Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility: Nintendo Wii

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quiet type" but still yacking away like the rest, these characters actually vary from kind to cruel, shy, to ridiculously outgoing (one even believes he deserves his own fan club!)

Sure, the voice acting isn't knock your socks off (not Rune Factory or anything), but it's far, far better than it was in Magical Melody, and a nice touch.

Also having been entirely redone is the weapon upgrade system; you upgrade equipment with items called Wonderfuls, which enhance your weapons in various ways, enabling you to highly customize your hoe, hammer, water can, et cetera.

The world is huge; you can find many, many townsfolk and areas to explore just in the first part of the game, and there is a lot to unlock.

The animals are adorable, and there are so many more to raise. Having a farm is a lot more fun, not to mention all the other tasks you can do in the game.

I find the music quite fitting, but it does get a little repetitive. Also, there isn't any awkward silences at night; the music quiets down instead of stopping at night instead of like all the other previous games.

And finally, the minigames are ridiculously fun and can be quite difficult.


The Bad:
It's still rather the same game in terms of marriage and friendships: give gifts and talk to them every day.

You definitely get used to it, but your character's voice is annoying. If you have chickens, petting one each day, you hear "there, there" eight times, etc.


The Just Plain Weird:
Every time you first meet a new bachelor(ette), they have white sparkles around their face. It's just a bit freaky.


The Ugly/Also Weird:
I haven't been able to confirm this (I've only read it on many sites since the game has been out, but I believe having a child is a little (or a lot) weirder in this game. Apparently the island just resets, so your child can, well, marry the same person the parent married; it's just like a new game file, but your child has all the money you had. (Natsume, work a bit more on your planning, please. This is just too weird for me.)


Good or Bad, you Decide:
This is the first game not done by the traditional artist. I personally like the style,but feel it is admittedly sub-par to the original artwork in all the other games. However, that only applies to the people, I feel the animals and scenery is far better done.

Yet again, no same gender marriages in the game. Good for squeaky clean game if you don't want your kids to see that, but it is something some fans have been asking for, and it also makes it hard to get all the events, since you have to replay the game as a boy and a girl, etc.


Overall:
While I am somewhat wondering if this game was a bit rushed, I still find it's one of the better Harvest Moons; with all the new features, it might be the best. It's definitely worth playing. I gave it four stars for the first season in game, (first impression) because it can be hard to get hooked at first, but once you get going, this is the top Harvest Moon.

Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility: Nintendo Wii

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go in and out the festival as you please,you are not stuck in it. People walk around the island as normal. Stores are closed.
5. You're child attitude is determined by who you marry. When he/she grows up, you can play as the child! And you can pick it is a girl or boy.
6.You can ride a horse or ostrich around the island.
7. The animals come in different colors.
8. You can make a wild animal your pet.
9. If you are looking for someone, you can click on there name on the menu and a track will pop up. So you can find them in no time!
10. Just by ringing a big bell all the animals go outside and inside. No more wasting time putting the chickens outside!
11. Wild and farm products will not desepear. They will stay were they are until you pick it up.
12.For girls: the bachelors this around actually look nice. I've played many HM versions and always thought the designers always put in more effort on the bachelorets then the games. There is variety in characters of both genders.

cons: 1. The par-time job takes the whole day. So you should plan before you go to do a job.
2. You have to pull out weeds because they effect your crops. You can't ship them, and they take up a lot of energy.
3. The mines have gases just like in Magical Melody.
4. The camera takes time to get used to. It moves to different angles when you go to different areas, and sometimes you feel as if you are not seeing something important. The control does not give a very good camera option.
5. There is a bit of loading time whenever you go into a new section. It's not long enough for you to loose focus. I use it to go over my strategy quickly in my head. The game continues before you can even finish your thinking process.

fun: You can change outfits in the game. (not a necessity, but it's fun!)

different:Each type of animal has a life span and will die at the end of there life span.

same: I know many reviewers are complain about the stamina. I think they forget that in all HM games in the beginning it's like that. All you need is to upgrade your tools and eat power berries. Problem solved.

This is what I think of it so far. I'm only in the beginning of the game. I would recommend buying the guide though. There is so much to do and many secrets!

Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility: Nintendo Wii

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in one day. There are herbs lying around at specific locations on the map that boost your stamina a little. The mushrooms in the mines area good source for an energy boost also. There is a great guide that you can buy for this game that is very helpful in getting you through that first tough season.

Fishing is really enjoyable. It also is a great source of money in the beginning. If you can buy matches from the General store and grill your fish at the fire pits next to the ocean that will boost quite a lot of your stamina if you eat them throughout the day.

I am already in the Fall season and have a barn, coop, and a 2nd level house. One cow, 1 sheep, 4 chickens, 1 silkworm, and finally my horse! Gardening is a lot of fun and with all that my character has accomplished there is still a ton of things to do that she simply hasn't had time or money to get to yet.

I like the Taylor shop that allows you to buy new outfits and hats! I was so happy when that store opened so I could upgrade my Rucksack! Whoohoo!

There aren't many cons to this game, but I feel they should be mentioned. Loading time between each area of the map is just annoying. I think that this takes to long and detracts from game play. Also, time is not stopped when you're in the mines, barns, or stores. It does give the game a bit more challenge, but its annoying to get kicked out of a store right when your about to make a purchase. Rushing in the barns to try and feed your animals, groom, shear, milk, etc. Trying to get out of the mines and hoping you make it home before the next day. I understand other HM versions worked this way, but I guess I am just not used to it yet.

All in all this is definitely a 5 star game. I haven't encountered any glitches so far (knock on wood). I look forward to seeing what else this game has to offer and I doubt I will be disappointed.

Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility: Nintendo Wii

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job for the extra cash. I do agree that it would have been nice to have a mini-game for the part-time job rather than just a (little bit too long) movie clip.

Great variety of new animals in the game, easy farming controls, easy to get the animals in and out of the barn to graze. Nice to be able to decorate your house the way you want it, options to buy more land etc... It seems like they kept a lot of the good things that were in the gamecube Magical Melodies version and added even more nice things for variety.

I think they did a fantastic job with this game, and if you have enjoyed past Harvest Moon releases, you will probably love it too.

Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility: Nintendo Wii

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job for the extra cash. I do agree that it would have been nice to have a mini-game for the part-time job rather than just a (little bit too long) movie clip.



Great variety of new animals in the game, easy farming controls, easy to get the animals in and out of the barn to graze. Nice to be able to decorate your house the way you want it, options to buy more land etc... It seems like they kept a lot of the good things that were in the gamecube Magical Melodies version and added even more nice things for variety.



I think they did a fantastic job with this game, and if you have enjoyed past Harvest Moon releases, you will probably love it too.

Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility: Nintendo Wii

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I appreciate little details like that because it shows that the game wasn't just thrown together. The characters are also well done with many newly designed characters to look at and interact with. I would have preferred a more classic design on the male character, though. It feels less like Harvest Moon with no ball cap and/or bright red neckerchief. And a bowl cut? Seriously? But I digress...

To be fair, there are a few aspects of the game that I'm not in love with. They are as follows:

-Load times. If I'm not mistaken, this is the first Harvest Moon game with an actual "Loading" screen. It comes up every time you're going from location to location (i.e. from Town Square to Lake District or into someone's house) which is to say "a lot". It's not a dealbreaker, of course, but it does kind of interrupt the flow of the game.

-Cutesy music. The music for A Wonderful Life is dramatic and melancholy and orchestral and always fits the mood of the game perfectly. Even the whimsical Magical Melody has more serious music than Tree Of Tranquility. It's all peppy, fake-sounding synthesizers that just don't set the mood in the way past Harvest Moon games' music has. Of course, I've only played through the early tutorial stage and a few days of Spring so far, so hopefully the Fall and Winter music will be appropriately austere as in games past.


But, in the end, this is a new Harvest Moon game and Natsume would have to get pretty much EVERYTHING wrong to make me give it less than 3 stars. As such, Tree Of Tranquility makes an easy 4 out of 5 overall. And if Tree Of Tranquility lives up to its hype as the biggest, most in-depth Harvest Moon game ever, my final judgment may wind up being more than 4 stars. Only time will tell, and any time playing Harvest Moon is time well spent.