I haven't bought my copy yet, and leading up to launch, i was re-playing the og version on GBA.

And ya know? It still holds up! It's a game I come back to every now and then, on and off for the last ohhhh, 10?? i guess 15 years now? i feel so old? anyway, it's so much fun playing it again compared to newer bokumono titles because of its simplicity. maybe im not maximizing my profits, but it's just so nice to have like, 1 type of every animal to care for, and no giant farms that i have to go through 3 loading screens for. it's nice not having a million types of crops to look out for, just like, 5 at most.

mineral town as an entity has always been so soothing and calming, even IF it takes a million years to walk across town to pick up seeds from the store before it closes. but the villagers are so familiar to me, everyone is my old friend. in fact, i think the original japanese title was "beloved friends of mineral town", and they couldn't be more right about it!

getting an actual remake of one of my favorite games of all time was like, the last thing i ever expected! and im so stoked for it to join my switch library! from what gameplay ive seen, im fucking blown away by all the little things we can do now.

shortcuts through town. taking my horse OFF my farm. different FLAVORS of cow, which i like better as opposed to cow types. and ofc, the re-worked marriage system. didn't think i'd ever see the day when marvelous would finally bite the bullet and do this for us. not that it changes the "who am i gonna marry" dilemma, cause now it makes picking ever HARDER.

i think im gonna try and "harem" for the most part. sadly, there is a "you must date this person first before you can marry" thing going on that the og game didnt have, which kinda pisses me off i hate committing to someone only to find out that they sketch me out afterwards (looking at you, mistel and wayne). but we'll see! i still want to give everyone a chance...and not fall into the trap of marrying elliey again (first  hm wife <3 ok second after my girl celia...okay third, after nami lololol)

so idk man!!!! we'll see who really woo's me the first time. and then on my second file, i'll marry my second fave. and then on my third...

you can have up to 8 save files in this game, but there are like...15 or something candidates. HMMMMMMMMMMMM

WOW! I have found fellow sos players. I remember the gba version being my first gba game EVER and I invested HOURS into it. I was always so mad when the log fence thing would have a giant bite in it (lol) and I ended up just using stones for fencing or else my cows and sheep would get out.

I started playing the day the remake was released and this is probably just nitpicking but I'm actually disappointed in some of the characters' new looks. I really liked their original designs BUT I think the style is adorable minus the fact that you have no visible feet and instead two peg looking legs like a pirate. I am however excited to keep playing and expanding the farm, etc. I gave the goddess copper on her birthday and cracked up when she told me she didn't like it.

BUT I too am having the dilemma of who to pick. I LOVE THE CHOCOLATE MILK COW LIKE UM YES! As an avid chocolate lover, I approve. Anyway, not sure if this was even a decent "review" or comment of the game. Just happy to know I'm not the only one who was excited about the remake!!



edit: am i the only one who's gotten a ton of cutscenes already within the first 10 in-game days??? :0

WAITTTT THIS IS SO CUTE?? omg but yeah i feel u i go back to the gba version every so often and its still a good game [tbh i think most of the hm games hold up pretty well considering how old some of them are but i think that's just bc they're all generally made up of simple systems + gameplay mechanics. or maybe i'm just biased who knows! not me LOL

ALSO I DIDN'T KNOW THIS?? omg wow that rlly does suck but godspeed on ur harem journey... i am rooting for u!!

I FEEL THIS??? :sob: when i saw gray's new design i was like... how could u do this to him!! i think it could've been cute if they'd kept at least the old outfits as alt outfits (gray's when he's at the blacksmith, ran's when she's in the inn, etc) as like... a callback to the old game but honestly the new designs are growing on me... kind of. I CAN'T GET OVER BRANDON??? i feel like his design just feels kind of out of place & whenever i see him i'm like what are u even doing here u_u

i'm sure you're not the only one!! a lot of my friends / twitter mutuals have been talking abt getting a lot of cutscenes right away, though i personally haven't gotten too many. i also don't visit people much. it's just me, my farm, my horse and gray vs. the world LOL.

ok lets see how well i can do this on my phone lmao

re: new character designs

i wanted to shed a little light on that! okay so, all the characters in Mineral Town (GBA) were re-used from Back to Nature (ps1) who were re-used from HM64 (N64)

The Mineral Town crew are the same more or less as they were in BtN, but way different in 64! The reason being, they’re supposed to be “different characters”. Like, alternate versions of themselves, and that’s something the artists wanted to express for the Mineral Town remake; that these are different versions of these characters, and this is how they were meant to be back in the day.

Back in 64, for example, Doug didn’t run the inn, he ran the livestock ranch! And with him was his daughter Ann, of course...And his son, Gray! That’s why Gray iconically wears the UMA cap and a jumpsuit lookin thing- He originally was a farmhand, not a blacksmith! But the design didn’t get changed when he was ported over to Mineral Town. His current design now is to reflect that change, and why they made his hair lighter, to no longer make him look related to Doug and Ann!

Popuri is another good example! In 64, she lived and worked on a flower farm with her mother, Lillia, of course...And her father, Basil! Obviously, Mineral Town changed that to where Basil is now Mary’s father, and Popuri and Lillia now live on a poultry farm. Popuri’s name is a holdover from that time, as her name is a pun off of “potpourri” because she used to work with flowers.

Her old design had her in a long flowy skirt, that realistically doesn’t make much sense for working on a farm all day. Hence her resign kept the dress, but made it much shorter, and now she wears little boots!

So, that’s the reason why design changes were made, and that was just a handful of explanations why!

Fun Fact: even the rival pairings changed between 64’s Flowerbud Village and PS/GBA’s Mineral Town!

Popuri and Gray got together in FBV, but was changed to Popuri/Kai and Gray/Mary. Mary herself could end up married to Harris, who back then, was actually a postman as opposed to a police officer! Ellie used to work in a restraunt, and could marry her boss, Jeff (who would later become the owner of the supermarket and Karen’s dad). Speaking of Karen, she used to live on a vineyard with her mother Sasha, her father Gotz (who would become the woodcutter), and their farmhand, Kai!

A subplot is to save the failing vineyard, and if you do, Karen stays in FVB (as opposed to running away from home), and marries either you the player, or could hook up with Kai. In fact, the only pairing that remained the same was Ann/Cliff, but after their marriage, Cliff can be frequently seen with a black eye, and he mentions that he and Ann fight a lot. :C So they toned Ann down A LOT for her Mineral Town incarnation.

Ok this post feels really long and I’m writing this on my way to work so there’s some facts for y’all!!! Happy farming everyone!