Harvest Moon DS Cute

Rating Everyone Genre role-playing Publisher Natsume External Links Natsume Website

Have you ever said to yourself “Boy, I sure would like to play an RPG about farming?” Well lucky for you, in 1997 Natsume released a game called Harvest Moon for the Super Nintendo that that is an RPG about farming. As luck would have it, you my friend are not the only person to wish for such a game. Harvest Moon was so popular that more than 15 Harvest Moon titles have been released in just over a decade. Harvest Moon DS Cute is the latest installment in the franchise. Yep! Breaking boulders, planting seeds, sheering sheep, and milking cows, it's all here and ready for you to micro-manage.

Harvest Moon DS Cute is the girl oriented re release of Harvest Moon DS. It boasts a few plot changes, a female main character, husbands to marry instead of wives, and all of the same mechanics from the original. Cute is little disappointing graphically and feature wise. The menu structure is once again on touch screen and doesn't add much to the game. But if anything, the gameplay is solid and the musical score is so happy that it may clog your arteries if listened to long enough.

“Stick to formula!” Those were probably the exact words used when Natsume decided to make this installment. Following in the footsteps of every other Harvest Moon, Cute puts the player in the role of an orphan girl who must manage a farm, make friends, and save the Harvest Goddess! All of the things that made the previous installment fun are back, like the seasons system, a tool level up system, courtship system, and the touch glove. The touch glove allows the players to bring up their animals up close and in 3D for petting, milking, and sheering. Unfortunately the one thing I was hoping wouldn't make a returning role were the graphics. The graphics are identical to the GBA game Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, which was released about five years ago. Needless to say, it looks dated. Very, very dated.

Overall Harvest Moon DS Cute is a fun game. I mean, aren't all Harvest Moons? Some are just more fun than others. I still believe the SNES original was the best but that is beside the point. If you have lived under a rock for the last 11 years and never played a Harvest Moon then I suggest you pick one up. If the DS and gaming on the go is your thing then Harvest Moon DS Cute is right up your ally. It is highly addictive, loads of fun, and best of all... a farming RPG.

What are you waiting for? Go save the Harvest Goddess!