YMMV / Harvest Moon: Animal Parade

• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The random events can be this, considering that they're not plot driven or anything. Sometimes you'll get an item for it. There are some aversions, like with the snowman who gives you an item pretty much every day in Winter after you give him a carrot for a nose. Some more straightforward examples include Luke and Bo repairing something for Gill.
• Contested Sequel: Whether this game is an improvement upon Tree of Tranquility varies according to the fan. The loading times and characterizations are especially debated.
• Die for Our Ship: Luna, Maya and Selena aren't liked because they're the rivals for some of the most popular bachelors in the game.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Gill. While some can't stand his snobbishness, some like him because he has this secret sweet side.
  • The Deadpan Snarker Chase is well-loved by fans. While a few see him as rude, most like how he warms up to you.
  • Luke, whose dialogue can be kind of hilarious. His second rival event with Selena is kind of funny.
  Luke: (At the bar with Owen watching Selena dance) I'm breaking out, my heart's pounding, I'm sweating... Should I go to the clinic?
  Owen: Heh. Sounds like you're just lovesick!
  Luke: Really?! (blushes) But with who...?
  • Another example is the Wizard. He's always in his house so he's easy to get to, if you marry him all the other pairings will have a mate, and he's also quite attractive-looking.
• First Installment Wins: For years, fanworks almost always used Angela and Kevin instead of Molly and Kasey. The exception were those that paired the protagonist with the Special Bachelors/Bachelorettes, as fans seemed to prefer Molly/Wizard over Angela/Wizard. Over time, a larger number of fanworks (fanfic, at least) began to use Molly at least as much as Angela. While fanworks involving male protagonists in this fandom are comparatively rarer, when they do come about, Kasey tends to pop up more often than Kevin now (again, in terms of fanfic).
• Fake Longevity: A few examples:
  • Getting the ingredients for the potions to help the frog is a good example. It involves Perfect Butter, Good Cornmeal, and a Hibiscus. Why?! I'm no wizard, but seriously how does that make any sense? What's even worse is that you have to get the Hibiscus from Toucan Island, but then there's this guy named Samson who can't sell his stuff because he can't work in that environment. Great.
  • Getting the animals for the circus can be this. Why would they want Good Herb Fish, Bread, and Vegetable Pizza anyways? At least the first two meals can be gotten pretty easily, but for the Vegetable Pizza you'll probably have to wait until Fall to get that Pepper. And hopefully you've saved a Potato and Tomato for the pizza, because otherwise you won't get them until next year. Unless you save a Carrot for the snowman in Winter, who might leave a Perfect Potato for you after you help him. Assuming you even knew about him, or were lucky enough to save a single Carrot.
• Fanfic Fuel: The marriage candidate Witch Princess's backstory can lead some to wonder what her life was like. First of all, she's how many years old? She has definitely lived for a long time, so she's had a lot of experiences. She also sometimes mentions that she doesn't seem to get along with the Harvest King. If you're married to her, you can hear her say, "If you were to be gone from this world... I wouldn't know what to do. It's frightening. So please don't leave my side." Also, when getting her wish for the church shrine, she'll say that she wants a truth potion because she doesn't want to be lied to. Has she been betrayed before? What if the Harvest King is related to all this?
• Fanon: Unlike with most Harvest Moon games, fans rarely refer to the protagonists by their English names.
• Fridge Brilliance: Maya. She's absurdly perky and cutesy. If she's a grown woman, why does she feel free to act like that? Then I looked at her family and realized why: Her parents are still lovey-dovey with each other even though they've been married for more than twenty years. They have a perpetually cheerful and optimistic outlook on life, so of course she'd pick it up from them!
• Funny Moments:
  • If you marry the Harvest King the Sprites need to explain to him what a "smooch" is. How is this done? Colin decides to give one to Daren. The same happens if you marry the Harvest Goddess.
  • Any scene with Luke in it, special mention to his and Owen's confrontation with Calvin in the ruins.
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • Whenever you cheer up Finn can be this.
  • Getting a Power Berry from maxing out your affection with one of your farm animals. They love you so much that they poop out some energizing berry. The Power of Love at its finest!
  • Pick any heart event with a marriage candidate. Seeing them woo you back with presents after all the time and effort you put into them is really great.
• Ho Yay: The female protagonists start blushing when Selena does her dance for them.
• It's Easy, So It Sucks!: One complaint of the game, considering it has some pretty slow time, money is kind of easy to make, etc.
• It Was His Sled: Some people already know that the Witch Princess is named Vivi and the Wizard is named Gale. That's something you're supposed to know after you marry them. At least it wasn't something important to the plot!
• Memetic Badass: "SIMON THE NINJA PHOTOGRAPHER".
• Moe: Candace can count. She's so shy and nice that people love her.
• Most Wonderful Sound: That music that plays once you ring a bell. Especially good if that bell was hard to get, or if it's your first bell on your first playthrough of the game.
• Scrappy Mechanic:
  • Walking with your family and pets could've been better if they didn't get sad. If you walk too fast they'll fall behind and just stand around all depressed. You have to always make sure you go at a good pace so that doesn't happen. Some pets are so slow you have to carry them!
  • Refining ores. There's a good chance Mira will mess up and you'll get a bunch of junk stuff. For wonderfuls you just get nearly useless glass, which basically is only good for presents.
• Sidetracked by the Gold Saucer: Yup. Typical for a Harvest Moon game, considering the plots usually aren't all that special. There's finding the circus animals, courting people, befriending villagers, fishing, mining, farming (of course), festivals...
• Strangled by the Red String: Averted. You can go on dates with marriage candidates at festivals and such. Marriage candidates can also woo you back when you get them up to a certain heart level.
• Viewer Gender Confusion:
  • Chase has a round face, eyelashes, and wears a hairpin. He is a really Bishōnen guy.
  • Julius works at a jewelry shop and is a Camp Straight Long-Haired Pretty Boy. While his artwork makes him look more boyish, his in-game model is even more feminine. His Japanese name, Julie, is also a Gender-Blender Name.
• The Woobie:
  • Raising Candace's heart level can earn you some certain dialogue where she says that her sister Luna didn't cry when their parents died. Instead, Luna tried to stay strong for Candace and Shelly.
  • Mira, whose husband died prior to the events of the game. Her Establishing Character Moment is when you see her in the church, being so miserable that she can't go back to work. Even when she cheers up, she still remarks how she misses him.
  • Gill is a Jerkass Woobie example. His mom died when he was seven. His father completely shut down, so he had to take over as head of household. At seven. Eventually he managed to make his dad all better, but really...