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]
Comments 28
Looks quite interesting, kind of My Sims/Animal Crossing. I like those kind of games, but sadly a European release isn't likely...
Doesn't look all that interesting to me.
Oh look! A Mincino preevolution!
What? That's not a pokemon?
I remember this!
I really hope that it comes over; it looks so cute and fun! <3
Sim games are rarely my thing, but I played Little King's Story for months and Uematsu is always a plus, so I'll keep my eyes on this on.
Looking forward to this one. While I couldn't quite finish any of the HM games I've played, this and HM are still good additions to the 3DS library. Hopefully it won't be a very long wait for localisation.
The voice over sounds like the Little King's Story trailer. I'll probably get this, I'm a sucker for most games published by Natsume, and I since I finished Tides of Destiny (170+ hours), I've got a Natsume hole to fill.
Not sure how I feel about this. It just doesnt compare well with Animal Crossing: New Leaf & Fantasy Life.
Didn't like the trailer...
I'm actually pretty excited for this game. I love sim games.
But... The trailer was kinda crappy to be honest, the voice didn't fit and it just seemed... Odd.
That kid sounded like an old man, in his 60-70s or something...
Oh my goodness. This looks adorable. Definately want this!
The trailer was a bit boring to me, but as a Harvest Moon fan I'm definitely interested in the game.
I would normally be all over this sort of game, but the walking animation looks awful and I counted a couple times in the trailer where parts of characters seemingly pass through other characters. Hopefully they'll fix it up before releasing it.
Not look bad at all, I tried few shop-simulations games recently and they were kinda "nice", but this mix in REAL story elements like a RPG, raising so much the potential ^O^
Plus the artstyle... well... let's just say that if you grew up with Pokemon than Nishida's style always hit the "nostalgia" button X3
Really can't wait to hear more about this, no doubt it has the potential to be a very interesting game
The narrator sound likes someone who would be narrating a preschool film, but otherwise I might/might not get this game. Never tried a Natsume game before.
Looks a lot like Harvest Moon, which can either be a good thing or a bad thing given how the series was run to the ground. For some reason this trailer didn't do anything for me, what was with the pedophile voice? Probably could have done without that.
Looks cool, I haven't played too many simulation games, but this is one I will keep my eye on.
Reminds me of Recettear, so I can pretty much say I'll be looking forward to this!
idk, "Project Happiness" sounds like a way cooler name if you ask me
I wish the new pokemon has that art style...much rather get fantasy life (if we ever get if) than this though even though it does look intriguing!
Ooh! Looks cute
Wonder if that means that it'll be on mobile devices as well. If so, hoping all versions are priced the same. As in not below $10.
Online Multiplayer play and Natsume gets more of my money
The Trailer looks real early. Very Barren and bad animations and such. Keep an eye as it progresses
This reminds me a lot of River King for the PS2, specifically the animation. That game was so lazily put together, it was embarrassing. I doubt this game, in its final phases, is going to look any better, honestly. I hate to be so harsh, but outside of Harvest Moon, Natsume has a poor track record.
Man, that narrator's voice is kind of ridiculous. It's like the story time narration from Kirby's Epic Yarn, but... more.
Looks like an interesting game, I agree that maybe the voiceover didn't quite fit, but still interesting enough to pique my interest.
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