Even those of you who aren’t really into playing video games might have heard of Harvest Moon before. It’s a series that has existed for 20 years now, as the first game was released in 1996 in Japan and in 1997 in America. They are farming games, and basically every game tasks its player to take care of a farm. Making sure the land is ready to sow crops, take care of animals like cows and chickens and strive to make a living as a farmer. A very important part of the game is socializing with the towns people: the ultimate goal here is to marry one of the various bachelors or bachelorettes in town.
In the past Harvest Moon games where localised and distributed by Natsume in the US, and by Rising Star (which is a subsidiary of Marvelous Entertainment) in Europe. In 2014, things got a bit complicated: Marvelous and Rising Star decided the next new game, which was going to be called Harvest Moon: Connect to a new land, to localise and distribute it themselves in the US. Problem was that Natsume holds the rights to the name Harvest Moon.
So although the Harvest Moon series has first been released in 1997 in US for the Nintendo console the SNES, and has seen 16 titles on the diverse Nintendo platforms, after 2014 it was known under a new name: Story of the Seasons.
Aiming for a new audience
Natsume of course decided to make good use of the name they still had rights to, and decides to make a brand new series themselves. Harvest Moon: the Lost Valley and Skytree Village are two games that have seen the light on the 3DS since then. Now there’s a new game on the horizon, and here’s where it gets interesting: Harvest Moon: Lil’ Farmers is aimed at a new audience.
Lil’ Farmers has the trademark style of wide-eyed characters, extremely cuddly animals and colourful visuals, but the game is designed to be played by children without parents’ help. To perfect the game for the intended age group, Natsume has partnered with Daredevil Development, creators of games like Bob the Builder’s Playtime Fun! and Postman Pat. There is no text, the game has scenes and icons to interact with. And this time, the game will launch on iOS and Android.
The Harvest Moon series has a very loyal following of adults, who love the family friendly games. After all, basically we are talking time and money management here, and I can say from experience that it’s not easy to manage your farm every day. This game might be too simple for grownups to play, but it might be the perfect way to let your child experience fun on the farm. Release is scheduled for mobile and tablet on May 25 2017 for $3,99 with no ads or in-app purchases.