Latest Reviews of Natsume Games
Review Harvest Moon 64 - Rose-Tinted Specs Recommended For This Beloved Farm Sim
Aged like a fine bottle of milk
To paraphrase a bunch of anti-Nazi singing nuns: How do you solve a problem like reviewing a game that's almost 25 years old? The nuns never came up with an answer, but we have to, because this is a review, not a convent, and it's the issue at the heart of this review, after all. Harvest Moon 64 came out in 1999 —...
Review Harvest Moon: The Winds Of Anthos (Switch) - Terrible Title, Pretty Alright Game
Harvest Dew
If the 'Uncanny Valley' is the term for something being almost-human-but-not-quite, then Harvest Moon: Winds of Anthos is in the Uncanny Stardew Valley. It's so close to being a really good farming sim game, but doesn't quite manage to hit the mark. However, for the first time in the
Review Pocky & Rocky Reshrined (Switch) - A Thrilling New Interpretation Of A SNES Classic
Rise and shrine
Note: This review is based on the Japanese release — the game launched in North America and Europe on 24th June 2022. Pocky & Rocky, a Super Nintendo top-down run-and-gun, was developer Natsume’s gold standard, fondly remembered for its taut arcade action, adventurous stage design, and beautiful visuals. Where Tengo Project’s...
Mini Review Spanky's Quest (SNES) - Surprisingly Charming Monkey Business
Bubbles from Natsume
With five new additions to Nintendo Switch Online's catalogue of NES and SNES games arriving today, we decided to review these new/old releases to help you decide which to play first. Enjoy! In the late 1980s, a simian named Jiro was one of the most popular monkeys in Japan, becoming famous for his 'reflection' pose. He also...
Review Harvest Moon: One World (Switch) - A Poor Imitation Of A Once-Great Series
Time to take this old horse out to the back of the barn
Harvest Moon: One World, to summarise the next few hundred words of complaining, is a badly-paced, unattractive, hollow facsimile of a Harvest Moon game. And yes, we're well aware of the Natsume/XSEED schism, and that Story of Seasons is the "true" Harvest Moon game, but even still, how the...
Review Wild Guns Reloaded (Switch)
Welcome to Westworld!
Back in 1994, Natsume delivered the definitive ‘shooting gallery’ shmup made famous in previous years by the likes of Neo Geo NAM-1975 and TAD’s Cabal. Sadly, a limited number of copies coupled with being a late generation SNES game meant that a lot of people missed out on this slice of space western action. Add in some...
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Latest Natsume News
"I think it's your destiny to take on this farm"
In a little less than a month, Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life will finally be making its way to the West on June 27th, 2023. The game joins Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town as the second modern remake of a farming classic, introducing new players to a franchise that's now been running for...
Feature What Is The Difference Between Story Of Seasons And Harvest Moon? A Handy Explainer
I was elected to weed, not to read
We've finally done it. After starting every article that concerns either Story of Seasons or Harvest Moon with a potted explainer of the schism between Natsume and Marvelous XSEED, we've finally sat down and put (electronic) pen to (electronic) paper and written out a long-form explanation of what "Harvest Moon"...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel - Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
"Your dad and I shared the same dream, you know..."
Hello everyone; welcome to another edition of 'Box Art Brawl'! It's kind of mad that another week has passed already, right..? Where is the time going?! Never mind. Last week, we took a look at one of the all-time greats on SNES: Mega Man X. It was a ruddy close one, too! Europe and North America...
Poll Box Art Brawl #57 - Shadow Of The Ninja / Blue Shadow
Rattling the Kage
Welcome back, one and all, to the latest edition of Box Art Brawl. After a week-long hiatus to charge our hadouken, we're returning with another bout featuring regional box art variants battling for your pleasure (and votes). Last time we took a look at Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door in a particularly close-run duel between...
Poll Box Art Brawl #48 - Wild Guns
Wild world
Welcome to Box Art Brawl, our weekly dust-up to find out which of three regional box art variants is the best. Last week it was Shadowrun's turn to battle itself. Japanese Shadowrun obliterated the competition with over 70% of your approval, leaving second-place North America and third-place Europe to mop up the remainder. This week...
News Harvest Moon Publisher Natsume Working On "Exciting New Projects" For This Year And Beyond
"Please stay tuned"
Natsume president Hiro Maekawa recently shared a special message reflecting on last year and looking ahead to the future. He stated how the Japanese publisher, responsible for series such as Harvest Moon, was hard at work on "exciting new projects" for this year and beyond: We are currently working on exciting new projects to...
News Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Special Edition Complete Launches On 30th July
And it includes all of the DLC
In May, it was discovered Natsume would be releasing a complete version of Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Special Edition. This game was originally released last year and outperformed Natsume's expectations. Now, the worldwide publisher and developer, has announced Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Special Edition Complete...
News Natsume Announces Harvest Moon: Mad Dash For Nintendo Switch
All will be revealed at E3 2019
With less than two weeks until E3 begins, more and more developers are getting certain announcements out of the way before being overshadowed by much bigger releases. The Pokémon Company even got in on the action earlier this week, sharing news about new Pokémon games and apps currently in development. Natsume has...
News Round-Up The Animals Again, In The Complete Edition Of Harvest Moon: Light Of Hope
The special version is finally complete
If Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Special Edition wasn't special enough for your liking, publisher Natsume will be releasing a "complete" edition of the Switch title, according to a listing on the GameStop website. This version will include all of the previously released DLC, adding up to around $18 of extra...
News Natsume Announces Indie Partner Program, Cosmic Defenders Revealed As First Game
Working alongside indie devs
Natsume, the publisher behind franchises such as Harvest Moon and Reel Fishing, has today announced the creation of the 'Natsume Indie Program', an initiative which "partners the company with independent developers around the world to introduce creative, innovative games to a wider audience". Further details - such as...
News Harvest Moon: Light Of Hope Sets New Sales Record, Several New Natsume Games On The Way
"The title performed well beyond our forecast"
The future is looking bright for Natsume fans, as the game publisher reveals that "several new titles" are currently in development following the success of Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Special Edition. The news comes from a blog post shared by Natsume Inc president, Hiro Maekawa. In the post, Maekawa...
News Wild Guns Reloaded Is Saddling Up For A Switch Release This Spring
Westworld, Natsume-style
Wild Guns is one of the many gems to be found in the SNES library. Taking place in a future where the Wild West meets robots, it has gone down as something of a cult classic on the console thanks to its lovely visuals and engaging gameplay. When Natsume announced some time ago that it was creating a remake in the form of...
News Natsume's Hiro Maekawa Talks Harvest Moon, Switch And Making "Everyone Happy"
"Natsume is probably known most as a non-violent, family friendly company"
Natsume is a publisher famous for its Harvest Moon series, which has now racked up more than 30 entries across a variety of systems and continues to sell briskly all over the world. However, there's been quite a bit of upheaval within the company of late, and boss Hiro...
News Natsume Confirms Two River City Games for 3DS This Year
Knights of Justice and Rival Showdown
Earlier this week Natsume confirmed that River City: Knights of Justice is coming to 3DS in the West; now we have a release window for that game and news of another entry in the series due this year. First off, Knights of Justice will be a 3DS eShop release and is due in the summer - some PR spiel and one of...
News Natsume Teases Western Release Of River City Spin-Off Downtown Nekketsu Jidaigeki
Update: Natsume confirms the news
Update: Natsume has confirmed that the game is coming to the west as River City: Knights of Justice, and that it will be a 3DS eShop exclusive. It would seem that the Japanese setting will be switched for a European setting. Original story: Natsume appears to be teasing a western release for the 3DS...
News Harvest Moon: Light of Hope to Brighten Up the Nintendo Switch
Natsume promises 'depth' and a 'robust story'
The launch of the Nintendo Switch brought a bit of land management-sim gameplay to the eShop with New Frontier Days: Founding Pioneers, but fans of the genre will no doubt want more extensive retail options. Perhaps Natsume and Rising Star Games will deliver that, as they've released a joint press...
News Harvest Moon 64 Heading to Wii U in North America This Week as Part of Anniversary Celebrations
More surprises promised throughout 2017
This week's European Nintendo Download Update details included the happy news that Harvest Moon 64 will be heading to the Wii U Virtual Console; that was a welcome surprise as the title originally skipped the region and it was previously thought that plans to release it as a download had been dropped. North...
Video Take a Good Look at Harvest Moon: Skytree Village
Rising Star Games confirms European release in Spring 2017
We've known for some time that Natsume is showing off new 3DS title Harvest Moon: Skytree Village at E3, and now it's released an extended trailer. It helps to visualise a lot of the details that were recently confirmed, as this one clearly aims to get the series back on the front foot...
News River City: Tokyo Rumble Will Crack Some Skulls on 3DS This Summer
Plus there's more info on Harvest Moon: Skytree Village
Natsume is a publisher than brings some rather nice Japanese games to the West, and it's now confirmed its E3 plans to show that it's going to continue that trend - while keeping Nintendo 3DS gamers happy, too. First of all, it's reiterated that Harvest Moon: Skytree Village will be playable...
News Harvest Moon: Skytree Village Is Ploughing A Furrow Towards The Nintendo 3DS
Farming sim to be shown off at E3 2016
Natsume has revealed that the 3DS is getting a new Harvest Moon game. Dubbed Harvest Moon: Skytree Village, this fresh instalment will be shown off at E3 this year, and apparently factors in fan feedback gained from recent releases like Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories. In the...





































