@dahuman

lol...sorry dude I thought it was a typical "should I get this game?" thread. Sorry dude...and yeah i will more than likely purchase this after I get No More Heroes and Okami for the Wii.

@xlost7
16 pages? I only see 4!
YOu should change your settings to 50 per page.

This game is sooo long and so good. I've been playing for ever and am still in the first season XD
There's so much this game doesn't tell you, you practically have to read a guide for it.

This took me totally by surprise. I havent ever played a Harvest Moon game, neither the DS version, and I just got this one on a whim.

Now I'm addicted.

Heheh, welcome aboard! Out of curiousity, how far are you, and what's your general approach to the game?

True, especially since tons of stuff goes unexplained, and important parts (like how to find Iris, which you need to continue the story) get buried in everyday conversations. Glad to see you think hunting down a copy was worth it. How are you tackling the game, by the by?

At work now, so not dead sure on the time, but something like 8 hours in and mid-spring.

I'm pretty much taking my time and probably not doing great in terms of money and skill levels, and I only recently started taming some monsters to help along.

Doesn't seem I've moved the story ahead at all, no boss fights yet, and I haven't started magic and fishing. I just got the option to buy recipe books though, and I'd reached some places in dungeons where things were hitting hard for what I had equipped/potions so maybe I'm on track.

That last part is something you'll get all to familiar with (the game basically introduces the next breed of "I can kill you easy" monsters every two or three floors of each new dungeon). Don't worry about rushing things or blazing through the story: from where you are, I don't think there's a ton you could do story-wise already.

All I WILL suggest is that before you go dungeon-hopping, make sure to get your forging and crafting skills up, as those are the only ways to get halfway-decent equipment.

I'm planing to get this one.

I'm taking the game at my slow pace, I think. I haven't seen any dungeon bosses and have gotten the barn and the kitchen expansion. I finally got Iris to come out! Thanks Rosetta! I'm leveling up my magic and I love how it's much more effective against those damn wolves than weapons are....they're no match against my gale of doom!
I finally got the harvester and trying to understand the runey system.
So, is it true that if you have a good runey balance, your crops will grow faster?

A tip for some people. Talk to EVERYONE and befriend them (even the old people....)

Yup. Once your farm gets "prosperous" (i.e. it turns brown on the Runey Map) your crops grow quicker: I shaved about three days off the pineapples, my tomatoes and corn ripen every other day, strawberries came out daily, etc. I'm currently looking into whether getting more areas "prosperous" (not just your farm) will have any further effect: I suspect it will, but likely in the form of higher-level vegetables. We'll see soon enough, though!

Good man! When you do, swing on by and let us know what you think!

So what your saying is that half the time can be cut off depending on the runeys... so potentially I could make 2 mil in a spring off cabbages.