This game's title is a mouthful, but I want it anyway (or, PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari is heading to North America later this year as Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale)

First, for those of you who don't know your PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari from your Ore no Shikabane wo Koete Yuke, the former is a 3DS title that curiously combines elements of two different game series, PoPoLoCrois Monogatari and Bokujou Monogatari.

I say "curiously" here because Bokujou Monogatari is what the ages-old Harvest Moon (now Story of Seasons) series of farming simulators is called in Japan, while PoPoLoCrois Monogatari is a rather well-loved series of role-playing games that previously were released for the original PlayStation, the PS2 and the PSP.

In other words, PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari--or Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale, as it will be known in North America--is going to be a 3DS cart that allows folks to do all of the things that traditionally go hand in hand with playing a Japanese RPG (traversing a sprawling overworld, challenging a variety of baddies to turn-based tussles) while also giving them an opportunity to lovingly tend to a farm in their spare time. (To get a glimpse of all of the above in action, check out this Japanese trailer.)



Anyway, I've had my eye on this sucker, which is being made by Marvelous and will be published in North America via Xseed, since it was first announced some time ago. I've hemmed and hawed in regards to pre-ordering it, though, due to the fact that I assumed the text in it would be too much for me at this point in time. (Plus, it'll hit store shelves in Japan on June 18, and the last thing I need right now is for another game to arrive on my doorstep that I won't be able to play for a month or more.)

So, the revelation that it's being localized as Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale--officially, it's Return to PopoloCrois: A STORY OF SEASONS Fairytale, but I refuse to support Xseed's all-caps abuse--but won't actually released until sometime this winter has me feeling pretty stoked.

Are any of you also looking forward to getting your hands on this 3DS game? If so, feel free to share the love in the comments section below.

What kind of idiot buys a Wii Virtual Console title in 2015? This kind!

Which Virtual Console game did I buy via my too-long-ignored Wii, you ask? The SNES version of Harvest Moon.

I bought it because I've had the Harvest Moon series on the brain ever since I received a copy of The Lost Valley for Christmas. Specifically, I've been thinking about the trio of Harvest Moon titles I've wanted to play for some time now: the aforementioned original, Harvest Moon 64 and Harvest Moon: Magical Melody for GameCube.

I pulled the trigger on this long-running franchise's first game yesterday because, well, it was a lot easier to trade in $8 worth of "Wii Points" and then download the digital version of that title in a matter of seconds than hunt for physical copies of the Nintendo 64 or GameCube sequels on eBay and then wait a week or two for them to arrive on my doorstep.

(That's not to say I haven't also done some of the latter over the last few days, but let's save that discussion for another day.)

Sadly, but hardly shockingly, I've yet to put more than a few minutes into this delightful-looking farming sim. I'm planning to devote an adequate amount of time to it this weekend, though, so look for a few thoughts on it in the "Shall We Do It?" post that'll be published late next week.

In the meantime, do any of you have any experience with the SNES version of Harvest Moon--or Harvest Moon 64 or Magical Melody? If so, I'd love it if you'd share your opinions of them in the comments section below.

I have a feeling The Lost Valley may be my first Harvest Moon game

This may surprise some of you who haven't heard me talk about it previously (such as on the most recent installment of The Nichiest Podcast Ever), but I've never played a Harvest Moon game--despite the fact that the decades-old series of adorable "life sims" would seem to be right up my alley for all sorts of reasons.

My short explanation for this admittedly embarrassing gaffe is that I ignored the first few titles for reasons I no longer can remember and after that I quickly became overwhelmed by the myriad options (and sequels) the series presented to me.



I'm starting to get the feeling, though, that Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, the upcoming 3DS iteration that's being made internally by long-time North American publisher Natsume and not series creator Yasuhiro Wada (who helmed the Bokujō Monogatari title that will be released here as Story of Seasons later this year), may be the game that finally introduces me to the Harvest Moon world.

Why? Because I really like this version's low-poly art style--which can be seen throughout The Lost Valley's first trailer, above--for starters. I also like its seemingly Minecraft-inspired elements.

What do all of you think of this divisive 3DS game? Are you interested in it, too, or will you be passing on it--possibly so you can pick up Story of Seasons instead?

(Via tinycartridge.com)