Harvest Moon Animal Parade

SCORE: 66

The Harvest Moon franchise has grown by leaps and bounds this year. In fact 2009 has been a banner year for this brand. Many of these games have been well received here at Family Friendly Gaming. Harvest Moon Animal Parade is a mixed bag as far as the WMG is concerned. There is some good, and some not so good. Plant some seeds, water them, and get ready for a harvest.

Harvest Moon Animal Parade has a soft look and feel to it. The characters have a certain flavor to them. To be honest it reminded the WMG of some older Zelda titles (editor: on the Nintendo 64). There are great little touches in the details of things like birds, trees, and crops. The areas are huge, which requires a lot of running around. The load screens slow down Harvest Moon Animal Parade, and can get frustrating. A few of the female characters could use some more clothes.

The music in Harvest Moon Animal Parade has a real circus feel to it. The Parade part of this game is reflected quite well in the audio department. The Harvest Goddess is included in this game, and plays a major role in the direction the player takes. The player goes on quests to assist the various characters with problems. In some ways this is self serving because it opens new aspects of the game.

Harvest Moon Animal Parade includes plenty of animals, crops, and an assortment of other content. For this reviewer Harvest Moon Animal Parade felt more like a role playing game than a farm simulator. This is a different direction for this franchise. Harvest Moon fans may be turned off by the changes, or they may really get into them.

The controls in Harvest Moon Animal Parade take some getting used to. The WMG had the hardest time watering crops. Lining up the character with where you want to water can be tough. The WMG tried the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controls, as well as the Classic Controller controls. There is no point and select so the Wii Remote is about worthless in terms of controls. The Classic Controller is the better of the two, but still feels a little clunky.

If you can get by the controls, and the Harvest Goddess content in Harvest Moon Animal Parade, there is a lot of helping out your neighbors. There is also lessons in caring for animals. Players also get to restore the land through hard work. Harvest Moon Animal Parade felt too much like a Rune Factory game to this reviewer. It is nice to see Natsume try something different, but this reviewer felt too many things were thrown in there at once.
- Working Man Gamer

Graphics: 68%
Sound: 61%
Replay/Extras: 77%
Gameplay: 59%
Family Friendly Factor: 67%
System: Wii
Publisher: Natsume
Rating: 'E' for Everyone
{Alcohol Reference}

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