The Harvest of Time

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January 6th, 2010

The Harvest of Time

RayThis probably wasn’t exactly what Tim was wanting, but with Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs out on DVD/BluRay and friends begging me to watch it with them….. well the math basically equals less time to perfect the strip. I’ll see if I can’t pull through a little harder next week since I want to try to get the 2P START! engines running at full speed again.


85 Comments

  1. Leonardo says:

    Geeeenius!! Loved it!!!

  2. RedVinnie says:

    thats actually very clever! to me since i never really enjoyed either harvest moon or loz, its not laugh inducing but it gave me a good little chuckle. gcg (good comic guys)

  3. Rydash says:

    Not the best, but it made me smile a little.

  4. TheLupineOne says:

    Wait a minute… why don’t we have a new 2P START! Logo this week?

    • MiMGodfather says:

      One must be patient when Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs is concerned, Lupine…one. Its awesomeness distracts even the greatest of the great!

      I say this because I giggled like a 5 year old the entire freaking movie when I saw it in theaters in 3D. ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. TheLupineOne says:

    But still, very funny, I’ve been in this situation so many times before.

  6. Madcow says:

    *g* Great!
    But one tiny little thing: You had better used a blue rupy, because you can easily overlook the green one.

  7. The Gastronomic Gamer says:

    How do you use a sun dial watch? Do you have to use it with a compass?

  8. terrencethegamer@hotmail.com says:

    I love the last panel!

  9. sheppy says:

    Yet another reason why Hyrulians suck. Thanks for that.

    • TheLupineOne says:

      That’s Hylians! I think… I’ve only played Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks.

      • Kvb says:

        They’re both words. Hylian refers to the pointy-eared race, Hyrulian means anyone who lives in Hyrule.

  10. pcargill says:

    NCG, and i know exactly how each of them feel, from Link searching for Hearts and Ruppees to The young farmboy planting crops to make a living, but i prefer the searching fro hearts and ruppees because hes doing it for the good of Hyrule, the farmboy is doing it for his own selfish desire! how dare he?

  11. steve-ohs says:

    I really liked this comic!! Great Job!! I love harvest moon and LOZ, nice job meshing them together.

  12. Stealthguy says:

    I know if some guy in green tights tried cutting down my grass in Harvest I’d be going after him with my sickle.

  13. roadjcat says:

    Hmm…I love the fact that it’s Harvest Moon, but I’m not sure what to think of this. For one, once grass starts growing (at least in most Harvest Moon games, or all the ones I remember playing), you don’t have to water it anymore. And second, the goal of growing grass is to cut it down anyway to make fodder to feed your animals, so the way I see it, Link is helping Jack.

    • mkava says:

      Exactly! Jack, didn’t know he had a particular name.., is just using Link to get his work done anyways. A couple minutes later, Harvest Moon Guy would just have to take a scythe to it anyways. Link gets some rupees and hearts, HM Guy gets his fodder for his animals. Win-win situation.

      Nice comic guys. Simple, not burst out laughing funny, but still enjoyable none the less. The sun-dial watch was a nice touch… obviously HM Guy is just waiting for Link to arrive. =)
      And yeah, logo… >.<

      • roadjcat says:

        You’re right. It is a win-win, but that’s not the joke the comic is going for, that’s why I don’t know what to think. The sweat drops and looking at the watch are supposed to give you the sense that he’s been working really hard and then Link goes and destroys all his hard work and that’s the joke. But if we compare it to what happens in Harvest Moon games, Jack is doing meaningless work after panel 2 and then Link comes and helps him, which isn’t too much of a joke. I still like the comic because it’s Harvest Moon, but it didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

        Oh and super-duper nitpicky time (feel free to ignore unless you want to know about insignificant details):

        1. Harvest Moon characters use a hoe, not a pitchfork.
        2. Seeds are spread in a 3×3 square, a 1×6 square, a 6×1 square, or a 1×1 square. If the seeds are being spread in a 1×1 square, which they appear to be. It should’ve been the character from A Wonderful Life. Though that would still be wrong because there were no grass seeds in that game.
        3. If you were going to set in in medieval times, than the Rune Factory character, Raguna, would’ve been a better choice.

        Like I said the details don’t matter, just stupid things I notice that I am, for some reason, compelled to share.

  14. blaster says:

    Nice Job!
    I can see you guys winning the joystiq poll this week…

  15. MiMGodfather says:

    Has everyone forgotten the vigilant potters that tirelessly work every second of every day to make sure there are items in-dungeons/around-towns/randomly-strewn-about for Link to find? He smashes every pot in the dungeon, walks outside, then goes back in and what’s this? All of the pots are back! But do they get any thanks for all of their hard work? NO!

    You should all be ashamed.

    On a “me not being weird” note, I think the comic was done very well. One thing that would have improved it slightly (in my opinion) would have been to have a small angry farmer running toward Link in the distance. Big enough that one can see the pure anger on his face, but small enough that it could be considered a subtle touch. ๐Ÿ™‚

  16. Snifit says:

    Cute comic. Nothing too hillarious but nothing bad. Definitely worth a smile, a small laugh, and an “Aww poor farmer”

    …Did miss the logo though

  17. Dominator_101 says:

    Pretty good comic this week. I’ve never actually played Harvest Moon, but I guess you didn’t really need to to get the joke.

    But the farmer doesn’t need to worry that much, I mean he just needs to go off screen and then back on and the grass will be as good as new!

  18. Bobipine says:

    that’s why the only time different games characters never meet other then to fight each other (see Super smash. Marvel v.s. anything, alright there is a battletoads double dragon combination where you team up, but you can still hurt each other)

  19. Didn’t see that coming and it made me chuckle. Plus it looked pretty nice too.

  20. Kvb says:

    Good comic, guys. Simple but effective. Just how I like them.

    Link’s expression did sort of take away from the humor for me, though. I know he’s doing a very monotonous job, as close as grinding as you can get in a Zelda game, but it’s still very strange to see such a blank face on a character as expressive as Toon Link.
    In fact, there’s not a single smile to be seen in this comic. Something a Nintendo gamer like me just can’t comprehend.

    Though I did notice that Harvest Moon Kid wasn’t looking quite so down in the Super Secret Comic Preview… Maybe it’s making a point I’m missing? That destroying other people’s busywork is busywork for Link?

    Ah, whatever, let’s over-analyse something else: Why is Harvest Moon Kid’s watch a sundial? I’ve not actually played any of the games, admittedly, but I thought they took place in modern times. The baseball cap hasn’t been around for that long, has it?

    • Pi says:

      Wait…you ‘pro’ guys get previews? Weak!

      • CKcheeseboy says:

        Actually, anybody that looked at Ray’s Twitter last night could see it.

      • Kvb says:

        What CKcheeseboy said. It’s right here.

      • D3vin says:

        Guys, you are ruining the illusion! We need to make being pros look more like we just get a pretty little thing next to our names… and that one time were Tim sent us advanced wallpapers before anyone else…
        You hear me! Give us pros something more, or remove it. It is a useless feature!

  21. Dark_Devin says:

    Perhaps this comic would be better suited for the name ‘harvester of sorrow’ to play on the pun of the name. Link, through his quest to save Princess Zelda over the years, has most likely slain several peoples pets,plants, and loved ones. Who wouldn’t want an octorok for a pet, a moving cactus(early zelda) for a plant, or a good son who grew up to be the water temple’s mini-boss? Now he’s going around, chopping up people’s hard work, how dare he!

    On the flip side though, may he has to save Zelda again…maybe because Ganon had to RISE FROM HIS GRAVE and steal her again.

    My real question though is, why in the world is the kid from harvest moon planting rupees and hearts? Is he some sort of farmer/killer/tax dodger?

    • Dominator_101 says:

      He didn’t plant them, the Picori put them there… At least, they do in Minish Cap…

      • Snifit says:

        I believe the Piccori put them in all games, they were just first revealed in Minish Cap

  22. efaulkner84 says:

    Dear Tim and Ray I got an idea for a sequel for this strip combine Harvest Moon and Majora’s Mask. You have 3 days to harvest. This is a really good strip though. I am surprised there has been no Mega Man 10 comic yet.

  23. Talduras says:

    Man, I’m so glad I was reading this on my desktop rather than my MacBook. The punchline caught me by surprise, and thus I made one of those little mini-explosion type laughs. Would’ve probably spewed saliva all over the screen if it was my “all up in my face” MacBook Pro rather than my “have to keep it at the far end of the table so I can actually see the whole screen and not burn my retinas” 32-inch LCD TV-as-a-desktop-monitor. Come to think of it, if I wasn’t trying to avoid waking my roommate up, I probably would’ve had more than a mini-explosion laugh and managed to spew saliva onto even the desktop screen. Hmm… maybe I should start keeping a towel handy…

    Anyway, so noticing this is another comic that you say Tim wasn’t fully behind. Oy… come on, I (and many other commenters, it seems) though it was flaming brilliant! Same thing seemed to happen with a few of the other comics in the past month. You may have to rub it in Tim’s face.

    Oh, but don’t worry, Tim. I have a little ammo for you to use against Ray in order to even the score. Seems the previous podcast episode (#108) had a little editing snafu during the Rise From Your Grave section: “Business firs–uh, reading since you guys showed up on Gamer’s Pair of Dice…” That’s right. Ray clipped of an entire T! Show him this and it will haunt him FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE!

    (Mmm… yes, I had too much fun typing this comment).

    …Oh snap! I almost forgot the NCG! NCG

    • Talduras says:

      For once I would like to correctly type “off” instead of accidentally putting in its weird not-so-related cousin “of.” -_-

    • Talduras says:

      *Thonk!* Agh! The typos! They’re everywhere! I need to seriously start proof-reading these long comments.

      Excuse me while I drown my sorrows in a large glass bottle of Lon Lon Ranchยฎ milk and mourn over the lack of an edit button…

  24. TomX says:

    Haha that’s awesome! I read about 7 different video game webcomics and have read the entire archive for each of those and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Harvest Moon comic. Not that it’s even my favorite game or anything but I was so enthralled by the fact that it was Harvest Moon that I totally didn’t see the ending coming. NCG!!

  25. Gadoink says:

    Although I have no clue who the character in the first few panels was, regardless it was still a funny comic. That just shows its brilliance, when a person can get the joke, even if they don’t know half the characters.

  26. BadnikHunter says:

    Haha, after seeing the comic preview, I wasn’t sure how a Harvest Moon comic would work, but this comic was really clever. Darn that Link, making my time in the garden caring for my plants useless.

  27. Pateasuelos says:

    Thats grass, when link cut it, it will go directly to the warehouse and could be used to feed cows.

    It would be better to put onion or tomatos

  28. Apkinesis says:

    Very nice! Somehow I predicted that this comic would have something to do with Legend of Zelda (just from the “of Time” in the title), yet I didn’t see the punchline coming.

    Knowing how long and tedious it can be to grow crops in Harvest Moon, and now reading this comic, I’ll never be able to chop grass in another Zelda game the same way again.

    • Talduras says:

      Same here on the Zelda prediction. The punchline is so random in regards to where it fits in the setup to it, yet it still makes cohesive sense… except I don’t exactly equate grass with farming, but then again I’ve never played Harvest Moon. =P

  29. Pi says:

    Funny, but you should have had one more panel with a picture of the farmboy tearing his hair out, or re-planting.

    • blaster says:

      I have thought of that, but I think it’s better to have the way it is now.
      More imaginative.

  30. Zacko says:

    Haha. NCG. I liked this one. It would have been great to see the little farmer dude on the sidelines weeping or something.

  31. Jason says:

    Sorry, but there’s not enough punch to that punchline. It needed a slightly better explination of goings on. Maybe it’s because I don’t play Harvest Moon, but I didn’t quite get it.

    • BadnikHunter says:

      Isn’t it quite self explanatory even if you don’t play Harvest Moon? The joke is he spends all that time to plant the grass, just to have Link come through and cut it all for rupees and hearts.

  32. Highwater Trousers says:

    As a huge Harvest Moon player, (Back to Nature for the Playstation in case anyone wonders) I can easily say that this comic made me laugh. The artwork looks great, although Link’s sword looks funny to me. I can’t quite explain it, but either the sword is reflecting the grass or I can see through the middle of it. As for the joke itself, it caught me off guard, which is always a plus. Though it seems to follow a simple, yet great formula – person works hard setting something up, waits patiently, and then some random/unexpected person comes and reaps the reward.

    Overall, great comic in my opinion. I think it’d be pretty funny if the Harvest Moon character had his dog attack Link. Why? To see if Link would fight the much too adorable dog… and get sued by PETA. Then you can have a Phoenix Wright comic with Link.

  33. Agent4286 says:

    I kinda feel bad for that kid, knowing how much grass i’ve ever ever cut down. But conversely if the grass he planted had more rupee’s\hearts\arrows etc. i wouldn’t have cut down so much of it!

    He shouldn’t have to water it either, hasn’t he heard of the song of storms?

    NCG,
    Harley

  34. JOnah says:

    yeah no new logo! an PLEASE PLEASE make a homestarrunner comic!

  35. Burnflare says:

    Sheesh, if he didn’t want his crops cut down, then he shouldn’t have put so many Rupees and hearts in them!

    NCG ๐Ÿ˜€

  36. thisismax says:

    I see what you did there. Clever clever.

  37. D3vin says:

    Don’t go into the tall grass! Wild Pokemon live there!

  38. Supersonic24 says:

    Loved this comic! This is what I think of as classic 2PSTART! simple, yet extremely effective. At first I hated this comic with all of my soul because I didn’t get it, but then I loved it (jk). But why does he look at the watch like he’s waiting for something? Is he just in disbelief over how long that took?

  39. DrOswald says:

    I like this comic. A sort of basic joke, but I think there are certain ideas that any comic maker should be able to do without being considered unoriginal, kind of like how every figure painter in the world does a reclining nude at some point.

  40. TheLupineOne says:

    If Ray isn’t going to make a logo for this comic, D3vin might…

  41. Wyrm says:

    Mmmm, Good idea… I’m a little creeped out by the artwork on the face of the boy from harvest moon.

    And by a little I mean really creeped out. Would not read again.

  42. SparklesJDog says:

    So I thought this comic would be a good time to rise from my grave. I’ve been reading from the Hit and Miss comic back in August after seeing it in the Kotaku Sunday Comics article.
    I’ve gone through the whole comic archive and I’m still working through the podcasts while I’m at work. Although it is problematic as I work in a library and I’ve been getting weird looks from my supervisors when I bust up laughing for no apparent reason.

    Anyway, I loved this comic. It was simple and unexpected and rather amusing. Makes you wonder if there is a parallel for other games as well. Oh, wait, I guess Sonic always makes a mess of Robotnik’s robots. So there you go ๐Ÿ˜›

    But yeah, love the comics and podcasts and I look forward to more. Thanks for all the hard work!

  43. twarner500 says:

    Where have all the grass gone?
    Long time passing
    Where have all the grass gone?
    Long time ago
    Where have all the grass gone?
    Link have cut them every one
    When will they ever learn?
    When will they ever learn?

    Where have all the young Links gone?
    Long time passing
    Where have all the young Links gone?
    Long time ago
    Where have all the young Links gone?
    Taken by Zelda every one
    When will they ever learn?
    When will they ever learn?

    Where have all the young Zelda’s gone?
    Long time passing
    Where have all the young Zelda’s gone?
    Long time ago
    Where have all the young Zelda’s gone?
    Taken by Ganondorf’s every one
    When will they ever learn?
    When will they ever learn?

    Where have all the Ganondorf’s gone?
    Long time passing
    Where have all the Ganondorf’s gone?
    Long time ago
    Where have all the Ganondorf ‘s gone?
    Gone to graveyards every one
    When will they ever learn?
    When will they ever learn?

    Where have all the graveyards gone?
    Long time passing
    Where have all the graveyards gone?
    Long time ago
    Where have all the graveyards gone?
    Covered with grass every one
    When will we ever learn?
    When will we ever learn?

    • MiMGodfather says:

      When I first saw your post there I had the “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?” song in my head… but then I started to think that the lyrics don’t really match. Found Pete Seeger’s “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?”, and have now replayed it on youtube several times. Thanks for indirectly showing me a really good song ๐Ÿ™‚

    • MiMGodfather says:

      And also thanks for indirectly getting that horrible “…Cowboys Gone” song out of my head. haha

  44. FluffyPanda says:

    Ray, did you have anything to do with this?

    http://www.ebuyer.com/marry

    screencap here

    http://fluffypanda.com/img/marry.png

  45. randomperson says:

    wait link is working with the farmer kid because links cutting the high grass instead of farmer boy mowing the lawn

  46. Talduras says:

    Wait. Ray, your full first name is Raymona???

    …Can I haz?

    • D3vin says:

      Everyone sing along!
      ~This here is Raymona Pizza
      Makers of the world’s best eats-a
      Fresh sauce and cheese gal-ore
      Brought straight to your front do-or
      (Yum! Yum! Yum! Yum!) This here is Raymona Pizza
      (Buon giorno!)
      Makers of our tasty treats-a
      (Buono!)
      Our pie’s crispy,crunchy cru-st
      (Bellisima!)
      Leaves others in the du-st
      (Mama Mia!)
      Grab a hot slice ,and take a big bite
      It’s so good that you’ll start a fight for more
      Raymona Pizza
      (I’m the manager of this joint.)
      Raymona Pizza
      (My name is Tim.)
      Raymona Pizza
      (It’s a pizza art!)
      Raymona Pizza
      (I said-a “pizza art”! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!)

    • FluffyPanda says:

      Raymona Lisa?

      (please forgive the shocking quality of this edit…. Paint.NET doesn’t have a feather option and I couldn’t be bothered to navigate the GIMP. I miss Photoshop.)

      • Talduras says:

        Oh man. It may be simple, but that was hilarious! It actually fits in a weird, twisted way too (ignoring the rushed editing job, as you mentioned).

  47. Spritemaster says:

    Grave on the rise. After reading the comics for almost five months now, I’ve decided to finally make it known that I DO exist. Love the podcast, liking the comic this week, and wondering if Ray heard the latest Project Needlemouse update.
    http://blogs.sega.com/usa/2010/01/11/project-needlemouse-character-countdown-day-1/

    • Talduras says:

      Supposedly Ray says he has a Black Doom Award better than that that will appear in today’s podcast. Someone linked the same thing to him on Twitter (bit of a simple link-trail to follow in order to discover that).

      • TheLupineOne says:

        That might probably be me. RESPECT PIRACY!

        In other news, worst logo yet. A rush job. D3vin could do better.

  48. MetaRidleyR27 says:

    Commenting a little late, but Nice Comic Guys! It wasn’t laugh out loud funny, but still pretty clever.

  49. 1337pikmin says:

    Ha ha! Wow this made me laugh when I saw this.

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