HARVESTELLA

Few games in this library have their reputation so precisely defined by a single sentence repeated, independently, by dozens of reviewers across four years — on both sides of the recommendation. "This is not a Farming Sim game," reads one of the most-upvoted negative reviews (431 votes). "This is a JRPG with farming elements," reads one of the most-upvoted positive reviews (463 votes), making the identical correction in almost identical words. HARVESTELLA's biggest problem was never really the game — it was the Nintendo Direct that introduced it as a cosy life-simulation RPG.

What it actually is

Strip away the marketing and HARVESTELLA is a real-time action JRPG with a genuine story ambition, built in a recognisably classic Square Enix mould — several reviewers reach for PS1 and PS2-era comparisons, and one describes 134 hours and a full completion with no regrets at the full $60 launch price. Combat is straightforward action with weapon-type skill trees and up to two AI party members; farming exists as a scheduled, low-stakes side activity you tend to for a few minutes each in-game day, not the moment-to-moment loop the game is built around. Composer Go Shiina's soundtrack draws specific, repeated praise, and the world and art direction — visible across the game's screenshots — hold up well even in reviews that are otherwise critical of other elements.

The reviewers who enjoy it tend to share one thing: they either knew what they were getting or adjusted quickly. "This is a Final Fantasy game with a bit of farming on the side," reads one 2023 review, recommending it on sale specifically to fans of that kind of game. Another, at 185 hours, opens with the correction as a warning to future buyers before getting into what they actually loved about it.

The complaint that actually decides the score

Set the marketing mismatch aside, and the dominant substantive criticism is the writing. Sixty-two of the 100 most-helpful English negative reviews raise the story or writing directly — by a wide margin the largest single complaint category in the corpus, well ahead of price or the farming mismatch. "This game is plagued by mediocre writing, uninspiring characters who are difficult to care about, and grammatical errors," reads one detailed review. Another, blunter: "It's rare for a story to not only make me feel nothing for every character but also make me actively dislike all of them." This isn't a universal reaction — several long-playtime fans specifically praise the story's late-game turns and character arcs — but it's frequent and specific enough to treat as a real, recurring weakness rather than a matter of pure taste.

Price is the second recurring thread: 27 of 100 negatives call the game overpriced, generally framing it as reasonable at a steep discount but hard to justify at full price given the depth on offer. A third, smaller thread — 21 of 100 — notes the game's Nintendo Switch origins showing through on PC: no option to skip cutscenes, which several reviewers call an active annoyance on replay or when retrying a failed section, along with limited graphics settings and controls clearly designed gamepad-first.

A completion curve consistent with a long, uneven game

The achievement data backs up the shape most reviews describe: early milestones sit comfortably (81.2%, 71.3%, 63.0%), a broad middle tier clusters in the 30-60% range, and the hardest completion achievements fall to under 4%. That's consistent with a substantial JRPG that plenty of buyers start and reasonably enjoy, with a smaller committed core pushing all the way through — not a game people bounce off en masse, but not one every buyer finishes either.

6.5 out of 10. HARVESTELLA is a genuinely competent, occasionally excellent JRPG wearing the wrong marketing for four years running, and that mismatch has cost it goodwill it may not have otherwise lost. Go in knowing farming is a footnote rather than the feature, brace for writing that lands unevenly, and treat the NZ$99.95 asking price as a sale candidate rather than a launch-day purchase, and there's a real, well-liked Square Enix RPG here for the audience that actually wants one.