Retronauts Volume III Episode 14: Harvest Moon

Bob Mackey

January 20, 2014 10:08 AM

Hey gang -- Bob here with a brand-new episode that might be slightly polarizing. Now, I don't expect everyone to take an interest in the Harvest Moon series, but even if you don't appreciate the somewhat repetitive mechanics, you can at least respect the fact that Harvest Moon as a whole still exists as an anomaly in the world of video games. Instead of shooting, punching, or slicing dudes, Yasuhiro Wada's life sim gives players prosocial goals in an uber-friendly backdrop—and the series hasn't veered from this intent nearly two decades after its birth. Joining us for this one is Adam Fitch, who donated generously to choose a topic and sit in as a guest host—and he's the perfect guy for the job, considering the fact that he's worked at Natsume (Harvest Moon's publisher) for six years. That said, if I haven't won you over with this preamble, please give this installment a try—as with Ray's amazing wrestling episode, it could end up surprising you.

Libsyn (1:38:13 | MP3 | 94.6 MB) | SoundCloud

This episode's description:

"For over 15 years, the Harvest Moon series has been teaching sickly indoor kids the virtues of tilling the land, petting the chickens, and having low-wage serfs do most of the dirty work. Join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Ray Barnholt, and special guest backer Adam Fitch as the Retronauts explore this prolific farming sim series, and maybe -- just maybe -- raise each other's affection levels in the process."

This episode's musical breakdown: