Harvestella: The end is here

 

 After 85 hours of play, I’m done with Squeenix’ take on the farming-meets-RPG genre. I was barely starting to feel a bit of gaming fatigue; I could probably have gone on, had I not reached the ending and experienced the usual concomitant drop of will to play. 

 

 

The money balance got better in the late stages, to my utter delight; and it would probably have gotten even better over time. From what I’ve seen, it follows an somewhat exponential progression: the early stages are unbearably hard and slow, but money starts to roll in after certain steps are taken, and keeps rolling faster and faster. 

 

 

 As far as I’m concerned, the turnaround happened after I cleared the Astrum Helix Research Facility. I harvested a lot of Promised Fruit Saplings from foes and foraging spots and could create a big fat orchard. Promised Fruits can be harvested every other day and all year round, which allowed me to produce a crap ton of jams and get plenty of decent money by selling them. I invested in pens, woolums and cluffowls; the latter produced milk and eggs on a daily basis, which I transformed and sold. I bought more saplings, woolums and cluffowls with my earnings, produced more transformed goods, and reaped more money; and I could easily have kept that loop going, earning always more and cramming my farm to max capacity. 

 

 

Long story short: Harvestella is not a perfect game by any means, but it’s a game that I really enjoyed. It’s gorgeous as heck, and it offers a unique ethereal atmosphere and a slow pacing that’s deeply soothing. And now, on to the next one!

 

Fire Emblem Engage: I love it, but not right now

 

The title is self-explanatory, I guess. I really like everything about Engage, from the colourful cast to the no less colourful character design; and don’t even get me started on the inventive battlefields or the many player-friendly innovations. Yet despite all that love, I don’t feel like indulging in Engage right now. 

 

 

The thing is, this is not a game you can drop for days, lest you forget everything about your crew; yet at the same time, it’s not exactly conducive to binge-playing. I guess a good way to enjoy it would be to play one battle a day, plus a bit of fluff; alas, this is not a play style I can pull off right now. And so, I have to shelve Engage until I can give it the time and attention it deserves.  

 

 

I have to thank Engage for introducing me to the wonderful Mika Pikazo and her eye-popping art, which I instantly became a sucker for. I went as far as to purchase the Divine Edition and pin the included poster in my office — yeah, we’re cool like that where I work. 

 

 

Anyway! Engage is not my jam now, but I’ll play it sooner or later, that’s for sure. And now, on to the next one!  

 

Fire Emblem Engage: Now we’re talking

 

Well, guess who just reached chapter 11? Looks like I managed to make Engage work for me, baby! It took a full restart and a new run, but that was worth it. The best part is that this change of fortunes only took minor changes — namely:

 

 

— Story battles only: During my first run, I tackled all extra battles and spent a lot of time doing stuff in the Somniel; as a result, I lost my focus and had trouble focusing on the main battles. For my second run, I decided to shear all that fluff and to zero in on said main battles — and that worked miracles! Not only do I enjoy the ride way more, but I also perform way better in battle. Win-win!

 

 

— Matchmaking galore: You can play Fire Emblem without pairing units, but why would you? Making love bloom on the battlefield is fun as heck, and I enjoy Engage more now that I'm keeping my eyes peeled for potential chemistry. Alear is totally going to end up with Alcryst, just because I say so; I’ve not yet decided for the rest of the roster, but that will come soon enough. 

 

 

— My favourite units: During my first run, I felt compelled to keep units I didn’t fancy in my force, just because they were strong or story-relevant. That was obviously a bad move; this time around, I decided to focus on my very favourite units. Engage introduces a lot of units over a short period of time, which forced me to choose very quickly; as of chapter 11, my main force comprises Alcryst, Framme, Clanne, Vander, Alfred, Etie, Diamant, Jade and Lapis. The last three potentially have their heads on the chopping block, as I may remove them for fancier units; the rest of the team should be assured to stay until the very end, unless they start sucking spectacularly on the battlefield.  

 

 

That second run feels effortless, and much more fulfilling than the first: not only did I reach Chapter 11 after a mere 3:38 hours of play, but battles flow smoothly and painlessly. Talking about battles, I found a nifty way to deal with being outnumbered as a rule: instead of scattering my units, I keep them clumped and end my own turn early, thus letting foes come to me. It’s a bit cheap, but it works great! That trick wouldn’t cut it with perma-death on, as I lose a couple of units still every battle; but it’s perfect for casual play. I’ll see you soon with a proper progress report, dear fellow gamers! Take care!