Expectations for the next Natsume HM?

SNES, HM64, BTN, STH, A Wonderful Life, Another Wonderful Life, AWL:SE, Magical Melody, Puzzle de HM, Tree of Tranquility, Animal Parade, Frantic Farming, Hero of Leaf Valley, My Little Shop, Seeds of Memories, Lil' Farmers, Light of Hope, Popolocrois: SoS, and Doraemon: SoS.
User avatar
JustABeautifulGuy
Tubular Turnip Farmer
Tubular Turnip Farmer
Posts: 366
Joined: May 30, 2016 9:10 am

Post  Posted:

Not too long ago, Natsume posted what seems to be the teaser of their next HM title. For those who missed it, it’s here:

Image - From @Natsume_Inc on Twitter

I can’t help but feel this will be an upgrade, not only graphically but gameplay wise as well, to the Natsume games we’ve been getting. I am aware it’s just a skybox but it looks very well done; something tells me the rest of the game will be a step up as well. I truly hope they’re taking time for this one and fill the gap Marvelous games have been with the mature art style. (nothing wrong with chibis, just a preference of style) By no means I want to compare the two games, I just hope Natsume’s HM can be on par with other farm sims graphically. I liked One World as a game as it introduced fresh concepts, but I would’ve been much more immersed if the graphics were a bit more polished.

What do you guys think? When are you expecting more teasers from this game?
User avatar
Kikki
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
Posts: 4252
Joined: Apr 14, 2015 6:01 am

Post  Posted:

In my eyes, the last three most recent Bokumono games are anything but mature in style. They're almost as childish-looking as Natsume characters to me, with these last games (FoMT, PoOT and the upcoming remake). They're a bit higher quality and a little more complex, which looks more sophisticated, but otherwise, Marv has dropped so much in character quality that I feel they're already not that far apart. (Though that's more saying a bad thing about Marv than a good thing about Natsume.)

I did see that sky when Natsume revealed it, and it's lovely. I enjoyed the story of One World more than the story of PoOT, which still makes me sad on the Marv side. What's great is that Natsume gets notably better with every game, at key points as mentioned by players. They really ACT on the feedback they get. (The constructive criticism, that is, not the many comments of "Natsume sucks!" or "This isn't the REAL Harvest Moon!!" As if Marv's is even the REAL Bokumono any more! They don't even create the bulk of the game themselves, now...they turned it all over to Three Rings, who had never even made a life sim or farming game of any type before Olive Town. So Natsume being criticized for not being the 'real thing' comes across rather rich. There IS no 'real thing' any more! Just two separate farming-life sims that have gone off in new directions.)

I have no expectations, other than that Natsume will have made some changes based on player feedback on One World, because that's what they've done with every game so far. I think Marvelous will still have notably higher-quality graphics, though it's possible I may like their style better. The environments in the most recent three games are good, though...much better than Natsume's.
User avatar
midnighttherabbit
Carrots... yum
Carrots... yum
Posts: 545
Joined: Aug 06, 2012 12:00 am
Contact:

Post  Posted:

They're on a similar release schedule to Marvelous, so I guess there'll be a new game at some point in the first half of 2023 ?

I'm not overly optimistic about the quality after their most recent two games - but I'm still interested to see where they can go. If that picture really is a skybox then it does look pretty impressive.
User avatar
PaleSunflower
Custodian of Corn
Custodian of Corn
Posts: 446
Joined: Jul 26, 2009 12:11 am

Post  Posted:

I've gathered that the 3 Natsume HMs before HM:OW were very similar to each other, so I guess this new game will be similar to HM:OW. I liked HM:OW, metaphorical warts and all, so I'll be looking into the game as new information is released. I can't really say any more with how little there is to see of this new game, assuming there is anything to see yet (the pretty night sky could be concept art or be of a lower quality when seen within the game itself for all we know).
User avatar
Mikodesu
Huggy Chickens
Huggy Chickens
Posts: 313
Joined: Apr 07, 2016 7:45 pm

Post  Posted:

I haven't seen that post! My first thought was, well that's silly (and pointless), but... maybe not? It could actually set a big expectation for us: full 3D camera! The last couple games had fixed, overhead points of view, so we didn't even get to see the sky, but assuming this wasn't made because, you know...it's a literal harvest moon, we're getting a bigger, more open game world again. (Based entirely on my opinion that it looks like something rendered in a game engine.)

And I guess the question is, are they in full production now? Is that what a skybox means? :shifty:

All I really want to see from Natsume is for them to keep growing. One World was growth. Better writing, a more fleshed out story, better character designs, higher quality models, a fun enough twist on their farming concept. Keep going, keep trying new things.

Oh! And they promised same « Chicken Hugging » marriage in the next game, so reneging on that would be a big problem.
User avatar
simside
Wacky Weed Puller
Wacky Weed Puller
Posts: 140
Joined: Nov 28, 2009 10:57 pm

Post  Posted:

Ha, I like the idea that it teases a new game more than my initial thought, that they were just calling attention to the full harvest moon last weekend, lol.

I feel like their games have been getting better and better, and I loved One World. I think the only thing I would change would be to flesh out the characters more, and give them more dialogue and interactions. I thought the farming and upgrades system was really solid in OW, so hopefully they can keep that and build the writing up next time. I also have my fingers crossed for same « Chicken Hugging » marriage (played as a girl and wound up liking the female candidates much better). I was unclear on Doc Jr.'s age in the last one, but I kept telling myself he was the same age as the MC and should have been a marriage candidate. Maybe next time!
User avatar
K8sMum
Not the Eggplant Wizard
Not the Eggplant Wizard
Posts: 617
Joined: Mar 16, 2012 12:17 pm
Contact:

Post  Posted:

I guess I don't really have expectations for whatever either Marv or Natsume puts out any more. I want to be excited but will wait to see what they do with their next games. One World had a few parts I liked but didn't feel like a cohesive game to me. Too muck gimmick, imho. Wasn't crazy with the cartoonish graphics, either.

PoOT ...those makers! I didn't feel a connection with any of the romance interests. For me there was little compelling me to get to the next part, which was a big disappointment. I hated how severely limited the house customization was.

Neither game made me want to keep playing them. Perhaps I'm getting too picky in my old age.
User avatar
infel
Growing Garden Gnome
Growing Garden Gnome
Posts: 83
Joined: Jun 23, 2019 4:24 pm

Post  Posted:

Sad to say, my expectations are rather low, but at the same time I hope that if they are making a new game that it's going in the 'getting better' direction. It's nice to see people liked their last Harvest Moon title, One World I believe. Sadly, I couldn't get into this game or the previous ones they have made. I've found it hard to play any Natsume title because they don't appear to be very good. From bland graphics, to bland characters and sometimes even bad gameplay, I find it hard to support them.

Still, from what I've been reading and even seeing, every time they make a new game they do improve. Also, the fact that it seems like they listen to players is a really good thing. My hope for their new game, if it's being made, is that they keep going in a good direction and add more depth. I'm glad people are still playing games made by Natsume and hope one day I can buy a game from them again. Maybe down the line I'll buy One World since people on here seem to really like it. I'm always up for farming games outside of the ones done by Marvelous.
Dropturvey
New Seedling
New Seedling
Posts: 7
Joined: Mar 08, 2021 11:20 am

Post  Posted:

I'm looking forward to their next game. I actually really liked Light of Hope and One World. I found the controls very intuitive and loved that you didn't have to keep going in and out of menus just to swap tools.
Graphically they could do with some improvements but gameplay for me was spot on. it was fun.
The only thing I found with both games was that I had finished with it long before I discovered half of the crops and mutations. If they rewarded the player in a meaningful way, for cooking all the recipes and finding all the mutations I would probably play for longer. They seem to put lots of effort into that side of things, but I am curious how many people go for anything close to full completion.
I hope that they do put ss marriage into the game, for me that was one of the things that prevents immersion for me.
Overall my love for Natsume continues to grow, in contrast I lost heart with POOT and the Wonderful Life remake isn't really grabbing me. It's funny how things change.
Post Reply