The ultimate farm game is heading your way again with Harvest Moon 2: Island of Happiness. (Or in Japanese, Kimi To Sodatsu Shima. Expand your vocabulary.)

The latest Harvest Moon on the DS from Marvelous Interactive gives you six characters to choose from from each gender. The story starts when you and your family are stranded on an island and have to survive by cultivating a farm. Eventually, more people come in to provide more options as your farm grows.

Here are the latest screenshots from E3. It's in Japanese though, so watch out as it will be headed for the US this November.

More screenshots in the full article!

Whoever would have thought a game about farming - the entire process of it, from clearing out trash and debris from a plot of land you'll be planting most of your crops on to actually wringing your cows' udders dry of fresh milk - could actually have its own harvest (pun not exactly intended) of fans, much less be named as one of the most endearing and memorable titles to date?

It's not exactly the MOST exciting thing to do, compared to games that strap you into the driver's seat of a hot rod or give you points for indiscriminate destruction involving sharp pointy things and gadgets that go BOOM. But for some reason, many players fell in love with Harvest Moon the moment our cap-and-overalls hero took up hoe, rake, and watering can to get down to business. Yes, there was farming to be done on that inherited plot of land, and by god we farmed the heck out of it.

So what was so special about Harvest Moon? What gave it that extra "oomph" to be considered as a gaming classic? The man behind the phenomenon answered that himself, in a grilling session with Eurogamer a few days before the European release of Harvest Moon: Innocent Life for the PlayStation Portable (PSP).

When asked about what gives Harvest Moon its 10-year lasting appeal, Yasuhiro Wada responded that the game's core system "hasn't changed; it's something that it easily understood by the audience." He also cited paying close attention to the fans: "I have been listening to the voices of the audience, to what the audience wants, responding to their requests. That's key to the philosophy of Harvest Moon."

Eurogamer asked about the game's origins, and Yasuhiro Wada was more than willing to reveal it. "I wanted to convey the goodness of rural life - not urban life, but rural life." He adds, "Farming was the easiest instrument to realize that feeling in a game. That's why I chose to make a farming game."

Finally, for the question of what people love about Harvest Moon, Wada had this to say:

I think it's very gentle and friendly. These days there are other games such other games such as Animal Crossing that bear similarities, but before there wasn't such a game at all. Perhaps that's why people identified so much with Harvest Moon, originally.

Harvest Moon DS is already out while both the PSP game Harvest Moon: Innocent Life and the Nintendo Wii version of Harvest Moon are still to be released.

Despite all the push for space travel, sub-atomic fusion, and - err - cool but otherwise unnecessary gadgets, mankind still has a calling that brings them back to the rural lifestyle. Hence, Marvelous Interactive is making sure that this calling is answered by their Harvest Moon franchise, the latest installment of which is Harvest Moon: Kimi to Sodatsu Shima (loosely translated as Harvest Moon: The Island I Develop with You).

Now, while the screens and info are steadily harvesting up into the QJ barnyards, today we're dishing out a sneak peek into some of the characters you'd be bumping into during the farm-sim game. From the pictures above, here are the four characters (clockwise from the top-left):

First there's Goran the carpenter and Eriza the daughter of Goran. There's also Vuarustu the animal merchant and Riri the "love interest". We do have to stress though that these names are based on the Google translation from Famitsu's Japanese into our Engrish. Hence, the letters "R" and "L" could be interchanged.

If there's one thing that Harvest Moon is known for, aside from the farming aspect of the game, is its cast of characters. From these screens and info, it seems as if this game has a solid backbone for some good inter-character development. The game comes out in Japan this December, and hopefully by then, we get more info on this game.

Expected to dock in the land of the rising sun by December, Harvest Moon Kimi to Sodatsu Shima DS continues to churn out screenshots for folks who just can't get enough of the animated farm life.

It would appear that the developers really did good on their word that the graphics would definitely be much more pleasing to the eye. They generously made use of earthy tones to depict the farm setting. Planting seeds, growing crops, and raising poultry just got the hi-tech treatment with the stylus used for directing the characters, and the D-pads for tool choosing functions.

So, if you're interested in the rural way of life or if you just plain like playing Old MacDonald in the farm every once in a while (without having to go under the sun), this game is for you. Either way, Harvest Moon Kimi to Sodatsu Shima DS will definitely get you working with your green thumbs, and with a stylus at that!

  

 

Fresh from its TGS 2006 appearance, Harvest Moon Kimi to Sodatsu Shima (a.k.a. Harvest Moon: The Island I Develop With You), earned praises that its predecessor missed. Reviews described its larger, 3D graphics as more visually attractive and pleasing to the eye.

After switching from the series' original GBA graphics, Harvest Moon Kimi to Sodatsu Shima packs greater character detail and superior animation which sunk its prequel.

But that's just one of the improvements found in this title. Harvest Moon Kimi to Sodatsu Shima is also stylus-driven with improved controls. Players actually get to use the stylus here especially to control characters' direction. They go to where ever the stylus is pointed.

Harvest Moon Kimi to Sodatsu Shima will be available in December in Japan.

The agricultural community must be very pleased with Harvest Moon. It introduced how farming can be profitable and fun at the same time. Thanks to the game, players have been exposed to farming life. We've seen some kids comment on how hard it must be for farmers to do the same chores repeatedly, just to earn enough money to buy a cow. Some of these players have even actually tried planting seeds just to check out how it really happens. Hooray for Mother Earth, we say.

Now the last Harvest Moon DS had mixed reviews regarding the graphics and lack of stylus application. This time, Marvelous's Harvest Moon: The island I Develop With You is bigger and, hopefully, better. In this game, the player and some of his fellow refugees will have to try their hands on developing a whole island; imagine Lost, but with nicer and more wholesome people. Reportedly, it has 3D graphics; but will it be more superior than the other Harvest Moon games? We read an IGN article where a writer previews the game straight from TGS 2006. Here's some of the notable comments.

The writer says that the graphics are much more pleasing to the eye. The 3D figures and large-scale rendering make it easier to look as the character runs through the fields trying to water every plant and feed every poultry available. As for the dual screen application, the top screen of the demo shows the controls, but according to TGS pamphlets, it shows the status meters of the main character. The graphics got a boost, but will the stylus use get one too?

Yes, according to the article players actually use the stylus on this game. The blondie farmer boy/girl/person will go where the player points the stylus. Useful for those who are in a hurry to get their chickens in the coop before nightfall. Since the stylus is applied more for character direction control, what does the D-Pad do now? It's used for tool choosing functions. Just keep on pushing the right button until the player get to the correct tool. Once he or she get to the correct one, just tap it twice in succession and it's ready in hand. No need to put down the stylus just to get the Axe.

Will this be a better Harvest Moon than the last? It's shaping up to be a contender. The game should be out in Japan in December.

Okay...looks like there's gonna be yet another Harvest Moon title for the DS. Besides the Victor-developed game sporting the same 2D graphics as the GBA versions and spin-off Rune Factory, we now have Kimi To Sodatsu Shima on the block as well. As you can see, it really takes advantage of the DS hardware with the 3D visuals, moving the game somewhat closer to the N64/GameCube style. The gameplay, on the other hand, looks pretty similar to previous iterations - whether that's a good thing or not you have to decide for yourself.

That's all we can tell you about the game at this point - stay tuned for more information.

(Thanks to Jonnyram over at GAF for the scans)