E3 2010: Life With Natsume (Impression)
Four new titles for the Nintendo DS.
June 15, 2010 – My first meeting of the day was with Natsume. Being a huge JRPG nerd and fan of the Harvest Moon franchise, I was very eager for the chance to get some one on one time with their delightful new titles.
The first game I was shown was their upcoming Lufia remake for the DS. It is actually completely new take on Lufia 2 entitled Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals. This time around, it has been redone as an action RPG with the same classic puzzle style you have come to expect of this franchise. Each party member has a special skill which proves invaluable in your dungeon crawling adventures and you can switch between them freely. So far, the game is slated for a fall/winter release and I can’t wait to take a closer look at it as it comes closer to release.
After that, we took a brief look at a quirky little delight called Gabrielle’s Ghostly Groove. This title slated for a Q4 release is an adorable little rhythm game that invokes the same kind of mystical groove power as Elite Beat Agents. The game’s atmosphere is best described as cutesy goth- think Hot Topic Hello Kitty and you are probably somewhere in the right place!
The game revolves around an adorable little girl named Gabrielle who happens to accidentally sneeze out her soul. In order to get her soul back, the only cure is dancing. So yeah, you dance, use your little stylus to the beat for taps, slides, and swirls, earn new outfits, play some sweet mini games, and somehow get your soul back!
Up next is the flagship IP for the Natsume brand- Harvest Moon: Grand Bizarre. If anyone has played this series before, I can honestly say- just expect more of the same but new and improved! The crux of this particular game is of course the newest feature, the bizarre. You spend your time collecting items during the week and then on the weekend you put them up for sale at the bizarre and rake in some dough! The rest of this write-up is going to be in bullet points of what to expect from this adorable little farmfest fun!
- Create a boy or girl and marry one of five delightful choices
- Raise animals including sheep, cows, and chickens
- Fish, water, chop, harvest, hammer, axe, reap and sew = maintain that farm!
- Enjoy new events like snowboarding and tea parties (not the plebian political kindÂ…)
Finally, the game I was looking most forward to drum roll. RUNE FACTORY 3!!!! If you are unfamiliar with this game series, it is basically an action/RPG farm simulation hybrid game. As Natsume calls it, a fantasy Harvest Moon. So my fellow Rune Factory fans, what’s new and improved here? NO MORE GENERATIONS! My condolences to those who actually enjoyed that masochism, but this game starts off in full swing with no fuss! Additionally, you also get to turn into a wooly monster.
The mythology of this particular world involves a bitter rivalry between the monsters and the humans. Long ago this feud started and at this point, they can’t even remember why! As you may have figured out, since you seem to be some kind of man monster, it’s going to be up to you to make peace between these two peoples.
Fancy bullet points are as follows
- Multiplayer! Beat those pesky dungeons with some help if not from a real life friend, then from the local townsfolk who level up not only in friendship, but also in combat!
- New weapon type- the dual blades.
- Tons of new magic skills to unleash
- The same crafting and upgrading you have come to expect
- An all new monster village
- Pet monsters- now with more efficient harvesting methods
- Boy only character (androgynous at best) sorry not all of these bullet points could be positive.
- Awesome windmill, fancy banners, and a stuffed animal (possible an E3 exclusive- sorry y’all)
Written By: Anthony Cara
