The Bovine Menace

Let’s start off with an admission. I live on a farm. We have cows on the farm, and let me tell you, they are jerks. They are incredibly aggravating, and do many things that I’m not allowed to talk about.

Luckily, if you don’t want to have to deal with the evil scourge that is "Cow", you can always get your farming fix through the Harvest Moon games. The series has had over 15 games released on consoles from the Gameboy, SNES and DS. Now, the publisher Natsume and developer Marvelous Interactive have seen it fit to bring the series to Nintendo’s ever popular Wii.

Children of the Corn?

Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility starts off with choosing the gender and name of your character, a new inhabitant of a magical island that has a tree and a goddess. Sadly, the tree dies and the goddess leaves, and since I am to assume that the tourism of the island falters greatly, it is up to you to bring back the goddess and her tree.

After going through some odd-jobs to learn the controls, eventually the character is given a plot of land to start farming. Your first question might be "How is agriculture ever going to save a goddess?" Well, you must collect badges that you give to Harvest Sprites, of course! These Sprites create rainbows, and once all the rainbows have been collected, the tree is brought back to life and the goddess returns, and tourism to the island once again flourishes.

Milk It for all it's Worth

For those who aren’t familiar with the Harvest Moon series, the player can converse with the island's villagers, work the fields, and feed the livestock. Another series staple is relationships, which you cultivate by giving gifts and conversing with the townspeople. You can even get married and have kids! This even has gameplay consequences, as your spouse will provide meals for you and your child will help you out on the farm. Once the tree is alive and the goddess is back, you can even move on from your old character to your child, carrying over all your tools and money but resetting all of your relationships with the townsfolk.

You can expect the usual livestock to make an appearance, from the aforementioned evil cattle to sheep, goats, horses, chickens, ducks and cats. That’s not all, though. You can also adopt the island’s fauna by visiting them regularly and giving them their favourite treats. Not only can you adopt monkeys and wild dogs, but also pandas and penguins. There are also festivals that you can enter your animals in where they can participate in competitions to increase their worth.

Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility plays very similarly to the previous games in the series. You dig holes, plant crops, and cultivate them all in a nice grid-based system. Crops have to be watered every day to ensure that the harvest is good. Luckily, you won’t have to do all the work with your hands, as you’ll have access to a variety of tools like an axe, watering can and hoe. The graphics are definitely aimed more to the younger crowd, with bright colours and simplistic character and animal designs.

Reaping what you Sow with the Wiimote

Since this is a Wii game, you can expect some waggle will be included. Using tools like the sickle, watering can, and hammer are all controlled with the Wii remote. If that sounds too tiring, swinging your hands around all day, there are upgrades to your tools that make them cover a wider area as well as corresponding button presses. For example, in fishing you would move the Wii remote up or down to cast or reel in your rod and press the A button when the fish bites.

And that's not all...

Much like a certain Nintendo property also coming to Wii, you can customize various aspects of your character. You can buy new clothes at the tailor, as well as buy new furniture and appliances for your house.

Minigames for up to four players will be included, ranging from horse racing, stone skipping, and Whack-A-Mole games. These are unlocked by going to various festivals, with a total of 6 minigames in all.

Continuing the Tradition

In many ways, it appears as if Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility will be similar to Animal Crossing, but with more farming to be done. While it won’t break away from series traditions (the fantasy version of the series, Rune Factory is always there if that’s what you want), series vets and those waiting for Animal Crossing: City Folk might want to look into it.