Reviews

While many millions of people are wasting away their life on social game Farmville, many of us have been there, done that with the master of the farming sim, Harvest Moon. Ahh, Harvest Moon, whenever one of these delights come out I instantly think of all the hours I've devoted to the franchise, and all the future hours I'd be willing to devote to it (not that a man should admit such things). This dates back to the Game Boy era, through to the Gamecube, onto the DS (with a stop off on Sony consoles) and now the Wii.

This isn't the first Harvest Moon to come to the Wii, but it's certainly the one to dig (pun intended). Rune Factory: Frontier is the console counterpart to the DS instalments, in which farming, friends and marriage are still the core game play attribute, but dungeon crawling and combat play an essential role too - This is how to turn a relaxing farming sim into a fantasy RPG. The DS versions were stupidly addictive, and this "must play more" aspect has transported over to the Wii nicely. Needless to say, many more hours will be lost in fantasy Harvest Moon.

If you have played Rune Factory and/or its sequel on the DS, then you know what to expect from Frontier. At the start of the game you stumble into the small quaint town of Trampoli, looking for a lost friend. It turns out that friend is Mist (from the DS game). Rather than venture back to Kardia with Mist, she persuades you to take up residence in a nearby shack and begin a new farming life, with the added task of discovering the mystery of Whale Island, which floats up above the town. Naturally, you accept the offer and another outing in Harvest Moon begins.

As is the norm, the story doesn't play a huge part in the game. You could play for hours without even stumbling across any of the beautiful anime cut-scenes or text narrative progression. The game doesn't hold your hand like most Wii games do, and for those seeking progression, more often than not it's down to pure luck that you venture into the right place at the right time to trigger the next story sequence.

From the get-go, you're left in control of your character with no real hint at where to go next. You start the game with a cheap hoe (cough), an old watering can and a pack of turnip seeds, and then it's up to you to determine where to go and what to do. Naturally by talking to the residents you'll sometimes be pointed in the right direction, which is something you'll also need to do if you want to obtain free tools. It's not like the game tells you to talk to that person and they'll give you a fishing rod, it's simply a case of frequently talking to everyone you meet and hoping for some goodies to come out of it, and if you do chat a lot you could end up with a nice selection of freebies.

Once you're equipped with suitable farming tools, you'll begin the task of clearing your field and growing crops to sell (and gift). Your aim is to grow and sell the crops to earn plenty of money, then upgrade your tools, grow better crops and build a bigger house. Farming hasn't changed much over the years with the standard formula of ploughing the land, planting the seeds, and watering them daily. After several in-game days the goods are ready to pick and sell. This time, however, there's the delight of motion sensor controls. Naturally, shaking the Wii-mote will cause you to swipe the hoe or sickle, etc. This are purely optional though and can be replaced with that ever reliable A button if that's what you prefer.