Nintendo DS Game Reviews: Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming Review, A Harvest Moon Puzzle Game

Is Farmin Frantic?

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Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming is not your typical Harvest Moon game. There are no animals to buy or eligible people to marry, but there is plenty of farming to get done. Unlike the other games in this farming sim, Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming is a farming based puzzle game. Sound weird? It can be. Sound good. It sort of is.

Story (3 out of 5)

Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming starts sometime after Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness ends. It has the same characters living on the same Sunny Island, but something is wrong. Vegetables keep springing up all over the place and the tower in the jungle is glowing. If someone doesn’t act soon the entire island will be run over in veggies! Your quest is to pick the vegetables with the puzzle game and try to figure out what it going on.

Gameplay (4 out of 5)

There are several game modes in Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming. The first is the story mode, which can be completed with a variety of different characters with more of the story being revealed each time. In story mode there are a number of cut scenes interspersed with puzzles to get though.

The puzzle in Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming is the same every time, but with different goals. You have to farm a field with the help of a sprite. The veggies can be moved so he can pick them and continue to water the field at the same time. Once he runs out of mature veggies to pick it is game over.

In story mode you usually have to pick a certain number of vegetables or reach a certain score. Each time you pass story mode with a new character something new is unlocked.

Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming also has a multiplayer option in which you can battle a friend for the high score. They don’t even need the cartridge to play.

There is also a mission mode and a score attack mode, but neither of them are very interesting.

Graphics and Sound (4 out of 5)

Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming looks like Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness. The characters are the same cute little chibis and backgrounds are the same familiar places on Sunny Island. Since it is a puzzle game the graphics aren’t as detailed and remain more cartoony, but they look good nonetheless.

Sound-wise Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming is pretty good. The music blends in well with the puzzle playing although none of it really stands out. It just sort of bops around in the background as you play.

Fun (3 out of 5)

Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming is fun, however, it is way too short. Each section in story mode takes under an hour to beat, and the other modes are the same way. It is also way too easy. There is hardly any challenge here, which is strange for a Harvest Moon game. The puzzle is fun to do and really addicting, but they could have done so much more to make it last longer.

Overall (3 out of 5)

Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming is a decent game. The puzzle is interesting to learn and fun to play, but the length is way too short. For the cost of the game, I’m not sure it it would be worth it to anyone but the most diehard Harvest Moon fan.