Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley (Switch on Switch 2)
2This is a very interesting title, in terms of both history and gameplay. I won't get into the mess that is the story of the Marvelous-Natsume break up; I'm sure you can find that information on your own. However, it's important to note that this is a remaster of the very first Harvest Moon title Natsume released after the split.
From my personal point of view, this game feels like a spiritual successor to the first Harvest Moon title on the Game Boy, another game I truly enjoyed back in the day. From the limited scope of the environments, to the many little secrets, and opportunities to play around and use your farm as a canvas. It gives me the same vibes, while being a much more complex and featured title.
Enjoying the game for what it is, instead of hating it for what it is not, is my personal recommendation for this title. Trying to play the game like you're playing a Marvelous title will only serve to frustrate you, and even within the new-era Natsume titles, this game is its own beast!
Like... Yes, your watering can is small and slow- but you don't need to water every plant every day. Yes, the land is blocky and hard to traverse at first- but you can take your time modifying the layout of your farm, there's no time limits on anything. Yes, there's no town to visit and you can't give gifts to the visitors- but their friendship status builds up quickly and doesn't go down anyway.
It's truly a 'cozy' tittle in that sense, for me at least. You can just... Pick a thing and focus on that for as long as you like, without having to worry too much about missing out on something else. Although on your first year you may want to focus on completing the story missions to unlock more tools and the other seasons... All-white all year round gets a bit tiring on the eyes.
In terms of this title as a remaster.... I'm not entirely sure they gave it enough time in the remastering incubator.
First and foremost, you WILL notice the music... They seem to have taken a soundtrack CD and used the tracks as-is! The music loops in a very distracting and amateurish way that did not happen in the 3DS version.
Other than that, the game appears to be completely unchanged, and very much to to a fault. Everything, from gameplay to graphics, and even draw distance: identical. Using nothing the Switch has to offer outside of remapping camera movement to the right joystick (but it's still just left and right panning, making no use of the up and down directions).
Sometimes the characters will actually tell you to "take a look at the map", expecting you to glance at a second screen that isn't there.
I very much hope they provide fixes and improvements in future updates, because this is ultimately a game I really like and remember fondly.
As usual, the software belongs to its owners, I only record my gameplay for my own enjoyment.