Harvest Moon DS

Harvest Moon DS, known in Japan as Bokujō Monogatari: Colobocle Station (牧場物語 コロボックルステーション, Bokujō Monogatari: Korobokkuru Sutēshon), is a farm simulation role-playing video game for the Nintendo DS, part of the Story of Seasons series. It was published and developed by Marvelous Interactive Inc., and released in Japan on March 17, 2005, and in North America on September 12, 2006. It is the first entry in the series without series creator Yasuhiro Wada heavily involved, though it borrows many assets from Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town and Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, such as the graphical style from the former and setting of the latter.

Plot – Harvest Moon DS

The player is a young man who lives with his friend Takakura on a farm in Forget-Me-Not-Valley,^[1] at roughly the same time as Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town. The game begins with the Harvest Goddess, a deity of Harvest Moon, and the Witch Princess fighting. Neither can win, so they part ways. The Witch Princess, on meeting the Harvest Goddess next, attempts to cast a spell to silence her, but instead petrifies her.

Release

Japanese versions of Harvest Moon DS can only connect to their Japanese counterparts, and while this feature is not available on PAL Harvest Moon DS cartridges, NTSC Harvest Moon DS cartridges can connect with PAL and NTSC Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town cartridges.^[5]

Instead of offering poker and blackjack in the Harvest Sprite Casino, in PAL games all three sprites offer memory matching.^[6]

Reception

Publication	Score
Eurogamer	5/10[8]
Famitsu	30/40[9]
GameSpot	5.9/10[10]
GameSpy	[11]
GameZone	9.2/10[12]
IGN	6/10[13]
Nintendo Power	6/10[14]
Pocket Gamer	[15]
Retro Gamer	70%[16]
RPGFan	73%[17]

The game received “average” reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[7] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one seven, one nine, and two sevens for a total of 30 out of 40.^[9]