Maybe someday I'll tell you the story of how Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town saved my life. For now, I'll describe some of my favorite moments in the sweet farm sim: Riding my horse to the top of a mountain at sunset. The first morning of winter, when you open your front door to find your fields blanketed in snow.
The good old Harvest Moon series, at its best on old portable Nintendo platforms, has lost its luster in recent years (some complex acquisition-related issue eventually happened with the brand). But there was a time when I would have recommended it to anyone who's soothed by patient ritual, in tiny step-by-step creation of a homestead, a little business, a life and a marriage. Living and building, year after year, in a kind village.
There's a new farm sim called World's Dawn seeking funding, and from what I've seen of its generous three-season demo, it has a lot of what I loved about classic farm games, but with a little bit more sophistication to the writing. And you can play either as a girl or boy farmer, and further choose whether you want to romance girl or boy villagers (or both), an option that's rarely available in the traditional franchise (though back in the day I once married a mermaid).
