Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility

"Harvest Moon: Tree of Near Perfection"

I'm a Harvest Moon fan. The most recent game I've played was A Wonderful Life. Let me tell you that game was boring. But this is a review of Tree of Tranquility, not A Wonderful Life.

Gameplay - 10/10
The gameplay is incredible. Nothing but pure fun. In this game you start of only have a small plot of land, as well as barely any seeds. The game quickly changes pace. As soon as you get a bit on money off you go to buy more seeds. The cycle continues until animals are avaliable. Then you take care of animals, of course. About the same as most Harvest Moon games. However with newer animals like Ostriches and Silkworms, fans of the older games will have some newer things to look forward too. Another old favorite, marriage. In this game you get to play as either a boy or a girl, of course. The eligable bachelors/bachelorettes are plentiful, and have different personalities, life styles, and, of course, different appeals. You get 6 boys and 6 girls to choose from, depending on your gender. Some require more work than others, but they are all worth going after. One more thing that is the Working Part Time feature. What you do is you work at whatever store you want, for the remainder of their hours for some quick money. Not only is this good for money, but the people who run the stores become closer friends to you, which is always a plus.

Story - 7/10
The story is that you are a young person who wants to start life as a rancher. You move to Waffle Island to become an expert. There the Harvest Goddess is gone, and it is up to you to save her. The story is rather dull, but solid. Harvest Moon games aren't really known for engrossing stories.

Graphics - 8/10
The graphics look extremely well on the Wii, but they obviously do not push the Wii to it's limit. But people who buy games only for graphics won't be too disappointed by this game.

Music/ Sound - 6/10
The game doesn't have any notable music, but the music fits well. However the main reason the score is a 6 and not anything higher is because it gets repetitive extremely fast.

The main cons of this game has nothing to do with the gameplay itself, but the load times. The load times are aggrivating. If you play this game for an hour, and you don't just sit in one area, you'll probably have about 5 minutes of that hour with load times. While that doesn't sound to bad, when you play the game, you'll see how horrible these long load times are. Another complaint, is that the game lags a bit during certain parts. Not absolutely, game-breaking lag, but it is easy to notice.

Overall - 9/10
The game while it has some flaws is an extremely good addition to the Wii library. If you are a fan of Harvest Moon get this game. No, if you are a fan of games, get this game.

Buy or Rent?
If you've played an actual Harvest Moon game, and liked it, definetely but this game. If you are new and iffy, rent it. Chances are, you'll buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/08

Game Release: Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility (US, 09/30/08)