Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming a sequel to lackluster Puzzle de Harvest Moon

Who here remembers Puzzle de Harvest Moon? I do – mainly because I had to review it. It received a 1/10. The dislike was fairly universal, as IGN gave it a 3.5 and GameSpot gave it a 4.0.

When rumors of Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming first surfaced, I, like much of the internet, hoped it was related to the DS game Bokujou Monogatari: Kira Kira Taiyou to Nakama Tachi, a slightly updated version of Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness. But now, that dream is gone.

Well, at least it’s mildly related to Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (which was an amazing game by the way), 12 characters from that game star in Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming.

In Natsume’s defense, it does seem like the company has realized its folly with Puzzle de Harvest Moon, and is looking to make up for it with the May 2009 Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming. There is now a true story mode, and each of the 12 characters has his or her own story. There are also additional play modes, like Mission Mode and Score Attack, in addition to Story and Free Modes.

Also, you aren’t just mindlessly playing for no reason. If you do well in the various modes, you unlock art, music and other extras in a Collection Room.

The bottom screen, where the puzzle action actually takes place, still seems a bit unusual though. Let’s hope that Natsume releases an online demo for Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming, like they did for Puzzle de Harvest Moon. I’d hate to get my hopes up, spend the money and then have them dashed again.

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