We now know when the Switch versions of the 3DS original Harvest Moon games The Lost Valley and Skytree Village will launch, as Natsume shared the release date. It will debut on the system on July 3, 2025. 

There aren’t any special anniversaries associated with that date. The first original 3DS entry, Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, first debuted in the US in November 2014, before showing up in Europe and Australia in June 2015. As a reminder, that installment doesn’t offer an actual village to visit. Instead, you have to wait for folks from Hillsville to visit the valley where your cabin is to interact with them. Harvest Moon: Skytree Village followed that release in November 2016 in the US, followed by a 2017 debut in Australia and Europe. 

The last update regarding this 3DS to Switch Harvest Moon collection involved its pre-order bonus. Instead of a plush toy, like ones that accompanied past releases, the incentive here is an acrylic standee featuring animals in front of a barn and the game’s logo.

Neither game of these two games appeared in Japan. This is because they marked the start of Natsume’s original line of Harvest Moon games. Previously, it released Marvelous’ Bokujou Monogatari titles under that name outside Japan. Since then, Marvelous handles them with XSEED as Story of Seasons, with the next mainline entry in that base series being the return of the DS game Grand Bazaarto the Switch as Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar.

Natsume’s Cozy Bundle with Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and Harvest Moon: Skytree Village will be on the Nintendo Switch in Summer 2025. Both games also appeared on the 3DS.

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Natsume announced the pre-order bonus for the Switch game Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley & Skytree Village, and it isn’t a plush toy this time around. While said orders are available at Amazon now for $39.99, only the Natsume Store page mentions the bonus. The company also offered a first look at  screenshots showing how the former 3DS games look on a new platform. 

This time, the pre-order bonus for Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley & Skytree Village is an acrylic standee instead of a plush. This decorative item shows various animals from these two entries. So you can see a chicken with chick, dog, cat, sheep, cow, horse, and two birds standing in front of a barn. The series’ name appears on it as well.

Here’s how that looks:

This breaks tradition for the series. Typically, Natsume offers a plush as a pre-order bonus or pack-in for a version of the game. The Harvest Moon: One World Collector’s Edition included a stuffed chicken, as an example. When it came to Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos, pre-orders of that included a Sleepytime Cow plush. 

As for a peek at the game, here are the first screenshots for the Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley & Skytree Village collection:

There’s still no official trailer showing either of the Switch ports of the two Harvest Moon 3DS games look in-action yet.

While this is the new Natsume game under the Harvest Moon game, Marvelous and XSEED are working on a new Bokujou Monogatari game that will appear under the Story of Seasons name. It first discussed it in 2024, and we’re waiting for further reveals about it.

Natsume’s Cozy Bundle with Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and Harvest Moon: Skytree Village will be on the Nintendo Switch in June 2025, and we can pre-order the collection now. Both games also appeared on the 3DS.

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Two of the original Harvest Moon games Natsume developed for the 3DS after it got rights to the title for the Bokujou Monogatari games will come to the Switch as Natsume's Cozy Bundle. This collection brings back Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and Harvest Moon: Skytree Village. It currently has a 2025 launch window.

As a reminder, both of these feature a more blocky and rudimentary experience. In Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, the priority involves digging into and placing blocks, as in Minecraft, to shape the way the valley in which your farm appears. As you play, you’ll bring seasons back to a place that somehow stopped experiencing them. The Switch version will include the outfit, building sets, additional crops like basil, cacao, olives, and soy beans, and makes the romance options Andrea and Luke available. This version also cut back on socialization, prioritizing your actions on and around your farm.

Here’s the 3DS trailer for that game, in case you forgot how it looked and worked.

The Harvest Moon: Skytree Village game in Natsume's Cozy Bundle still involves terraforming, but in this entry that means you can also get different crop variants as a result. As you play and live your new life, you’ll also revive the Skytrees to restore the Harvest Goddess to full power. The DLC will also be present immediately in the Switch release, meaning you’ll get access to farm decorations and the romance options Edmond and Nova.

You can watch the Harvest Moon: Skytree Village 3DS trailer below:

The announcement didn’t note if there will be any special or new features available in the Switch versions of either game. However, we do know what the cover art will look like:

Natsume's Cozy Bundle with Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and Harvest Moon: Skytree Village will be on the Nintendo Switch in Summer 2025. Both games also appeared on the 3DS.

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Natsume president Hiro Maekawa recently sent out a special New Year’s message over on the company’s official Facebook page. In the message, Maekawa reflected on the 2016 releases of both Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories and Harvest Moon: Skytree Village. In regards to Seeds of Memories in particular, Maekawa noted that both the game’s iOS and Android versions had “performed well beyond” their expectations.   Maekawa also mentioned that 2017 would be the 20th anniversary for the Harvest Moon franchise and promised fans that there would be “a few surprises” in store to celebrate the occasion.   In addition to Harvest Moon, Maekawa also touched on River City: Tokyo Rumble, which released for the Nintendo 3DS last year. He noted that “fans have been extremely appreciative” for the title, and that he hopes they will be able to do more with the series in the future.   To read Maekawa’s full message, you can go to Natsume’s official Facebook page.

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Harvest Moon fans can now snag a couple of adorable Harvest Moon: Skytree Village bundles over on Amazon. The Bluebird bundle costs $39.99 and includes a bluebird plushie while the Bobcat bundle comes with a cute bobcat plushie and costs $49.99. Additionally, the bobcat bundle will ship in a few days on November 26th.   However, Natsume has warned Harvest Moon fans over on Twitter that both bundles are fairly limited in quantity, so try to get them while they’re available.     Harvest Moon: Skytree Village is available exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS.

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With Harvest Moon games, socializing is can be an important part of the game. While you can enjoy the game without connecting the the villagers in previous games, building relationships can make it possible to see special events or earn new things. People coming to Harvest Moon: Skytree Village will find that just farming isn’t enough. If you want access to everything in the game, you’re going to have to get married to somebody.

This means you need to beat Harvest Moon: Skytree Village and build up your home. Restoring the seven Skytrees isn’t too difficult a task. Aside from some mutations, many of the items you’ll need will be ones you’ll come across through normal farming. Your dreams will always provide hints about what to do next, so as long as you keep going about your daily business, you should be fine. I was doing lots of stockpiling, making sure I had at least 10 of each item I’d end up growing or gathering stored away, and found I’d completed the main storyline within a year.

Building up affection is slightly more difficult. Before you can get married in Harvest Moon: Skytree Village, the man or woman you’re interested in must be at 70% chemistry level or higher. Since it’s impossible to give gifts, you build up a relationship by visiting them every day to say hi, participating in town events, inviting them to festivals where you’d have a “date,” and talking to them on their birthdays. These chemistry levels never decrease, which is good, and not getting through quests won’t keep you from getting married. It just gets rather tedious and difficult when you have to jump through hoops that involve getting Blessed Flour (for Gabriel). I honestly felt like Cyril was the easiest bachelor to woo, what with many of his requests revolving around fishing and only requiring larger ponds, but at least you aren’t completely walled off from the one you like best if you aren’t finding the crop mutations or special products they want.

It’s actually getting to a place where you can get married that makes the whole concept frustrating in Harvest Moon: Skytree Village. While it is easier to make money here than it was in Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, getting the correct materials to upgrade your home is still time consuming. The house upgrades are the same – you need two before you can get married. That means one round with 85,000G, 40 pieces of hardwood lumber, 10 pieces of glass, and five pieces of mithril, then a second round with 400,000G, 60 pieces of hardwood lumber, 15 pieces of mysterious lumber, and three adamantite. Again, you have to turn to Woody or a dog with full affection for random pieces of mysterious lumber. And 5 mithril and 3 adamantite means actually getting 15 pieces of mithril ore and 27 pieces of adamantite ore. Getting the 3,500G bed and 6,500G table, which are also required, is an additional 10 pieces of hardwood lumber, 10 pieces of softwood lumber, 10 pieces of wool, five pieces of orichalcum, and two pieces of silver. Add in an extra 7,000G, 10 pieces of softwood lumber, five pieces of wool, and 2 orichalum if you want a kid for a crib.

The reason all of this is so important is that tool upgrades are tied to story events. In Harvest Moon: Skytree Village, getting married is considered part of the story. I’ve been taking my time and doing my best, gotten married but not had a kid yet, and still don’t have a fully optimized tools like the hoe. Things take more time, even though the story itself isn’t all that difficult. In a game where farming is so critical, especially if you want to find all of the mutations, it seems odd to require socialization.

Make sure you don’t neglect your townsfolk in Harvest Moon: Skytree Village. Eventually, you’re going to have to get married if you want it all. Considering how long it can take to build chemistry, accumulate materials, and earn money, you should be constantly saving up a stockpile of crops and resources. That way, once you do completely restore the land, you can swiftly lock down a husband or wife, hopefully get the best versions of tools without too much of a delay, and continue focusing on being the master farmer you know you can be.

Harvest Moon: Skytree Village is available for the Nintendo 3DS.

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Siliconera spoke with Harvest Moon: Skytree Village creator Natsume’s producer, Taka Maekawa, about what went into developing the company’s third original installment in the Harvest Moon series.

Fans had a lot of to offer on Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley. We’ve seen some issues addressed, with the addition of a town and improved character interactions. What new or improved feature are you most proud of?

Taka Maekawa, Producer at Natsume: We have some loyal and dedicated fans that have been playing Harvest Moon for years and years, so we truly value the we get. It’s hard to narrow down what we are most proud of to just one thing, since there are tons of new features and improvements. We tweaked, improved, and added to all sorts of areas in Harvest Moon: Skytree Village. Such as redeg the UI menu, making the character controls more responsive, adding a rich and robust story, and new character designs and models. And let’s not forget about the new addition of the Poitou Donkey! There’s just too many features we’re proud of to just pick one.

How has terraforming been transformed in Harvest Moon: Skytree Village? Will we be able to do anything unexpected on our plots of land?

We know terraforming is not for everyone, but we wanted to improve upon the original formula for Harvest Moon: Skytree Village for those that truly enjoy creating their perfect farm. We kept the basic structure of terraforming the same, but added features that will expand the freedom and efficiency when doing it, such as tool upgrades that allow you to manipulate multiple areas at once. This will save time, and allow you to work a larger area. It might not sound like a major upgrade, but once you start using it, you see how something so small adds to a lot more enjoyment.

Another addition is one of Doc’s new inventions…a raft! The raft allows you to transverse any waterway, allowing you to get more creative with water. How about islands of crops? Actually, I am in the process of doing just that in my game, making a variety of islands each with different crops. The raft is used for other things as well, such as expanding the fishing feature.

The art direction has shifted in Harvest Moon: Skytree Village, with characters looking more mature and realistic than they did in Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley. How did this transition come about and what new details can we expect to see when it comes to character design?

At the start of the project, character design was one of the first things we talked about and looked into improving. It’s an extremely important part of any Harvest Moon game. Knowing that, we did research on past Harvest Moon titles, went over from fans, and tried a variety of different sketches and styles. However, we wanted it to be more than just a different art style, so we created new character models that now allow for emotions during conversations and such.

The Natsume-original Harvest Moons have taken elements from Minecraft to allow for terrain alteration. Have any other games inspired and influenced Harvest Moon: Skytree Village?

Much of our inspiration and influences for Harvest Moon: Skytree Village came from fan . Not only from Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, but from years and years of Harvest Moon titles.

How many new crops and flowers can we expect to see in Harvest Moon: Skytree Village? Will there be new means of tending them and unlocking variants?

It wouldn’t be a Harvest Moon game without new crops and flowers! With these new crops and flowers come new and exciting variants to discover. Only a player with a true green thumb can discover them all!

Now that there is a town to visit, what kind of festivals and special events will we see? Which one do you find most interesting?

There are a variety of festivals and events that happen around town. One of my favorite festivals is the Fishing Festival. With the addition of the raft and the improvement to the fishing engine itself, I truly enjoy the challenge, especially the Advanced Fishing Contest. It requires a strategy instead of just luck.

What is the process Natsume goes through when creating new bachelors and bachelorettes? Do you start with an art style? Personality traits? Fan ?

I usually start with fundamentals of the character. That is, the personality, background, and how the character will be a part of the overall story. Each and every character has to be meaningful to the game and have a purpose so that they drive you to interact with them. Relationships, whether with a potential spouse or with an NPC, are a huge part of any Harvest Moon game, so a lot of care and time goes into each and every character.

How detailed is the relationship system in Harvest Moon: Skytree Village? Will there be an extensive opportunity to date possible partners and maybe more events after you’ve started a family?

Each bachelor and bachelorette have multiple dating events. As with most Harvest Moon titles, the more you get to know a person, the deeper and more meaningful the events become. Once you find that special someone and tie the knot, the events will continue with marriage and family.

Part of the fun of Harvest Moon is finding all sorts of secrets. Can you talk about some of the mysteries? Will there be secret areas, hidden bachelor and bachelorette options, beyond the Harvest goddess?

Fundamentally, all Harvest Moon games are repetitive by nature, so it is extremely important to have a variety of things in the game that keep it new and fresh to drive you to keep playing and moving forward. So, yes, there are all sorts of secrets in the game, some big, some small. I would tell you what they are, but that would ruin the surprise!

Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley offered paid DLC characters and crops and free outfits. Will Harvest Moon: Skytree Village have add-ons?

Yes, Harvest Moon: Skytree Village will have free and paid AOC. We will be revealing more about the AOC in the near future.

Can we expect to see any Street compatibility or multiplayer?

Harvest Moon: Skytree Village does not offer Street or any multiplayer options. But who knows about the future…

A number of Harvest Moon-likes, such as Stardew Valley, World’s Dawn, and Wild Season have come to Steam. How do you feel about these contemporaries?

It’s great to see more games in this genre! Back in 1997, there was only one, Harvest Moon for the SNES. Now there are a lot more, increasing the genre, creating a variety, and making more competition, which in the end is a good thing. It’s great to see a game in the genre do something new and innovating.

How are things going with the PC and Wii U ports of Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories?

We hope to be able to talk about them as things become more final!

Harvest Moon: Skytree Village is now available in North America for the Nintendo 3DS.

The post Developing Harvest Moon: Skytree Village And Helping A Series Grow appeared first on Siliconera.

When the Story of Seasons (Bokujou Monogatari) and Harvest Moon lines diverged, there was some trial and error on the part of Natsume when it came to getting things right. Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley cut out the socialization aspect and didn’t do the best job of making farming -friendly. Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories was a bit too basic and wasn’t as compelling and interactive as you’d expect. With Harvest Moon: Skytree Village, Natsume has finally gotten close to the Nintendo 64 and GameCube experiences. We have a game that’s starting to really balance farming, animal husbandry, exploring, and socialization.

Harvest Moon: Skytree Village really wants to you succeed in farming from the very start. Your initial watering can water about 200 squares before it needs a refill. Stamina takes quite a bit of time to wear down. You even have an infinite supply of cabbage and marguerite seeds from the start, provided you take the quests from Sam and the florists. Plant the seeds you get, go talk to Sam or Dean, and you’ll get four more bags of seeds each time. It’s a great way to build a tidy nest egg. It doesn’t take too long to unlock Blossom and Dewy, who can be bribed to increase flower quality and water crops. Crops still only get their “great” versions in the preferred season, but can grow in any season. Variations come based on aridity, elevation, fertilization, and season. I’m not sure if I’m just getting used to this system and the unlocking of variation seeds by selling 30 of them to Sam, but it seems like it’s easier to catch on to this installment’s farming quirks.

Even better, performing basic farming actions is easy. There are three views, standard, overhead, and farming. Farming is unquestionably best for tending crops, as you’re locked into one position. Moving the circle pad makes your farmer continue along a straight line. Moving the d-pad changes his or her direction. Planting, watering, fertilizing, and harvesting all work with these controls, and you’re immediately able to plant, fertilize, or harvest up to nine crops at a time. Unfortunately, you do have to wait for upgrades to water larger plots of land. (I’m up to three at once at the moment.) But still, it’s a welcome change. It’s as easy to do was it was back in the Nintendo 64 and GameCube days, and tending your farm will still leave you with plenty of time to fish, make friends, or get your land’s layout to your liking.

The terraforming element returns and again influences areas of the game. Different crop variations grow at various elevations. Certain size rivers, ponds, and lakes offer different fish. The unfortunate thing is, you’re limited in what you can do early on. It takes a few days to get the ability to terraform, as an example and getting things the way you like with the cameras and controls you have can be a bit trying at times. I’m on my second year, and I’m still not getting the ability to start creating ponds, beyond getting inventive with the water that already exists. But my real issue comes with entire areas of the land being locked away and inaccessible until you’ve revived certain Skytrees, even though you can see the space right there and could really use it to get your farm just the way you’d like.

Having the town nearby is a huge improvement too. People start moving in at a great pace. By the time I’d reached the end of the first month in Harvest Moon: Skytree Village, Sam, Dean, Carol, Cyril, Gareth, Tabitha, Melanie, Gus, Elise, Bastian, Doc, Gabriel, Michael, Sofia, Naomi, and Sally had all moved in, and Rowan, Blossom, and Dewy had ed the Harvest Goddess. This means you have the standard shop, florist, animal vendor, building salesman, ore refiner, and inn available from the start. It also means you’ll probably have the monthly cooking contests starting in the very first season.

Interacting with the villagers is more enjoyable. Characters seemed like they had more to talk about, and there aren’t the typical spelling errors and awkward phrasing we recall from past games. I think I’ve only seen one typo in a year. Requests from characters come up rather frequently, but all tend to involve items you should already have and be growing at the time. There aren’t any annoying quirks, such as Gilbert’s tendency to rhyme. Cyril, Elise, and Bastian boast accents, but it suggests the game may take place in a European region with the potential for a lot of immigrants, rather than a failed attempt at being a quirky sort of cute. As a result, I felt like I cared about these characters in the same way I did ones like Cliff, Gray, Elli, Karen, Jamie, Alex, and Gina.

This isn’t to say there aren’t some issues. While Harvest Moon: Skytree Village does a better job of making farming more -friendly and easier to understand, there are hurdles to overcome involving the story. You’ll start coming across quests that impede progress by locking characters into certain patterns. For example, when Michael’s dog, Max, gets sick, you can expect Michael, Gabriel, and Sofia to ignore any attempt to socialize and complete other quests until you collect the corn and black bass needed to make the healing dog food. (Note: I’ve found the black bass is a very rare spawn in the small pond/river near the entrance to the Goddess Spring in the mornings.) You’ll also find yourself ready to expand and do new things, but have the tools needed for it locked away until you perform these sorts of quests and advance the story. You won’t get your hammer until the fifth Skytree is revived, unfortunately.

It also doesn’t fix every thing Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memory got wrong yet. Most notably is the crafting element. Do you the things you needed to get necessary home improvements? Like Orichalcum for cribs, silver for a queen bed, and gold for wallpaper? The recipes are the same. This means you aren’t going to make real progress toward settling down until you’ve gotten five Skytrees back. Which is only a chore if you start going for the “gold” early by focusing on selling Blossom-improved flowers and fish caught from your ponds and lakes.

The Harvest Moon series Natsume has been putting together is gradually growing. It’s starting to look more and more like games such as Harvest Moon 64, Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, and Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. There’s clear growth. Farming is more comprehensive and intuitive. You’re able to get a farm built to your liking. A nearby town is filled with people you’ll want to meet. It’s easy to find your footing. It’s easier to find a good groove for yourself, with a schedule that allows you time to tend crops, care for animals, hang around town, and even fish or mine. Even though there may be moments where the pacing stumbles, it’s getting closer to resembling classic console installments.

Harvest Moon: Skytree Village is now available on the Nintendo 3DS in North America.

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Natsume is currently working Harvest Moon: Skytree Village, its third original Harvest Moon game. While it prepares another entry that mixes classic series elements, like farming, animal husbandry, and socializing, with the Minecraft-like terraforming, it’s been showing off new features at every opportunity. Case in point, it’s just released an introductory video in which CeeCee, its community manager, goes through the opening of the game.

In this Harvest Moon: Skytree Village footage, we watch a female avatar find her footing. She walks around Skytree Village, tends her farm, interacts with some villagers, and shows off some of this installment’s new features. For example, CeeCee uses the multiharvest feature to harvest multiple crops at once at the 30 second mark and shows off the part of the quest system at the 8 minute 35 second mark.

Harvest Moon: Skytree Village will come to North American Nintendo 3DS systems on November 8, 2016. It will come to Europe in 2017.

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Two more special editions of Harvest Moon: Skytree Village have been announced by Natsume. In addition to the limited edition being sold through NIS America, bundles featuring stuffed bluebirds and bobcats will be available in North America.

Each of the Harvest Moon: Skytree Village plush bundles will provide a copy of the game and a toy. The Bluebird bundle will be $39.99 and include the stuffed bird. The bobcat bundle is a $49.99 bundle with a 12” toy. Each one will only be available directly through Natsume’s Amazon Store. For reference, the game alone is $29.99 and the NIS America Online Store’s collector’s edition with soundtrack, pins, 44-page art book, and keychain is $49.99.

Harvest Moon: Skytree Village will come to the Nintendo 3DS in North America in late 2016. Rising Star Games will publish it in Europe in the first quarter of 2017.

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Natsume shared the latest on their 3DS title, Harvest Moon: Skytree Village, with an introduction of a new animal called the Poitou Donkey on the game’s official blog.     According to Natsume, the new Poitou Donkey will be available in the 3DS game, and these won’t be pack animals, but they’re actually shearing animals, like sheep. That said, once you find someone who could tailor, you might be able to get them to make  you a new outfit using Poitou Donkey hair.   Harvest Moon: Skytree Village will release in late-2016 in North America and Q1 2017 in Europe via Rising Star Games for Nintendo 3DS.

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Harvest Moon: Skytree Village fans can rejoice as the next entry in the Harvest Moon series is getting a special limited edition in North America courtesy of a partnership between Natsume and NIS America. Although Natsume is bringing the Nintendo 3DS exclusive game to North American audiences, NIS America is working with the publisher to deliver a limited edition featuring some additional collectibles. Today, NIS America has started taking pre-orders for the Harvest Moon: Skytree Village Limited Edition exclusively on their official North American online store.   In addition to a copy of the game, collectors who purchase the limited edition will get a 44-page softcover artbook, a physical copy of the game’s soundtrack packaged in a jewel case, plus some additional items packaged in a colorful box.   One of the more unique collectibles is a set of six lapel pins. Each pin is a unique representation of a signature farm animal from the series, including a dog, chicken, sheep, horse, donkey, and cow. Also of note is a rubber strap keychain in the shape of a blue feather; but, a final image of what this particular item looks like has not yet been revealed.   The list price for the limited edition is $49.99, and it is only available for purchase on the NIS America online store.   In addition to the traditional farm life the franchise is known for, Harvest Moon: Skytree Village tasks the player with restoring life to a barren land by cultivating the power of seven legendary Skytrees.   The game was announced to be in development at E3 2016, along with a playable demo at the Natsume booth. On first impression, Siliconera previously reported Skytree Village felt like a “fresh start” for the franchise.  

  Harvest Moon: Skytree Village is expected to launch in North America in Fall 2016, with the NIS America online store listing an expected launch window of October 2016.

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I love farming simulations. I’ve devoured every classic Harvest Moon game, warmly accepted the transition of those titles to the Story of Seasons line, adore Stardew Valley, and have given Natsume’s original Harvest Moon entries a good chance. With respect to the more recent, new-Harvest Moon games, each entry has felt like a work in progress. It’s like Natsume’s trying to find its way and get a hold on something that works. From what I saw of Harvest Moon: Skytree Village at E3 2016, I genuinely feel like this could be the entry where Natsume gets it right.

The E3 demo for Harvest Moon: Skytree Village did a bit of throwing you into the action. While you could customize and create a character for yourself, deciding on a gender, birthday, and such, you were thrown into an already established farm. You had a home. Crops like strawberries and cabbages were already ready to be harvested. I could go ahead and plant things like celery and tulips in their place. Context sensitive controls returned, and it was possible to roam around this new and customizable world.

Yes, customizable. Harvest Moon: Skytree Village has the same terrain altering abilities as Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley. This can result in different elevations, for varying farm layouts. Which, in turn, can lead to different crop mutations based on height and placement. It also will alter water features’ ecology. Creating varying sizes of rivers, ponds, and lakes will result in different fish being in them. A 2×2 space will have fewer and different fish than a 10×10 one. Larger lakes will have rarer fish. You get more options based on the environment.

Harvest Moon: Skytree Village adds an entirely new animal. It’s a Poitou donkey, a French donkey that looks as though it has dreadlocks. People will be able to cut off its fur, like they would a sheep, and use the resulting materials for clothing or as a profit product. These sorts of special touches add a little extra ambiance to the game. Since this is an animal from , we could imagine this is a farm outside of a small European town.

Because Harvest Moon: Skytree Village does bring back towns. An evolving town, even. As the player’s farm grows and the seven Skytrees are revived, it grows as well. More people come to live and visit. Though, there will only be six romance options in the game, with three bachelors and three bachelorettes. Although, Gareth the wizard and Tabitha the witch aren’t marriage candidates this time. But, the people you can romance will have various events and dates.

But, most importantly, Harvest Moon: Skytree Village looked better than both Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories combined. People have more elongated and realistic character models. The in-progress build of the town showed varied building types and different terrain levels. It looks like something that’s had more development time and has grown from more humble roots.

While Natsume’s original Harvest Moon entries may have taken a bit of time to find themselves, Harvest Moon: Skytree Village was impressive at E3 2016. The demo showed off new elements unique to this entry, which all seem like they’ll make the game better. It seemed more solid, even at this early state, than the other two entries.

Harvest Moon: Skytree Village is in development for the Nintendo 3DS.

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  Natsume revealed the latest on their Nintendo 3DS title Harvest Moon: Skytree Village with a new trailer for E3 2016, showing off its main features.   Details from Natsume’s press release:  

Times have changed in the land known as the Oasis of the Harvest Goddess. Many people used to live in Skytree Village, and the land was lush and green. However, the power of the Harvest Goddess gradually began to wane, and the land became parched and dry.   It’s up to you revive the seven Skytrees in order to give the Harvest Goddess her power back, and, in turn, bring life back to this desolate land!   Along the way, players will meet a new cast of characters (with a few returning faces!), alongside a brand new art style, new character models, and more.   With -friendly tutorials, players will immediately be able to jump into the thick of things, customizing their farm by raising and lowering the land, creating rivers, ponds, and more. Upgraded tools will assist farmers in shaping the land more efficiently, and afterwards they can kick back and relax in their boat to do a spot of fishing! It won’t be long before they’ll need to weigh anchor to care for their newest herd animal: the Poitou donkey!

  Key Features of Harvest Moon: Skytree Village:

• Play as a boy or a girl, woo bachelorettes and bachelors, and start a family!
• Completely new story with tons of interesting new characters.
• New crops and flowers to discover.
• New fishing mechanics: expand waterways and catch rarer fish.
• A full town with many residents, each with their own personalities and quirks.

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  Natsume announced their E3 2016 lineup with Harvest Moon: Skytree Village, River City: Tokyo Rumble, and Wild Guns: Reloaded.   Here’s more on the three titles that Natsume will showcase at E3 2016:   Harvest Moon: Skytree Village

“After the evolutionary Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and a successful jaunt to mobile platforms with Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories, we are really excited to share everything we have learned with our fans,” said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO of Natsume. “Our community is very important to us, and their and input has been taken into a great deal in the development of Harvest Moon: Skytree Village! We hope they will see and feel their contribution in this new game!”   Times have changed in the land known as the Oasis of the Harvest Goddess. Many people used to live in Skytree Village, and the land was lush and green. However, the power of the Harvest Goddess gradually began to wane, and the land became parched and dry.   It’s up to you revive the seven Skytrees in order to give the Harvest Goddess her power back, and, in turn, bring life back to this desolate land!   “We’ve revisited each and every part of what makes a Harvest Moon game, and are excited at the end result,” said Taka Maekawa, Producer of the Harvest Moon series. “We are looking forward to seeing players try the game during E3 2016.”

• Play as a boy or a girl, woo bachelorettes and bachelors, and start a family!
• Completely new story with tons of interesting new characters.
• New crops and flowers to discover.
• New fishing mechanics: expand waterways and catch rarer fish.
• A full town with many residents, each with their own personalities and quirks.

  River City: Tokyo Rumble

“We know there’s a loyal fanbase of the River City series in North America who have been asking for more of these addictive games to play!” said Hiro Maekawa, President & CEO of Natsume. “Whether you’re a longtime River City fan or new to the series, there’s plenty of sidescrolling action to love.”   Originally launched as Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun SP: Rantou Kyousoukyoku in Japan, the game is part of a long-running series of side-scrolling RPG brawlers, sports games, and more. North Americans were first introduced to the series with River City Ransom on the NES, with an updated take on the game arriving several years later on the Game Boy Advance. Multiple spinoff games, including volleyball and fighting games, have followed.   “River City its celebrating its 30th anniversary in Japan in 2016, and we’re excited to be part of the celebration,” said Minoru Kidooka, CEO of Arc System Works. “We’re very excited to be continuing our partnership with Natsume, which included Gotcha Racing and Brave Tank Hero in 2015.”  

• Play as Kunio, Riki, and other famous fighters from the River City series!
• Take on jobs to earn extra cash, special moves, and more!
• Take a break from the main story to fight in a 4-man Rumble or dodgeball match!
• Take on your friends using Local Play and Play!
• Unlock new characters, stages, and songs as you progress through the game!

  Wild Guns: Reloaded

“Wild Guns was an instant cult classic when it launched a little over 20 years ago, and fans have continued to love the franchise on Nintendo platforms over the years,” said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO of Natsume Inc. “We’re very excited to be working with Natsume Atari Inc. and the original development team to bring the game to the PlayStation 4 audience.”   In Wild Guns: Reloaded, Annie has tracked down the famed bounty hunter Clint to get revenge on the Kid gang. With eight stages, each with three zones, there’s plenty of bad robots to blast away. With a true arcade game feel, Wild Guns was the first sci-fi western to arrive on home consoles and, to this day, there really isn’t any other game like it!   “With our 30th anniversary this year, it’s the perfect time to revisit one of our classic and most beloved titles,” said Takashi Matsumoto, CEO of Natsume Atari Inc. “The original programmer, designer, and sound creator of Wild Guns are excited to have an opportunity to revisit their game many years later, and bring it to a modern Sony audience.”

• Two new characters, each with their own weapons and tactics
• 1-4 player mode, where each player can take on one of the four characters
• Classic and NEW Stages!
• NEW Boss Enemies and Special Weapons!

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