Harvest Moon DS Cute Review

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	Harvest Moon DS Cute
	Developer:Marvelous Interactive Inc. Publisher: Natsume Players: Single Player Release Date: March 25, 2008
	Review / LastWord

Anything you can do, I can do better…
by Patrick Kennedy
Date: April 17, 2008

Tending to your chickens? Building relationships with the townsfolk? Passing out cold after too much work in the fields? Ah, the trademarks of a new Harvest Moon game. The latest entry in the long-running series from Japanese publisher Natsume takes the formula and gameplay that made Harvest Moon a beloved franchise, and shifts the perspective to that of the fairer sex. Instead of planting crops and chopping wood as a strapping young lad, you'll run the ranch and attract beaus as a smart young lass, giving the game an added angle for young, female DS owners.

Harvest Moon DS Cute begins with some light Q&A to determine your character throughout the game - either blonde Claire from More Friends of Mineral Town (GBA), or brunette Jill from Another Wonderful Life (GC). After your heroine has been established, the game drops you right into the story, as the Harvest King banishes the Harvest Goddess and all the Harvest Sprites thanks to his short temper, and your poor work ethic. Now it's up to you to turn your ranch into a thriving success by successfully raising crops and livestock, all the while finding the 101 Harvest Sprites and raising a family with one of the town's eligible bachelors.

Fans of the franchise should immediately recognize the game's overall premise, as it's essentially the original Harvest Moon DS with the exception of the female protagonist. There are differences, such as selectable options for both clothing and home interior, and the option of a random male or female child, though there's still a sense of familiarity throughout much of the game.

The Harvest Moon series has always succeeded on the depth of its gameplay, however, not the originality of its story settings - and Harvest Moon DS Cute is no different. The sheer volume of events and player choices available in the game are incredibly deep, allowing a player to go through the game many times over without following the same path to success and parenthood. Specific items or events can be focused on and attained as much as the player wishes to - either just farming and meeting people every so often, or spending several hours gathering all the medals in the Casino to buy the rarest of in-game items.

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The game's overall events and attainable goals are the lifeblood of this game, making or breaking the enjoyment factor for even the most casual of gamers. In this regard, Harvest Moon DS Cute succeeds. Like the similar Animal Crossing series, there is a certain threshold for menial tasks like pulling weeds and hoeing the fields - the game has to feel rewarding when it feels like a chore. In Harvest Moon DS Cute, your road to success is paved with repetition and routine, though the glimpse of the game's future events and the desire to have the best farm that in-game gold can buy keeps the desire to complete these tasks strong. The biggest learning curve is in the balance between daily tasks, and personal interaction with the town and its inhabitants, as an obsessive aim to raise crops and dig in the mines all day will inevitably exhaust your character, thus limiting your ability to take in the game as a whole. As mentioned before, I like that you can give as much, or as little time as you'd like to the game and still feel the overall sense of achievement the game is built upon. Also, from an outsider's perspective, the game really shines in the "games for girls" market as a polished game with excellent models of work ethic and logic when viewed alongside some of the other, plainly derogatory examples in the genre.

Graphically, the game is on par with other Harvest Moon and DS releases, using the familiar art design of Japanese RPGs as a foundation for the game's pastoral approach. It's not going to blow anyone's wigs back, so to speak, but it's also not the point of the game. Basically, it looks good enough not to be a hindrance to the overall gaming experience.

Harvest Moon DS Cute may read like a retread on paper, but the game's depth of gameplay and overall user options should still go over well with the customization-obsessed youth market and old-time Harvest Moon fans alike. Raising a farm never feels like a chore, as the prospects of advancing through the game keep you hanging on for more. That being said, it's easy to check in and out with your ranch for the short-term gamers on subway commutes and in waiting rooms. Overall, the game gives a great introduction to those new to the series while giving longtime followers of the franchise a reason to pick up the game, mostly through the solid gameplay mechanics that have made Harvest Moon such a success for the last decade.

By Patrick Kennedy
LWG Core Contributor / News Director

If you've never played a Harvest Moon game before, Cute would act as a gentle guide to what fans of the game have enjoyed for many years now - as long as you can avoid getting wrapped up on the female perspective, or are of course a young female gamer yourself. In that respect, my LastWord focuses on that aspect, which I believe to be one of the best properties of the game in an overall social sense. In a sea of DS games that focus on having a pony or imagining babies, Harvest Moon DS Cute offers a truly deep gameplay experience that builds one's sense of responsibility and what can be achieved through a resolved work ethic. It may not teach young female gamers how to be the next Eleanor Roosevelt, but it certainly provides a positive and non-demeaning game that they should be proud to call their own.