Harvestella is a JRPG. Although it may seem obvious to mention this about a Square-Enix role-playing game, it is the most important thing you should know before you go. You might expect something similar to Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon, but with more monster biffing. Harvestella is a solidly in the epic quest camp. Your rural activities will support your adventuring.
A pastoral paradise will not be possible for anyone who wants to farm. It is not possible to call your property a farm. My plot, even after some upgrades, is more like a large garden or an allotment, depending on how generous I am.
Your plot is not a farm, but the original description of your dwelling is a shed. This cottage is beautiful and I am certain it has more square footage that my two-bedroom house. Unfortunately, the downside is that, just like the farm there is no customization. Although there are some unique pieces of furniture that can be found in the game, such as a kitchen that you unlock very early and a large tome that records your farming and fighting achievements throughout the game, they’re all fairly static. You can’t customize your character. The only thing you can do is choose your gender presentation, as well as your hair, eye, and skin colours. You can choose your voice, pronouns and body separately. However, the former is between androgynous or girl. You won’t find any beefcake adventurers!
This is not to suggest that farming and crafting are not well integrated with adventuring. You can only replenish your stamina bar if you eat. You get all the healing, curative and buffing properties from food and drink in fantasy RPGs. Craft tools like repair kits and bombs are also available. These can be used to find hidden passageways and other shortcuts during your dungeon exploration. You can sell excess produce for cash. One of the best sources of income is to cook up different dishes for the local inns.
The best part about the life simulator is that it provides a solid foundation for your adventures. The day begins with watering and harvesting your crops. You then collect your animals’ produce. This process takes only a few minutes thanks to some quick travel/save games crystals. You then set out on your quest until 10pm, when your character becomes tired and their stats start to drop. You then go back to bed and begin again. If you are doing many side quests or cutscenes, the clock will pause. It takes only 10-15 minutes to complete a day in real-time. This creates a pleasant rhythm and gives you that “just one more turn” feeling.
These time constraints can make it frustrating to jump in and out of dungeons all the time. However, they have been carefully designed to fit your rhythm.
These time constraints can make it frustrating to constantly jump in and out of different dungeons. However, they have been carefully designed to fit the rhythm. There are two types of dungeons. They can be either wilderness areas that you need to cross and then they can be walked through on a world map or they can have objectives with a boss at the end. Both types of dungeons have shortcuts that you can unlock as you progress. This makes it easier and quicker to get to the same place next time. It’s similar to working through Dark Souls. But instead of returning to the area after you’ve died to an undead monster, you had to return home for a kip, and some snacks.
Combat is…fine. The combat is simple and real-time, with only one attack button, dodge, and four special skills that have cooldown times. These are mostly large attacks but you can also get buffs and debuffs. The job system has helped to make it more interesting, which I love. Each time a new character joins a party, it unlocks their job class. There are three options for this. You can use one or more of them at a time, and you can switch between them during combat. However, there is a brief cooldown. Enemies can have elemental weaknesses or resistances. The only way to get depth is to match up your party and job assignments to deal with the increasing number of foes within a given dungeon. Bosses can be “broken”, by dealing enough damage to a type they are weak to. This gives you a bonus period of damage. Double Break is a special move that allows you to unleash your pal’s special moves. It’s very basic, but it works well.
Although it may seem like I’m complaining, the truth is that I have enjoyed the game tremendously. Harvestella, as I mentioned, is a JRPG. This means it is full of charmingly beautiful towns and over-designed outfits. It can also be annoyingly slow for the first half hour. It’s also extremely bizarre and I love a good anime-esque rollercoaster story. Your amnesiac protagonist appears outside Lethe (I can see what they did there), not long after a huge crystal thing with a girl from the future falls out of the sky. You’re soon on your way to saving the world with Seaslights, and before you know it, the game begins delving into fluffy topics like the meaning and purpose of life and death or the nature and value of faith.
Side quests give you the opportunity to learn about the misfits and ground the story. Many of these are geared towards cheap melodrama, and I found myself reaching for my tissues. There is an orphanage in the second village, folks. Harvestella is straight for your heartstrings and even through your ribcage, if needed.
The presentation is beautiful, especially the music. However, it is very obvious that this game is a Switch game. It is clear that the limitations of the hardware it was created for are obvious and there are very few graphics options to adjust. This is not a bad thing, but it makes it feel like a game that’s best suited for playing on a handheld.
Harvestella is more than its individual parts. It does its job well, and it all fits together so well it becomes an addictively enjoyable experience. This is the perfect JRPG for those who enjoy a good, meaty JRPG that they can eat in bite-sized chunks over long nights.