I understand where people's complaints about the game come from; it's
significantly weaker than its preceding 3oT and SoS:FoMT. On top of that, I think it tried too much to be a unique entry and went a little too far in that, to the point that, while it retains the series' tone and spirit, it feels more like a spin-off than a main entry.
But I still think people are being
way too hard on it.
- The characters aren't as deep as the previous two entries, and none of them undergo any significant development. (Ralph's romantic subplot concludes with him realizing that, as much as he enjoyed his days as a celebrated athlete, he's truly fallen in love with his job as ranger and realizes now that it's what he wants to spend the rest of his life doing. Which would probably have felt more satisfying had there been any prior indication that he wasn't certain about his job as a ranger. It came out of nowhere, and I confess my reaction to the final even was a flat "...that's it?".) Character interactions with the player don't change much outside of festivals and major events, not even the character you're wooing. There's no sweet, romantic dialogues outside of cutscenes. And while there's plenty of cutscenes, they often leave the player feeling like they're on the outside looking in.
But even so, the characters aren't bad. On the contrary; they're every bit as fun and lovable as in the previous two entries! (Sally's a strong contender for my new favorite NPC.) And while they don't change or develop, maybe they don't need to. They're all well-written and enjoyable to interact with. That additional development would have easily made this one of the best entries, social-wise, just on the strength of its cast alone, and while I'm sad they didn't take that extra step, I'll still defend the characters.
- Crafting is heavily emphasized in this entry, to the point that farming and raising animals is treated as little more than an optional side-quest. Almost from the start, you're able to craft sprinklers, which eliminate the need to water your crops manually; just plant and harvest every few days, and other than that, you never have to touch your fields. You're also given a barn and a coop that you can repair (you just need to craft certain things to fix them up! ....see what I mean?), and then there's farm animals wandering your property that you can domesticate by... walking up to them and pressing A. Take them outside, brush them, and then you don't have to interact with them at all beyond that.
That said, the crafting aspect of the game is really well-done. Grinding for resources never feels tedious, especially as you upgrade your tools, and there's always new and fun things to find and challenges to face! Getting resources and completing projects is easily the most rewarding aspect of the game. But it's an entry in a series that, for twenty-five years, has been focused on, y'know, farming. So if you love crafting games, you'll adore Olive Town! But if you want a classic farming sim experience, this might not be the game you wanna drop $50 on.
tl;dr: This is a great game. It's just not a great
BokuMono game. Had they slapped another title on it, ala Rune Factory or Innocent Life, I think it would have been received
far more kindly. But I enjoy it a lot, and I don't regret investing in it. I'd rank it alongside Tale of Two Towns; flawed and a little flat, but an enjoyable experience nonetheless. So like... solid B+.
