It's absolutely no secret how engrossed in a video game one can become, especially when the "one" in question is yours truly. Nintendo games have had my heart since I first received a Game Boy Color and a copy of "Super Mario Bros." I grew up with the games that most children of my generation grew up with: "Pokemon," "The Legend of Zelda," "Animal Crossing" and every Mario franchise I could get my little hands on. However, as I am now discovering, I had a giant hole in my childhood heart that could only be filled by "going back to nature" and completing my virtual chores. I have finally taken the plunge into the world of "Harvest Moon."
After seeing my two best friends cosplaying as the Harvest Goddess Dessie and Fritz from the 2014 "Harvest Moon: Story of Seasons," I knew I had to see why they were in love with a game that seems to have pushed itself onto Nintendo's back burner. What could possibly be so interesting about farming turnips?
Your fellow farmer, Fritz, could tell you a thing or two.
My beautifully costumed friends encouraged me to take the plunge into what I now realize is more than just farming turnips. I've started playing one of the simpler games, "Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar" for the Nintendo DS. I'm still fairly new at the game, but my turnips did well and my threshold, Bumble Farm, could definitely be doing much worse. The player character goes about her day, tending to crops, raising livestock, foraging in town and building relationships with the townsfolk and customers. On Saturdays (or Sundays, depending on special events), the week's hard work is put out for sale. Selling wool, crops, complex dishes and windmill-manufactured goods, your player's farm is put to the ultimate test: keeping afloat. Not to boast, but even without a Harvest Goddess present in "Grand Bazaar," Bumble Farm is doing pretty well.
Is that bad karma for my farm?
Not surprisingly, I have come to learn that there is more to "Harvest Moon" than growing turnips; it is about building a new life, and, yes, it is about "getting back to nature." What I have been taking from the game as a young adult is the true importance of patience. Honestly, I wish I could go back in time and give the opportunity to discover this new world to a younger version of myself; Heaven knows she could have used some more patience. But, as I wait for my sheep to mature, for my turnips to grow and for the seasons to change, I learn something else: life is about more than an end result. Though the NPCs in this game have a staggeringly low amount of dialogue, each day I bring them a gift to build friendships and trigger new village events.
My point in this rambling anecdote is, hidden gems can be found just about anywhere, and they truly are gems. Even Nintendo, arguably the greatest gaming company of our time, has its own gems that are buried behind the more common minerals that make up its core. But, as I've learned from my own experiences on Bumble Farm, the crops you wait the longest for are often worth it, and there is always a spare moment to observe the flowers.
