Natsume's series of rustic RPGs debuts on the Nintendo GameCube with Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life.
As in previous entries in the popular series, players inherit a run-down farm and must turn it into a flourishing business.
Down on the Farm
Clear land, plant crops, raise livestock, help villagers, find a wife, have a child, and create the best life for your agrarian alter-ego in a story divided into six chapters spanning 30 years.
Brand new to Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life are 40 new characters; new farm animals, such as goats and ducks; a new way to cook; and even the ability to grow your own hybrid vegetables.
Family Affair
Family life plays a big role in this game. A player must choose and woo one of the town's very eligible bachelorettes in hopes of forging a happy marriage. A married couple can have a baby and raise a child.
In keeping with the game's emphasis on cooperation, townsfolk may need help from your character as much as you need help from them.
Corn-fed Connectivity
Publisher Natsume promises connectivity with the upcoming Game Boy Advance game Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town.
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At E3 Natsume announced the following on a pamphlet about HM: AWL:
"Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't unhappy...I just didn't have anything to motivate me in life. I was just living my life day to day.
One day, an old friend of my late father's came to visit me. There was something about him that I found very intriguing. Before I knew it, he was taking me to his hometown, a valley called Forget-Me-Not. It was a beautiful place filled with trees and farm life. So, I decided to live there to see if something interesting would happen. I wasn't seriously thinking about becoming a farmer...I guess I just wanted to do something different. And let me tell you, my life on the farm was simply outrageous. I was so busy that it wasn't even funny! I could have just sat there and enjoyed country living, but nothing happens here if you don't do it yourself! It's a good feeling that I can see the results of my labor when I do something. I feel the experience has given my life meaning...I often wonder how much I have changed."
Ubisoft (Harvest Moon's European publisher) announced the following recently:
-You will be part of the drama, not just a spectator of it! You will interact with the many people around you, including your wife and son.
-The characters will not act in a repetitive fashion...however their actions will constantly change with the environment that you create.
-A variety of fruits and vegetables added to increase the quality of the game. More home extensions... more tools...
-A new chapter system will be incorporated into the Harvest Moon series for the first time.
-Your life on the farm will be for 30 years, divided into 6 chapters.
-The story starts when you meet your future wife and begin to raise a family. Each chapter will represent different parts of your life.
-It will take roughly 40 hours to complete the game.
-In addition, there will be multiple endings...ncreasing the replay value.
-A new mode will be added to the game, Free Play Mode will let you play as long as you want on the farm!
-Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life will communicate with the new Harvest Moon title for the Game Boy Advance. By linking these two games together new events and items will become available!
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Natsume (Harvest Moon's American publisher) recently announced the following information:
You've saved your family's farm and you've saved your homeland...now it's time to live your life. An all new Harvest Moon adventure is coming to the Nintendo Game Cube in 2003.
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life will span a lifetime on the farm and follow the drama that goes with it. Not only must you build and successfully run a farm, but you must also build a successful life with family and friends. This new Harvest Moon experience will take the best qualities of the series and add more...more animals, more vegetables, and more drama! What sort of life will you live.
-Brand new Harvest Moon world!
-40 new and unique characters.
-Revived marriage system.
-Ability to raise your child.
-The new event system with 6 chapters of your
life, spanning 30 years.
-A new system to raise animals and grow vegetables.
-More seeds and new vegetables.
A world of surprising possibilities with the link system!
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life's "Forget-me-not Valley" and Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town's "Mineral Town" are a world apart from one another...by using the link cable, these two towns can become connected! Villagers can travel back and forth, new exclusive events can occur and many new surprises will happen.