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PSA: Hometown Story opens shop, designed by creator of Harvest Moon
A death in the family assigns the title of shopkeeper to its owner's descendent in Hometown Story, a town simulation game for the 3DS designed by Harvest Moon series creator Yasuhiro Wada and scored by Nobuo Uematsu. If braving the hells of retail as a bright-faced youth seems overwhelming, know that you'll have a magical sprite named Pochica to spout advice at you as you manage your storefront. Managing the shop will gradually introduce you to the town's inhabitants, leaving you to decide whether you'd like to help them out of their crises. Gathering items from villagers or the outskirts of town will help your shop grow, granting players a bigger inventory and more foot traffic. If you're considering taking on another life aside from your Pokedex conquest or your stint as mayor, Hometown Story is on display in actual stores this week.
Hometown Story travels to North America on October 22
Hometown Story settles down in North America on October 22 for 3DS, publisher Natsume announced. Hometown Story comes from Yasuhiro Wada, the creator of Harvest Moon, and it plays off of that franchise's strengths: adorable characters conducting business and meeting people in a happy village. Wada told us at E3 that Hometown Story will focus less on farming and more on the spectrum of human relationships – and not just marriage, as is the case with Harvest Moon. "When marriage eventually turned into the overall goal for some players, I started feeling a little awkward about that," Wada said. "With Hometown Story, I wanted to shift the focus from marriage to many different kinds of human relationships."
Hometown Story hopes to recapture that Harvest Moon magic
The Natsume booth feels more than a little out of place amid the murder and mayhem that defines the E3 show floor experience. For those weary of the pulsing music, constant explosions and gruff voice-overs blasting from every ear-level speaker in sight, Natsume's display of gentle, colorful games about farming and fishing can feel like an oasis from sensory overload. While they've dabbled in just abut every genre known to man, an unexpected game called Harvest Moon – which hit the SNES long after it withered on the vine – has since become Natsume's strongest brand, with 19 prime series games to date. There's no end in sight for this strangely compelling series, though its creator Yasuhiro Wada has moved on to a new IP called Hometown Story, which he hopes will have the same longevity as the series that introduced the curious addictiveness of simulating mundane tasks years before The Sims.%Gallery-191606%
Wada's Project Happiness is now Hometown Story
"Project Happiness," the enchantingly adorable shopkeeper simulation by Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada, now has an official title: Hometown Story. The "story" in the title is meant to show the game's emphasis on meeting and learning about new townspeople by growing your shop, over simply conducting business for its own sake.The character designs, by Atsuko Nishida, have simplified since the prototype footage, showing a game that looks more like it's running on a 3DS. And it's still really, really, really heartwarmingly cute. It's due this year; Natsume has said it's coming to 3DS and mobile.
