Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness for Nintendo DS Reviews by Gamers

I have played almost every HM title out there and have been disappointed ever since the first game for PS2. I give HMIOH an 8 because it feels like the first time I played this series. It's not hard at all to get use to the touch screen and I think they did a great job using the full potential of the DS. Sometimes it can get tedious moving items in the rucksack but you get over it. The characters aren't emotionally detailed, but most HM are that way. It does take a long time in the beginning of the game to get things like animals and lumber, but that makes it more challenging than other HM's. Not to mention its neat to see the people unlocked. I played HMCute and liked it at first but quickly hated it, it's so boring. So if you want a new DS game or a new HM game, Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness would surly be the best descion.

When I was young I used to spend hours on my Super Nintendo playing a simple farming game. Years later, and tons of sequels as well, Harvest Moon became the definitive console simulator for not just farms, but for economics as well. But the newest Harvest Moon brings the franchise down a notch.

Story: Harvest Moon games never have been very strong on story, and IOH (Island of Happiness) is no different. It does add a bit more drama to the classic "Oh, I just got a farm" cliché.

Gameplay: Wake up, do farm work, go to bed. Its classic Harvest Moon we all love. You choose boy or girl this time around, which is nice. You can pursue a love interest as well. Upgrades for tools are more about combining items than random luck or knowing where they are. All in all, the game plays really smooth and is a lot of fun.

Controls: The is the weakest aspect of the game by FAR. Dpad and face buttons let you access 4 different tool slots and the movement is handled by stylus alone. Which wouldn't be bad, but farming the right block of land is frustrating at best, constantly wasting precious energy on taking care of the same spot. Movement doesn't work that great as well, as your hand easily gets in the way of things you need to see.

Sound: The music is calm and soothing and the sound effects are nice. Nothing amazing, but it wont bore you to tears.

Final Impressions: This game would be a LOT better if the controls were fixed and they let you do more before passing out, but its still not horrible. Harvest Moon fans should play this game, otherwise I would recommend avoiding this one.