Harvest Moon is a love-it-or-hate-it franchise. If you enjoy slow-paced action whilst undertaking plenty of arduous tasks, then this is the game for you. However, Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos attempts to mix things up with its open-world antics. Yet, if you are a keen follower of the franchise, you’ll enjoy familiar action and a modern aesthetic.
This life simulation title was developed by Appci Inc. and Natsume Inc. and published by the latter. Moreover, some fantastic open-world moments help to create a large and interesting environment. However, the core gameplay hasn’t evolved as much as I’d have liked and this was slightly disappointing. Yet, if you enjoy farming and making virtual friends, then this will tick many boxes.
Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos tells a heartwarming tale.
Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos delivers a classic story that makes you smile. Moreover, its moralistic concept helps to teach youngsters about love, friendship, and supporting one another. Though this may seem a bit intense, it doesn’t overpower the action. Instead, it plods along nicely whilst complementing the relaxing approach.
The Harvest Goddess and the Harvest Sprites helped to protect the people of Anthos from a deadly volcano. However, this causes them to deplete all their energy. Consequently, a hero must step forward and re-energise each of the 4 sprites and save the Harvest Goddess. Throughout your adventure, you must befriend people, fall in love, and collect seeds from the Harvest Wisps.
Expand your farm.
Like its predecessors, Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos focuses on farming, quests, mining, and resource gathering. As such, there is a high degree of grind and plenty of repetitive action. Yet, this iteration revolves around the expansion of your farm, and exploring a vast open world. Accordingly, it takes the franchise to a new level that impressed me.
Alongside this, there are 5 different towns to discover and plenty of unique crops to find. What’s more, there is an array of farm animals to care for and plenty of animals to befriend and ride. The latter idea was a great choice as exploring the monstrous map is a little arduous and time-consuming. Subsequently, it was great fun to ride a horse, zebra, or unicorn. Furthermore, the idea of riding a unicorn appeased my youngsters.
So many jobs and so little energy.
The quests and farming elements form the backbone of Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos. However, getting every task done is no mean feat. The hero has a limited energy supply and every activity drains it. Consequently, you must consume food, rest, and pick your activities wisely.
Whether you are chopping trees, mining for ore, running across fields, or helping out each villager, you must watch your stamina bar. Thankfully, the developers have incorporated transport nodes that enable you to fast travel across the map. These simple but essential tools are a must-use facility, especially in the latter game.
Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos looks cute.
Harvest Moon has always been a cute franchise. Luckily, Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos has taken it to the next level! The vibrant colour palette and stunning environments were fantastic to explore. Additionally, the character models looked great, and the animation was smooth. Yet, this wasn’t perfect, and I encountered a few glitches and screen tears during my adventure. Thankfully, though, they weren’t game-breaking and could easily be ignored.
The audio was wholesome and pleasant to listen to. What’s more, the sound effects were realistic and not too overpowering. As such, you can listen to this without worrying about it being uncomfortable. Additionally, in typical Harvest Moon style, this is perfectly safe for youngsters. Therefore, parents are assured that there is no cussing and that their children can be left to their own devices.
Exceptionally easy to play.
Though the prologue is a little slow, the rest of the game is exceptionally easy to play and enjoyable. If you adore a cutesy world filled with simple tasks, then you’ll cherish everything on offer. Moreover, the basic control layout is straightforward to understand and simple to master. Consequently, youngsters will have no problem playing this.
Thanks to the massive open world and the array of tasks on offer, this offers both replay value and longevity. Yes, this genre attracts a niche audience, but those gamers become obsessed with every element. As such, if you love this type of game, this will keep you busy for hours.
Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos is a great addition to the franchise.
Adding new elements to a much-loved franchise isn’t an easy task. However, the developers have done an incredible job. Thanks to the open world and the ability to ride a choice of mounts, you’ll enjoy every moment of your adventure. Yes, there were some repetitive elements and there is a reliance on old-school mechanics, but I think it works nonetheless. Accordingly, I enjoyed it and I recommend that you buy it here! Can you help the Harvest Goddess and save the day? Run your farm, explore the world, and re-energise the Sprites.
