New 3DS Harvest Moon Game Coming To Japan Early Next Year

Harvest Moon: Linking the New World is 80 percent complete

by Damien McFerran Wed 9th Oct 2013

It has been revealed in the latest issue of Famitsu that a new Harvest Moon title is in development for the 3DS.

Harvest Moon: Linking the New World is due out in Japan in February and is being produced by Yoshifumi Hashimoto. Character design is being handled by Igusa Matsuyama.

The "linking" element of the title revolves around trades with other countries within the game world. You'll be able to export items to other nations and earn more cash, and it's also said that the back-breaking field work will be easier this time around. StreetPass functionality will also be included, and safari trips will allow you to see wild and exotic animals.

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Are you a fan of the series? If so, what are your thoughts on this new game? Post a comment to tell us.

[source gematsu.com]

Damien has been writing professionally about tech and video games since 2007 and oversees all of Hookshot Media's sites from an editorial perspective. He's also the editor of Time Extension, the network's newest site, which – paradoxically – is all about gaming's past glories.

1
Burning_Spear
Wed 9th Oct 2013

Sounds like a significant change of the game play, though I can't say I'm happy about farming being scaled back. Let's not stray too far from the things that make Harvest Moon what it is.

2
Magikarp3
Wed 9th Oct 2013

Not entirely sold, but I'm happy that a new game is coming out. It would be a shame if this game came out super late in the PAL regions like the last few games have - that would make the whole linking around the world concept a little shabby :/

3
SphericalCrusher
Wed 9th Oct 2013

I am a huge fan of Harvest Moon A New Beginning, which I still play. But that does sound like something new to do!

4
VoiceOfReason
Wed 9th Oct 2013

I hope this is similar to the Good harvest moons, like the GBA games, and Harvest Moon DS, which is still my favorite. The PS1 game was also pretty good, to me at least.

5
Rezalack
Wed 9th Oct 2013

I'm waiting for a Harvest Moon that will hold my interest and captivate me like the N64 title and Back to Nature. I've tried a good handful of them since then and I've yet to get passed the first winter in any I've tried. Don't get me wrong, I really liked Tale of Two Towns and A New Beginning, for some reason I just get burned out on them kind of quick.. I'd like to see Natsume bring a Harvest Moon to Wii U, but right now I don't see that happening.

6
AVahne
Wed 9th Oct 2013

I'll trade A New Beginning for this if they've managed to fix the low framerate and if they actually made good use of the bottom screen this time.

7
Aerona
Wed 9th Oct 2013

Ahw, what a cute design.

8
Burning_Spear
Wed 9th Oct 2013

@Koto Excellent point. Same thing with Tale of Two Towns. The lower screen should have a constant view of the rucksack contents, for swapping out with the stylus. Instead, there's a large useless image of your character and a large map that becomes useless once you've learned the layout of the town.

9
Klinny
Wed 9th Oct 2013

I'm interested in seeing what they're going to do with this one. I don't mind them scaling back the farming, if they're adding other things to do. I find that in games like A New Beginning, where farming itself is no longer the focus of the game, that the chores can often become tedious and stressful to complete every morning.

10
Geonjaha
Wed 9th Oct 2013

I used to be a fan of the series. I was put off with the art style and mediocrity of the DS and 3DS iterations so far. Hopefully this one is better, and gets me into the series again.