Debuting on the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom back in the late 1990s, the original Harvest Moon was the inaugural entry in the franchise now known internationally as Story of Seasons. Seen by many as a contemporary of games such as Animal Crossing, the franchise is well-known for putting the fun into farming. That popularity has led to the franchise's GameCube entry being remade as the upcoming Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life.

With a modern reimagining on the way, many might wonder if the original Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life is still worth playing. After all, the series and the genre as a whole have had many changes, which might make the old version seem somewhat outdated. Given how hard it currently is to play, such a sentiment might be more than deserved.

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Early Harvest Moon Games Lack What Some Fans Love About the Franchise

Player feeds a cow in Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life

Some early Harvest Moon games are looked back upon with a bit of disdain by a number of fans, as their scope is far more limited. Whereas many modern Story of Seasons titles perfectly combine family life with farming, the original games really just focused on the latter. Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, however, went in the opposite direction and was thus disliked for discarding many farming elements in favor of family mechanics. In fact, farming as a whole isn't required, making the pivotal element arbitrary in nature.

There's also a much bigger focus on story -- one which happens to be fairly linear. It's a lot darker than what the series had been like beforehand, continuing the theme that A Wonderful Life really wasn't a "traditional" Harvest Moon game. Festivals and other events are required, making things feel a bit superfluous when they should be huge milestones. Ironically, the characters themselves are rather flat, making focusing on the story seem like a fool's errand. Worst of all, the graphics are now rather dated, and they don't really encapsulate what's supposed to be a lively game about nature and family. For anyone more used to newer Story of Seasons titles or even games such as Stardew Valley, the GameCube and PlayStation 2 Harvest Moon could be a bit too archaic.

At the same time, many gamers still love the title. In fact, even those who had played its predecessors prefer its focus away from farming and the stronger emphasis on story. If nothing else, it's seen as a positive step in the series' development, paving the way for what would come. Thus, many of these same gamers want to experience those memories again, bringing up the question of how they could do so.

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Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life Can Be Played for Fairly Cheap

Gamecube Harvest Moon

Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life released back in 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube, coming out for the console a year later in North America. A Special Edition would also be made for the PlayStation 2, later seeing a re-release on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. 2005 also saw Another Wonderful Life, the original game but with a female protagonist, come to the GameCube outside of Japan.

Playing Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life nowadays on the GameCube is likely a tall order for most, and it's far easier to simply play it on the PlayStation 4 and even the PlayStation 5 by downloading the Special Edition from the PlayStation store. Currently, it's available for only $5.99, which is definitely cheaper than the modern pricing that Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life will command. That remake will be adding lots of modern features, but it's still going to be essentially the same game. Thus, if the focus on family instead of farming isn't an issue, gamers can go ahead and download the title on the PlayStation. Given the cheaper price point, it might ultimately be the better option in terms of value.