrong (and yes, in the real world it is wrong, and for good reasons), it also gets very tedious and confusing, for instance when one of the characters talks about one person in a group of people. You just don't know whether the character is talking about one person or the whole group/town. If you're lucky, you can derive it from the context, but it's not always clear. More often than not, this drives a wedge into the flow of the story and thus makes the game as a whole less enjoyable than it could have been. Now this could easily have been avoided, if they (yes, I mean the good people at Square Enix, not just one of them) had limited the use of this supposedly gender-neutral "they" to the choice of the non-binary character. That way everyone who feels like a unicorn, a washing machine or a toaster could have indulged their gender-neutrality, or rather gender-confusion, while the rest of us poor "normal" saps who choose either the male or female character could have had a far less confusing and more enjoyable experience. However, the way they handled it, everyone who doesn't feel non-binary is also forced to put up with the ensuing linguistic mess. That, in consequence, leads to the question why they included a non-binary character, when the choice you make changes nothing at all. Even the character models are pretty much the same for male, female and "non-binary". So please, Square Enix, get your act together. Maybe it's not such a good idea after all, to try to accommodate a miniscule minority at the expense of the majority, who are still paying the largest part of your salaries. Again, the game in its entirety is great, but for the future, try not to screw it up by jumping on some ideological bandwagon, especially when said bandwagon is destined to derail.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Honestly, Japanese media that's been translated has used the singular they/them for decades, it used to get on my nerves when I was younger but I think I've just gotten used to it. It could be that it's more noticeable to people now because it's become a hot topic for discussion, but one thing Japanese writers love to do is make gender obscurity in conversation something that they can "reveal" later on. Like "oh! I wasn't expecting them to be referring to a woman! How surprising!" 😅 Which, yeah... never really surprised me.
Honestly as a queer person myself, I appreciate the non-binary option. It is harmless and easy enough to code when there is no voice acting so they could add it with maybe a day of work and satisfy the demographic that play cozy farm games anyway. I agree with the rest of the review, but I feel that this one gripe is honestly minor enough to not be as big of a deal as you make it. Grammar aside the use of they/them is understandable when you are used to the pronouns in the first place. Sorry you were not happy with the entirely optional feature but it made some people happy and isn't that what matters?
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
This game has some of my favorite writing in a JRPG in years. It is wholesome, emotional, and beautiful. Even the side quests will get me to cry from time to time. This game is a master at story telling and defies is presentation as a farming sim game, cause it is an RPG first and foremost.
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this so much! I only spent like half an hour in the demo and may have set it down too early. I think I was initially put off by the time limit (which I think they may have changed in the actual release) & how slow moving the demo's intro was. But I should probably give it another shot 😅
I never played the demo, unfortunately, so I can't speak to that, but I'll say that things really pick up and the gameplay loop sort of "normalizes" by Chapter 3, which is only a few hours into things. One thing I like is how the dungeons are made to not be solvable in a single game day -- as you go, you find and unlock shortcuts so that when you return another day, you can make further progress without taking as much time.
Awesome review ! I had some difficulties myself when playing the demo. Nevertheless I went for the game on black friday and started all over again.
I have no regret buying it because after the slow beginning, it becomes a lot of fun ! Happy to have it in my collection !
Thank you so much! Yeah, I agree, despite the slow start it gets so interesting as it goes along!
I am in your same boat as someone who could never get into farming sims, but I always feel left out when my friends talk about Stardew Valley or Rune Factory. Might actually try this one out... love the visuals, and the promise of a story makes me think I might like it. Thanks for the great review as always
Thank you! Yeah, the story was a hugely pleasant surprise, feels like crazy old-school Square, which I'm always glad to see.
I’m just over 20 game days in and *EARLY GAME SPOILER*
The orphanage story just completely sold me. I love the heart and character of this game so much.
Oh definitely, that whole sequence is so heartwarming, and the characters really sell it
Great review. I’ll definitely pick this game up in the future since your taste in RPGs is like mine.
Thanks! Let me know what you think of it!
Really digging the scenery. I might pick this one up. I am going to platinum Ragnarok and I think I got live a live as a present. So hopefully along with some other indie games and 3d platformers I can squeeze it in. I recommend Ender Lillie’s if you like metroidvania. Great art and atmosphere, good story, and gameplay.
Oh yeah, I was just looking at Ender Lilies, I LOVE the aesthetic on that!
Great video! I just ordered the game. It will be one of my first for Switch!
I hope you love it! It was my favorite game last year!
@@JustTheGems I really appreciate your video. So many reviews seemed overly critical to me and felt like they were made by people who either didn't appreciate farming sims or action rpgs. And I was like, why did you play this game? 😆
I tried the demo, but couldn't get into it. Maybe I'll give it another shot. I really need to branch out with my games and your channel always give me ideas which I appreciate. I just started playing Final Fantasy 12 for like the 5th time but I plan to play Trails in the Sky next if I can get my hands on it.
Heartily recommend Trails in the Sky if you’re even considering it. I haven’t played the demo of Harvestella myself, so I’m not sure what vertical slice of the game it covers (maybe it’s just the beginning?) but I found that my enjoyment grew the longer I played.
I got this for steam and I just started , looks great tho
All I take from this review is that you're a square fan. I wish you talked a bit more in depth about combat and farming tbh. Glad you're enjoying it tho.
I'm a fan of the Square games that I like. In this case, it's the story and the aesthetics that I liked.
@@JustTheGems The aesthetics are great! Totally agree. And it's tricky to talk too much about the story without entering spoiler territory. So I get you. Pretty unique game! Enjoy!
Clearly I need to play the demo! Your review really has piqued my interest SO I have a few questions...
1. Are there difficulty settings? I may be a veteran...but I am a veteran n00b...
2. How much crafting/farming is there? I ask because I don't like farm sims but I love JRPGs...if that isn't a huge part of the game then I may be into it.
1. There aren’t difficulty settings. I’m trying to think of a game with comparable difficulty… It’s definitely not a super skillful game like Nier Automata or anything like that. (There was one boss that gave me a whuppin’, but that’s okay, I think I deserved it 😅). So it’s not “easy” per se, but it’s also not “mean,” if that makes sense.
2. Farming is fairly important, but in terms of raw time spent doing that versus the other JRPG stuff (fighting/dungeons/side quests/etc.), I’d say farming is less than 10% of the experience. Each new “game day,” I spend about five minutes doing all my “chores” for the day, and it feels good having done it because you know you’re gonna be getting money from it.
just bought it at 30 euros on a sale... to convince me was not just ur review but I tried the demo and the music in the opening scene reminded me of the Dead Can Dance quite heavily therefore I said f*** it let's get it... I cannot just keep reading visual novels after all.. let's try my first farm sim... uhm... I dunno... uhm... hey I also bought norn9 and neptunia sisters.. I still have mato anomalies to finish... so if things don't click with farming - the only part of farming I like is eating let's be honest - I have a b plan ;)
the doctor is called "crass"?
Lol yeah! I hope you enjoy it, let me know what you think whenever you get into it
As a fellow Chicagoan, I hear you on the seasons! I would love to know if you've played Okami yet. I played the PS2 version and it is one of my all time favorite games.
Actually no, I never did play Okami. And somehow I didn’t know it was remastered on the PS4, so it’s going on the list!
Great review! I've been thinking about getting this game for a while so it was great to hear your thoughts on it 😄
Thank you! If you end up getting it, let me know what you think.
Love your channel, by the way!
Your videos are great! Keep it up. Have you ever played Eastward?
Thank you!! I haven't yet, but I picked it up so I will soon!
Despite many negative reviews of Harvestella, I finally bought it when it was on sale, and I must say that I didn't regret it. I think it's a wonderful game, and contrary to many rather negative opinions about it, I don't find it shallow at all.
While it does have some kind of "time limit" in respect to the fact that you've got to get your daily stuff done before night falls and you also have to watch your stamina, because once you keel over from exhaustion, Cres' doctor fees, which increase each time you need treatment, will burn a hole in your wallet really fast. (Did I mention that the game at times is frighteningly realistic?)
Yet, in spite of this, the game never puts you under any kind of real pressure, since you can decide when to do your chores or when to go on which quest or when to continue a quest or side quest. So if you don't have too much time left on the current day, you can hit the hay and procrastinate as you wish, which makes it a very laid back experience.
Most of the characters are quite endearing, and while the general atmosphere is harmonious, it occasionally touches on some very serious issues and difficult moral dilemmata. Speaking of atmosphere, I think this is where the game really shines, and this is mainly due to the phenomenal soundtrack, which even changes according to the situation. There's even different music depending on the situation. In funny moments there is a rather comical, uplifting melody, in dangerous situations or sad settings the music is different again. One can clearly sense that Square put a lot of thought into this game. At least to me it doesn't seem as if they just hurriedly put together some run-of-the-mill rpg components to make a few quick bucks.
However, there is one huge "but" (no pun intended) concerning Harvestella, a trait that, for me at least, almost ruined the whole experience.
I'm talking about the faulty use of pronouns in the game. Now I'm not even talking about the option to play as a "non-binary" character per se, but rather about the problems that occur because the game persistently uses "they/them" as a pronoun for persons in the singular form so as not to hurt the feelings of a certain minority.
This is not just grammatically wrong (and yes, in the real world it is wrong, and for good reasons), it also gets very tedious and confusing, for instance when one of the characters talks about one person in a group of people. You just don't know whether the character is talking about one person or the whole group/town. If you're lucky, you can derive it from the context, but it's not always clear. More often than not, this drives a wedge into the flow of the story and thus makes the game as a whole less enjoyable than it could have been.
Now this could easily have been avoided, if they (yes, I mean the good people at Square Enix, not just one of them) had limited the use of this supposedly gender-neutral "they" to the choice of the non-binary character. That way everyone who feels like a unicorn, a washing machine or a toaster could have indulged their gender-neutrality, or rather gender-confusion, while the rest of us poor "normal" saps who choose either the male or female character could have had a far less confusing and more enjoyable experience. However, the way they handled it, everyone who doesn't feel non-binary is also forced to put up with the ensuing linguistic mess.
That, in consequence, leads to the question why they included a non-binary character, when the choice you make changes nothing at all. Even the character models are pretty much the same for male, female and "non-binary".
So please, Square Enix, get your act together. Maybe it's not such a good idea after all, to try to accommodate a miniscule minority at the expense of the majority, who are still paying the largest part of your salaries.
Again, the game in its entirety is great, but for the future, try not to screw it up by jumping on some ideological bandwagon, especially when said bandwagon is destined to derail.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Honestly, Japanese media that's been translated has used the singular they/them for decades, it used to get on my nerves when I was younger but I think I've just gotten used to it. It could be that it's more noticeable to people now because it's become a hot topic for discussion, but one thing Japanese writers love to do is make gender obscurity in conversation something that they can "reveal" later on. Like "oh! I wasn't expecting them to be referring to a woman! How surprising!" 😅 Which, yeah... never really surprised me.
Honestly as a queer person myself, I appreciate the non-binary option. It is harmless and easy enough to code when there is no voice acting so they could add it with maybe a day of work and satisfy the demographic that play cozy farm games anyway.
I agree with the rest of the review, but I feel that this one gripe is honestly minor enough to not be as big of a deal as you make it. Grammar aside the use of they/them is understandable when you are used to the pronouns in the first place.
Sorry you were not happy with the entirely optional feature but it made some people happy and isn't that what matters?
game is trash, rushed, cash-grab
My my, can free speech really be dead if you are allowed to say such blasphemy against this masterpiece?? 😆