Home Sweet Home is the Best Harvest Moon from Natsume, but...

[@ianesgrecia8568]

Natsume farming games are 'evolving' but at such a slow pace that any other farming game already surpass them at EVERYTHING.

[@AlexDayz]

These game where already pretty rough, so not really shocked this one is as well. I try to give Natsume a chance, I really do, but there’s just so many other farming games I’d rather play that Harvest Moon

[@davemeech]

Agreed, stardew valley brought the genre to a much wider audience, and the genre is much more represented as a result with many more titles from other studios, most of which are evolving and polishing their systems much better and faster than both harvest moon and story of seasons titles. You have to reach a pretty high bar now.

[@jimjamjams8237]

@@davemeech ive played enough of stardew even got the legendary fishes. unfortunately theres no update for mobile, hence HM HSH was a nice addition to mobile despite lacking in some features. hoping they bring more to mobile

[@-Tanger_ine-]

There’s so many better indie games too. Obv Stardew, but I’ve also really liked Roots of Pacha, Moonstone Island, and Cattails. Plus they get updated pretty often

[@Jhud69]

I think it’s important to point out that the Natsume Harvest Moon games are basically knockoffs, the real OG series is Story of Seasons now, which is much better but admittedly no Stardew at this point

[@-Tanger_ine-]

@@Jhud69 Oh yeah, Ik ab the whole issue with Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons. It’s so said that they weren’t able to keep their name tbh, natsume totally ruined it. If Marvelous made smth like Trio of Towns again though I think that would def hold up against Stardew

[@SelfieMasters]

Every Natsume HM game feels like a right step in the direction lately but they’re still not quite… there. But I really do hope and believe that with time, they will manage to give us a really good experience with their games one day!

[@planescaped]

I have my doubts. Such incremental improvements towards a minimum viable product tells me that the games are being made for profit and not passion.

[@RoniStudio]

This game need: 1. running mode 2. horse as a transportation 3. insect catch

[@StellaMariEstanislao]

And harvest sprites

[@pixeldes]

​@@StellaMariEstanislao yeah! Harvest moon is not harvest moon without harvest sprites

[@Narveloz]

1. let me add, barn feeding need to be auto, they still eat if you leave, no need stupid buggy montage where they bump and obstructing each other while trying to eat, 2. slower time, each time go to barn took 2 hours wtf...

[@L16htW4rr10r]

I thought horse was already a transportation

[@GrimmOperation87]

And the ability to use a controller

[@cutespooky]

Not the zoom in on the vibrating sheep 🤣

[@cutespooky]

AND THE DISAPPEARING GIRL

[@sapphirII]

I'm not a fan of Natsume currently with their bad games, but I wish more farming games implemented a mutation mechanic, allowing variants under some conditions.

[@mableleaf2445]

I Loved that so much in light of Hope, it broke my Heart that they kicked the Mutation system after that

[@chaossmith3864]

​@@mableleaf2445What do you mean? All of Natsume's farming sims have a mutation system. Unless this one suddenly doesn't? I know this because I've played every single one but this one, and own every single one but this one and Seeds of Memories....

[@tinahoefs1455]

​@chaossmith3864 You're correct that they all do have mutations including the mobile game.

[@mableleaf2445]

@@chaossmith3864 Sorry I was only referring to Winds of anthos, the following title to light of Hope. It seems I haven't played it for long enough to get to notice the Mutationsystem, I just thought it has been kicked in this game.

[@Redge.]

My qualm is that, currently, neither Android or IOS have cloud save / sync between devices. For me, the appeal of mobile games is playing the same save on my tablet OR phone.

[@JoshGamingGarden]

Yes! It's such a missed opportunity, especially since both platforms have tools to enable cloud saving. I found out (after my video) that if you delete the app, at least on Android, it will also delete your save file.

[@JeanPaul-wu9pr]

Nice review, in the mines you just need to tap the exclamation mark and you will naturally avoid the rock falls. You don’t have to move like in Winds of Anthos.

[@kimbarlieclark196]

Omg your comment is so helpful 😱😍

[@L16htW4rr10r]

Or if you dig many tiles, you are moving and avoiding the falling stone lel

[@zillo1600]

I like the concept to try to bring crop rotations into the game something you have to consider in real life too but I think it is very difficult to make right and not be annoying to the player. Rune Factory 4 had something like that too and there I kind of liked it. Still I think this harvest moon is again not something for me. Sadly the natsume harvest moon games just don't klick with me.

[@danielmatson4209]

While this does have many rough spots, this feels like the right move for Natsume. Harvest Moon is never going to be preferable to Story of Seasons on console. If the polish them more, farming games that play well on mobile are much harder to come by.

[@HeitjeS]

Thank you for the detailed review!

[@mobatest5361]

I will always hate what Natsume did when they posted a "20th Anniversary" message on their website even if the games that they released is no longer the same "Harvest Moon" game. They really milked the title for what it's worth. This is misleading. Harvest Moon is my childhood. I will never play a "Harvest Moon" game released by Natsume. The post in case you are interested and you haven't read the post: "It all started 20 years ago when we took a chance to bring an unknown farming simulation game to the US, back when no farming game genre existed. After 20 years, we are very proud that Harvest Moon has grown up to be one of the best known non-violent and family-friendly games in the entire video game universe thanks to the continued support of loyal Harvest Moon fans. We hope you will find your favorite games you used to play among the games listed below. We sincerely appreciate your support for the past 20 years, and appreciate your continued support for many years to come!"

[@JoshGamingGarden]

I know! 😭 I get why they do it as a business, but I really dislike it. There are still people who don't know, try the games and wonder why they're completely different from older Harvest Moon games. I would feel better about it if they changed the name, but they know that the name sells more than the gameplay.

[@mobatest5361]

@@JoshGamingGarden Agree 100%. They are shaddy for doing this. As a fan, I feel so cheated. I'll never pick up any Harvest oon games released by Natsume. I love watching your vids tho so I'm here lol

[@AlexDayz]

@@JoshGamingGarden Agreed. It’s one of the main reasons it took me so long to get into the games since I was so confused about the whole split. One I figured it out I tried Pioneers of Olive Town and have loved farming games ever since

[@Patollinka]

Ok SoS it's also not the same, so don't tell m that Natsume did nothing. They love this franchise! It is like parents divorce...... after your parents get divorced, your dad is still ur dad and mom is mom, they call U child and they don't change your name. I hate how ppl spread hate....

[@chaossmith3864]

I mean they did though? They localized the franchise back when it was a huge risk to do so. They're not claiming to have made the franchise. (It's not like Marvelous created the franchise either, but it's apparently okay if they get credit for it....)

[@microwave7512]

I critique Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons alot, but thats just because I loved these games as a kid. I used to play hours of this with my Dad❤ I think it's time that I accept that this game isn't going to be as good as it was in the old days😢

[@microwave7512]

Thank you for your reviews Josh!

[@Malgamus]

Just started playing this and I’m enjoying it. It is by far the best Natsume HM game. I was about to write it off for being on mobile but I’m glad I tried it. I like that it’s a smaller world. While I finished WoA, the world was way bigger than it needed to be and felt empty. I really like the auto walk feature on the map for getting around too.

[@Alfredopizzaluver151]

The Harvest Moon company seems to be slowly improving, but that’s a part of the problem, they need to let devs have time to make a good enough game. Constantly putting out low quality games is bad for their business, especially with better games coming from other places every year.

[@SirKupoNut]

I feel like they should be rewarded just for the pricing model but I know I won't really play it. Imagine this kind of game, with more time in the oven and on console. Would be so much better

[@xxcamelia]

Ngl I already knew the characters would be bland just by watching the trailer

[@Pam-ye3ie]

I was playing Home Sweet Home for quite some time and I have to say that it is a game that I like a lot, although it has both things that I like and that I don't Personally I like that festivals appear thanks to you, although it is frustrating that in the first year you miss most of them because of it, but unlike most games with the style of "help rebuild the town" in this one I really feel that things are moving forward. For example, at the beginning most of the neighbors' crops were dead, as well as there were just few people in the town, but as you advance the crops are alive again, people leave their homes and tourist come to visit. It really makes me feel like our presence there really helps the village, for the most of other games it was just create or restore something and everything remained the same, I like the progression mode of the village as you progress through the game. Personally, I really like the fishing game, although I understand that it stresses out if you don't realize at first that some fish should only be able to catch later Even so, I would appreciate improvements such as being able to ride horses in the village, an improvement in the AI in the animals (many times they bug or go for food that is just occupied by another animal) more customizable things, improved controls, cloud saving, graphics adjustment, that birthdays have more importance (not much, one or two special dialogue is enough, but as far as I saw NPCs only react to your birthday), etc It's a game that I think has a lot of future if they update (I doubt they will add content updates, but it's worth dreaming), because it has a lot to give if they know how to take advantage of it. It's not a wonderful and perfect game, but it does feel nice to play (at least for me) even though it doesn't feel like a game mobile game (What I'm grateful for, I'm tired of the Candy Crush variations) While one thing I'm sure we can all agree on is that it's WAY too expensive, it would get more attention if it was priced similarly to Stardew Valley

[@cyclingonplants7444]

Hi Josh 😊 I have been playing this game for a couple of days and I LOVE it! I played Harvest Moon (the very first one) on GameCube back in ..... a long time ago!LOL I think it's very well done for a mobile game and it's fun to have this to play when I'm waiting somewhere and need to pass the time. The animals are super cute and I have enjoy the music and running around foraging. I just bought a fishing rod so I will trying that later. I am an old lady of 60 though so not sure if I have the same needs from a game as all you younger folks. I thought the $24.99 price CAD was very reasonable for this content and no other money sinks involved like some of the other online farming games. Those really make me angry!

[@PointsofData]

JS but the first Harvest Moon was on SNES, the one on GameCube is A Wonderful Life/Another Wonderful Life (they released a second version to play as a girl and added extra content.) AWL is the one I played first as well and I adored it, but I later found out it's pretty different from most HM games so haven't felt like playing another. If you want to replay that one there was a recent remake released for the Switch under the Story of Season's banner. They also added QoL changes like giving you a tab to see your relationship meters (even hearts THANK GOD), tweaked the translation to be closer to the original Japanese, and I believe kept all the extra features of Another Wonderful Life like all the extra pets you can get but didn't look into that. Highly recommend if you liked the original!!

[@cyclingonplants7444]

@@PointsofData Thanks - I will definitely look into that and I appreciate this info :)

[@MiguiMonkey]

The "underworld" caught me off guard! OMG what?!

[@neontyler6663]

I actually love this new game tbh. love the new farming mechanics they brought here, can’t wait for their future updates ❤

[@Vic_Coco]

I can’t wait for 10 years from now when Natsume finally catches up with other farming games

[@lilylunamoonyt]

i have winds of anthos cuz my mom bought it for us when we came back from a vacation and she stayed to clean the house, and home sweet home is pretty much just winds of anthos with a different story and characters, its basically identical in terms of graphics and gameplay

[@lunaryune]

I love them animal design in this game. I hate it when they look super round and too cutesy

[@tiffanykeefe2368]

Might get it for the winter when stormy days knock out the power

[@wexon4840]

lots of bugs from me

[@wexon4840]

or maybe its just for Android device 😢

[@manoelaxerri7643]

The worst thing is that they have the same bugs as Winds of Anthos

[@StunkoBungusJrIII-j4y]

The thousand injuries of Natsume I had borne as I best could, but when they ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely, settled --but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.

[@leonelsantizo5281]

Shot for everytime Josh says Winds of Anthos

[@-Tanger_ine-]

A good farming game for mobile that’s free is The Farm Sassy Princess (ridiculous name ik). Very simple though, three love interests and pretty silly. I wish they had more games like it on mobile.

[@Srimadhanmohandas]

I remember this when I used to play it in ps 1 and when I got to have a fox as a pet.

[@fearmyspork3450]

playing this since i dont like lugging my switch to work.. its not terrible but feels like its missing the charm of past games before they broke off to SoS

[@Chuchayra]

It's a shame, horses are only for racing. Whereas everywhere I go I walk, and that makes me sick.

[@reder36o68]

Am I'm missing something I'm on android but it's not showing up in the Google play store?

[@ArcNeoMasato]

I have one of those Android based game systems, and I'm honestly curious if this game can use the controller build onto that, or if it would force touch controls (Or for that matter, if I could use a bluetooth mouse on my tablet to play similar to how you did)

[@oniwaski8353]

I am always happy to see how much more Natsume is progressing on thier farming sims. They have only gotten better each game. But sadly, being a cell phone only game, even though the price is amazing for a new game, i simply won't be buying it. It's personal, but i just don't enjoy games on my phone or tablet. If a pc or console release comes out at a later date, even at a higher price, I will buy it~

[@chaiyarodliang83]

It's weird but true, it seems like the game could have been better but the creators chose not to make it, I understand that this is made for mobile devices, not consoles, but the game is not suitable for direct contact either.😅

[@RaftechGaming89]

the house interior changing is almost similar on how they implement it on Ragnarok Mobile Eternal Love

[@Mike-or2cv]

That grass with the plants sticked out looks so bad. Also the camera in the mine is terribble...

[@SteveT-0]

First thought: New farming game, cool!! Second thought: it's mobile.. NOOOOOOOOPPPPPEEEEE!!!!

[@Proserpira]

The only good mechanic to come out of these wretched games is the mutations.

[@mbuckley3828]

So are there mounts (buyable or capturable) in this game after all to get around the map faster after all, even if not available until later in the game? Also, is the game receiving updates by the developer at this time still or is it completely finished and not being developed any further by Natsume at this point?

[@lissajay5866]

I like this game, a lot! I wonder what the bus station and tunnels are for?

[@JoshGamingGarden]

I think they're only decorative, just to show how people come in and out of Alba.

[@Hana-jc1le]

Harvest moon is supposed to be not compatible with my devices so i decided to install the apk and surprised it's working perfectly,i really don't get it

[@naseraltaee]

Regardless of optimization and performance, considering only the controls, would you recommend PC over other versions of the game?

[@bluefox2844]

Generic is what the new harvest moon series does best

[@ashyxt]

what tablet are you using to attain such a smooth framerate?

[@cutejustice]

I wish the colors weren’t so muted though. Is it possible to slap a reshade on that game? 😂

[@ronaldjeremiahdeleon1730]

Question : I finish the game will there be an update on the story?

[@bibo6574]

Do they have the dwarfs or spirit sprite that helps water the crops ?

[@JoshGamingGarden]

No, but you can have sprinklers!

[@Meowichelle]

aww i wasnt able to choose my own birthday , im playing on my phone

[@Ivan-xh7uc]

what????! you can chop the tree trunk????!!

[@Inocchy]

can you play the game on Android with controller? how it would be looks like/?

[@johnmillington2719]

Does this let you use controller

[@captainfach]

Your French I was wondering what your accent was but it didn't sound French to me but I always loved it

[@lucyk.5163]

It was not released in Japan?! At least I can't find it on the Japanese itunes store?!

[@JoshGamingGarden]

No, Natsume typically doesn't release their Harvest Moon games in Japan.

[@MoreLikeCryraxx]

I'm sorry this is so off topic, but I'm learning French right now. Why do you say tu vas avoir chaud instead of tu vas être chaud? Être is literally to be instead of to have 😂 it also confuses me why it's je suis fatigué but j'ai sommeil. I am vs I have. I LOVE the language so much, it's just so confusing sometimes 🖤

[@muziebmulyanaofficial9438]

can i marry the harvest goddess? coincidentally i just got the blue father

[@suicune2001]

The game looks nice but not being able to marry until after you've completed the story is one of the issues I have with RF 5. Just knowing marriage is so far out of my reach is annoying. And I'm not going to go through all that effort for bland characters. Sounds like another pass. It does sound like they are making the game better every time but it seems like they just keep recycling the same old characters in every game. While part of me would love to see Ford in another SOS game, I think he would feel out of place.

[@KryaDiere]

What?? No I definitely got married before I completed the story in RF5. Where did you read this? Maybe it was old news.

[@suicune2001]

@@KryaDiere I could swear when it first came out people said you have to beat the story to unlock marriage. I could be wrong on that. Maybe it was the specific candidate I was thinking of.

[@JerryLafond-mi7py]

Hey Josh, enjoy your gaming garden posts. When playing home sweet home, mining at floor 34 to floor 35, the screen freezes, unable to move forward. Is it a glitch/bug?

[@JoshGamingGarden]

I'm still only at level 30, but that definitely sounds like a bug! I think I've seen other people mentioning the same issue, so hoping it gets fixed.

[@JerryLafond-mi7py]

@@JoshGamingGarden thanks for the reply Josh. Decided to reset my I-pad and (yea) it solved the “freeze situation”. Managed to continue in the mine and even got Peter to expand the mine to max floor 90. Now I can reach the bottom and collect all ores/gems. Hooray for me!

[@AmeenSaifulazri]

Seems like One World gameplay 😿 Was about to buy it

[@buzzlightyear832]

Does anyone got black floor in mining cave? 😂

[@udangbelalang]

I wish natsume will add more npc ,

[@CrazyMautty]

Thought it was weird I hadn't heard about a new HM game. Then "Oh, its mobile trash..." hit like a freight train.

[@voidninja9134]

It's too small game and nothing much to do

[@michelangelo711]

I like chicken model in this game

[@Imagirl2]

The second you said ios, I raaaannn to the app store. The second I saw that they ask €20 for a mobile game, I ran back here even faster because how dare they 😂

[@dravisscott4017]

Now it’s 13$

[@lukep.]

Hi Josh, do you plan to do a follow-up review of Coral Island? 🪸 🏝️

[@tinahoefs1455]

They stole the favorite food for animals from wylde flowers. In wylde flowers it helps you breed special colored animals.

[@fynn3016]

I think these Natsume HM Games look so generic... characters look boring, world looks boring, gameplay looks copy and pasted. But i think thats the difference between dev´s just doing their job and passionate dev´s

[@MoreLikeCryraxx]

For $17.99 for MOBILE the game needs to look way, way better than this...I can't even get past the horrible graphics to care about the game. It's so bad.

[@박켄윤]

Can you get married on this game?

[@Ike-m5v]

I will never waste money anymore on HM. The can’t be bothered attitude among the devs is just appalling. The characters’ design, furniture and surroundings have no improvement from one title to the other. Just another money grabbing company! 😤😤😤

[@munenightwing]

I suggest story of seasons, they're the original developers from HM.

[@Narveloz]

too many bugs

[@AbigailAgustin-ij9dp]

I played until chapter 5,and then I got really bored,wylde flower is far better than this

[@JoshGamingGarden]

Wylde Flowers has so much more care poured into it! If you have Apple Arcade it's certainly a better option.

[@AbigailAgustin-ij9dp]

@@JoshGamingGarden yeah i subscribed to apple arcade

[@zelphyntenta9309]

Harvest Moon used to be the goat in this genre. What happened?

[@JoshGamingGarden]

The Harvest Moon games after 2014 are being made by a different developer. The original series was renamed to Story of Seasons!

[@zelphyntenta9309]

@@JoshGamingGarden oh, that explains it.

[@munenightwing]

tldr: natsume took the label "harvest moon" while the team of developers left and did their own series called "story of seasons" or SoS. the first 3ds one and trio of towns are pretty good imo, would recommend.

[@NoraNoita]

it looks way too basic for me.

[@Icyangel10]

I can't help but think of Harvest Town which also has a fast travel via map function.(It's even slightly faster than walking) Harvest Town is an app farming life sim that was accused of being a copy of Stardew Valley. Admittedly the character sprites(not the portraits) are similar & you have bathhouse that's fixed up area by area thanks to giving bundles(some are kind of hard to get & take a lot.of resources) but it's got a lot different.(I have complains but being a ripoff is the least of my issues) The game starts with you as an elder thinking back on life & wishing you had done things differently as things changed after moving out of your home town. By some miracle you're taken back in time & given a second chance. I had to stop playing because I hoarded too much, still a WIP so I finished what the story had so far & I needed to get away from the microtransactions. The game is free but it has season passes for decorations for your farm.(Sometimes interesting stuff like your own island before Ginger island was a thing & an unlimited storage place you can pay a little to add more spots) Not to mention at the start your farm has areas blocked off & you need to either pay money or level your farm up.high enough to unlock more room.

[@misoo7350]

Truee the character looks bland

[@kalythai]

No thanks.

[@PeggingCryptids]

Unfortunately you can not take the horse out

[@JoshGamingGarden]

That is so unfortunate 😭

[@PeggingCryptids]

It really is when the horses are very pretty, and it would allow you to move faster. Maybe if enough people provide feedback, they will do an update in the future.

[@Mr_Red.25]

Damn that sucks

[@moosemousse]

I was so mad when I found out the hard way! At first I thought maybe you need to train it or something but what is the point of the horse then! So annoyed. At least I got the horse on the day Philip was doing 30% sale…