The Harvest Moon collection paved the way in which for a lot of farming simulators we all know and love, performing as the inspiration for the style. Since its launch, it has transcended into a number of variations with its spin-offs and most important entries, in the end morphing into the Story of Seasons franchise that also harnesses its predecessor’s adored parts. Nevertheless, lately, the highlight predominately shined on the newer version, shying away from the Harvest Moon collection. That’s till The Winds of Anthos was introduced to lastly deliver the collection again on the map.
Though I’ve solely skilled the Story of Seasons facet, it was plain to see how a lot the franchise has improved on this upcoming installment, with its overhaul of revamped graphics and entertaining open-world mechanics. For those who’ve performed previous entries, you’ll undoubtedly be blown away by the winds of Anthos, because it options 5 villages in an extensively massive map. By the seems of the realm measurement I noticed within the preview, it might be one of many greatest areas within the collection, giving gamers extra to discover and much more to do.
What makes it even higher is the truth that these villages include their very own set of surprises, the place you’ll encounter various kinds of environments and challenges. On one finish, gamers can costume down and luxuriate in their time within the tropics, whereas the opposite brings on the coolness with its freezing temperatures. I’m at all times a sucker for video games that diversify their environment, so to see that on this recreation is extremely refreshing, particularly since it could possibly get comparatively mundane after a while with particular farming simulators.
The mythology behind Anthos additionally pairs properly with the surroundings to provide which means to the atmosphere round you. Up to now, the realm was as soon as a outstanding vacation spot beneath the safety of the Harvest Goddess and Harvest Sprites till a volcanic eruption plagued the villages, separating every city from the opposite. However, as a final plea for assist, the Harvest Goddess despatched a letter and key right into a bottle to at some point restore the realm to its former glory.
Whereas the settlement remained in disarray for over 10 years, an indication of hope rose from the ashes when the primary protagonist found the bottle, starting the mission to reconnect all of the villages. Those that loved the narrative facet of Harvest Moon can look ahead to an enlargement on story-based parts, because the crew behind the installment has indicated that the Winds of Anthos has extra cutscenes than some other entries. Which means you’ll be extra well-versed with the situation’s historical past and folks as a substitute of aimlessly operating round to enhance your farm.
However, if you’re the kind of participant who thrives on getting misplaced on the earth with out an emphasis on the story, you may deviate from these narrative missions to concentrate on the franchise’s main facet, farming. Devoted followers will see that the angle of the character’s view is far more fluid and open when gardening or exploring, differing from the top-down structure it’s possible you’ll be used to. The graphics are additionally pleasing to the attention by way of their vibrant colours, cute character designs, and finely detailed environment, in addition to quicker loading occasions.
Though I didn’t completely indulge within the conversations with villagers, there will definitely be many alternatives to get together with the numerous residents, unlocking missions and companion-based quests. In fact, it wouldn’t be a Harvest Moon recreation with out a love curiosity to share your journey with, together with a female and male possibility in every city. However, to entry these locations, it’s essential to restore the bridges to those settlements and repair the damaged state of constructions that the volcano left behind. There’s no order on which vacation spot you wish to go to first, so adventurers may even go to the farthest facet of the map to satisfy their one real love or just fill out the map.
The extra you enhance the villages, the extra you’ll improve your cultural degree to earn rewards and upgrades in your instruments. Uncommon seeds can be collected from the sprites that may linger round hidden areas or stay out within the open. The farming gameplay has all the fundamental fundamentals of previous Harvest Moon video games with a number of tweaks that improve its traditional mechanics. You’ll want to make sure you are planting the seeds in an acceptable location since their development relies on the climate, soil, and different circumstances.
The merchandise search is without doubt one of the most useful instruments I’ve seen within the style, on condition that gamers can select to mark a desired product on the map to shortly discover it, producing an icon radius of its location. That means, you gained’t get as pissed off looking for one particular product. On high of that, there’s loads of animals to befriend, and you’ll principally pet them to your coronary heart’s content material to degree up your relationships. The glimpses I noticed of the creatures virtually jogged my memory of Pokemon, contemplating that gamers need to sneak as much as work together with them and discover round to search out completely different species.
Anthos is packed stuffed with a bunch of different actions, corresponding to fishing, racing, competition occasions, requests, and lots of extra. You can actually play the sport so long as you need, as there aren’t any restrictive deadlines for missions, and you’ve got the liberty to go anyplace no matter your character’s degree.
With all this in thoughts, I firmly consider the Winds of Anthos may deliver a resurgence to the Harvest Moon franchise, proving that an previous canine can nonetheless be taught some new methods. It has sufficient stability to fulfill previous and new followers, showcasing a contemporary facet of the traditional whereas staying true to its fundamentals. I look ahead to seeing the return of the collection, and hopefully, it can open the door for extra to come back.