Tag: Simulation

New Harvest Moon Game Releases for 3DS

Natsume and XSeed may have split the series up, but that doesn’t mean that we are lacking in fun creative games from the Harvest Moon series. Recently Natsume threw its latest bid in for the series in the form of Skytree Village; a Minecraft-esque game that incorporates the main elements from the Harvest Moon series such as growing crops, raising animals, and marriage. The game was released at the beginning of November and had both a normal and limited edition with prices starting at $29.99 USD.

The game has 3 special editions. One that comes with an artbook, soundtrack, pins, and a rubber blue feather strap. Two from Natsume themselves that either come with a Giant Bluebird plush or a Giant Bob Cat plush. The description of the Skytree village is as follows:

Times have changed in the land known as the Oasis of the Harvest Goddess. Many people used to live in Skytree Village, and the land was lush and green. However, the power of the Harvest Goddess gradually began to wane, and the land became parched and dry. It’s up to you revive the seven Skytrees in order to give the Harvest Goddess her power back, and, in turn, bring life back to this desolate land!

 

So, look for Skytree Village at your local retailer today. At a reduced price point it’s great for gamers looking for a cheaper play. On top of that, the long play time offered in Harvest Moon games will keep you enthralled for hours as you work to bring the Harvest Goddesse’s magic back to Skytree Village and build a life for yourself. The game also offers 3 bachelors and bachelorettes to choose from, so go ahead pick your favorite and go with the harvest Moon tradition you know and love.

Harvest Moon, A Great Simulation Game With Rpg twists.

The Harvest Moon franchise has been going since the days of the SNES in 1996. The series revolves around a story where you generally end up inheriting or buying a farm in a town you’re not familiar with. Over the years the game series has immensely improved on features and formula to become a staple of the gaming world.  Harvest moon games have featured everything from story driven tear-jerkers with deep character development to achievement hunting for magical music notes.  The series also has a strong presence on DS consoles and has just about something for everybody looking to get into the series.

First off, we should explain that Harvest Moon has had a name change to Seeds of Memories in the U.S.A. and while there are still Harvest Moon games being made, they aren’t from the mainline series. There was recently a split between the company Xseed who wanted to import the games and Natsume who wanted the name to make spin-off type games. This has triggered a lot of confusion for gamers, but needless to say, while the spin-offs are different, if you happen to pick one up they still have quite a bit of the original formula involved in their gameplay.

Moving on to some of the games you can get for your DS. The most current mainline Harvest Moon game is called “Story of Seasons” and has you growing your farm over a large plot of land, it features the most updated cast of animals, mechanics, and all new characters to the series. The game also is one of the first to feature the long awaited character customization feature of the series. If you’re interested in a less expensive, but equally as fun Harvest Moon game you can purchase “A New Beginning” for about 20$ USD less than “Story of Seasons.”

What can you do in these games, though? In Harvest Moon games you can, of course, grow crops and raise animals on your farm. If you don’t want to make money that way you can scavenge, fish, mine, win festivals, or in some games you can even pick up odd jobs to do. One of the main draws to the series is the marriage system where you woo a potential partner with gifts and by triggering cutscenes eventually win them over. In the story driven games you can complete tasks like milking a cow for the first time to earn achievements that expand the town and pull you closer to finishing the story, see Magical Melody and Sunshine Islands for this type of gameplay.  Other types like Save The Homeland and A Wonderful Life are heavily story driven games where you roleplay the life of your character.

If you are interested in having the newest of the new features in your first Harvest Moon playthrough look into “Trio of Towns” the official cannon line of games next upcoming release. If you don’t want to wait until  February to play then pre-order “Skytree Village” for your 3DS. Skytree village is under the Harvest Moon name and made by Natsume, it will be releasing at the end of this month.

 

Animal Crossing: New Leaf, A Laid Back Simulation.

If you’ve been having trouble finding a new game to pick up lately, why not pick up Animal Crossing? Animal Crossing: New Leaf is the newest game in the series for 3Ds and is currently trying to make its way to your mobile  device in 2017 for phone users. The series is lighthearted and can either be played each day or by changing a clock at the menu screen to speed through the year. The series doesn’t have any type of combat in it, and is completely about interacting and building a life in a new town.

Animal Crossing’s main focus is decorating and updating a house you move into on your own. The games always start with you getting off a train to find Tom Nook who gives you a house under the condition you pay him back for it later. Each time you pay Tom Nook a loan back you get to expand your house more giving you more room to decorate. There are several different styles of items in the game and Nintendo is known for adding more through updates or events throughout the year.

The secondary focus of the game is interacting with your town. Animal Crossing has an ever-changing real-time world in which new animals move in and out of your town at random points.  One of the things the game wants you to do is interact with your neighbors, each different NPC character has its own style, personality, and things they want to talk to you about. They will also flag you down to ask for favors that result in getting free items for your house. Some will even send you letters or come to visit your home. Neighbors in Animal Crossing will also interact with each other which can result in them being in different moods when you finally get to talk with them for the day.

In New Leaf though, there is one other main focus the game gives you when you venture into town for the first time. There has been a strange mix-up and you get pulled into being the mayor for the town. Being the mayor gives you the ability to make modifications to all types of things like money inflation, night hours, daytime hours, and a focus on town beautification. The Mayor position also allows for you to commission new structures to be built anywhere you reasonably can. This feature makes pretty much the whole town your personal canvas.

To make the deal with Animal Crossing: New Leaf even sweeter Nintendo just dropped the price of the game down to 20$ USD. They also are rolling out all new Amiibo related updates to the game in December. With these updates, you will get a campsite that you can invite your favorite villagers to if you have collected their amiibo card. You also can get all new items by tapping other Amiibo to the game like the Squid Sisters from Splatoon. With new features and a mobile port coming for New Leaf now is as good as time as ever to look into picking the game up, especially with the price cut!