Happy days

During E3 last year, Natsume teased the world with its next game, known only as Project Happiness. The official name has now been revealed, it'll be known as HomeTown Story - though we're sure there's still a lot of happiness involved.

Yasuhiro Wada, creator of the Harvest Moon series, is the man behind HomeTown story, and in an interview with Famitsu he revealed that the game is 50-60% complete and will come out this year.

The upcoming release sees you run your own store in a small idyllic town, offering a bit of retail therapy to its inhabitants. As the name suggests, the town is full of tales and you'll meet several characters, each one with a story to tell. Some of them will need your help in solving their problems, which you'll no doubt have to oblige to progress further. At least you have a fairy helper to give you a hand.

If you think the art design looks a little familiar, it may be because the character design was done by Atsuko Nishida, the artist behind the Pokémon series - it has to be said the game's logo design certainly has a Pokémon feel to it. The soundtrack is composed by none other than Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy fame as well, so expect some excellent music in this one.

HomeTown Story is set to be released on handheld devices, including the 3DS.

Are you happy with this revelation? Check out the new trailer below and let us know what you think of it.

[source gematsu.com, via famitsu.com]