Natsume Game Reviews
Review Harvest Moon 2 (3DS eShop / GBC)
Crop ‘til you drop
Clearly a testament to the popularity of the genre, the 3DS as a platform has been flooded with life simulation games. Ranging from the cutesy and calm world of Animal Crossing: New Leaf to the adventurous Fantasy Life, the surplus of games has spanned a plethora of sub genres, but they all come down to one thing: allowing their...
Review Legend of the River King 2 (3DS eShop / GBC)
Return of the King
As an extra, easter egg or background element, fishing seems to pop up everywhere in video games; from side-angle angling in Link’s Awakening and Rumble Pak-reeling in Ocarina of Time to museum-filling in Animal Crossing and fly-rod flinging in
Review Wild Guns (Wii U eShop / SNES)
True Bit
The Wild West is a fantastic setting for a video game. Rugged gunslingers, drunken shootouts, limited presence of the law and a surplus of criminals lend to a volatile and rowdy backdrop for a tense, controller-gripping time. In the case of Wild Guns it takes the Steampunk route, injecting hostile machinery and advanced weaponry into the...
Harvest Merchant
Released in North America and Japan last year, Hometown Story has now hit European shores at long last, thanks to the efforts of Rising Star Games. You play as a young boy — or girl, if you wish — who takes over a shop in a small town after his grandmother, who previously owned it, passes away. If this sounds in any way similar...
Review Yumi's Odd Odyssey (3DS eShop)
Ocean Belly River's back!
In some games, just moving around is a joy. Soaring through the skies in Pilotwings, loop-de-looping in NiGHTS into Dreams, wet-jetting around Isle Delfino in Super Mario Sunshine, and tumbling through town in Gravity Rush are all exhilarating experiences in their own right, as memorable as the games built around t
Review Harvest Moon (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Barnstorming
Early wake ups, extensive hours, back-breaking labour and ever-vulnerable to unpredictable weather patterns – farming doesn't sound like the most tantalising profession on paper. Way back when, however, developer Natsume clearly caught a glimpse of the positive aspects of the job and was inspired to create one of gaming's most beloved...
Review Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove Mini (3DS eShop)
A lot less gabby
We at Nintendo Life have enjoyed the various Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove games, but so far we've tended to like them more for their charm and visual appeal than for their gameplay or for anything they do particularly well. This is a trend that goes back to the WiiWare incarnation of the series, Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster...
Review Harvest Moon: A New Beginning (3DS)
Cream of the crop
It may come as a surprise to some that a series of farming simulation games could become so popular and beloved by such a large audience, yet here we are, more than 15 years after the launch of the maiden game, with the release of Harvest Moon: A New Beginning. In celebration of this milestone anniversary, Marvelous AQL has decided...
Review Harvest Moon (3DS eShop / GBC)
Under thresher
The Harvest Moon series has always promoted the ideals of hard work and patience over the instant gratification found by more recent prods at gaming agriculture like Farmville. This attitude is even more apparent in Harvest Moon on the Game Boy Color than other iterations, as the handheld game crops the series down to its very roots...
Review Legend of the River King (3DS eShop / GBC)
Nothing smells fishy here
Natsume is mostly known for its Harvest Moon games, but what you might not know is that there is another long-running series from the same developer - in fact, its first game predates the first Harvest Moon by 6 years. Legend of the River King is one of only four games in this series released outside Japan, and it's now...
Review Reel Fishing 3D Paradise Mini (3DS eShop)
A bassing fancy
Natsume might be most famous as the house that Harvest Moon built, but fishing fans will know the name from its Legend of the River King and Reel Fishing series. Reel Fishing takes a more realistic approach to the angling action, and saw several installments on WiiWare with decidedly mixed results. Reel Fishing 3D Paradise Mini...
Review Reel Fishing Ocean Challenge (WiiWare)
Pain in the bass
It’s been about two years since the last Reel Fishing game was released for WiiWare, and you’d think that that was enough time to figure out how to improve on the formula. Unfortunately, that isn't at all what has happened. Instead, a series of games based on an activity as simple as fishing has somehow managed to sink deeper...
Review Harvest Moon 3D: The Tale of Two Towns (3DS)
Come a cropper
Marvelous, Natsume and Rising Star Games certainly feel like they're onto a high-yield crop with Harvest Moon; Harvest Moon 3D: The Tale of Two Towns might be the first 3DS entry but it's the eighth HM game in five years. Any concerns that the creative well is running dry are understandable — after all, it's only farming — but...
Review Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove 3D (3DS)
The story of the ghost
This past May saw the release of Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix. We enjoyed it more than we expected to, and you can read why right here in our Gabrielle’s Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix review. In fact, you'd better read that review, because the retail sequel, Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove 3D, doesn't deviate much...
Review Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (DS)
Farm-assured prime cut
Thanks to Rising Star Games, gamers in Europe have finally caught up on the Rune Factory series — until Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny launches on Wii in North America next week, that is. Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon on DS is the third and so far final portable instalment in the Harvest Moon spin-off, and the...
Review Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix (WiiWare)
Don't give up the ghost
Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix. You really only have to read the title to figure out who the intended audience is for this game: younger gamers. Kids. And that's not intended to be a jab, by the way; gamers often use the “kids’ game” moniker as a way of implying shallow game design, but that's not an entirely...
Review Natsume Championship Wrestling (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Puts up a fight
It might seem strange that there has not been a single wrestling game on Virtual Console in the West so far, but when you really think about it, it makes sense. Almost every single wrestling title out there features the likenesses of real people, meaning it would take some serious effort and money to rerelease them. Games with...
Review S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team ( / NES)
G.O.O.D.
Although it's now of course primarily known for its Harvest Moon games, Natsume developed quite a few unique, entertaining little titles in the past. We've already had a few rereleased on Virtual Console, and rest assured, S.C.A.T. can easily stand with the rest of them. If you're a Sega or Capcom fan, taking a glance at the game's...
Review Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar (DS)
Top of the crops
Harvest Moon games have remained largely the same since the series made its debut on the Super Nintendo all those years ago. You get up, tend to crops, care for animals, get married, raise a sprog, and continue forever. However, the latest title to hit North American shores, Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar, strays from the template...
Review Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals (DS)
A brilliant retelling of a classic RPG
When the original Lufia 2 was released on the Super Nintendo, it came rather late in the console's lifespan and with very little fanfare. Sadly, this meant that many gamers missed out on one of the true RPG gems to come out of the 16-bit era. Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals is a complete re-imagining of Lufia 2,...
Review Shadow of the Ninja (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Ninja master or a shadow of glory?
Ninjas suddenly gained popularity during the 1980s, what with their cool moves, cool clothes and unashamed ability to kick ass. It's murky as to why exactly this happened but the legacy left within the fields of media was huge, ranging from the American Ninja films, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Last Ninja...
Review Reel Fishing Challenge II (WiiWare)
Hook, line and stinker
Reel Fishing Challenge II is, by definition, the follow-up to Reel Fishing Challenge that hit WiiWare last year and as such is basically just more of the same. Fans of staring at full-motion video backgrounds and boring, lame fishing mechanics, rejoice! Everything about it just feels lazy, and the fact that it's essentially a...
Review Wild Guns (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Wild West or limp at best?
Whether the game had any influence over the film Wild Wild West is debatable, but what can't be denied is that the two have a similar, inextricable link between cowboys and steampunk. While the traditional steampunk time period might still be Victorian England in the late 19th Century, the setting for both is somewhat...
Murky Moki jokey
If there's a common complaint heard in these parts it's that there's too many puzzle games on the WiiWare service. Well, we take issue with that. Yes there are lots of puzzle games, but as long as a game has merit there cannot really be too many, can there? Moki Moki is a game that suggests maybe there can be too many puzzle games...
Review Harvest Moon: My Little Shop (WiiWare)
Work sucks.
Farm life has always been the focus of the Harvest Moon series, and My Little Shop technically continues that tradition. You do live on a farm and have to knock out the daily rituals of watering crops, feeding the chickens and petting the cows, but that’s pretty much it and is accomplished in about one minute. Which leaves you plenty...
Review Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility (Wii)
A withering flower
Tree of Tranquility is the first game in the main Harvest Moon series designed exclusively for Wii, following 2007’s disastrous Gamecube port Magical Melody. It’s been available in the US for over a year, but now it’s finally available in PAL territories it’s time to see how it measures up. You’ll either be relieved or...
Review Reel Fishing Challenge (WiiWare)
Keeping it reel.
There are some sports that seem tailor-made for video game translations, but fishing is arguably not one of them. A pastime that centers around patience rather than action or skill does not seem like the sort of thing that most people would be interested in experiencing indoors. Yet strangely enough the genre has existed for some...
Review Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (Super Nintendo)
Lufia II might not be as recognizable as some of the bigger name Super Nintendo RPGs, but that doesn't mean it packs any less of a punch.
If it's one thing the Super Nintendo System had a lot of, it was RPGs. Some were good, some were bad, and some were outstanding. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals would fall into the latter category. Not only does...
Review Harvest Moon (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Farm life
Harvest Moon, a role-playing game based around the noble profession of farming, was one of the later Super NES releases when it arrived in 1997. If you are not familiar with this series, stay with us — it's not as bad or as boring as it sounds on paper This is basically The Sims on a farm. So, if you're a fan of simulation and RPG...
Review Dead Moon (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
This side-scrolling shooter includes a total of six scenes spanning areas from Earth to the moon.
Those naughty aliens! At least this time they had the sense not to try and invade the planet Earth. They are just intent on wrecking the moon instead rather annoyingly! As a solo starfighter pilot it is your job to put an end to this intergalactic...
