Harvest Moon: Skytree Village announced for 3DS

Can someone smuggle me into E3? Please?

Looks like I won’t be getting rid of my 3DS anytime soon, because if there’s one series that’ll make me suffer through terrible battery life and tiny screens, it’s Harvest Moon.

Natsume has announced that the longtime farming series is returning to the 3DS with Harvest Moon: Skytree Village. There’s no word yet on a release date, but there will be a playable demo at E3 which means I’m officially jealous of anyone covering the expo in a few weeks.

Skytree Village follows the usual Harvest Moon formula; players can play as either a boy or girl as they raise crops and animals, build relationships with neighboring villagers, and use the magic of farming to restore prosperity to the once-fertile Oasis of the Harvest Goddess. Similar to the last 3DS game in the series, Skytree Village features farm customization, terraforming, and also promises to bring new crops, flowers, and fishing mechanics to the franchise. 

Natsume’s last try at making a Harvest Moon game fell flat on its face, but maybe this time will be different. After all, this is the first major game in the series announced since the release of indie hit Stardew Valley, a game which arguably does Harvest Moon better than Harvest Moon. Even before that, Story of Seasons (which is also kind of a Harvest Moon game) managed to capture the spirit of the franchise and captivate long-time fans. If this new game is influenced at all by the successes of other games in the genre, it might actually be worth playing.