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Harvest Moon: Animal Parade!

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I really felt that after all the discussion in another thread, this game really needed its own topic.

Harvest Moon: Animal Parade is still my favorite out of the entire Harvest Moon series thus far.

It's relatively easy to play and learn, has a really nice pace, actually has a story that is a little more inclusive and gives you a real problem to solve in the town and work toward (which seems rare for HM games), has lots of memorable characters, allows the option for rivals to get married to the bachelor/ettes that you do not choose (which is becoming rarer and rarer in HM games, sadly), and even makes your in-game children important to the story and the plot! And much more, I guarantee it!

I have had a fantastic experience playing the game and I have multiple files. I find it to be extremely relaxing and playing it can make even my worst of days feel not so bad. The music is calming and pretty, catchy, and the world of Harvest Moon: Animal Parade effortlessly drew me in and has kept me snagged tight since I first played it. Despite having played many other HM games both before and after Animal Parade, I always end up going back to it to play and even decided to do a full-fledged Let's Play of the game that is now my longest running LP so far.

So! Tell me about your experiences with the game! Let's discuss! Favorite bachelor/bachelorette? Favorite pairing? Can't decide who to court? What are your thoughts on the game's story and the gameplay? (Note: These don't all have to be answered---just getting the ball rolling for some discussion!)

Even if you haven't played the game before, feel free to chip in your thoughts and/or questions!

Let's chat! : )
 
Thanks to your wonderful let's play I'm just waiting to join you once my copy arrives in the mail! ^.^ My favourite bachelor is Chase by far and my fave bachelorette is probably between the Harvest Goddess or Renee. :) Thanks for making an Animal Parade thread as I had a bad habit of brining it up a lot in the other one. ^.^
 
So glad you made a thread for this.:D I loved this game. The children and rival marriages really made it more interesting to me. I usually end up getting slightly bored of HM games after getting married, but this game really kept my attention afterward.
I just started up a new file on it yesterday. The music on the farm is so relaxing and it's so tough to choose which animals to keep on the farm and as pets.
Chase is still my favourite bachelor, but I'm trying for the Wizard in my new file.XD

Thanks to your wonderful let's play I'm just waiting to join you once my copy arrives in the mail! ^.^ My favourite bachelor is Chase by far and my fave bachelorette is probably between the Harvest Goddess or Renee. :) Thanks for making an Animal Parade thread as I had a bad habit of brining it up a lot in the other one. ^.^

Yeah, I found myself getting off track on the other thread too, haha.XD
 
I also recently ordered this game because I never added it to my huge collection of HM games and you guys kinda talked me into it without trying! I received it in the mail, along with Magical Melody that I also never had, and I haven't started playing it just yet.
I'll probably start soon, though. Magical Melody is a pretty cute game but it's proving not to be my style of game right now :p
 
Animal Parade has been my favorite of all HM also...

Favorites though? Hmm....

Witch & Wizard...not gonna spoiler with their real names in case someone hasn't courted them yet and learned their names. :3
 
I really want to play Animal Parade! It seems like it'd be so much better than tree of tranquility. I'll eventually buy it some day!
 
my friend and i saved our money up together and bought tree of tranquility years ago. we played it in her upstairs room during the summer which had no heat. we would stay up there all day (this lasted for a week or longer) and we literally would take sleeping shifts and only went downstairs for food. i have to say it's one of my favorites!

now i have animal parade, and i love it too! definitely one of the best harvest moon games. (also toby and luke are the best) (and candace is cutest girl)
 
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Thanks to your wonderful let's play I'm just waiting to join you once my copy arrives in the mail! ^.^ My favourite bachelor is Chase by far and my fave bachelorette is probably between the Harvest Goddess or Renee. :) Thanks for making an Animal Parade thread as I had a bad habit of brining it up a lot in the other one. ^.^

I'm glad you're enjoying the LP! : ) I hope your copy comes in soon! Hehe, Chase is definitely my favorite, too. I was happy that viewer votes leaned toward him. XD Wizard was the closest second, but even he was a few votes off. For the females, I think Candace is adorable and I can't wait to get her together with Julius. Haha. And the Harvest Goddess brings up another point I forgot to make: for once, the Harvest Goodess is actually a nice lady! In most of the other games, she's such a self-centered jerk, but she's actually a sweetheart in AP!

So glad you made a thread for this.:D I loved this game. The children and rival marriages really made it more interesting to me. I usually end up getting slightly bored of HM games after getting married, but this game really kept my attention afterward.
I just started up a new file on it yesterday. The music on the farm is so relaxing and it's so tough to choose which animals to keep on the farm and as pets.
Chase is still my favourite bachelor, but I'm trying for the Wizard in my new file.XD

Yeah, I found myself getting off track on the other thread too, haha.XD

My pleasure! I saw all the discussion in the other thread but it felt too off-topic there for me to reply, so I thought, well, it's about time it had its own thread! But yeah, I agree--I definitely like how they incorporated more to do after getting married. You feel like there's still more to accomplish and the main storyline doesn't just stop dead or something. I applaud it so much on that.
And it IS really hard to pick and choose animal types and pets! Especially the latter. I almost always go for the collie (because it's freaking adorable), but there's so many! I want to get a panda some time, but it's such a pain to get out to Toucan Island.

Yaaaay, another Chase fan! : ) He's definitely my fave. I'm also planning to aim for Wizard or Gill in my next playthrough.

I also recently ordered this game because I never added it to my huge collection of HM games and you guys kinda talked me into it without trying! I received it in the mail, along with Magical Melody that I also never had, and I haven't started playing it just yet.
I'll probably start soon, though. Magical Melody is a pretty cute game but it's proving not to be my style of game right now :p

I hope you enjoy it when you get the chance to play it! : ) I can't say it would necessarily be up EVERYONE'S alley, but I rarely hear anything bad about the game. It's very well-rounded and immersive, which is important for a game that should have a lot of replay value for the amount of time you need to put into it. Let us know what you think when you do play!

Animal Parade has been my favorite of all HM also...

Favorites though? Hmm....

Witch & Wizard...not gonna spoiler with their real names in case someone hasn't courted them yet and learned their names. :3

I agree, the Wizard and Witch are great! X3 I kind of ship them a tiny bit because of how conflictive they are with each other. Hahaha. But I've been meaning to have Wizard courted in a future playthrough. He's great. I really love his character.

I really want to play Animal Parade! It seems like it'd be so much better than tree of tranquility. I'll eventually buy it some day!

I hope you're able to get it! I found it for less than twenty bucks years ago, so I'd imagine it's still around the same price range. I haven't played ToT, myself, but I've been wanting to try it at some point. I can't seem to find the game sold anywhere for less than sixty bucks, though, which seems odd. o_Oa

my friend and i saved our money up together and bought tree of tranquility years ago. we played it in her upstairs room during the summer which had no heat. we would stay up there all day (this lasted for a week or longer) and we literally would take sleeping shifts and only went downstairs for food. i have to say it's one of my favorites!

now i have animal parade, and i love it too! definitely one of the best harvest moon games. (also toby and luke are the best) (and candace is cutest girl)

I've heard ToT is pretty fun, too! I'd like to play it sometime if I could find it for a decent price. I'm glad you like Animal Parade, too, though! Luke is a hoot. I always get a kick out of him and his EXTREEEEME everything. And Candace is my favorite bachelorette. She's adorable. : )
 
I also recently ordered this game because I never added it to my huge collection of HM games and you guys kinda talked me into it without trying! I received it in the mail, along with Magical Melody that I also never had, and I haven't started playing it just yet.
I'll probably start soon, though. Magical Melody is a pretty cute game but it's proving not to be my style of game right now :p
Not meaning to get off topic again, just adding quickly, I kind of felt the same way about Magical Melody. The characters seemed a bit too 'chibi-ish' for my liking.

My pleasure! I saw all the discussion in the other thread but it felt too off-topic there for me to reply, so I thought, well, it's about time it had its own thread! But yeah, I agree--I definitely like how they incorporated more to do after getting married. You feel like there's still more to accomplish and the main storyline doesn't just stop dead or something. I applaud it so much on that.
And it IS really hard to pick and choose animal types and pets! Especially the latter. I almost always go for the collie (because it's freaking adorable), but there's so many! I want to get a panda some time, but it's such a pain to get out to Toucan Island.

Yaaaay, another Chase fan! : ) He's definitely my fave. I'm also planning to aim for Wizard or Gill in my next playthrough.

Yeah, it really made the post-game more enjoyable. The children events when you got enough hearts for them was also pretty neat. The family aspect in AP was just well thought out in my opinion. I haven't played a lot of the Harvest Moon games, but out of the ones I have played, AP has been my favourite for children and spouses. I really like the fact that the children looked similar to the person you married instead of giving you only one child design regardless of which bachelor/bachelorette you chose.
Oh geez, that panda is really such a pain to get.XD The cost and time it took to go there daily was so annoying. I liked the farm animal designs in AP a lot. The cows in A New Beginning with the little tuft of hair looked silly to me.
 
I wouldn't say it's my favourite, but it's up there. And I've played most of them so that's pretty good, haha. I can find very few faults in this game, it's one of those ones you can easily go back to. I should really go back and complete my male file some time, but it's such an in-depth game I feel like I never have the time, with new games coming out and such haha.

In my main I married Wizard and in my male, Selena. So I'd say those are my favourites when it comes to bachelor/ettes, but there are a lot of great ones so it's a hard choice. I also really like Calvin, Witch & a few others.

Honestly my favourite feature of this game is the rival marriages & resulting children. I really think it's the best rival system to date, when most HM's tend to omit rivals completely now. But honestly everything was done well imo, from crops to characters to the storyline. It's a really enjoyable game, lots of content without insane unlock requirements, not too easy but not complicated. I wish they'd stray more in AP's direction with the handheld games. Although I'm getting Story of Seasons and am pretty excited, so not trying to take a jab at it haha.
 
Yeah, it really made the post-game more enjoyable. The children events when you got enough hearts for them was also pretty neat. The family aspect in AP was just well thought out in my opinion. I haven't played a lot of the Harvest Moon games, but out of the ones I have played, AP has been my favourite for children and spouses. I really like the fact that the children looked similar to the person you married instead of giving you only one child design regardless of which bachelor/bachelorette you chose.
Oh geez, that panda is really such a pain to get.XD The cost and time it took to go there daily was so annoying. I liked the farm animal designs in AP a lot. The cows in A New Beginning with the little tuft of hair looked silly to me.

I wholeheartedly agree. It was one thing to at least have the rivals, but to actually have the rivals go on to have adorable kids was really something special. It makes the whole game feel more like it's not just YOU living your life, but everyone else is living their lives and progressing, as well. I just love that aspect of it so much. Not to mention that the rival kids are also too adorable for words, in my opinion. lol And they let you have multiple children in the game, too, which was also an interesting change (even if the rivals don't have more than one). They really went above and beyond with the marriage and children features in the game.

I agree about the animal designs, too! They're very cute without being too overly cartoony or unfitting to the style. Another thing I like about the game is that you can actually make gems into jewelry that you can wear. And on top of that, I really loved the mining in the game. Usually I don't like mining so much, but I could mine for ages in AP. Hahaha. OH! And the clothing. I know games like ANB and such have tons of customizable clothing now, but AP still set a bar with really getting some cool clothing designs out there that you could buy. I was always super excited about the New Years Festival for that reason. I'd save up so much money to go to town when the time came. (Haha, I still haven't quite been able to convince myself to spend the time to get the panda. One day...)

I wouldn't say it's my favourite, but it's up there. And I've played most of them so that's pretty good, haha. I can find very few faults in this game, it's one of those ones you can easily go back to. I should really go back and complete my male file some time, but it's such an in-depth game I feel like I never have the time, with new games coming out and such haha.

In my main I married Wizard and in my male, Selena. So I'd say those are my favourites when it comes to bachelor/ettes, but there are a lot of great ones so it's a hard choice. I also really like Calvin, Witch & a few others.

Honestly my favourite feature of this game is the rival marriages & resulting children. I really think it's the best rival system to date, when most HM's tend to omit rivals completely now. But honestly everything was done well imo, from crops to characters to the storyline. It's a really enjoyable game, lots of content without insane unlock requirements, not too easy but not complicated. I wish they'd stray more in AP's direction with the handheld games. Although I'm getting Story of Seasons and am pretty excited, so not trying to take a jab at it haha.

Definitely! I have a hard time of thinking of features I really disliked about the game. The only thing that comes to mind was the amount of loading screens. But for that era in gaming and with the Wii, it was somewhat to be expected, I guess. I can easily forgive it for those with all the other wonderful features of the game that I absolutely loved. I definitely find myself going back to it again and again and again. XD I got the game for somewhere around $15-$20 and it has been giving me more playtime than a lot of my more expensive games. lol

Wizard and Selena are both great! I haven't made a male file yet, though I'd probably end up going for Candace, since she's adorable. But yeah, as you said, it's a hard choice. I'd like to try out everyone eventually to see all the different dialogue and things that happen. XD Would be interesting!

I can't agree enough about that. I really wish they would have kept the rival marriage system going for later games, but it has really all but died off and that's sad. Animal Parade even goes a step further by letting them have a child together, too, which is fantastic. It really is such a well-rounded game and I'm sure that's a big part of why I enjoy playing it so much. There's a lot to look forward to and do and yet it never really throws it in your face in a way that has to be done immediately, but lets you take it at your own pace. I really appreciated that about the game. I'll probably end up getting Story of Seasons, but I'm on the fence for now after watching part of a Let's Play for it.
 
Hah damn, talking about it is making me want to pick it up again! Maybe for a little bit before SoS comes out. I forgot about how great the mining is in it as well. I find it so odd that I see a lot of people complain about the "wonderful" system (because you got a lot of junk in the process, I guess), because I really liked it. And mining actually gave you something to do and was a bit of a challenge, kind of like Magical Melody.

& yeah waiting on SoS is probably the best idea, I'm sure a lot of people will be posting opinions and more info on here and other sites once it's been out for a bit. Give you a bit more to go on. Usually that's what I do too, but I just gave in to impatience this time and pre-ordered haha. c;
 
Hah damn, talking about it is making me want to pick it up again! Maybe for a little bit before SoS comes out. I forgot about how great the mining is in it as well. I find it so odd that I see a lot of people complain about the "wonderful" system (because you got a lot of junk in the process, I guess), because I really liked it. And mining actually gave you something to do and was a bit of a challenge, kind of like Magical Melody.

& yeah waiting on SoS is probably the best idea, I'm sure a lot of people will be posting opinions and more info on here and other sites once it's been out for a bit. Give you a bit more to go on. Usually that's what I do too, but I just gave in to impatience this time and pre-ordered haha. c;

Can't hurt to play it for a bit before the next one comes out! (At least, if it doesn't drag you back in completely. Hahahaha.) Yeah, the mining is great. I can't imagine why people would really complain about the wonderfuls. I can't even explain the suspense of taking like 30 white wonderfuls to the accessory shop for appraisal and that IMMENSE satisfaction and delight when you get a diamond out of the deal. I'm sure I wouldn't feel that if they were easy to get. I really like that the game offers challenge and isn't something you can just up and beat in like 12 hours. It's a long haul and it has sooooo many different challenges to keep you occupied. I'd be running around getting the bells, befriending townspeople, getting wood/stone, farming, taking care of animals, getting the lost circus animals, doing treasure maps, taking part in Chase's cooking challenges, and other things. There's just a lot to do.

Yup, that's what I figured, too. :3 I won't take site reviews too seriously, since they always score those kinds of games low, but I'm sure there will be lots of talk going on here and on tumblr that I'll be up to my ears in opinions. I thought about pre-ordering, but I'm trying to not make too many purchases this year if I can help it.
 
I'll be out stalking my mailbox for the next few days as today is the earliest estimated day Animal Parade was to arrive from Kentucky! I hope to get it today though as I have nothing better to do lol.
 
Harvest Moon: Animal Parade is still my favorite out of the entire Harvest Moon series thus far.
This. 100%. I finally got around to doing a New Game+ with a male character, as my last run was with Molly and I married Luke. I had such a good time with my first playthrough, I actually held off on starting over as I had grown so attached to Luke and his kids!
 
I have never played Harvest Moon: Animal Parade? What is the game like?

I think that the Harvest Moon series should have amiibo support personally. ;)
 
Drat, nothing in the mail today. Fingers crossed in hopes of finding Animal Parade in my mailbox on Monday! ^.^

- - - Post Merge - - -

I have never played Harvest Moon: Animal Parade? What is the game like?

I think that the Harvest Moon series should have amiibo support personally. ;)

If you want a good idea of what Animal Parade is like why don't you check out the OP's let's play on YouTube? Here's a link: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt7Q2Sv-lveXCYlTUpG29B83USroBcNN_

I've watched quite a bit of it myself and loved it so I ended up ordering a copy for myself. :)
 
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I just thought of one pet peeve I had with Animal Parade, though. The only one. Why couldn't we mill in bulk? Who wants to spend twenty minutes processing their salt and wheat piece by piece? Not me. Eventually I just shipped it off as-is. Honestly it's the only thing I didn't like about the game. Everything else was so charming and relaxing.

Speaking of which, does anyone know if Story of Seasons will let us mill in bulk?
 
I just thought of one pet peeve I had with Animal Parade, though. The only one. Why couldn't we mill in bulk? Who wants to spend twenty minutes processing their salt and wheat piece by piece? Not me. Eventually I just shipped it off as-is. Honestly it's the only thing I didn't like about the game. Everything else was so charming and relaxing.

Speaking of which, does anyone know if Story of Seasons will let us mill in bulk?

I can't say for sure, but I remember A New Beginning allowed us to and SOS basically uses the same mechanics as ANB but only more updated and streamlined. So I'd say 95% sure we will be able to in SOS.
 
Okay, I caved and started playing Animal Parade yesterday. I love this game already, it's so well done. The town layout is awesome and everything looks beautiful. (I'm sort of ignoring previous posts so I don't ruin parts of the game for me)

While I have just started, I do have a pet peeve. I really wish it didn't tell me where I was EVERY SINGLE TIME I visited a different area. Like I KNOW I'm in Harmonica Town for the 50th time today! I wish I could turn that feature off.

And does anyone else want to award Dale the "Worst Father of the Year Award"!? He's locked Fugue Forest, and when you go and ask him for the key he's like, "Yeah I locked it. It's a dangerous place. But if your hearts set on getting in, I'll give you the key. Oh btw, my son has been in there for a while so if you see him, tell him to come home!"
You locked your son in there and then wonder why you haven't seen him??

One thing I seriously love about this game already, as a girl player, is how manly some of the bachelors are. They finally made some masculine dudes and gave them some muscle! Owen and Calvin are such hunks! I love that :)
I'm definitely looking into marrying Owen, Calvin, or Luke at this point. I haven't even finished my first Spring season yet, and I love this game already!
 
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