Hell's Pasture

Hell's Pasture Since I was a young boy, I always wanted to own a farm. The lifestyle appealed to me; with a few seeds you can support yourself and provide food for you and your family, you were close to animals, and generally, you were in a small community. I loved the idea. So, at the age of eleven, after getting my first GameCube, I ventured to WalMart and took a look in the bargain bin for something to fulfill my fantasy. Lo and behold, I found it in the form of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. It was the last copy and I had my last twenty-five dollars, which, as it was, was just enough. My only real complaint was that the game appeared to have been opened slightly, but my dream would somewhat come true. I had my farm in my hands. Eager to start, I sat down to play. Everything started as normal, Takakura narrating while I watched the game unfold. I entered in all the names I had planned since I was little: For the farm, I chose the name 'North Farm'. I chose the pointy-eared dog and named him 'Kitsune', thinking A) that he resembled a fox, and B) that it could be affectionately shortened to 'Kit'. Hating my own name, I chose to enter 'Damion' as my own name. I started off with some seeds and a cow, and a few tools, and dived right into the game. I took great care of my animals as the farm grew, making sure they were all happy and healthy, like I would have if they were my own, real-life pets. I'd place orders for food and tools, and spend whatever time away from the farm either fishing, helping out with the fossil dig, or attempting to woo Celia (I was successful and eventually married). Eventually I would go on automatic, placing the orders and forgetting about them. Eventually though, I outgrew my childhood fantasy, and saved the game for the last time, shutting off the Cube and instead putting in hours on a new XBox 360. The GameCube went unforgotten, collecting dust for years. Eventually, I got bored with achievement whoring, and started browsing my old collection. I smiled fondly when I pulled out my old copy of Harvest Moon. Thinking nothing of it, I cleaned off the console as best I could and popped that sucker in. A warning light went off in my head when the title screen appeared. It was the same Forget-Me-Not Village, the same logo, the same 'Press Start' screen. But it was the music that got me first. The music was slow and slightly distorted, and 'clicked' every now and again.  So I shut the Game off, and threw the game out.