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Impressions: Afrika
Pokémon Snap fans, beware! Afrika is the Pokémon game you know and love, just all grown up ... and, ya know, without all those Pocket Monsters. Instead, you're chasing around lions and tigers and, erm, zebras with fancy Sony brand cameras, trying your best to capture shots and not get trampled. Oh, wait, that's right! There is no "trample." In fact, there's no interaction with the animals of any kind. You don't even get the satisfaction of oddly petting them like in Endless Ocean. With Afrika, you get an African safari simulator and little else. Which really makes it hard for us to even classify Afrika as a "game" as opposed to edutainment. Sure, there are assignments and "challenges," should you so choose to engage them, but there is little (if any) real progression through the experience.Better cameras do unlock as you complete assignments and a whole mess of National Geographic footage/stills/information also serve to reward various complete objectives, but none of this makes the "game" any more game-ey. Those of you looking for an interactive African safari simulation, Afrika is for you. For those of you whose first interest is seeing if you can run down a rhino, look elsewhere -- this "game" ain't for you.%Gallery-64358%
Natsume announces new cheery, squishy games
Natsume's E3 lineup features mostly what you would expect from Natsume (Harvest Moon and lots of it, plus the previously announced Afrika on PS3), but the company revealed a few unannounced games, some of which are even surprising.The WiiWare Harvest Moon game, Harvest Moon Ranch Store, is being localized as Harvest Moon: My Little Shop, which is pretty adorable. The company has also announced a new cheerleading game called Cheer We Go for the DS, as well as Squishy Tank, a puzzle game about little animate tanks. If it looks familiar to you, you were probably a really attentive DS Fanboy reader: it's a localized version of Yawaraka Sensha, a licensed puzzle game released last year in Japan by Success.%Gallery-64359%
Natsume pulls a Pangea, bringing Afrika to North America
For a game that we didn't really care all that much about in the first place, Afrika sure has had a circuitous route in getting to us. After seeing the game at a Sony press briefing 137 years ago, we figured it was unlikely the photography sim would come stateside. But in November, National Geographic changed all that when it revealed that it would be publishing the game (and swapping the "k" for a "c").But this morning we hear from IGN that the North American rights have been picked up by Natsume. OK, listen, it's been in so many hands, we know there's not an integrity issue here, so it would it have killed one of you to slip a gun in there? Taking pictures of animals? Boring. Knowing you'll be the last person to ever take a picture of said animal? Worth at least a rental.%Gallery-64358%
Adventures to Go brings ... adventures to go on PSP
We love straightforward titles. That's why we approve of Natsume's newly announced Adventures to Go for PSP. It's yet another addition to PSP's expansive SRPG library, but Natsume plans on taking a more humorous approach than traditional strategy games. Players will take control of Finn Courtland and his "band of misfits" on a quest to fight demons and save the world (real original, right?). Players will be able to set up the game's randomized dungeons by choosing the terrain, the size of the dungeon and the types of monsters players will face. The riskier dungeons will provide even larger rewards.Adventures to Go has a planned summer release, and will make its first public appearance at E3. You can check out the first screenshots in our gallery below: %Gallery-63689%
Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition spotted in its natural habitat
Last year, we idly mused that Success Corp.'s Amazing Animals, a Wii safari game, looked kind of neat. Now, Natsume will give us a chance to experience the kind-of-neatness for ourselves! The company announced today that it has picked up North American publishing rights for the title.Confirming our previous assumption about the gameplay, Natsume explains that Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition is a wildlife photography game in an African setting. "Each day, [players will] be tasked with completing specific assignments, such as taking pictures of particular animals, groups of animals, or animals engaged in certain actions. Players will see a variety of exotic wildlife on their expedition, including gazelles, gorillas, and elephants." So basically it's Sony's Afrika, but cuter and less likely to be used as a TV demo in electronics stores. Natsume will be displaying Animal Kingdom at E3. We're so glad Natsume decided upon the Animal Kingdom name, by the way. We've never been happier with a regional name change. The title of the game in Europe is ... Safar'Wii.%Gallery-51809%
Natsume grows another Harvest Moon puzzle game
Natsume has announced another Harvest Moon game, which, in itself, isn't much of a surprise. But Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming is not the same Harvest Moon that we see two or three times a year, localized from a Marvelous farming game. Instead, it's the second original Harvest Moon game from Natsume itself. It's also a sequel to the first one!Frantic Farming is a sequel to 2007's Puzzle de Harvest Moon, this time set in the world of Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness. It looks to have the same gameplay, which turns planting, watering, and harvesting into a tile-based, quick puzzle game. Players can go through the game's story mode with each of 12 characters, as they work to solve the mystery of why the island is suddenly overrun with vegetables. Apparently the best way to solve this is to, uh, plant more vegetables.Puzzle de Harvest Moon's core gameplay was interesting, but the game was a bit too light on substance, and a bit too easy to complete by randomly scribbling. We're hoping that the added modes will allow Frantic Farming when it comes out this May.%Gallery-45059%
Natsume has (Fish) Eyes for the Wii
Remember Fish Eyes? If not, you may be more familiar with its western name, Reel Fishing. The series has been staying very still and quiet in a tiny boat since 1996, popping out a new game every few years. It is the very antithesis of something like the mad, hyperactive Fishing Master: World Tour. This is serious fishing business.So far, the games have been met with a shaky critical reception, but that hasn't prevented Natsume and Marvelous from thinking Fish Eyes Wii might a good idea. Maybe it is, and the waggle factor will help reinvigorate the franchise! If the screens from the official site are anything to go by, Fish Eyes Wii appears to mimic previous titles in the series by using animated CG backgrounds. That doesn't guarantee a good game, of course, but it sure makes for a very purdy view.%Gallery-42369%[Via NeoGAF]
New Harvest Moon title coming March 2009 in Japan
According to Weekly Famitsu, a brand new Harvest Moon title will be making its way onto on the PSP this upcoming March in Japan. In Harvest Moon: Sugar Village, the third PSP title of the farm simulator franchise, you are responsible for the fate of a ... you guessed it, village. Gameplay elements include the ability to make home improvements to your house and to woo girls -- honestly, this sounds just like every other Harvest Moon game. No word yet on whether this game will see a release in the Western market.[Via PSPHyper]
Rune Factory 2 manufactures U.S. release date
Marvelous has confirmed it will release Rune Factory 2 into the crowded, choppy waters of the Christmas games market, announcing a November 18th release date for the fantasy-themed farm-me-do.As that's still four weeks away, we advise passing time by reading up on our hands-on experience with the title, planning crop strategies, and preordering at either Gamestop or Amazon for your very own plush squirrel. Oh yes, and saving money. We're not kidding. Have you seen the DS line-up for November 18th? Yowza.%Gallery-25983%[Via press release]
TGS08: Rising Star reveals four for Europe
Rising Star Games just unfurled an official list of Marvelous games that it plans to localize for Europe, including Luminous Arc 2, Avalon Code, Rune Factory 2, and a fourth game that is yet to be announced for North America: Steal Princess. We expected most (if not all) of these to reach us at some point, mainly because Rising Star Games is totally awesome and we love them.Previous evidence has suggested that Steal Princess and Luminous Arc 2 won't be appearing before the end of March 2009, but we can't be mad at Marvelous. The company has had an action-packed Tokyo Game Show, and this is the cherry on top of a whole pile of other excellent announcements for Nintendo fans. Make the jump for screens, screens, and more screens! %Gallery-34394%
Rune Factory 2 preorder bonus is nuts
Well, nut. Acorn, really. Plush acorn ... in the grip of a plush squirrel. Never mind. Chances are, if you're a fan of, uh, fantasy-themed farming simulations, you've already got a copy of Rune Factory 2 preordered -- if only because there are no games in that narrow subgenre that aren't called Rune Factory.But hey, even if you don't care about growing whatever or tending whatever or fighting whatever, Natsume will give you this plush squirrel if you preorder their game from Amazon. They keep trying to use cute plushes to sell us games ... and it continues to have a shockingly powerful effect on our resolve. Marvelous is at least as talented at designing adorable, plush-ready mascot characters as they are at designing repetitive, addictive games.
Harvest Moon: Waku Waku Animal Puppets
Our Japanese is not quite good enough to ascertain the nuances of this dramatic scene, but what we could understand was self-evident anyway. In this ad for Harvest Moon: Waku Waku Animal March, the frog wants the cow to give him a ride like the animals in the game do. The cow (spoilers!) relents, and the frog gleefully hops on, only to find the ride slow. The cow complains about being out of energy, and the frog cheers him on, telling him to summon his "cow power." Then the frog takes off on a date with Keromi-chan. In the second part, after the break, the frog and cow decide to make use of Waku Waku Animal March's photo features. Wackiness ensues, culminating with the frog asking the cow to take some "sexy" shots. And that's why you should buy Harvest Moon: Waku Waku Animal March.
Draw Harvest Moon art to win a bumper crop from Natsume
Do you like drawing Harvest Moon cows over, and over, and over again? We're not going to go investigating (for the same reason we try not to investigate any fanart on the intertron), but we suspect that there is a thriving Harvest Moon fanart community -- and they're going to love this.To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the farming series, Natsume is giving away a pile of stuff, including a DS Lite Kit, a plush cow and chicken, strategy guides for both Island of Happiness on the DS and Tree of Tranquility on the Wii, and unspecified "additional goodies!"All you have to do is draw a picture (like, on paper) featuring any character and any animal from a Harvest Moon game, and mail it in. Twenty winners will get stuff! Official rules can be found at the link.
Harvest Moon: Waku Waku Animal March uses WiiConnect24
The official website for Bokujou Monogatari: Waku Waku Animal March has updated with new screens and art of all the super-adorable animals that will be featured -- the ones above can even be kept as pets. But even more heartwarming than cartoon pandas is the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection logo on the front page. The game supports WiiConnect24 in some as-yet-unspecified way -- sharing crops? Sending pictures of yourself riding a goat along the beach? Marvelous has also announced the Japanese release date: October 30. Since this is a Harvest Moon game, we expect Natsume to pick it up for release here, but they've got to finish with Tree of Tranquility first. Less likely to leave Japan is the promotional campaign associated with Animal March, in which lucky winners will receive Harvest Moon stickers ... or yogurt. [Via NeoGAF]
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody port may take root in US soil
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody was released on the GameCube in 2006 in the US. Rising Star Games, Marvelous's European branch, then ported it to the Wii with new motion controls, releasing that version in March of this year. This makes sense for Europe, since the Wii was out by the time the GameCube version would have been released. According to a Siliconera interview with Natsume president Yasuhiro Maekawa, the company is considering an American release of that ported Magical Melody. "If we were to release the Wii version of Magical Melody", Maekawa said, "we would most likely be looking at a limited release aimed at our hardcore and loyal fans. We have had quite a few requests to release this game and are looking into it." Limited-edition releases have the power both to tempt fence-sitters and to save money for publishers, so this approach is a smart one.The rest of the interview discusses the history of the series and of Natsume's involvement, and is an excellent read for anyone with an interest in fake farming.
E308: Wii Fanboy tends farm in Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility is a big game. The first thing that I noticed was just how large the game world is. You aren't restricted to just one farm, instead able to spread many a seed across many a land. Aside from that, the game very much feels like all of the other Harvest Moon titles, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on whether you're a fan of the series or not. %Gallery-3745%
E308: DS Fanboy raises its spirits with Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness
To be honest, the last time I played a Harvest Moon game, it was on the GameCube. We're talking years ago, folks. But, like riding a bike, Harvest Moon is an experience that doesn't change much over time. Fans like it that way, I imagine. And, just as I expected, Island of Happiness featured a lot of the same things previous titles in the franchise offered. %Gallery-15230%
E308: DS Fanboy explores the lands of Rune Factory 2
When hitting up Natsume's meeting room at E3, I kept catching myself wishing I wasn't alone. In fact, I wished that one specific person was with me, because all of these games that the company had on display were based on franchises I, frankly, didn't have the most experience with. That's not to say I went in biased, just that I prefer to be as well-informed as possible going in.Imagine my surprise when I played Rune Factory 2 and it was like Harvest Moon had a baby with Secret of Mana.%Gallery-25983%
E308: DS Fanboy invites Princess Debut to the ball
I don't have to tell you just how odd Princess Debut is. For one, it's not the sort of title one usually associates with Natsume. Second, it's developed by Cave, who are usually behind hardcore shooters, and not titles like this. So, as odd as this all sounds, I was dying to get my hands on it when I hit up Natsume's booth at E3 just to see what this game is all about.%Gallery-27282%
E308: Hamtaro tries extra hard to scare off older gamers
You shouldn't be ashamed if you're an adult (or even just a non-elementary schooler) who's played a Hamtaro game. People who've tried Ham-Hams Unite for the Game Boy Color or the GBA's Ham-Ham Heartbreak know that the sickeningly cute series can translate into a fun adventure game. Even Ham-Ham Games, which strayed away from the adventure formula and landed itself in minigame territory, wasn't half bad. Hamtaro's handheld history was enough to make us consider picking up Hi! Hamtaro Ham-Ham Challenge once it released on the DS, but E3 swiftly changed our minds. Throwing up and spitting out everything that made Hamtaro bearable in the first place, the new game is not only a collection of minigames, but it features educational ones designed for young children. Basically, it looks like Brain Age for five-year-olds, with cute little hamsters taking the place of Dr. Kawashima.Don't fret, though, Hamtaro fans. There is another title based on the license that came out in Japan last year, which seems to return to the adventure-like goodness we know and love. Unfortunately, that's not the game releasing this summer, and that's not the game Natsume decided to show off at E3. Hopefully we'll see it get localized soon enough, so that we can forget Ham-Ham Challenge ever existed.%Gallery-27850%
