RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

Harvest Moon is celebrating its tenth birthday this year — no small feat for any franchise — and Natsume is celebrating that anniversary with their latest addition to the series, Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness for the Nintendo DS. Like most Harvest Moon games, Island of Happiness is quite lengthy. After thirty hours of gameplay I managed to make it through the first year of the game. Since here at RandomNPC we believe that an informed review can only be accomplished by playing a game through to its end, I thought I would offer an impression of Island of Happiness based on the first year of the game, in advance of a full review, which will come at a later date.

Island of Happiness is entirely stylus controlled, and while it would have been nice to have the option of using the directional pad, the stylus works well and there are few problems with controls. The graphics don’t push the envelope, but the island is colourful and pleasant. A notable difference, though, is that in this iteration of the series, players have the choice to play as a girl or boy. In a game that involves courting and marrying a spouse, this means there are two separate branches of events depending on that choice. It’s a thoroughly refreshing choice to have; in the past players who wanted to play the girl’s version typically would have to purchase a separate and later re-release of a previous Harvest Moon title.

As the game begins, players find themselves shipwrecked on an abandoned island with a handful of fellow passengers. Shortly thereafter follows a unanimous decision to settle on the island, and lucky for you, there’s a derelict ranch for you to take over. Soon, other characters begin to trickle onto the island, but in an interesting twist, most will only arrive when players reach certain benchmarks, such as shipping a certain number of crops or upgrading the island in some way.

Like the characters, nearly everything in Island of Happiness must be unlocked, including bridges to other parts of the island. Players will not even be able to celebrate festivals until they’ve had the local carpenter repair the bridge to the meadow. You begin the game with very little, especially in the way of stamina rejuvenation. There’s no hot spring to restore stamina, and gone are the days when players can perform superhuman feats such as clearing their entire field in a single night. Island of Happiness requires some patience. The first spring is difficult to get through. In addition to an easily depleted stamina meter, is the fullness meter. A rancher who isn’t well fed will sleep in until 8:00, 10:00 or 12:00, depending on how low the meter has gotten. And with little to eat aside from a few wild grasses or snacks from the general store, your rancher will be hungry for a while. The pressure eases off as characters reach certain benchmarks or purchase upgrades. The most important of these, early in the game, are the cafe and diner where players can buy food that will fill their stamina and fullness meters.

As with most Harvest Moon games, farming is the staple of players’ income earlier on, with fishing and mining being unlocked subsequently. Tool upgrades are less readily available in Island of Happiness. Tools are improved by attaching “wonderfuls” to them, items with special properties such as greater area of affect, doubling yield, reducing stamina usage, etc. However, they can only be obtained as prizes in festivals or purchased in the shop in winter, though only under obscure conditions. Once players have managed to add wonderfuls to their tools, life will be easier as well. Once players have delved deep enough into the mine, they will also be commission accessories, with various effects such as increasing stamina or fullness.

With every upgrade and new area unlocked, life on the island gets easier, and money comes in more readily, but players who expect to get everything done in the first year will be disappointed. On the other hand, the incremental improvements and the work that goes into each one makes them feel more worthwhile and leaves the player with a deeper sense of satisfaction. There is also the sense that there’s always more to unlock, more to work towards. Fans who played some of the much earlier iterations of the series may recall by the end of year one having a full barn and fully tilled and planted field. The succeeding years of the game could easily become a matter of rinse, lather, repeat. In contrast, the multiple, and often expensive, upgrades and expansions in Island of Happiness, will have players making improvements far beyond the first year.