Harvest Moon Frantic Farming

SCORE: 74

I was surprised to see Harvest Moon Frantic Farming in Natsume’s booth at E3 this year. It is a puzzle game based on the Harvest Moon franchise. A Harvest Sprite walks around, and picks the fruit that is ripe. The player moves vegetables around. There are chains, multi-player modes, and plenty of unlockable characters. It is up to the player to save Sunny Island from an avalanche of vegetables.

Harvest Moon Frantic Farming has a wide array of colors, and characters included. The majority of the characters dress appropriately. I love the images of vegetables, and harvesting in this game. I wish vegetables in real life grew as fast as they do in this Nintendo DS video game. The art style fits the franchise perfectly, and I love the farm feel to the menu screens.

The music in Harvest Moon Frantic Farming is upbeat, energetic, and happy. I really got into the special effect sounds. The Harvest Goddess has a large role in the storyline which is read between chapters. Different characters have various motives, and it was interesting to come across many of them.

Harvest Moon Frantic Farming is one of those puzzle games that is really easy to learn. It is also very addicting as far as puzzle games go. The more I played Harvest Moon Frantic Farming, the more I got into it. Unlocking content, and characters was a lot of fun. Natsume included a swath of multi-player modes. There are modes to share with friends if you are the only one with the game, and also modes when more than one person has the same game. Up to four people can play one another in Harvest Moon Frantic Farming on the DS.

The touch screen controls are easy to pick up. I liked how Natsume allowed button controls in a lot of the game play as well. Giving the players these kinds of choices resonates well with Family Friendly Gaming. Getting through levels starts out easy, and becomes more challenging, especially when things like rocks start falling. Power ups are provided to the player, and there is a lot of strategy involved. I loved setting up chains (the same vegetable in the same upcoming harvesting).

Harvest Moon Frantic Farming is the kind of a game that I would like to see sequels to. The puzzle action is fun, safe, and easy to learn. We have never been big on the Harvest Goddess, and that is one of the few things I feel is holding this franchise back. Especially when the franchise is branching into the puzzle genre.
- Paul

Graphics: 76%
Sound: 69%
Replay/Extras: 79%
Gameplay: 78%
Family Friendly Factor: 67%
System: Nintendo DS
Publisher: Natsume
Rating: 'E' for Everyone

Want more info on this product, or the company that made this product?
Set web browser to:
Link

Got a question, comment, or a concern regarding this review?
Email them to:
pbury@familyfriendlygaming.com