User blog:Nerakil/Tree of Tranquility - Thoughts

Hi guys! Just wanted to write a short blog about my likes, dislikes and thoughts in general about the game Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility before I go to bed. It's the only one of the 'newer' Harvest Moon games I've played, and it's much more different from what I was used to.

The first thing was the map; to be honest, it really put me off in the beginning because I was always so used to and expected something similar to the maps of the handheld console versions, which are always relatively small and easy to navigate. I have since memorized the map and gotten familiar with the area, but in the beginning, I was constantly getting confused and lost.

Anyways, here are a few moe pros and cons (for me) that I've found in the game so far. My thoughts about it are mostly positive, but there are a few minor things that just don't make sense to me.

I'll probably be adding more, but I'm kind of sleepy now and I can't think of much.

Pros

 * No waiting for the blacksmith to upgrade your tools -- just pay him and give him an ore, and you're good to go!
 * All shops only close on one of three days a week -- Sunday, Monday and Saturday. I remember back in the day (Mineral Town), I had to memorize the whole town's schedule so that I don't waste time running out to a place that's closed for the day. Now I just have to know that stores close on one of these three days. And it's more realistic, hey, I don't really know many places that close up for no reason in the middle of the week, but yeah, lots of places close on Sundays, Mondays, and/or Saturdays.
 * Mining is so much more convenient and less time-consuming (irl). To effectively descend the mines in Friends of Mineral Town, I just blindly struck the mine floor until I found the stairs (and the mine floors were much larger), reloaded, then tried to find the spot again. Even though time doesn't stop indoors anymore, I still like this mining system better - I can get down to find rarer items quicker, and reach the bottom without any trouble.
 * Customization. I can't pretend that I don't like playing dress-up with my character, even if he's a boy. Right now, I can't really afford the luxuries (i.e. clothes and pretty furniture), but I am excited to be able to dress him in nice hats and colorful clothes one day, and buy a nice, expensive set of matching furniture and appliances.
 * The ten-heart system for keeping track of villagers' affection points. I think it's a nice medium between Friends of Mineral Town, where I can't really ever know how much the villagers like me aside from wild estimations, and when they give me a recipe, which is pretty much one of the only signals that I am their friend (And of course, the bachelorettes and their colored hearts), and Harvest Moon DS, where you get some weird magical bangle (?) that displays a villager's affection for you, point by point. I didn't like that one; I felt it was too clear; it felt like cheating and it's just not as fun as being able to estimate, but not being completely in the dark, if that makes sense.
 * The "tracking" a villager thing. Stalking made easy. It's dead useful.
 * The bell in front of the barn. Again, dead useful and time saving, as opposed to building a fence to confine your livestock outdoors, then pushing them back into the barn one by one at the end of the day.
 * Grass for fodder is free and fast-growing! 

Cons

 * You can't unstack items. Big, big dislike for me, since I'm always accidentally stacking items, thinking I can pull them apart later.
 * I'm not sure if this is a pro or con, but I'll put it here since it's working to my disadvantage at the moment, being dirt-poor and all. :P All villagers "love" more expensive, or higher quality things. This is a pro since it is more realistic -- I mean, in Friends of Mineral Town, Gray loved branches, and, well, I don't know anyone as excited as he is to receive a branch. While it is much simpler to earn affection points in Mineral Town, it was just kind of boring after a while, like it was routine, to collect my eggs, save some for Gotz, Carter and the Doctor, boil some milk for Elli, pluck a Pink Cat for Zack, etc. (see, I haven't played in a while, but it's just drilled in my mind). I don't really know how to explain it, but it feels so much more rewarding to give someone in Waffle Town something they love, because I had to spend more time and effort to find it for them. I'm sure it does get easier later on, but like I said, I am dirt-poor right now, and I rarely grow shining/perfect crops.
 * Ahh! My day's too short! Waffle Town is so much bigger, but the time-flow has not changed, the day can still be over in a matter of minutes. I'm just dashing around town right now, trying to tick off everything on my to-do list, and I barely have enough time to do everything I need to in a day. Also, time doesn't stop indoors. Every time I want to sit a bit and mull over a few things, or what to do next, I have to pause the game or something.

Be adding more soon when I think of any, gonna go to bed for now. :)