The thing about Harvest Moon games is you either love them, or you hate them. Meticulous caring of crops and livestock either appeals to you, or you just see it as a chore in video game form. That's just how it is. Personally, for myself, it's more of the latter, but I can see the zen-like calm that can come from playing a game like this. Also, those with OCD or OCD-like tendencies can probably fine a lot of satisfaction in making their farm just so perfect.
Really, though, what is there to say about the game? It's Harvest Moon. You plant seeds, you tend to the crops that come from them, you get some livestock and make sure they're happy. Following that, you find yourself a mate, woo them and settle down. Nothing much has changed here, except the size of the town and your prospective mates.
In Island of Happiness, you can control the game in two different ways. There's the tried-and-true d-pad approach, where you control your little farmer with the DS's face buttons. And then, there's the stylus, which allows you to control the game primarily through that, tapping on contextual icons that signify in-game actions. Both felt like adequate control schemes to me.
To be honest, there isn't much else I can say. From the time I spent playing, the game felt like Harvest Moon. If you're curious about the franchise and don't know that much, pick up one of the previous titles on the GBA and you'll get an idea. Look for Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness later this summer.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-24-2008 @ 10:40PM
chaindrop said...
I love playing harvest moon, but I usually get bored after the first 1 1/2 year in the game. The only harvest moon i've finished was the one on snes.
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7-25-2008 @ 5:45AM
ViRGE said...
Am I the only one that first read "Island of Happiness" as "Island of Hippies"?
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7-25-2008 @ 12:11PM
HappyFunBall said...
Far out, man.
7-25-2008 @ 4:45PM
Danny F. said...
The 3d look is ehh so far in the screenshots... maybe it'll look better in person I guess. :-\
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8-01-2008 @ 5:31PM
Saria the Cat said...
I'm a pretty big fan of the HM series but I'd appreciate some innovation now and then. So far I don't think any of the installments have topped the 64's yet.
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8-24-2008 @ 1:31PM
oog said...
I only played the gamecube version, and I was getting anxiety attacks over the amount of stress from trying to make my animals and crops survive! I got bored with the repetition chores after two weeks. I might try this one out....though I do wish that you could invite friends via wifi to your island.
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