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XSEED inks Marvelous deal, Valhalla Knights II confirmed
Sometimes one set of hands just isn't enough to bring games stateside. At least, that's the thinking over at niche game publisher XSEED, which just signed a co-publishing deal with Harvest Moon virtuoso Marvelous Entertainment. The pair note that the agreement will help let Marvelous set up shop here in the US, while XSEED will help localize "key" titles from the Japanese studio.While the news makes us think that we'll soon be up to our eyeballs in farming sims, XSEED has only thus far confirmed that it will help localize Valhalla Knights II, though the companies note that additional game announcements will follow shortly. The sequel to last year's PSP action RPG Valhalla Knights is expected to ship this fall, with XSEED marketing guru Ken Berry stating belief that the game "will help to set the quality standard high for all future games coming out of this deal." That's certainly a lofty expectation for a sequel to a game that was largely panned by critics last year.
Demo de Harvest Moon
Ready to learn some valuable life skills for once, we decided to enroll in Harvest Moon A&M and take a class on "Playing Puzzle de Harvest Moon." We were motivated not only by our desire to improve ourselves and learn a trade, but also by the fact that the class is about five minutes long and is, in fact, a Flash game and not a class. Further rumination on the subject brought us to the conclusion that Harvest Moon A&M was a thing we just made up.Anyway, now we know how to play Puzzle de Harvest Moon, even though the tutorial totally didn't prepare us for how frantic the actual round was going to be. Of course-- what's faster-paced than farming? We're quite impressed with the unique design-- it's not often that a puzzle game comes along with completely fresh gameplay. [Via GoNintendo]
Harvest Moon DS Confusion
The new entry in the Harvest Moon series, called Harvest Moon DS Cute, is something of a mystery to us. Why is this specific one cute, compared to all the other cute Harvest Moon games? Do you grow teddy bear plants or something?We think we've figured it out. What has happened is that two Harvest Moon games have gotten mixed up-- a confusing situation that we will do our best to untangle.We're guessing that the Harvest Moon DS Cute we're getting early next year is the female-focused version of the first Harvest Moon DS. Like other girls' Harvest Moons, it's the same as the original, with the genders swapped on the protagonist and the love interests. Thus, the 'cute' is a hint at its girl-targeted design. This is all speculative, of course.The game we've seen recently in scans and in this new GAME Watch article is a sequel to these Harvest Moons, called (roughly) Harvest Moon: The Sparkling Sun and Friends. It's a new game with Wi-Fi integration. We don't think this one is Cute, mostly because it's too new and unlikely to make that release window.There are too many Harvest Moon games.
Harvest Moon DS Cute hits the U.S. in Q1
If the tedium of tending to a farm, planting crops and tending to livestock, sounds like a recipe for fun to you, then you no doubt have been a longtime subscriber to the Harvest Moon newsletter. In ordering from its catalog, you've probably gathered quite the collection of games. Good for you.And you should know that the good times are going to keep rolling, as it has been revealed a new game in the series is coming to the DS during Q1 of next year. Of course this only applies to those of us in the U.S. and not other regions, which are likely to receive the game at a different time.Hit all of the various links below for your flavor of coverage.Read - Massive release list from NintendoRead - Scans for the game from FamitsuRead - Japanese site for Harvest Moon DS Cute
DS Daily: Harvest Moon
If you're in the northern half of the world, did you notice that harvest moon last night? Wednesday the 26th marked the full moon nearest to the autumn equinox, and of course, it made us think of the franchise of the same name. What, you expected us not to make the connection with games? We're serious fans here. Geez.But are you? Of Harvest Moon, that is, and Rune Factory, as well. How do you feel about the franchise? We've noticed that it's usually one of those 100% things: people either love it or avoid it like the plague. How about you?
Rumor: Harvest Moon bundle for Europe?
A mysterious NeoGAF poster called CubeRevolution is reporting, via equally mysterious sources, a new DS Lite bundle for Europe, to be released in September. The purported bundle will consist of a pink DS Lite and a copy of Harvest Moon DS, and will retail for 149.99 Euros, which, for those of us who don't habitually shop with Euros, is the usual cost of a DS Lite alone.CubeRevolution said that an official statement about this bundle would be made during the Leipzig Games Convention, which takes place from August 23-26. If you a) live in Europe, b) want a pink DS, and c) would enjoy either Harvest Moon DS or an extra game to trade in, we recommend waiting until after the Games Convention to make your purchase, just in case this turns out to be true.
What is Harvest Moon: Boy & Girl?
We were looking at PSP's releases, and noticed that a new Harvest Moon game was coming to our handheld. We enjoyed our time with Innocent Life (even though it had its flaws), and wanted to know more about Boy & Girl. The game is covertly being shipped to stores, and it appears that even IGN was caught off-guard when they played the game.Apparently, Boy & Girl is actually a port of two different, but essentially same Harvest Moon games from PS1. From the IGN review: "Our biggest surprise at the office was that Harvest Moon Boy & Girl is actually just a compilation of two original PlayStation games, put together on one UMD. And they're (virtually) the same game, too. Nowhere on the box or within the instruction manual can this information be found. Harvest Moon "Boy" is actually just a rehashed version of Harvest Moon: Back to Nature, while Harvest Moon "Girl" is just Harvest Moon For Girls, which actually could be called Harvest Moon: Back to Nature, For Girl. They're both the same game, just with slightly different overall narratives and a different main character. Confused? It's okay, we were too."It's unfortunate to hear that Natsume appears to be pulling a fast one on us. What a shame -- Innocent Life was a pretty beautiful game. It's upsetting to see PSP relegated to (yet another) port of a PS1 game. Publishers, take note: lazily developed games don't get much love from real PSP fanboys.
Harvest Moon trailer tackles troublesome towns [update 1]
A fresh trailer for Harvest Moon Heroes has blossomed, bearing several juicy pieces of fruit that which we may pluck and savor for almost two minutes. The latest trailer, or delicious fruit that is ripe for the plucking, focuses on the town aspect of the game as we see the protagonist navigating the streets and speaking with the inhabitants. You can see the trailer past the post break.%Gallery-3745%Update: Found that pesky missing letter a.
Get peaceful with Harvest Moon
Okay, maybe everybody's going a little overboard with the chibi look. Sure, we understand that this is Harvest Moon and there's no reason for them to change anything, but after seeing the new trailer and screens, we started to realize that everything looks pretty familiar. Where have we seen this style before ....Harvest Moon: Tree of Peace aside, since it gets a pass, do you think it's possible that after all these other tiny-people-games come out, we might have a short break from childlike characters? Don't get us wrong. We love their big heads like ice cream and think they're just as cute as can be. It's just everywhere. But don't let us distract you from what's important -- like the trailer after the jump and the fresh new gallery. %Gallery-3745%
PSP Fanboy review: Innocent Life
Innocent Life takes the Harvest Moon series to a brave new world: the future. How would the long-running farming franchise transform when faced with the challenges of such an unusual setting? Unfortunately for gamers, Innocent Life doesn't really do anything new -- its setting is mostly wasted in a solid but ultimately meaningless story that suffers from serious pacing issues. It's clear that, like the title suggests, good intentions were at the core of the development process. However, some glaring issues with execution prevent it from being the must-have title it deserves to be.
Springtime in Harvest Moon
The Harvest Moon series isn't known for its great technological achievements. However, Innocent Life pushes the visual allure of the franchise to new heights. The developers have taken advantage of PSP's impressive power, and have crafted a game filled with a surprising amount of visual splendor. It may not be the best looking title on the handheld, but it's quite possibly the best looking Harvest Moon game to date. Each season in Innocent Life is brought to life by fine details. Fall, for example, is painted with beautiful shades of orange and brown. The falling leaves certainly add a great deal of charm to the title. Winter looks especially gorgeous when the impressive snow effects start taking over. The particles fill the screen, adding a dream-like feel. However, spring is quite possibly the best time to farm in Innocent Life. The trees are blooming, and flower petals can be seen falling down. The plethora of cherry blossoms make spring time in Harvest Moon a truly relaxing time. Check out more images, after the break.
Farming in the future: robots & more
The Harvest Moon franchise is heading in a bold new direction. Innocent Life, the new PSP-exclusive addition to the series, is appropriately subtitled "A Futuristic Harvest Moon." In this newly-released title, players are taken to a world that both shares remarkable similarities to worlds seen in past Harvest Moon titles, and veers off into unfamiliar territory for the franchise. Strangely, the setting is not the biggest change for Innocent Life -- it's the main character.
Loving the farm life: the Harvest Moon fan community
Who would have thought that a game all about farming would have such a devoted fan base? Harvest Moon, a game all about farm life, debuted on the Super Nintendo a decade ago. The game would task players to plant seeds, grow vegetables, and maintain a love life. The game was as simple as the inspiration it came from, and players seemed utterly captivated. The upcoming Innocent Life for PSP is a drastic change from previous Harvest Moon games of yore, taking the franchise to unfamiliar territory: the future. Before we look at this new PSP exclusive, we thought we'd ask the hardcore Harvest Moon fans of Harvest Moon Otaku to speak about how they first found the franchise, and what makes the series so appealing to them.
Rune Factory - fight for your right to harvest [update 1]
Even though the sequel to Rune Factory: a Fantasy Harvest Moon is starting to get attention, don't forget that the original is due for its North American release over the next few weeks.IGN recently put up some screens, videos and an interview with the game's U.S. product manager. The video shows off the game's new direction: combat. It all looks pretty straightforward, but that energy you spend fighting is going to have to come from somewhere - the crops you produce. We're undecided as to whether this is really going to work, surely the peaceful gameplay is what gives Harvest Moon its unique feel?Aside from the combat, it looks like all the series' traditional elements are in place: tending crops, making friends and wooing the girl of your dreams by presenting her with vegetables. If only real life were so simple.Cooking and forging will be handled via the touch screen, along with inventory management. You'll also be able to trade items and screenshots over wi-fi, perhaps landing a husband or wife in the process. The accompanying video gives a July release date for Rune Factory.[Update: fixed grammatical error]
Harvest Moon Crossing
Harvest Moon DS saw its US release over half a year ago, but the colorful farming sim didn't cross the Atlantic until earlier this month. A TV commercial advertising the game has been airing in the UK, and we were surprise to see how similar its presentation is to Nintendo's commercials for Animal Crossing: Wild World in Japan and Europe.AC:WW was an indisputable success sales-wise in every territory, so we can see why Nintendo would want to mimic its marketing push with Harvest Moon DS. Compare the video clips yourself after the post break to see what we mean.
Rune Factory 2 screens burst into light
We don't even have the first Rune Factory yet, and already there are screenshots from the sequel. This is getting entirely too common with games we're interested in, like Professor Layton and his Many Mysterious Venues. Rune Factory 2, like its predecessor, is a spin-off from the Harvest Moon series. There's some debate as to whether or not we even need the first title, but we're willing to give it a spin when it finally comes out. In the meantime, we'll check out these shots from the sequel
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody headed to the Wii?
Development director for Rising Star, Yasuhiro Wada, recently confirmed to Eurogamer that they are "working on a European version of Magical Melody for the Wii." Now, with this news, the mind could go into a few different directions. Are we to believe that the game is to be revamped with new controls and features, much like the Wii version of Resident Evil 4, or is the game simply going to be repackaged with a Wii logo (kind of like Radio Alergy)? Of course, the latter choice is probably not one that will come to be, what with it being an incredibly ridiculous option and all.Rising Star's PR folks, including Richard Barclay, were quick to pounce after hearing about Wada's remarks, however, adding a bit more credibility to his statement. Barclay explained they "haven't received official confirmation from Nintendo that Rising Star will be a Wii publisher, and we haven't told Nintendo we've told anybody that we'll be releasing Magical Melody, which was a GameCube game, as a Wii game." So, yes, good chance of it happening.How does this news make you Europeans feel?
Harvest Moon commercial gives small glimpse of the farm
Sadly, we've only had screens to gawk at for the upcoming Harvest Moon game set to grace the Wii, but all that is about to change. Finally, we may see some of the game in action, but like most Japanese commercials, the video is very short. Still, beggars can't be choosers, can they? We are unable to embed the video past the post break, so we must direct you outside the safety of our walls here at Fanboy HQ to the source.[Via NGC France]
Harvest Moon: Attack of the Cows
Tired of being explolited as mascots for Marvelous Interactive's always-adorable farming sim series, the Harvest Moon cows have revolted, surrounding their cruel master to put her out to pasture once and for all. They finally secured the goats' loyalty, the final component of their master plan.That's the only possible explanation for the events transpiring in the above screenshot. Anything else, like that maybe she's feeding them or just talking to the cows, is so farfetched as to be unbelievable. Harvest Moon may be cute, but it's totally edgy.
Rune looks like a lady
With only a few weeks left before the North American release of Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (5/1), developer Neverland Co. has announced a sequel to its farming sim and RPG hybrid. The latest issue of Famitsu has screenshots for the follow-up, and they show a remarkable amount of improvement to the original's graphics. It's still too early to call the redhead protagonist's gender, but our money's on the character being a guy. You can never tell these days, what with all the effeminate farmhands running around. Let us know what you think -- is he one of the dudes? Or is she the princess of Cootie Town? Check past the jump for the Rune Factory 2 magazine scans and a full profile shot of the androgynous hero.
