Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos (Prerelease Chat)

An open-world Harvest Moon game featuring a large volcano, a pint-sized goddess, and the great Doc Jr. [ Game Guide ] JP release = /shrug. NA release = Sept 2023. EU release = Oct 2023.
User avatar
Kikki
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
Posts: 4252
Joined: Apr 14, 2015 6:01 am

Post  Posted:

I personally feel it's because Three Rings is doing most of the work, and they have no history in the genre and were simply hired to do this work for Marv. (Not that Marvelous itself necessarily has any farmin'-sim passion left on their team, either...that may have all left when Hashimoto parcelled off that group into Hakama.)
Spoiler:
Indies tend to be passion projects. They can be poorly done, but they always feel loved, in one way or another. Natsume's farming games retain slightly more of that feeling to me than Marv's do, at this point, even though Marv's team is either richer or more proficient/experienced and thus does better graphics. I do LIKE the better graphics, but without any feeling of love in the game, it just leaves ME feeling kind of empty when I play it. Once I stopped playing it, I forgot everything about the game. I can no longer even remember the name of the guy I married. I just know he was slightly like Yuzuki in that he had an Asian sort of theme and had long dark hair. One World, on the other hand, felt like it was made with love. Without much skill, but with love, and honestly, that's just a really good feeling to have when you're playing a game.

Of course, AAA teams like Nintendo, with millions of dollars, can afford to buy top-level skill, and then maybe love doesn't matter a bit any more because the game will perform so well and be so attractive, and be based on so much experience and market research, that it practically can't fail. But for smaller teams, I just feel like 'the love' has gotta be there somewhere, or the game won't be any fun. And I can't feel that love in Marv's games any more...or I didn't with PoOT, anyway.

But like I said, I can't help but have a look at any new game they come out with. I love digital farming and will always have a good look at everything on the market in my favourite genre. :) I bought PoOT to give it a fair shake in case it felt better to play than it looked (which is what I find happens with Natsume games...they look pretty bad but somehow they're actually pretty fun, and I enjoy completing the story) but it fell really flat with me. So the next game won't be purchased by me unless it gives me a different impression than PoOT did. I'm certainly willing to look. And at least Three Rings Inc does have some experience with the genre NOW and Marv took a HUGE whack of angry feedback from Japanese fans, that they heard loud and clear (and we did get some good updates/fixes out of it.) So there's always a chance the next new game could be one I like.

And I would probably buy an Animal Parade remake, and I do think they'll get around to that, sooner or later.
Winds of Anthos, however, I probably WILL buy, because like I said, even if it's puzzling to me how their skill doesn't seem to increase all that much and the graphics don't get much better, I still enjoy playing through the story.
Floh
Huggy Chickens
Huggy Chickens
Posts: 259
Joined: Mar 17, 2014 2:07 pm

Post  Posted:

Kikki wrote: Dec 14, 2022 12:45 pm I like the premise, and the sky they showed was quite pretty. So far, so good. I hope the sky represents newly improved world graphics.
Seems like I missed a picture. I only saw the announcement from twitter with the logo.
Kikki wrote: Dec 23, 2022 5:34 am Winds of Anthos, however, I probably WILL buy, because like I said, even if it's puzzling to me how their skill doesn't seem to increase all that much and the graphics don't get much better, I still enjoy playing through the story.
Honestly, I haven't bought any of the puzzle games and I tend to not buy it, if it is one, too. But this depends on the game itself and if it's appealing to me or not. If it's a normal game, I would buy it, because I had my fun with the last games even when they aren't challenging. I like the atmosphere and the characters.

The name seems to be fitting into the last names, so I think it's a normal game. Come on, it's their anniversary, Story of Seasons and Rune Factory are getting a remake/port this year and One World's release was 2 years ago. It's time for a new game.
User avatar
simside
Wacky Weed Puller
Wacky Weed Puller
Posts: 140
Joined: Nov 28, 2009 10:57 pm

Post  Posted:

Floh wrote: Jan 20, 2023 10:03 am Seems like I missed a picture. I only saw the announcement from twitter with the logo.
They posted a covert screenshot back in September. I believe they hinted it was for something they were working on, but I can't find the info atm.

User avatar
JustABeautifulGuy
Tubular Turnip Farmer
Tubular Turnip Farmer
Posts: 366
Joined: May 30, 2016 9:10 am

Post  Posted:

Time does really go by quick, because how has it already been more than a month since this was announced?! :lol: We still haven’t received any new updates regarding the game and there’s no way to predict the promo cycle but I am speculating they will tease the tidbits starting next month and we’ll get a trailer sometime in April. Whenever it is, I’d prefer them to show a build that’s close to the final one so the One World first trailer situation doesn’t repeat.

For some reason, I’m somewhat curious to see what Natsume does for this game, especially after OW. Can’t wait for more information :)
User avatar
Bluie
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
Posts: 3262
Joined: Jun 29, 2005 11:02 am

Post  Posted:

Just gonna make a prediction here; we'll see it's debut trailer in the next Nintendo Direct, which is most likely on track for February per usual.
User avatar
JustABeautifulGuy
Tubular Turnip Farmer
Tubular Turnip Farmer
Posts: 366
Joined: May 30, 2016 9:10 am

Post  Posted:

I'd love to see a Nintendo Direct reveal. If SoS was able to secure a spot, it shouldn't be too far-fetched for the new HM to be revealed in the Direct, unless things aren't quite ready on Natsume's end. If they're releasing around the same time as SoS:AWL, the release shouldn't be too far away either, so a promo rollout on the Feb Direct would make sense.
traumaking4eva
Anonymous Fish

Post  Posted:

did they forget they have a game to release this summer? they announced it and vanished completely lol
User avatar
midnighttherabbit
Carrots... yum
Carrots... yum
Posts: 545
Joined: Aug 06, 2012 12:00 am
Contact:

Post  Posted:

Maybe the silence is a sound marketing technique because I know I'm insanely interested to see what the game could possibly look like. I do find it a little eeehhhhh that they teased the same picture twice, months apart (and skyboxes are pretty easy to make look pretty.) I'm trying not to pass judgement until we see gameplay, though. I'm also pretty sure it'll be shown in the next Direct.
User avatar
JustABeautifulGuy
Tubular Turnip Farmer
Tubular Turnip Farmer
Posts: 366
Joined: May 30, 2016 9:10 am

Post  Posted:

As excited as I am, I am cautiously optimistic about a graphical upgrade. I enjoyed One World's gameplay, and I hope they focus on expanding it for this one, but graphics improvements would also be welcome. Expecting nothing too fancy, just something nice and clean that is easy on the eyes. My only criticism of OW's graphics was how sharp the landscape appeared, despite the fact that Natsume HMs have created smoother and more detailed terrains for their 3DS games. I'm also curious if this skybox image will be visible in any way or if it will end up as a background image for some sort of event/festival. But yeah, even if this is the skybox, it can't be indicative of rest of the stuff, it is easier to make a good skybox after all but atleast it shows they're starting to make efforts to make stuff look pretty.

And yeah, it is pretty weird that they've kept quiet about it after the announcement. Natsume isn't necessarily the type of have a proper promo roll out but they were revealing lots of info about OW by this point. As I've said before, they probably secured a spot in the Direct and are now just waiting for it so they can reveal more info.
User avatar
midnighttherabbit
Carrots... yum
Carrots... yum
Posts: 545
Joined: Aug 06, 2012 12:00 am
Contact:

Post  Posted:

Yeah, I agree! OW's graphics were a little better than LoH's, but still weren't quite there for me. I found the art direction really cute, it was just the actual execution that didn't work. And, yeah, I think the most likely use for the skybox would be either at a festival or on the edge of a cliff / map, the way other HM games have done it.

And I guess we don't have long to wait to find out if the trailer will be in the next Direct, since it's apparently tomorrow!
User avatar
Kross lover/fan
Ultimate Farming Fanatic
Ultimate Farming Fanatic
Posts: 1897
Joined: Sep 27, 2010 11:27 am
Contact:

Post  Posted:

I’m just NOW somehow hearing about this and usually I pride myself in keeping up to date on new games. I’ve been slacking! (Especially since just a few weeks ago, I scrolled over fogu to see if there’s anything new ><‘ apparently I didn’t look that closely lol.)


Im curios if it’ll be featured in tomorrows direct but I’m not holding my breath over it. I skimmed over everything so I know next to nothing about this although it seems like there’s not much to read about anyway right now :/
User avatar
JustABeautifulGuy
Tubular Turnip Farmer
Tubular Turnip Farmer
Posts: 366
Joined: May 30, 2016 9:10 am

Post  Posted:

No appearance on the Direct. Guessing they're just not ready yet. I've got a feeling they will debut its trailer on the same expo they revealed OW's trailer on which is usually scheduled for March.
traumaking4eva
Anonymous Fish

Post  Posted:

i get the game footage not being ready but honestly only having game logo revealed at this stage is ??? like where’s artwork, like anything else?
User avatar
Kikki
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
Posts: 4252
Joined: Apr 14, 2015 6:01 am

Post  Posted:

I think they showed what they did because the news about the remake of AWL came out then and for some reason, Natsume and Marvelous always seem to announce new games at more-or-less the same time. Wasn't sure before but now it's looking to me like Natsume hurries up to match news for news. I'm thinking now that Winds of Anthos wasn't near enough for a true reveal, so we only got a screenshot of the sky.
User avatar
simside
Wacky Weed Puller
Wacky Weed Puller
Posts: 140
Joined: Nov 28, 2009 10:57 pm

Post  Posted:

Kikki wrote: Feb 09, 2023 2:09 am I think they showed what they did because the news about the remake of AWL came out then and for some reason, Natsume and Marvelous always seem to announce new games at more-or-less the same time. Wasn't sure before but now it's looking to me like Natsume hurries up to match news for news. I'm thinking now that Winds of Anthos wasn't near enough for a true reveal, so we only got a screenshot of the sky.
I kinda thought the same thing, but couldn't find a way to phrase it. I thought it might not be polished enough for a preview. Really hoping it gets enough time to cook.
Post Reply