Farming Fantasy
Harvestellais a JRPG.
Even calling your property a farm is a bit of a stretch.
Its a lovely cottage that Im pretty sure has more square footage than my two-bedroom house.
The downside is, much like the farm, theres no customisation to speak of.
Character customisation is also limited.
No beefcake adventurers for you!
Thats not to say that the farming and crafting side of things arent well integrated with the adventuring.
Your stamina bar only regenerates when youve been fed.
Most importantly, the life sim side of things gives a solid foundation for your adventures.
Then you return home to sleep and start all over again.
Otherwise, it only takes 10-15 minutes of real-time to get through a whole day.
As for the combat itself, its…fine.
Theyre mostly big attacks, but there are some buff and debuff abilities too.
Its livened up somewhat by a job system, which Im always a fan of.
Every time a new character joins the party, it unlocks their class as a job for the protagonist.
Achieving a Double Break allows you to unleash a pals special move.
Like the farming side, its all fairly basic, but it meshes together well.
Its also absolutely bonkers and I am a sucker for an over-the-top anime-esque rollercoaster of a story.
Side quests ground things and let you get to know the gang of misfits you accumulate along the way.
A lot of these go straight for the cheap melodrama and had me reaching straight for the tissues.
They have an orphanage in the second town, folks, the second bloody town.
Harvestella goes straight for heartstrings, through your ribcage if necessary.
The limitations of the hardware it was designed for are clear and there are few graphics options to tweak.
Harvestella is far more than the sum of its unexceptional parts.
