Plant Tycoon Review

Plant Tycoon is a lot like the film Pan's Labyrinth: you might not have heard of it, or you might have written it off as not your cup of tea, but it's an example of entertainment done right.

Considered the spiritual successor to Fish Tycoon, Last Day of Work's Plant Tycoon puts you in charge of a nursery, where you must breed and sell plants for profit. Monies collected can then be used to buy better soil, seeds, equipment and so on.

OK, so the concept sounds dry, but click through the game for a while and you'll find it surprisingly deep and engrossing. Yes, a planting simulation.

Similar to Fish Tycoon, Plant Tycoon plays out in real-time, therefore time continues to march on whether the game is played or not. Most people will enjoy this feature - and it contributes to the game's addictiveness - but some might not like opening up the game after a long weekend away from the computer only to find that their precious plants are dead or dying (or infested with bugs). Actually, it would be remiss not to mention you can actually adjust the game speed from the Options screen - or turn off the clock altogether, if you like - which is a smart feature for the developers to include.

On to the details: The main screen shows a number of pots lined vertically and horizontally (no, it's not a 3-in-a-row game) and along the left-hand side of the screen are your options for what to put in the pots. This includes the different kinds of soil you can choose from, various seed types, water, tools (such as clippers), and special sprays including growth hormones and poison get rid of pesky bugs.

After you plant the seed and use the watering can on the soil, you must then wait for the plant to blossom, prune its dead leaves (but don't do it too much or it'll die), pollinate the plants to create new seeds, and then sell the plants in the nursery. Customers stroll in and come up to your creations -- such as a Jalapa Ball Cactus, Spotted Maple or more exotic cross-pollinated hybrids - and then buy them if they're the right price. If customers continuously overlook your plant you may need to drop the price down a tad to attract interest and invest in nursery upgrades including cherub statuettes and fancy fences.

This part of the game will keep you busy enough as you strive to upgrade your soil, purchase imported seeds and better chemicals and tools. But there's much more to the game. For example, one of your challenges aside from breeding and selling plants is to find the six Magic Plants in the game (Fish Tycoon players might remember a similar feature). You'll know they're special, and why, with a small pop-up window that gives you some info on each of them, but we don't want to spoil how to obtain them in this review.

Another mini-game is using a net to collect the close to 50 bugs and put them on display in jars - and certain bugs can only be found hanging around specific plants. You can upgrade your net, too. This part of the game is optional.

As you can tell, Plant Tycoon is a very unique, challenging and enjoyable game with lots of replayability. Some downsides, however, are that novice players might scratch their head at times asking themselves "Now what?" because they don't know what to do next. While you can get some hints on playing the game, there isn't anywhere to click that tells you what to do in case you missed something (and since plants take a while to grow you might think you did something wrong). Similarly, until players figure out you could turn off the real-time feature, it might frustrate players who return to the game to find out their plants have been infested.

Overall, Plant Tycoon might not get the same kind of attention as a 3-in-a-row, hidden object or waitressing sim will get, but it's definitely one of the deeper and more gratifying casual games to surface in a while. Two (green) thumbs up!

I frankly liked the visuals, though they're rather lo-res for my tastes. They're certainly more colorful and entertaining than Fish Tycoon, and the added number of combinations you can try (over 500) in crossbreeding plants is more than twice that of Fish Tycoon, as well.

To the other side, one considerable drawback is the lack of plant names when you've harvested a seed. This is a problem, because you can store hundreds of seeds; but though it shows you pictures of the "parents," it won't display the plant name you already know. Tracking is difficult--and this is a chore, not a game complexity.

Similarly, when you grow a plant once, you should know in advance when you grow it a second, third, etc time what that plant is. It's silly to be told from your plant screen that it's "unknown," even the twentieth time you're growing the thing.

So: needless drudgery, added to a basically fun title. Worth playing? Definitely, but...not if you're easily frustrated by poor information retrieval from a game.

I LOVE this game!!! I like LDW's games! Keep em' up!

I found the first 3 with in the first day...3 days later and I am about to pull my hair out. I wish the game gave the player a little more to go on for a stragedy to reach the goal.

I eagerly awaited it, bought it, and enjoy it.
But I could nit-pick a bit: why aren't there any beneficial insects like ladybugs? The whole gardening enterprise is sort of retro: net all the insects, use chemical insecticide.

Nonetheless it is engrossing. So far I have three magic plants but just can't manage to hit on a fourth.

I should mention one thing - not to knock the game but in hope that there may be a version 2.

The game uses 70% or more of CPU cycles and consequently runs very slow and erratically. Fish Tycoon didn't have this problem, so I feel sure it could be corrected.

Re Col Moore, there are ladybugs in the game. I've been catching them.

This game is awesome. WTG LDW!

How to get the Nox Orchid. (Needed: Golden Soil, Golden Water and Golden Shears, a Fourpetal maple and Spotted Reptans.) First make sure you have 1 mature spotted reptans and 1 mature four petal maple. Self-pollinate the spotted reptans and cross pollinate the fourpetal maple.( Spotted reptans pollen onto the 4petal maple) The 4petal maple should make Roseaceae Fern seeds. Sell it. The spotted reptans makes seeds of itself. Plant both the spotted reptans and the roseacea fern. Cross-pollinate when mature. This makes Nox Orchid seeds, which looks like siamease grey-ish worm thing with green "heads" There you go! Pic:

How do you cross pollinate?? Is that dragging the pollen to the plant? I've been doing that, and I've only found 1 magical plant, after 2 weeks of playing!!

This game is surprisingly addictive and enjoyable!! The only thing I wish for was an option for a larger seed storage tray than the third one (like two screens instead of one) and an option to purchase more pots to grow plants in. I've been at it for months, have created my own breeding charts, and am STILL tripping over flowers or plants that I've not seen before! I have five out of six plants (only four with the breeding documented) and all bar a handful of the insects.
Tip: skip buying any of the nursery add ons until you have saved enough for the blue and then the yellow soil!! It makes it so much easier.
I have also had problems with slowness; but only when my virus checker or something else decides to run in the background, or I haven't re-booted for a while.
Tip 2: There are also several combinations to get the same plant, which confused me for a while, but now I'm recording the crosses, I can see what's going on.

By the way :

Have you bred these flowers yet?
Aureus, Citrus, Nox, Fabled, Fragrant, Jalapa, Blazing, Bluestar, Rosaceae, Venomous, Viola, Mystic, Painted, Mela...?

And what about plant types ?
Ananas, Astera, ball Cactus, Bamboo, Fanleaf, Fern, Gladiatus, Grass, Lemonbush, Maple (looks like a bonsai), Maranta, Orchid, Pipe cactus, Pear Cactus, Reptans, Spendens....?

I haven't bought the fancy seeds yet. I'm determined to try and do the breeding myself!

Plant Tycoon 2 Will Coming Soons

Can u find all 6 magic plants?

ROSACEAE REPTANS

You found the Rare Rose of Isola ! This beautiful flower than enchanted
others to come to your nursery and all your plants will sold fastly ! This effect
is automatic and permanent.This plant has been repotted to the golden pot
and removed to your nursery

Bluestar Maranta + Jalapa Astera

VENOMOUS MAPLE

You found the Blackberry of Kingdom Favorite ! This berry fruit that rare
are in searching in whole hundred years but they never found it,otherwise they found
now so this plant must be sold in the great expense that you sets and you can sets up not
only on this plant , but all plants. This effect is automatic and permanent.This plant has been repotted to the golden pot and removed to your nursery.

Citrus Reptans + Fourpetal Fern

MOORS MARANTA

You found the Mulberry of Isola ! This unique fruit are seriously delicious and beens wanted
to everyone then they beleive it extincts on this world.This plants can be sold over for $5000!
This effect is automatic and permanent.This plant has been repotted to the golden pot and removed to your nursery.

Daffodil Reptans + Hibiceae Astera

FABLED FIBROUS

You found the Magic Flowers of Occurs ! With this plant , your plant will never died
off old age and all your plant will never easily damage by pruning green leaves! This effect is automatic and permanent.This plant has been repotted to the golden pot and removed to your nursery.

Bluestar Windmill + Venomous Almond

TARRA MAPLE

You found the Grandparents of Magic Plants! This effect will brings all magic plants to your nursery ! If it's not completed , then all your golden pot filled! Congratulations , means it's you winner now!

Pistia Reptans + Policebell Fern

I Sell Moors Maranta for $26,000!

If you're looking for the ultimate cheat, check out http://www.webbible.mine.nu/plant_tycoon/

Dear STeven FAgen
Did you know that I discovered a Nox Knoxville?
all you need to do is breed a policebell with a pear cactus. If you can't get those purchase the tersheeairee seeds everyday. If you can't afford to start a bug honeymoon. Otherwise you lose the game. keep on self-pollinating everything you get, planting those produced aseeds and then cross (as in david randall-cross) pollinate yoiur seeds with something elsse that will not make a gar

Policebell Flatfish is my favorite plant/fish type

gemmepenttyenteblabliantebabeh,you said that plant tycoon 2 is coming soon,right? when?

Breed a Lemonbush with a Maranta to create a Carrot seed.
Carrot seeds create a Fanleaf
Breed a Ball Cactus with an Astera for a spiky mine.
Mines create a Lemonbush.

Twice, i created Fragnant Lemonbush to Fragnant Lemonbush. But, one time it created a mine, but the other it created the seed that i normally get a fern with.

Is the Blazing Bamboo a magic plant?
There is a chance, because one of my magic plants normal price was 54, but the Blazing Bamboo was 62.

This is the order i upgrade things in.

Bio-organic soil first
Filtered water secondly
Second seed box thirdly
Large Bug Net fourthly
Sharp Pruning shear fifthly
Water from Isola sixthly
Translucent Bug Net seventhly
Soil From Isola eightly
Razor-sharp shear ninthly
Third seed box tenthly

This is only out of the things that go green, then blue, then golden.

Here is the order I upgrade ornaments.

Stone Turtle
Bird House
Weather Vane
Owl Statue
Charming Lantern
Elegant Sundial
Flower Wheelbaroow
Medusa Statue
Bench
Massive Sign
Grandpa's cash register
Gate
Dazzling Fence
Refurbishment
Soothing Fountain

I quite like it but I find selling can be very slow.

Oh Yeah. I know why I got the seeds I normally create for Ferns. I got the Ferns and Lemonbushes mixed up because they are similar. I used to use my magic plant as a money maker, but now I'm going to use a non-magic Blazing Bamboo. I brought the Exotic soil today,

I found another magic plant today, and it sold for 159. This will now be my money maker. I sell it for 200.

To my mind, the Dull Pruning shears and Sharp Pruning shears made very little difference in damage to your plants, but the Razor-sharp Pruning shears didn't cause any damage at all.

Just this afternoon, i managed to finally upgrade every single ornament and tool upgrade.

I do not have any recommendings for order of tool upgrades, but my recommending is for ornaments, to buy them cheapest to most expensive.

I was proud of the way they made the Filtered Water, because they made the plants just about in between as resistant to disease as they were in Tap Water and Isola Water, and also just about in between by how quickly the Water Chart goes up.

I wasn't very proud of the Sharp Pruning shears, because at the start i didn't notice any difference at all, and then i started a new profile and a new game, and so i didn't do any pruning till i had the Sharp Pruning Shears, and when i noticed the difference, was when it told me I had pruned a plant to death, but the computer was confused because it thought I had the Dull Pruning Shears, but i had Sharp Pruning Shears, but it was very little difference. If the Razor-sharp Shears were real life, they could be used to cut down a thick tree, because the i started another profile, and didn't do any pruning till i had the Razor-sharp Pruning Shears, and they were 3x as sharp as a Razor, because it thought again I had the dull pruning shears, and it told me I had pruned a plant to death, but the plant was on full health. They could cut through me even although I'm very tough. I could just mow them back with my Lawn Mower, but my Lawn Mower isn't even as sharp as that. They could even cut through the toughest rock in the world.

I wasn't too proud of the Large Butterfly net, because I upgraded the Translucent Net quite soon for such a valuable expensive upgrade, and as i was upgrading my net, i thought i would have to be even less accurate to catch those bugs, but i had to be more accurate on the Golden Net than the Blue Net.

It's supposed to go.

Green. Worst Tool
Blue. Middle Tool
Golden. Best Tool

But I had to be more accurate on the Blue Net than the Golden Net.

No I mean, I had to be more accurate on the Golden net than the Blue net.

Here's a glitch with your Fabled Pipe Cactus

Cut off all the branches, and leave only 1 flower, and this Fabled Pipe Cactus will look like a Loud Speaker.

Here's a glitch with your Maranta.

Cut off all the leaves till only 1 is left, and all the flowers on it, and then the flower on the Maranta will look like it's asleep.

I made a mistake with my pruning today.
Most of you will assume I did cause some damage with the Razor-sharp Shears, but no. I did not. The plant wasn't on full health, so i cut off a dead leaf with my Razor-sharp Shears. I accidentally cut off the whole entire plant. I wasn't proud of my self because I knew that i would've inhibited that plants sale, but I had a smart idea. I wanted all the plants to be very close in age. I find it fun to prune plants, so i pruned all of them, the entire plant, and then i had their seeds harvested, i trashed them until only 1 was left of each plant, got some money, trashed the plants because the sale was inhibited by the prune. My friend Max tripped me up today accidentally, and then i couldn't run, people told me how fast i was at running, but it felt like walking to me. Then they said to me, don't run if you are hurt, so i slowed down loads, and it felt like almost stopping, but i was still told i walked fast. I walk 10 miles each day. This is why i am so fast. I think i'm going to find the magic plants quickly, because i picked up this game quickly. I'm co-ordinated. I also played with Aliya and Lisa, who are not so rough. I had 3 balls. I can juggle 3 balls. Stephen tells everyone his dad can keep it going for 10, but i can keep it going for 25, but after more practice, now i can keep it going for 65. Lisa has nicked my ball and not given it back. She was thought by Mrs Webb to be meaner than she is. Far meaner than she is. I'm nicer than her. She boasts she can do 3 balls, i gave her 3 balls, and she couldn't do it, but i got no information about her wrist hurting. She needs to see my Lawn Mower after this. I am the Lawn Mower of the world. I'm not famous. I do not want to be famous. I don't care, but this could still mean there are people who are an even better Lawn Mower than i am. Julie can juggle, and i want to stand on her shoulders and juggle. Fine for me, but i'm more famous after this, but no care from me to the world i think i might be slightly more famous after this because these people will know who i am. Don't you lot come to my house. Don't you lot say where my house is, or you will be thrashed to death by the very very very strong Lawn Mower of the world. I have not said where any of you people's houses are, so don't say about mine. I don't know where any of you live. These people might not have Plant Tycoon or go on GameZebo. They most probably don't. No risk. No risk even if they do. They already know who I am, but a lawn mower is very strong, and they all know I'm very strong, so they'd guess it was me. Meet me on the Insaniquarium for some glitches about juggling on it. (the insaniquarium GameZebo). Some people want me to show it at FunTime. I have juggling Clubs at home. That shop sold silly Uni-cycles. The modest Lawn Mower said he was a rubbish Uni-cyclist. The glitch on Insaniquarium, has a better juggler than me. This is what modest people say. I'm modest. I'm not boastful, although I said i'm co-ordinated, strong and good on Lawn Mowers. It's honest and modest. People say my Lawn Mower is stiff and dusty. I am good on Lawn Mowers, and i don't find it stiff and dusty, but comparing to others it is, but comparing to the look of speed on it, it isn't because I'm strong.

I saved up my seeds rather than trashing them when I had more than 1. I accidentally let the time fast forward, but because i saved up seeds, i survived. Tell ya lot i'm clever, as well as coordinated. And I joked about yesterday when the fast running felt like walking. The truth was it did feel like walking and nobody told me how fast i was. Don't you lot meet Emily. She tells more fibs than I do. Come to my house if you want, but you won't see my Lawn Mower, it's magically hidden. You can get a plant called a Lawn Mowing Plant Tycoon. Joking! I'd laugh if there was and i'll tell you if there is a plant about Lawn Mowing. Lisa, when are you going to get your haircut? Somehow i saw a photograph of the Yr 3. They looked like they'd done some hard work, but you were the only one who looked like they needed a haircut. When are you going to get the haircut. If there wasn't more than one page to come out of the printer to show the whole lot, i'd print it out. But... nobody knows who i am and nobody would know who this is.

Well Well Well... It looks like none of these people do go on Plant Tycoon. So... You lot expect me to be crying about that. Well i'm afraid not, nobody knows who i am. I'm a secret agent. Nobody has ever telephoned, e-mailed or seen me. I think i'm the strongest man in the world. Because Nobody has got to where i've got to. There is going to be a piano piece being played by me, i'm going to have no cheers, no claps because nobody knows who i am. Nobody will give me the thumbs up. Nobody has ever communicated to me. I would love an arm wrestle with any of you lot. I stopped my friends time last night, but i wasn't asked, nobody knows who did it. I have no birthday at all. I don't get any Christmas presents or cards, no Valentines day cards. All Christmas presents and cards to everyone in the world have been sent by me. Plant Tycoon and any other games were created by me. I control everyone in the world. I controlled Lisa to break a promise. I controlled Mrs Webb to think Lisa is so much meaner than she is, but i'm much nicer than her. You might have seen my skill. Throwing balls under my leg and behind. Good accuracy, one handed juggling just before lunch, with 2 balls only, on Monday, i can do 3 balls. I still can. I'm the nicest person in the world. One day, you might hear the real truth about me, but now it's tree all the way. Climb up a simple tree, jump onto another tree on a very high and far jump. You might need to chin-up.

Come on Lisa.
Why were you away?
Were you not well?
Don't be so pushing.
And Shut up and Golf.
You, are not as strong as me.
Prove it with an arm wrestle.
I will win.
I'm bigger than you shorty.

Yeah what.

I DO NOT WANT YOU AWAY because...

You haven't got the money.
To nick my balls.
What payment do you want for my balls.

A huge strangle?
A large push and 10p?
70p?

Me and Curtis and Josh know your Nan.

When you please
You bring disease
You cut down trees
Cause injuries
And give us reasons why we are your enemies.
You will be with irritating babies
To punish you for all your many treacheries

I understand you lot. You don't go on Plant Tycoon do you. Somebody pretending to be one of these people, must talk to me about it or I will believe it is somebody pretending to me those people. Don't pretend to be me, or nasty surprises will happen. I went on Plant Tycoon. I'm bored of it.

Oh No. Lisa. You missed the performance parenting assembly. What made it worse was that I was in it. (what made it even worse is that i was performing). I've been going on Plant Tycoon but i'm so so bored of it. These people knew who i was for a short time, but now they've all forgotten.

Yeah Yeah. I mean i was looking forward to performing, thinking Lisa would say how good it is. (actually no, only joking). But i'm still not very pleased you weren't there. I was walking down your road yesterday. I didn't see you. That was your chance to get to know who i am. You're very clever and i trust you not to forget. What a waste of chance. I'll be there at 3:00 each Saturday, walking down your road, i'll keep attempting and you'll keep attempting.

(Erm, did he go yet?)

Woah...firstly, I do love this game. ive not loved a game this much since theme hospital (i fell out with computers for a few years but we are friends again now). i played on the demo of plant tycoon for a fortnight before i even bought the full version. ive only got 2 magic plants and ive been playing for a month now. Hmmmmm....im doing all that cross pollinating malarky but it is all rather confusing for a silly pot head. im not going to give up.

has anyone got any good (sensible, coherant) ideas for keeping track of the plant combinations? there must be logic behind it somewhere.

Secondly, i just want to say to the lawnmower man that I work in the mental health field so i would gladly offer you any qualified advice should you feel you require it....otherwise I might get my mate who makes electro music to make a tune out of your other-worldly words, you strange little creature.

Hiya Queeny.

Yes, there's a pattern to it. I hope it's not giving too much away to say that the flowers and the foliage cross independently; and there are 23 different types of each, so you need two 23 x 23 matrices to log the crosses.

Does that get you started?

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