Platform: GameCube
Genre: Role-Playing
Publisher: Natsume
Developer: Natsume
ETA: March 2004

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Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life

Natsume has been breaking away from the more regimental confines of traditional RPGs for quite some time now with their Harvest Moon series, as it takes basic role-playing mechanics and transposes it into a game that focuses on farming. What’s even more interesting about this unconventional meshing of game ideas is that it has produced some very enjoyable games. Soon, Gamecube owners can have a chance to take the popular series for a spin with Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life.

While the title may suggest that the game is a polygonal salute to the Jimmy Stewart Christmas classic that is the farthest thing from the truth. A Wonderful Life takes place after its predecessors where players had to save the family farm from bankruptcy, and then save their homeland. Now players can focus on their own life instead of worrying about saving everyone else.

This will involve not only making the farm extremely successful, but also being successful in players’ on-screen alter egos’ family lives as well as keeping friends. It’s somewhat of a fusion of the Harvest Moon series with some basic concepts of the Sims.

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Features:

You will be part of the drama, not just a spectator of it! You will interact with the many people around you, including your wife and son.
The characters will not act in a repetitive fashion...however their actions will constantly change with the environment that you create.
A variety of fruits and vegetables added to increase the quality of the game.
More home extension...more tools...
A new chapter system will be incorporated into the Harvest Moon series for the first time:
Your life on the farm will be for 30 years, divided into 6 chapters.
The story starts when you meet your future wife and begin to raise a family. Each chapter will represent different parts of your life.
It will take roughly 40 hours to complete the game.
In addition, there will be multiple endings...increasing the replay value.
A new mode will be added to the game, Free Play Mode will let you play as long as you want on the farm!
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life will communicate with the new Harvest Moon title for the Game Boy Advance. By linking these two games together new events and items will become available!

Gamecube owners have really been getting the shaft when it comes to RPGs, but it won’t be much longer until they can soak in the genre, even if it’s a title like this that is a bit off the beaten path.

- Mr. Nash

(February 27, 2004 )