GameZone writes: "Harvest Moon is known for producing insanely addictive simulation gameplay. But did you ever think you'd see the day when the franchise would be turned into a puzzler? That's just what happened with Puzzle de Harvest Moon, as well as the newest title, Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming, produced specifically for Nintendo DS.
"We are hoping to give players a new way to experience the Harvest Moon Universe by offering a hybrid of a Harvest Moon game and a puzzle game," said Graham Markay, Vice President of Operations and Project Manager for Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming. "We have always believed that a lot of the activities in the traditional Harvest Moon games, such as harvesting crops, would lend themselves well to a puzzle game. This isn't really a development shift, but more of a development expansion."
Natsume's biggest showing was for Harvest Moon, but they had plenty of their digital offerings to show off as well as some sneaky reveals for eShop Game Boy Color games.
Rising Star Games has today announced that two new Harvest Moon games are set to hit the market, with Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming for the Nintendo DS and Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). Both titles are confirmed for release in PAL territories prior to the end of 2010.
Seriously, I love me some Harvest Moon... but there's no point playing anything later than the SNES version, they've added so little to the formula.
Rune Factory is a better alternative if you want "more", but other than that.
Rune Factory is good for a while (quite a while) but it becomes a chore before you can even finish the first year. Maintaining those runeys killed it for me.
-Arvis
ive been told this is one of the most relaxing games there is. so im getting em all! :D
The other week Examiner got some insight straight from CEO Hiro Maekawa on how Natsume has managed to ride out these tough times. With no interest in spending big budgets on mainstream genre IPs and rewarding their loyal fanbase with a steady stream of niche titles, the company has certainly held their own in a time where other publishers are laying off employees by the hundreds, sometimes thousands. In fact, Natsume has not laid off a single employee in the past 13 years. Admittedly, it helps that they keep things small, with a staff of 6. Vice President of Operations Graham Markay chimed in with his own perspective on what is it has been like to work for this company for over 12 years, starting out as a humble translator but learning quickly the benefits of taking on other responsibilities.
