Forget Me Not My Organic Garden

Imagine a world where, thanks to the power of alchemy, one could turn organs (these precious and necessary things many living beings, including us, need to live) into something akin to a fruit or vegetable, for it to be sold in your local convenience store. well, imagine no more, because that's the main premise of "Forget Me Not: My Organic Garden". This game from 2015 follows our main character Organa, an apprentice in this craft of organ farming, tending to the farm and fulfilling orders in Irene's shop, the master and mysterious owner.

Gameplay - 6 / 10

I'll start this section by saying that I LOVE clicker games. However, as with many other clickers, the natural flaws that come with the genre begin to show their ugly heads. For starters, the cycle of watering plants, waiting for the plants to consume the water, the organs grow, water again, and then harvesting the organs, so you can finally fulfill orders for money is extremely repetitive. This becomes more of a chore for higher quality organs, which need this process to be extended by another two water-&-wait sections, for each quality level. 

The next issue is the sheer numbers of organs asked becomes quite big in the latter parts of the game, adding to the grind. This goes for each and every possible organ you can grow and harvest. And the game tends to ask for specific qualities in certain cases. Regardless, you can predict some orders, as the game follows the pattern of "use new thing you got". Also, the water you have is limited, and it recharges a bit too slowly for my liking, luckily this speed is upgradeable, so this becomes a non-issue.

The final caveat is that the screen becomes insanely cluttered by the end, and you have to click on all these things most of the time if you want to be as efficient as possible.

It's not all rain and thunder though, as the game is not so stingy with the rewards you get for completing your orders. You can quickly unlock more organ plants and upgrade your tools for quicker progress. In the end, you snowball quite hard into a rhythm where you don't really have any down time, speeding up the story.

Graphics - 10 / 10

Not all games benefit from having extremely detailed graphics or 3D art, and this game shows it. The mix of the cartoonish style of the characters and the color coding for each personality makes for delightful visuals. The designs for the organs and their vibrant colors make the game less morbid and adds to the intended weirdness of this world. There's also nothing that feels unintuitive or outright out of place, which makes for a cohesive, enjoyable design.

Soundtrack - 10 / 10

Surprisingly, this game doesn't shine in the gameplay but in the soundtrack. This is also what I meant when I said there was a cohesive design. The entire soundtrack is composed of classic or music-box melodies that greatly encompass both the feel of the game and the situation you're in at a specific part of the game. It's funky when something funny is going on, sad when it has to, and eerie when you should really keep someone far away with a 10-foot pole. I can't think of any other music genre this game could've benefited more from, this was just perfectly chosen and perfectly executed...

Sound Effects - 3 / 10

...However, I can't say the same thing about the SFX. You may feel inclined to disagree with me at the start of the game, thinking it's all fine, but you'll soon come to realize how terrible it really is. Every single sound is layered, one of top of another, with seemingly no limit. All the layered sounds make for a disgusting, senseless mess, that I had to turn down to 20%, and by the end had to completely turn off. The sounds by themselves are fine, and I quite liked their implementation at the beginning of the game, but the end is just not it.

Characters - 8 / 10

Finally, I'd like to mention the characters as if I was speaking about the lore. The entire story of the game, whether it's how organs are actually a produce, what Irene's past is, what all the mysterious characters want, and most importantly who you really are, is told via dialogue. Every single character has both a personal story and, in most cases, a small sprinkle of relevant world-building lore. The whole cast is wacky and mysterious, urging the player to complete their orders and deliver (he he) what they want, just to find out a bit more about them.

Verdict - 7 / 10

Overall, while this game has extreme flaws as a clicker game, regarding both the gameplay loop and some sound choices, it really does a fantastic job as a visual novel, and the music, art and cast of characters make up for a big portion of what the game lacks. If you don't mind clicker games and like short visual novels, or if you enjoy good art, quirky characters, and an amazing soundtrack (which is honestly good enough to listen out of the game), then you might enjoy this game. It's certainly not a game changer, but the game gave me it's heart (tree) so I'd gladly show it the love it deserves.