I expected John Deere to be a lot like a Harvest Moon game, considering the descriptions of each are very similar in condensed form. However, John Deere offers more instantaneous gratification and is much less complex.
There is nothing more to John Deere than raising noteworthy crops and livestock, acquiring equipment, and keeping your farm beautiful. No prissy girls to woo, no magical weapons to win, no tool upgrades, no puzzles to solve, and no stupid harvest sprites to rescue. John Deere is plain and simple, which is somewhat of a relief.
Admittedly, I popped this game into my DS somewhat reluctantly. And at first, I was just as disappointed as I thought I’d be. Here I am, choosing a boy or girl dressed in traditional hick garb with either a John Deere hat or braids, with gloves and a hoe, and some funky banjo/violin country twang music. I sank into my couch while I waited for the game to get more exciting.
Luckily, it did. After becoming inured to the awful music, I actually became intrigued by the gameplay. Harvest Moon games are notoriously difficult to get into because you have no money and your tools suck. John Deere is different, and a lot easier. To plant a crop, you pay the woman at the local garden and feed store to prepare the field for you. Then, you put seeds into each square which you pull out of your magical, bottomless seed bag. After that, you water your crops with the bottomless watering can. Finally, you buy the cheap equipment to harvest your crop, and immediately reap the benefits instead of collecting and distributing your goods. Ahhhhhhh…
Earning money was easy. After I planted and harvested my first two crops, I was able to buy livestock, a barn, and some farm equipment to make the job easier. After TWO crops! Sheesh, all in a day’s work.
The point of this game is to acquire all of the John Deere equipment and win all of the trophies from the local fair. Each season (lasting eighteen days), you have the opportunity to enter your animal or crop into the fair for judging. If the judges like yours the best, you win and get a trophy! Trophies bring prestige which allow your farmer different varieties of crops to plant.
The graphics are more complex than those of Harvest Moon. Your character does different movements depending on what type of tool he/she is using, such as a scythe, hammer, axe, or gloves. He/she is also bigger and you can see their facial features and clothes on an elongated body. Instead of dots for seeds, we get green, rounder dots…woo hoo! Also, the livestock and crops are more distinguishable from one another. Lastly, your character looks awesome on top of some hawt, big farm equipment.
Obviously, John Deere: Harvest in the Heartland is a plug for the John Deere company. Characters wear John Deere hats and sell John Deere equipment. I don’t have anything against John Deere, in fact, most of the farmers I know use and love their equipment. I just thought the shameless plug was a bit interesting.
