, is a farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

 simulation

Simulation

Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....

 video game for the Game Boy Color

Game Boy Color

The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...

 developed by Pack-In-Video

Pack-In-Video

is a Japanese video game publisher and developer which developed a wide range of games for the Famicom platform. The games published were mostly focused on the Japanese market although a few titles have been published abroad...

. The object of the game is to cultivate a farm to prevent the land from being used to build an amusement park

Amusement park

thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...

. As with the previous game the player may choose to play as a boy or a girl.

There are several differences between this game and the previous installments on the Game Boy. One major difference between Harvest Moon GB

Harvest Moon GB

is a game in the Harvest Moon series of video games developed by Pack-In-Video. HMGB is the first of the portable Harvest Moon games. The plotline revolves around the character's grandfather visiting the player as a spirit and asking him to run his farm. As with every Harvest Moon game, they...

, and Harvest Moon 2, is that in Harvest Moon 2, one is able to build a sheep pen and then buy sheep. While one can build a greenhouse and grow herbs and special plants that only grow in the greenhouse. As opposed to Harvest Moon in this game, the player can actually walk around the town.

Gameplay

The initial goal is that in three years time, the player must bring up the farm by growing and selling crops, and raising livestock. There are also plenty of secrets to unlock in the game. At the end of the first year, the mayor of the city comes back to the farm to check up on it. If he thinks it's looking good, the player may continue the game for another couple years. If he thinks the farm is short of success, a second chance is given to revitalize the farm.

Crops

Crops are a primary source of income in Harvest Moon 2. After being planted, the seeds must be watered every day until they can be harvested, when it is possible to sell them. Some plants that are harvested may produce more than a single batch of crops from the same plant system, allowing some crops to be harvested more than once. Crops may be grown in any of the four seasons. If you build a hothouse, it is also possible to grow flowers and herbs, regardless of season.

Animals

At the beginning of the game the option is given whether to have a dog or cat. The pets will slightly affect the gameplay. Pets have various abilities which make them beneficial to the farm. The dog will keep wild dogs away from your farm at night, and the cat sometimes drags in items to your house. Pets must be left outside overnight to use their abilities. The player after a certain period of time is able to acquire a horse, which can be ridden, and used for farm work as well.

The livestock in this game includes cows, chickens, and sheep. Cows produce milk, chickens produce eggs, and sheep produce wool.

Tools and Items

There is a wide variety of tools in Harvest Moon 2. Tools are used to carry out chores, care for livestock, and tend to crops.

Reception

IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

rated the game at 7.0, or "decent", saying that the game world is much bigger than the first Harvest Moon, and the farming much improved, but the dating sim aspect of the game is greatly missed.