Lew Zealand
Helper
Generally the Community Center allows for a more balanced experience as it prods you to Forage, Farm, Mine, Fish a lot so it works pretty well to involve the Farmer in the game and even though I've done 5 long term playthroughs I've done the Community Center in each.
However if you want to do a more focused playthrough, I can see monocropping your way to higher amounts of g to do the Joja bundles. I need to try that just to see if it takes me out of the game or allows me to focus more. Not being someone who watches speedruns, I wonder if they pick Joja for what seems to be to me a quicker way to open up the map.
However if you want to do a more focused playthrough, I can see monocropping your way to higher amounts of g to do the Joja bundles. I need to try that just to see if it takes me out of the game or allows me to focus more. Not being someone who watches speedruns, I wonder if they pick Joja for what seems to be to me a quicker way to open up the map.
PerfectionWhaleFarm
Planter
I tend to go back and forth.
I think Lew Zealand's point of focusing applies to me - whether one wants to focus on the early game content or the late game content.
Community Center feels like the core content of the "early game". For me who's had multiple saves already, the "early game" experience may have already become stale (the farming, the fishing, etc.), but the Joja path expedites the core content of the "late game" for me - Desert, Island, Qi quests etc. (heavy combating, costumes, advanced crafting items). I get to focus on those newer stuff and the novelty hooks me in. You still do the "early game" stuff this way, but you get the opportunity to focus more of your time with the late game stuff.
This most recent save I did opt for the Community Center route, and actually since I haven't played that path for a while, it was fresh for me again and I was hooked in again.
I actually liked that CA implemented the Joja route every step of the way because in case the Island stuff become "stale" (finding all the walnuts), then we can again expedite that part and focus on the newer parts (1.6+).
The openness and freedom to choose is really what makes Stardew Valley fun. It promotes replayability too.
If I have to choose though, Junimo. Yeah I miss out on a cool Soda Machine, but it's more soulful.
I think Lew Zealand's point of focusing applies to me - whether one wants to focus on the early game content or the late game content.
Community Center feels like the core content of the "early game". For me who's had multiple saves already, the "early game" experience may have already become stale (the farming, the fishing, etc.), but the Joja path expedites the core content of the "late game" for me - Desert, Island, Qi quests etc. (heavy combating, costumes, advanced crafting items). I get to focus on those newer stuff and the novelty hooks me in. You still do the "early game" stuff this way, but you get the opportunity to focus more of your time with the late game stuff.
This most recent save I did opt for the Community Center route, and actually since I haven't played that path for a while, it was fresh for me again and I was hooked in again.
I actually liked that CA implemented the Joja route every step of the way because in case the Island stuff become "stale" (finding all the walnuts), then we can again expedite that part and focus on the newer parts (1.6+).
The openness and freedom to choose is really what makes Stardew Valley fun. It promotes replayability too.
If I have to choose though, Junimo. Yeah I miss out on a cool Soda Machine, but it's more soulful.