Frantic Farming, Harvest Moon Puzzle Sequel to Island of Happiness

'Frantic Farming', a new Harvest Moon puzzle game is due to be released by Natsume in North America shortly. It is a fast-paced harvesting puzzle game that features all the main characters from Island of Happiness. In fact, a player can unlock a dozen different playable characters after beginning the game either as Mark or as Chelsea.

In Story Mode, each puzzle is accompanied by a Chapter in a Story that is unique to the character, although all the Stories have a common foundation on Sunny Island.

The premise of the tale is Nature run amok, with ripening vegetables choking every part of the Island. Your task is twofold: to harvest the excess Crops and 'save' the Island by determining the cause and solving the problem.

On a philosophical level, the idea that too much prosperity can be as harmful as any famine or drought is interesting. For players who in Island of Happiness struggled mightily to harvest their Crops even at subsistence level in the first few seasons, the Cornucopia of ripe Crops from every season is a novel experience indeed.

The puzzles are set on a grid filled with tiny squares. There are Crops on each square in varying stages of growth. You enlist the services of a single Harvest Sprite to harvest the Crops on the grid in order to meet the requirements for each specific puzzle trial. Whenever the Sprite harvests a Crop, he then waters the area that surrounds the square. The number of squares that can be watered depends on different variables. Gold Crops as well as Big Crops are included in Frantic Farming.

There are a number of different Contest Modes, requiring different strategies in order to complete each Chapter of a character's Story. When you complete one character's 'Story', you unlock a new character.

What may surprise some players is the wealth of characterisation and amusing dialogues in the little Stories, although Harvest Moon veterans have learned to expect this sort of detail in any Harvest Moon game. Furthermore, the little Stories actually provide important information about the characters on occasion, such as their 'Most Favourite Gifts', making 'Frantic Farming' a cohesive part of the Harvest Moon universe. It is far more than a 'puzzle' game.

For those players who like the DS Touchscreen/stylus option, Frantic Farming offers opportunities to practice and perfect stylus use. Crop movements within the puzzle grid are entirely controlled by the stylus. It is not mindless action, by any means. Strategy considerations can be quite sophisticated. Each character has a 'Special Skill' that is unique. Knowing when and how to use this Special Skill can be vital. As in Chess, in order to excel, a player must think ahead, paying close attention to Crop types and their stages of growth.

In some respects, Frantic Farming is similar to Princess Debut, another excellent game by Natsume. Princess Debut had a very detailed Story, with variations based on your character's choice of partner. The Story in Princess Debut was punctuated by Ballroom dance trials. In order to succeed, one had to learn all the dances. Although Frantic Farming involves harvesting rather than dancing and offers a choice of playable characters rather than a choice of partners for a single playable character, the rhythm of both games has much in common.

I think that this game will appeal to a number of different groups of players. First and foremost, it should appeal to any Harvest Moon fan and especially those who are familiar with the cast of characters in Island of Happiness. For those who have not played Island of Happiness previously, Frantic Farming will provide an entertaining introduction to these characters and their social interactions.

Any player who likes puzzles will be interested in Frantic Farming even if he/she is unfamiliar with the Harvest Moon series. As previously indicated, the puzzles can be very challenging.

Fans of Princess Debut should enjoy Frantic Farming as well for the reasons I gave earlier.

Finally, Frantic Farming offers a wealth of Multiplayer options for those players who like to connect either via Wi Fi or DS to DS to match their skills with others. I was unable to explore this option as I had an advance copy of the game, but it promises to be great fun.

Here is the second of two little introductory videos I made about Frantic Farming:

Rune Factory 2, the ultimate fantasy fulfillment!

When the original Rune Factory game was released for the DS, I was overwhelmed by its incredible beauty and the combination of classical RPG elements with traditional Harvest Moon activities. The plot was strong and the characters were interesting. Beyond that, however, the ability to forge weapons and make accessories was far more extraordinary to me than anything experienced in any other game. I love Cooking in any Harvest Moon game, but forging a weapon or creating an exquisite, powerful magical ring or pin is even more thrilling!

Rune Factory 2 is not merely a second Rune Factory. It actually spans two generations and each generation has its own unique game. There are new characters in the 2nd Generation and the ability to cook, forge and create potions is not available until you reach the 2nd generation. The characters are even more developed than those in the original Rune Factory. With over 420,000 words of text in Rune Factory 2, it is a complex interactive novel that rivals any printed fantasy epic!

The graphics continue to amaze and delight. In every season, there are unique special effects. In Spring, cherry blossoms float through the air throughout Alvarna. In Summer, fireflies glimmer in the fields in the evening. In Autumn, falling leaves of various rich hues accompany your character as he walks or runs through the village areas. In Winter, when snow falls, snowflakes in unique patterns and forms are displayed. Finally, on any Festival day, multi-coloured confetti rains down upon you wherever you go in Alvarna.

The landscapes are extraordinary in their delicate beauty. It is the most incredibly gorgeous game I ever played. Moreoever, with two full generations to span, it is a very long, complex game with the value of three or four games made by any one else.

In terms of the way it spans two generations, I am reminded most of Phantasy Star III, although there are significant differences. In Rune Factory 2, the characters are developed far more fully and the game has far more options than Phantasy Star III. On the other hand, the latter actually had a myriad of different characters for you to play depending on the individual you married previously. In Rune Factory 2, your child can be either a boy or a girl, but his/her character will not vary according to the woman you married. The two games cannot be compared in terms of the options that exist in Rune Factory 2, such as cooking, forging, mining, farming, ranching, fishing and so on... The only point of comparison is the fact that both games actually encompass different games for each generation of character.

For players of Harvest Moon who enjoy the rituals of Courtship, Rune Factory 2 offers a wide variety of eligible girls in the 1st Generation as well as unique 'Heart Events' in the form of Requests for each. There is romance in the 2nd Generation as well, but your character can focus more on this aspect in the first generation, when there are not as many enemies to defeat!

I would recommend Rune Factory 2 even above and beyond any other Harvest Moon game, although every Harvest Moon game offers a wealth of experience and detail to any player. Island of Happiness is another recent release that is perfectly amazing and deserves a review of its own. I would not declare that Rune Factory 2 is superior to Island of Happiness or Harvest Moon DS/Cute DS... for me personally, however, the option to forge an edged weapon is too wonderful for words and that is what may place Rune Factory 2 ultimately at the top of my list!