This review contains spoilers
I grew up with the original, so this one I was looking forward to. Ultimately, it ended up being more of a makeover with (much-needed) quality of life changes.
The original was seen as the "definitive version" at the time by the creator. It's what he envisioned the series to look like when not restricted by hardware limitations.
What you get is a quaint little valley on a decently sized farm that you can expand with time and effort put into the task at end.
The original suffered from many flaws and glitches that were rectified. No more useless goat, crops that don't grow from trees are actually a worthy investment, and expansion is a bit more rewarding. One thing I also noticed is that influencing the kid's career path is more streamlined and easier to see the progress that you are making in that regard.
The graphics and remixed songs are gorgeous. The character re-designs are hit and miss. I prefer the older games' more rustic designs. The younger adult males are turned into your every day anime pretty boy, which is disappointing but not unexpected from the newer titles of this franchise.
Some of the flaws remain in this game: Lack of festivals, pacing issues, lack of character development, the lack of valley alterations. These could be forgiven due to the hardware limitations at the time, but I feel like this remake should have used the chance to re-introduce rival marriages (as long as you meet the criterias) with their own little families. This would have allowed for a more immersive world as the chapters go on. Some characters could die (as they logically should have) and be replaced by these families or even new migrants. As it is right now, the valley still stagnates at around chapter 4 and beyond. By then you've befriended everyone and you have no reason to really bother with anyone. A missed opportunity to repair the issues with the immersion and longevity of the game.
Overall, it's a solid game, but you'll likely achieve everything you want by the time the child becomes an adult in chapter 5. At that point, you're mostly just farming and mixing crops. The game abruptly slows down and never picks up again. It is simply too front-heavy like the original, which they missed the chance to fix.
The original was seen as the "definitive version" at the time by the creator. It's what he envisioned the series to look like when not restricted by hardware limitations.
What you get is a quaint little valley on a decently sized farm that you can expand with time and effort put into the task at end.
The original suffered from many flaws and glitches that were rectified. No more useless goat, crops that don't grow from trees are actually a worthy investment, and expansion is a bit more rewarding. One thing I also noticed is that influencing the kid's career path is more streamlined and easier to see the progress that you are making in that regard.
The graphics and remixed songs are gorgeous. The character re-designs are hit and miss. I prefer the older games' more rustic designs. The younger adult males are turned into your every day anime pretty boy, which is disappointing but not unexpected from the newer titles of this franchise.
Some of the flaws remain in this game: Lack of festivals, pacing issues, lack of character development, the lack of valley alterations. These could be forgiven due to the hardware limitations at the time, but I feel like this remake should have used the chance to re-introduce rival marriages (as long as you meet the criterias) with their own little families. This would have allowed for a more immersive world as the chapters go on. Some characters could die (as they logically should have) and be replaced by these families or even new migrants. As it is right now, the valley still stagnates at around chapter 4 and beyond. By then you've befriended everyone and you have no reason to really bother with anyone. A missed opportunity to repair the issues with the immersion and longevity of the game.
Overall, it's a solid game, but you'll likely achieve everything you want by the time the child becomes an adult in chapter 5. At that point, you're mostly just farming and mixing crops. The game abruptly slows down and never picks up again. It is simply too front-heavy like the original, which they missed the chance to fix.