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Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility | 
| From: Natsume, Inc.
Category: Video Games
List Price: $49.99
Buy New: $46.99
You Save: $3.00 (6%)
New (6) Used (1) from $39.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 140
Platform: Nintendo Wii
ESRB: Everyone
Media: Video Game
Batteries Included: No
Age: 5 - 20 years
Operating System: Nintendo Wii
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 12001
Model: WII12001
UPC: 719593120018
EAN: 0719593120018
ASIN: B0018RYC9Y
Release Date: September 30, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | Feel like you're really farming with the Nintendo Wii Remote! | | • | Play as a boy or as a girl! | | • | Work Part-time jobs | | • | An amazing variety of crops, animals, events, and mini-games! | | • | The deepest and biggest Harvest Moon to date! |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
You have moved to an island that was once enchanted ? However, it has been years since the mystical Mother's Tree has shown any signs of life, and the Harvest Goddess has vanished. The island has lost its connection with nature and the inhabitants don't know what to do. It's up to you to save the island. Till the Earth, tend to and befriend animals, nurture friendships and build a family. When the giant Mother's Tree awakens, the Harvest Goddess will smile upon the island once again.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 So far so good! October 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Well, I will start off with the fact that I am very pleased with the controls in this game. The Wii remote is utilized in such a way that it works perfectly. You can use your buttons or swing your remote around to achieve various tasks with your tools. I like having options on how to perform a task because sometimes I feel like swinging my arm around, and sometimes I don't. This is a great improvement over the new DS Island of Happiness that doesn't give you options in the way of control and was only stylus driven (which is a pain IMO).
As for this game, once you get going it really is very enjoyable and there is so much do. I know another reviewer complained how quickly their character tires from doing tasks throughout the day. This improves quickly as you upgrade your tools and skill level. Each tool upgrade lessens the amount of stamina used performing tasks. The hot springs used daily in the beginning is a major asset that allows you to double the amount of work you can perform in one day. There are herbs lying around at specific locations on the map that boost your stamina a little. The mushrooms in the mines area good source for an energy boost also. There is a great guide that you can buy for this game that is very helpful in getting you through that first tough season.
Fishing is really enjoyable. It also is a great source of money in the beginning. If you can buy matches from the General store and grill your fish at the fire pits next to the ocean that will boost quite a lot of your stamina if you eat them throughout the day.
I am already in the Fall season and have a barn, coop, and a 2nd level house. One cow, 1 sheep, 4 chickens, 1 silkworm, and finally my horse! Gardening is a lot of fun and with all that my character has accomplished there is still a ton of things to do that she simply hasn't had time or money to get to yet.
I like the Taylor shop that allows you to buy new outfits and hats! I was so happy when that store opened so I could upgrade my Rucksack! Whoohoo!
There aren't many cons to this game, but I feel they should be mentioned. Loading time between each area of the map is just annoying. I think that this takes to long and detracts from game play. Also, time is not stopped when you're in the mines, barns, or stores. It does give the game a bit more challenge, but its annoying to get kicked out of a store right when your about to make a purchase. Rushing in the barns to try and feed your animals, groom, shear, milk, etc. Trying to get out of the mines and hoping you make it home before the next day. I understand other HM versions worked this way, but I guess I am just not used to it yet.
All in all this is definitely a 5 star game. I haven't encountered any glitches so far (knock on wood). I look forward to seeing what else this game has to offer and I doubt I will be disappointed.
Best Harvest moon game ever October 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I pretty much I am a big Harvest Moon fan and I played most of the Harvest Moon games except the ones on the original Gameboy. I was a little disappointed with Harvest Moon Island of Happiness because of the touch screen controls, so I was a little pestimistic about buying the Tree of Tranquility, but man it was worth all the money.
So far, I am impressed with this game and find this game way addicting that I played this game for 30 hours total for three days starting Friday. On Friday, I played a couple of hours and then on Saturday I played for 13 hours. I still have not completed an entire year.
Anyways what I like about the Game is the flexibility of what controls you want to use, so you can use the nunchuk or the gamepad (which you have to buy separately). I used the Gamepad 99 percent of the game except for the minigames. But wished that Island of Happiness had that option of touch screen or button play, maybe I have to get used to the controls and play more.
Here is what I like about the game:
Yeah in the beginning you run out of energy quickly, but I go to Carmel Falls and take a bath and restore my energy, the problem is it is somewhat of a long walk to get to. Fishing is pretty easy to do and the tasks are straight forward. I like the fertilizer and how you play a 1x6 piece and the farming is really easy. You can pretty much take up the entire field and do not have to worry about plants blocking your way.
The mining part in finding the stairs is easy because most of the times you do not have to hammer away 100 rocks to find the stairs and just about 10 rocks at the most and then the best part is sometimes the stairs is right there. Going to the 30th floor in the mine was easy compared to Magic Melody where it took me 20 attempts to get to the 100th floor. You do not have to chop down the entire forest to get your first couple of upgrades. Hmm the Gameplay is straight forward and challenging for the first part.
Annoying parts of the game
Upgrading your tools. Yeah you save money doing it, but the pain is finding the ore itself. There are two grades a shining and a non-shining ore. You have to find the shining ore in order to upgrade your tool so if you find a gold ore that is not shining, well you can not upgrade your tool. Then, if it is shining you have to go to the jeweler to get it polished which I did not know until I bought the guide.
The winding paths are also annoying, but I guess it makes the game look unique and then the characters repeating what they say, but that is typical in every Harvest moon game. But these little things is something you can get over quickly. I wish there was more festivals as well like the other Harvest Moon games.
Other than that the game is fun and worth the $50.00 I paid at Best Buy and I even bought the guide too because I like looking at the pictures and needed help with the upgrade part and how to unlock characters and some little tips to improve my game. But Natsume did a great job on the game.
Well worth the wait October 6, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I am a huge fan of the Harvest Moon games and have been since the PS1 version came out. It was rather frustrating when they kept postponing the release for the Tree of Tranquility, but the end product was definitely worth waiting for.
The storyline is great so far. You have to think a bit about what they want you to do next. It is definitely more challenging than the Magical Melodies version on the Gamecube, a definite plus, in my opinion.
I really liked the beginning, a longer story to start you off in your new home on the island. Yes, it is true that you get tired very easily in the beginning of the game, but I look at it as a challenge rather than a frustration. Once you start to save a bit of money up, and you can start improving your tools, your energy will last much longer. You don't want the game to be too easy or your first run through will be over too fast!
One nice thing about the early part of the game is that, even if you are tired from farming, you can still work that part-time job for the extra cash. I do agree that it would have been nice to have a mini-game for the part-time job rather than just a (little bit too long) movie clip.
Great variety of new animals in the game, easy farming controls, easy to get the animals in and out of the barn to graze. Nice to be able to decorate your house the way you want it, options to buy more land etc... It seems like they kept a lot of the good things that were in the gamecube Magical Melodies version and added even more nice things for variety.
I think they did a fantastic job with this game, and if you have enjoyed past Harvest Moon releases, you will probably love it too.
 Eat your heart out old Harvest Moons! October 4, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I do have to agree with the first reviewer about it being incredibly annoying when your person runs out of stamina too quickly. One or two chops with the axe and it's lights out! I'm sure that will change though. Your character is supposed to get stronger the more work you do. All of the other aspects of this game are great! They blow the other harvest moons out of the water for me! A mine with level after level to explore and a ton of places to go. I like the part time job aspect, although I do wish it was something that you could actually do as opposed to just sitting there watching. The people are fun and the story line isn't so light and fluffy that I want to gag...it's keeping me interested for now. In all I think this is a great attempt...the best so far in my book!!!
Pretty fantastic October 2, 2008
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
All in all, this is a pretty fantastic iteration of Harvest Moon. It combines the more dramatic, realistic setting and graphics of A Wonderful Life with the more childlike and cutesy feeling of Magical Melody and Harvest Moon 64 (still my gold standard after all these years). I haven't played it a whole lot yet (I just got it last night, after all) but I can tell it's going to get plenty of play at my house.
I already love the look of the game. It's pretty to look at, prettier than Magical Melody, though not as realistic and striking as A Wonderful Life (it's close, though). One of the first things that struck me was how bright and colorful it is. The flowers in particular are very well designed and richly colored (check out the interior of Souflee Farm to see what I mean). The detail on everything is very nice so far. The crops I've seen have been well rendered and the trees and plants and rocks are very realistic and obviously a lot of thought and effort was put into their design. I appreciate little details like that because it shows that the game wasn't just thrown together. The characters are also well done with many newly designed characters to look at and interact with. I would have preferred a more classic design on the male character, though. It feels less like Harvest Moon with no ball cap and/or bright red neckerchief. And a bowl cut? Seriously? But I digress...
To be fair, there are a few aspects of the game that I'm not in love with. They are as follows:
-Load times. If I'm not mistaken, this is the first Harvest Moon game with an actual "Loading" screen. It comes up every time you're going from location to location (i.e. from Town Square to Lake District or into someone's house) which is to say "a lot". It's not a dealbreaker, of course, but it does kind of interrupt the flow of the game.
-Cutesy music. The music for A Wonderful Life is dramatic and melancholy and orchestral and always fits the mood of the game perfectly. Even the whimsical Magical Melody has more serious music than Tree Of Tranquility. It's all peppy, fake-sounding synthesizers that just don't set the mood in the way past Harvest Moon games' music has. Of course, I've only played through the early tutorial stage and a few days of Spring so far, so hopefully the Fall and Winter music will be appropriately austere as in games past.
But, in the end, this is a new Harvest Moon game and Natsume would have to get pretty much EVERYTHING wrong to make me give it less than 3 stars. As such, Tree Of Tranquility makes an easy 4 out of 5 overall. And if Tree Of Tranquility lives up to its hype as the biggest, most in-depth Harvest Moon game ever, my final judgment may wind up being more than 4 stars. Only time will tell, and any time playing Harvest Moon is time well spent.
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