Tag: Natsume
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...
News Natsume Talks About its Future Plans for the 3DS
Also expresses interest in the NX
As many of you are aware, Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories is on its way to the Wii U, but not the 3DS. This is something that may be confusing – and perhaps a bit disappointing – to some, considering the fact that it is also set to release on smart devices. In the latest part of its winter Q&A, Natsume opted...
News Natsume May Bring Some of its DS Games to Virtual Console Soon
Keep your eyes peeled
Though it maybe doesn't get updated nearly as often as many would like, the DS library on the Virtual Console continues to grow at a fairly steady pace. Naturally, there are plenty of holes in the lineup thus far, but the process for making games available on the service is supposedly much more difficult than it seems on the...
News Natsume Is Selling Vintage Factory Sealed Stock Via Its eBay Store
Sealed copy of Pocky & Rocky recently sold for $1,691.66
Buying vintage games on eBay is a tricky business these days, as collectors have pushed the value of many sought-after titles to eye-watering levels. You'll find a robust market for factory-sealed releases too, some of which can sell for many times more than their original retail price...
News Natsume Revs Up Fresh Gotcha Racing Screens, Gameplay Details
Top-down racer coming this Summer
Natsume has released screens for its forthcoming top-down racer Gotcha Racing, which is due to arrive on the 3DS this Summer. Developed by Arc System Works and taking inspiration from the likes of Micro Machines and Super Cars, Gotcha Racing's unique selling point is that the vehicles you drive are constructed from...
News Natsume Is Bringing Smartphone Title Ninja Strike To The Wii U eShop
Will be showing it off at E3
Natsume has just confirmed the titles it will be showing off at E3, and among them you'll spot a new name: Ninja Strike. Before you get your hopes up, it's not some exciting simulation of what it must have been like in ancient Japan when the Shogun's best assassins decided to down tools over low pay - instead, it's a...
News Natsume Planning Wii U and 3DS E3 Reveals, More Harvest Moon DLC and Loads of GBA VC Games
Crikey
Natsume is an ever-present on Nintendo hardware, it seems, and it's got plenty of content on the way, sharing the happy news through its 'CeeCee' Tumblr page. For starters it seems the company will be busy at E3, and announcements at the show will include news for 3DS and Wii U gamers. There'll be "something for the Harvest Moon fans", too...
News Natsume Suggests That Nintendo's Moving Away From SNES on Wii U Virtual Console
Explains how games are selected for the Virtual Console
Natsume is a publisher and developer that pops up relatively regularly on the current day Virtual Console, certainly more so than some other names that were common on the Wii but have appeared less on the Wii U and 3DS. As such it's a company with some useful insight into how the platform...
News Natsume Has Eight Game Boy Advance Titles Prepped For The Wii U Virtual Console
Medabots! Medabots DX! Pocky & Rocky with Becky! More!
Publisher Natsume has eight GBA titles ready for launch on the Wii U Virtual Console, according to director of operations Graham Markay. Markay dropped the news during the latest Fragments of Silicon podcast, adding that the company had been planning its Virtual Console attack for quite some...
News Natsume Thanks Fans for Strong Launch of Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley in North America
Performing beyond expectations in the region
Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley is a diversion for the series, as Natsume took the franchise in some new directions, with the title being the first to go "fully three-dimensional". Story of Seasons, previously released as a Harvest Moon game in Japan but being published under a different name - due to IP...
Review S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team (3DS eShop / NES)
Invading aliens, a fight for survival and all that jazz
It is the year 2029 and aliens are attacking the earth. Have they observed mankind’s violent nature and opted for a pre-emptive strike to protect themselves? Or do they just dislike the way the people of S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team have taken to painting their buildings a shade...
Review S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team (Wii U eShop / NES)
I'm a scatman
Right, let's get this dealt with from the start; S.C.A.T is an awful name for a game — we won't go into why here, but it actually stands for Special Cybernetic Attack Team. Interestingly, the cart shipped in Europe as Action in New York. That's a much better title, although the game has as much to do with the Big Apple as mushy peas...
Review Alphadia Genesis (Wii U eShop)
Alphadia Generic
Like every other game genre, there's no one set of generally agreed-upon rules for what makes a Japanese RPG good. Some people simply can't stand turn-based gameplay, feeling it's an obsolete relic of an era gone past; others get misty-eyed with nostalgia and/or prefer its more deliberate pacing. Then there are gamers who debate...
Review Natsume Championship Wrestling (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Tapped out
Let's be honest here: wrestling is essentially one big television drama, and that's no way an attempt to belittle the incredible athleticism of the men and women involved. It's Eastenders with a mullet and tight pants, complete with plot twists and a cast of larger than life characters to root for. These heels and faces are the reason we...
News Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley Set to Bloom on NA Store Shelves This 4th November
Europe barren for now
Natsume, Inc recently confirmed via Twitter that the North American release date for Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley will be 4th November: [tweet 520216714311520256] Although no European release date has been set, Natsume also confirmed that a publisher is being sought out and that it expects the title to reach the otherpart of...
News Alphadia Genesis Set to Begin at the Beginning in North America
Natsume releasing the RPG on Wii U eShop this Fall
Natsume has released more information on Alphadia Genesis, an upcoming RPG release that will hit consoles exclusively on the Wii U eShop. According to the publisher, the story takes place 15 years after the Energi Wars, a torrid affair where clones were used as weapons. The kingdoms of Augustine...
First Impressions Getting Our Hands Dirty in Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley
Farm fresh
Since its initial début on the Super Nintendo in 1997, Harvest Moon has blossomed into something of an institution; a non-traditional RPG that swapped swords for shovels, replaced fighting with farming, and let players find true love among the turnips, it captivated with a unique charm, and has been hooking would-be farmers on platforms...
News Natsume Confirms A-Train: City Simulator For 3DS and Alphadia Genesis for Wii U
Some story background for Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley also included
Natsume recently announced that Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley is coming to 3DS in 2014, and has today used its pre-E3 press release to confirm two more titles coming to Nintendo systems; both seem like candidates for the eShop, though that's not confirmed. First up we have...
News Hometown Story Will Be Released This Month In North America
A new 3DS title from the creator of Harvest Moon
Natsume has officially announced a release date for the upcoming 3DS life sim Hometown Story. It will become available this month in North America, on 22nd October to be exact. Those unfamiliar with the title may be more acquainted with its creator's other popular game, Harvest Moon. Indeed, Yasuhiro...
News Natsume: A Western Medabots 7 Release Not On The Cards
"Hopefully maybe the next one"
Natsume released Medabots 7 in Japan last September and little has been said on the localisation of the 3DS RPG since. The publisher is currently getting ready for E3 and has responded to a fan on Facebook about the chances of Medabots 7 making it to Western shores. Unfortunately, it wasn't good news: It doesn't...
News Natsume's Hometown Story Will Be Playable at E3
Spiritual successor to Harvest Moon will see worldwide release
Natsume has announced that Hometown Story, the new 3DS title from Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada, will be playable at this year's E3. The title, first announced last year as Project: Happiness, tasks the player with fixing up and developing a shop left to them by their grandmother...
E3 2012 Project Happiness Trailer is Adorably Wistful
Pokémon artist on board
Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada has a new studio and a new game in the works, currently codenamed Project Happiness. TOYBOX, Rising Star Games and Natsume have just released the first teaser trailer for the game and it looks very much like Wada's signature style. The voiceover will sound familiar to Little King's Story...
News Harvest Moon Creator Announces "Project Happiness"
Natsume and RSG on board
Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada recently set up his own studio, TOYBOX, with a simple message: "we are gaming for Love, Peace and Earth." Natsume, Rising Star Games and TOYBOX have just announced Project Happiness — a temporary title — with more details to come at E3. The announcement doesn't give much more away than...
News Natsume Stops Teasing, Reveals Harvest Moon: A New Beginning
So we can all stop guessing
You can stop scratching your head now: Natsume's finally announced that Harvest Moon: A New Beginning is coming to North America. After nine teasers that had fans guessing everything from Lufia to Medabots, Natsume confirmed the new name for Japanese hit Bokujou Monogatari: Haijmari no Daichi (roughly "First...
News Pluck Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns 3DS on 1st November
Free toy too
With the regular DS version of Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns already available in North America, Natsume has revealed a release date for its 3D companion: 1st November. As is traditional for a new HM game, customers who pre-order Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns on 3DS will get a free cuddly toy, this time the same alpaca that...
News Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove Spooks 3DS Today
Starting Hallowe'en early
We took our first steps with Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix on WiiWare back in May, and now the spooky series has launched on 3DS as Natsume announces Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove 3D is available across North America from today. The 3DS's first dancing game follows Gabrielle, a poor girl who's sneezed her soul right...
News Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns Comes with Fluffy Surprise
Hint: it's an alpaca
Natsume's next farming adventure is nearly ready to sprout in North America, with Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns coming to DS on 20th September. As is par for the course, the publisher is offering a special pre-order bonus to anyone who puts down money for the game at Gamestop: a cuddly alpaca, celebrating the grazing...
News Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny Crashes In Next Month
North American date confirmed
Natsume has revealed that the the long-awaited second Wii entry in the Rune Factory series, Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny, will see the light of day in North America on 27th September. The Rune Factory spin-off from the popular Harvest Moon series combines farming elements with more traditional role-playing features,...
News Sail the Tides of Destiny with New Rune Factory in 2011
Natsume makes waves
Following the acclaimed Rune Factory: Frontier, Natsume is preparing to bring the second instalment in the Wii farming roleplayer to North America, announcing Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny. As well as the series' now-established combination of real-time battle, crop harvesting and animal husbandry, players will be able to take...
News Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove Does the Monster Mix on WiiWare
Groove to the beat next month
Considering the overwhelming success of Wii dancing games at retail, it's a wonder that next month's Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix will be one of a select few when it launches next month. Natsume's spooky-themed rump-shaker will land on the download front next month, bringing multiplayer support for four...
News Harvest Moon: A Tale of Two Towns Coming to DS and 3DS
Double farming joy
Natsume, the house that Harvest Moon built, has announced plans to bring Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns over to North America for both Nintendo DS and 3DS, according to a Facebook post. While the company explained this isn't the 3DS Harvest Moon game originally announced at E3 2010, leaving us to wonder if the mention of 3DS...
News Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove Will Now Be Spooking Gamers in 3D
Leaving the physical DS world and entering the 3DS realm
Originally announced for the DS last summer at E3, Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove ― Natsume's rhythm adventure game ― will now instead launch on the 3DS, utilising the stereoscopic effects to make the ghostly apparitions really jump out at you. Known for its Lufia series and more recently, for...
