Nintendo DS Video Games

So you've saved your homeland, lived a wonderful life, and rescued the Harvest Goddess, but can you put your green thumb to the test? Puzzle de Harvest Moon is a fast-paced, highly addictive puzzle game where you grow and harvest crops. Compete against you favorite Harvest Moon characters as you test your farming know-how!

User Reviews about Puzzle de Harvest Moon

It's not made by Marvelous, the Harvest Moon makers, it's made by Natsume, the NA translators.

It's a fun little puzzle game, actually. I don't understand why everyone hates it.

A few spelling mistakes, such as "Claire", the MFOMT/BTN:FG protagonist, being called "Clair", but otherwise it's a good game. -- Fun.

I purchased Puzzle de Harvest Moon brand new for $[...], and I'm not entirely sure it's worth more than $[...]. While I'm a sucker for anything Harvest Moon, PdHM has very little to hold your attention, having no storyline and very few of the endearing qualities the other HM games have had.

It's basically a screen-scrubbing game; you play as one of twelve characters (Pete, the male protagonist, Clair, the female protagonist, and any of the ten normal bachelor(ette)s: Doctor, Rick, Kai, Cliff, Gray, Elli, Popuri, Mary, Karen, or Ann). You're given a selection of items (seeds, watering can, fertilizer, basket, the occasional animal) and a plot of land that all four players share and try to milk the most out of in the time limit. If four minutes isn't enough frantic scribbling for you, there are several amounts of time you can set it for.

There are four seasons, and you play through all four, planting and harvesting different crops according to season. (Unlike Friends of Mineral Town, the crops from the last season can be harvested in the current one.) You plant a seed, water it, dump fertilizer on it, and then harvest it by either rubbing it repeatedly with your stylus or using a basket for an instant harvest.

Unfortunately, your crops are open to any of the four players to harvest. They only get half the points for it, but they do get something, which is rather annoying if you've been frantically raising crops and a CPU steps in with a couple of baskets and snatches them all up. (If you're feeling lazy, this can work in reverse, as stealing your opponent's crops can be very satisfying.)

The animals add a (sometimes) welcome element of surprise; having a CPU put a golden dog on the screen will prevent you from harvesting any crops there for a set amount of time (the dog normally guards a 2x2 plot, but gold animals take over the screen). This can be either good or bad, as the easier CPUs don't seem to realize that this is their chance to take over the world, or at least the little plot of land you're all fighting over.

There are several modes of play: Normal, Team, Quota, and Survival, all of which involve the same basic principle: harvest, harvest, harvest! Again, there's no storyline, so it can be a bit dull at times.

Pros:
- Really cute art (I play as the Doctor!)
- Fast pace
- Easy to learn
- Catchy music
- C'mon, it's Harvest Moon!

Cons:
- Music doesn't change much (as far as I've played) so it gets repetitive after a short time
- No storyline
- Frustration tends to set in after your crops are stolen for the hundredth time
- Lots and lots of stylus work (hurts your arm, wears out your screen fast)

So... if you're a real HM fanatic, and you've got nothing else to do, go ahead and splurge on PdHM. I just don't recommend paying more than $[...] or so for it. -- cute game, needs storyline...