The Rune Factory series is showing that it is still, at heart, part of the Harvest Moon franchise -- mostly by having lots of sequels. The latest issue of Famitsu reveals another, Rune Factory 3 for DS. This is actually the fourth Rune Factory, counting Frontier on Wii.

In addition to his duties as a farmer, new protagonist Maisu, who features a character design right out of Tetsuya Nomura's sketchbook, can transform into monsters, gaining different abilities in battle and interacting differently with other characters out of battle.

According to IGN's translation, the game now features "active seeds" that grow into plants that can be used in battle! Most exciting farming game ever.

It wouldn't be Monday without new games to download across Nintendo platforms. This week's highlight is definitely Hudson's first-person soaker, Water Warfare. It's a neat concept, but we really think Hudson could've spent some time tightening up the graphics on level three.

When Sony first revealed Afrika, it was a marquee first-party PS3 title used to show off the power of the system. Three years later, it's finally being released in North America, by tiny third-party publisher Natsume, who is more familiar with Harvest Moon and handheld games than anything shown off at a press conference. How did this happen?

According to Graham Markay, Vice President of Operations for Natsume, Finny the Fish was instrumental in the deal. No, really. Sony's Uo: Nanatsu no Mizu to Densetsu no Nushi was localized on the PS2 by Natsume as Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters.

"We have a relationship with Sony Japan," Markay explained. "You might remember Finny the Fish? That game was done by Sony Japan. So we licensed that game from them. We have a little bit of a history with their licensing department in Japan." Because of this relationship, Natsume was one of the companies contacted by Sony Japan about the game. Markay said that Afrika "really fits with the Natsume theme" because it's non-violent and nature-oriented. We might add that it fits with the Natsume theme so well that the company is simultaneously releasing a different safari photography game on the Wii.

In case you need an extra incentive to buy Afrika, Markay confirmed that "there is going to be a trophy system, which wasn't in the Asian release or Japanese release."

Pokémon Snap fans, beware! Afrika is the Pokémon game you know and love, just all grown up ... and, ya know, without all those Pocket Monsters. Instead, you're chasing around lions and tigers and, erm, zebras with fancy Sony brand cameras, trying your best to capture shots and not get trampled.

Oh, wait, that's right! There is no "trample." In fact, there's no interaction with the animals of any kind. You don't even get the satisfaction of oddly petting them like in Endless Ocean. With Afrika, you get an African safari simulator and little else. Which really makes it hard for us to even classify Afrika as a "game" as opposed to edutainment. Sure, there are assignments and "challenges," should you so choose to engage them, but there is little (if any) real progression through the experience.

Better cameras do unlock as you complete assignments and a whole mess of National Geographic footage/stills/information also serve to reward various complete objectives, but none of this makes the "game" any more game-ey. Those of you looking for an interactive African safari simulation, Afrika is for you. For those of you whose first interest is seeing if you can run down a rhino, look elsewhere -- this "game" ain't for you.

Natsume's E3 lineup features mostly what you would expect from Natsume (Harvest Moon and lots of it, plus the previously announced Afrika on PS3), but the company revealed a few unannounced games, some of which are even surprising.

The WiiWare Harvest Moon game, Harvest Moon Ranch Store, is being localized as Harvest Moon: My Little Shop, which is pretty adorable. The company has also announced a new cheerleading game called Cheer We Go for the DS, as well as Squishy Tank, a puzzle game about little animate tanks. If it looks familiar to you, you were probably a really attentive DS Fanboy reader: it's a localized version of Yawaraka Sensha, a licensed puzzle game released last year in Japan by Success.

For a game that we didn't really care all that much about in the first place, Afrika sure has had a circuitous route in getting to us. After seeing the game at a Sony press briefing 137 years ago, we figured it was unlikely the photography sim would come stateside. But in November, National Geographic changed all that when it revealed that it would be publishing the game (and swapping the "k" for a "c").

But this morning we hear from IGN that the North American rights have been picked up by Natsume. OK, listen, it's been in so many hands, we know there's not an integrity issue here, so it would it have killed one of you to slip a gun in there? Taking pictures of animals? Boring. Knowing you'll be the last person to ever take a picture of said animal? Worth at least a rental.

We love straightforward titles. That's why we approve of Natsume's newly announced Adventures to Go for PSP. It's yet another addition to PSP's expansive SRPG library, but Natsume plans on taking a more humorous approach than traditional strategy games. Players will take control of Finn Courtland and his "band of misfits" on a quest to fight demons and save the world (real original, right?). Players will be able to set up the game's randomized dungeons by choosing the terrain, the size of the dungeon and the types of monsters players will face. The riskier dungeons will provide even larger rewards.

Adventures to Go has a planned summer release, and will make its first public appearance at E3. You can check out the first screenshots in our gallery below:

Last year, we idly mused that Success Corp.'s Amazing Animals, a Wii safari game, looked kind of neat. Now, Natsume will give us a chance to experience the kind-of-neatness for ourselves! The company announced today that it has picked up North American publishing rights for the title.

Confirming our previous assumption about the gameplay, Natsume explains that Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition is a wildlife photography game in an African setting. "Each day, [players will] be tasked with completing specific assignments, such as taking pictures of particular animals, groups of animals, or animals engaged in certain actions. Players will see a variety of exotic wildlife on their expedition, including gazelles, gorillas, and elephants." So basically it's Sony's Afrika, but cuter and less likely to be used as a TV demo in electronics stores.

Natsume will be displaying Animal Kingdom at E3. We're so glad Natsume decided upon the Animal Kingdom name, by the way. We've never been happier with a regional name change. The title of the game in Europe is ... Safar'Wii.

Natsume has announced another Harvest Moon game, which, in itself, isn't much of a surprise. But Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming is not the same Harvest Moon that we see two or three times a year, localized from a Marvelous farming game. Instead, it's the second original Harvest Moon game from Natsume itself. It's also a sequel to the first one!

Frantic Farming is a sequel to 2007's Puzzle de Harvest Moon, this time set in the world of Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness. It looks to have the same gameplay, which turns planting, watering, and harvesting into a tile-based, quick puzzle game. Players can go through the game's story mode with each of 12 characters, as they work to solve the mystery of why the island is suddenly overrun with vegetables. Apparently the best way to solve this is to, uh, plant more vegetables.

Puzzle de Harvest Moon's core gameplay was interesting, but the game was a bit too light on substance, and a bit too easy to complete by randomly scribbling. We're hoping that the added modes will allow Frantic Farming when it comes out this May.

Remember Fish Eyes? If not, you may be more familiar with its western name, Reel Fishing. The series has been staying very still and quiet in a tiny boat since 1996, popping out a new game every few years. It is the very antithesis of something like the mad, hyperactive Fishing Master: World Tour. This is serious fishing business.

So far, the games have been met with a shaky critical reception, but that hasn't prevented Natsume and Marvelous from thinking Fish Eyes Wii might a good idea. Maybe it is, and the waggle factor will help reinvigorate the franchise! If the screens from the official site are anything to go by, Fish Eyes Wii appears to mimic previous titles in the series by using animated CG backgrounds. That doesn't guarantee a good game, of course, but it sure makes for a very purdy view.


[Via NeoGAF]

Marvelous has confirmed it will release Rune Factory 2 into the crowded, choppy waters of the Christmas games market, announcing a November 18th release date for the fantasy-themed farm-me-do.

As that's still four weeks away, we advise passing time by reading up on our hands-on experience with the title, planning crop strategies, and preordering at either Gamestop or Amazon for your very own plush squirrel. Oh yes, and saving money. We're not kidding. Have you seen the DS line-up for November 18th? Yowza.


[Via press release]

Rising Star Games just unfurled an official list of Marvelous games that it plans to localize for Europe, including Luminous Arc 2, Avalon Code, Rune Factory 2, and a fourth game that is yet to be announced for North America: Steal Princess. We expected most (if not all) of these to reach us at some point, mainly because Rising Star Games is totally awesome and we love them.

Previous evidence has suggested that Steal Princess and Luminous Arc 2 won't be appearing before the end of March 2009, but we can't be mad at Marvelous. The company has had an action-packed Tokyo Game Show, and this is the cherry on top of a whole pile of other excellent announcements for Nintendo fans. Make the jump for screens, screens, and more screens!

Well, nut. Acorn, really. Plush acorn ... in the grip of a plush squirrel. Never mind. Chances are, if you're a fan of, uh, fantasy-themed farming simulations, you've already got a copy of Rune Factory 2 preordered -- if only because there are no games in that narrow subgenre that aren't called Rune Factory.

But hey, even if you don't care about growing whatever or tending whatever or fighting whatever, Natsume will give you this plush squirrel if you preorder their game from Amazon. They keep trying to use cute plushes to sell us games ... and it continues to have a shockingly powerful effect on our resolve. Marvelous is at least as talented at designing adorable, plush-ready mascot characters as they are at designing repetitive, addictive games.

Our Japanese is not quite good enough to ascertain the nuances of this dramatic scene, but what we could understand was self-evident anyway. In this ad for Harvest Moon: Waku Waku Animal March, the frog wants the cow to give him a ride like the animals in the game do.

The cow (spoilers!) relents, and the frog gleefully hops on, only to find the ride slow. The cow complains about being out of energy, and the frog cheers him on, telling him to summon his "cow power." Then the frog takes off on a date with Keromi-chan.

In the second part, after the break, the frog and cow decide to make use of Waku Waku Animal March's photo features. Wackiness ensues, culminating with the frog asking the cow to take some "sexy" shots.

And that's why you should buy Harvest Moon: Waku Waku Animal March.