With all the recent bad news of the departure of Rare, there is one thing I was looking forward to that could take my mind from it. Animal Crossing! But then news came about of the series that existed long before Animal Crossing, and its long awaited return: Harvest Moon. With a disappointing release on the PS2, could hopes be high with the GameCube version? We'll see.

What was so disappointing about Save the Homeland was that it focused on character development. It was about getting to know people and such, and interest in the farming aspects were lost. The learning about people wasn't as fun as it could be, because there were only 20 characters or so, and you couldn't get married, which took a big challenge from it. The GameCube version was promised by its creators to be the most epic and best in the series ever. From all that's known about the game, I believe them. Promising 40 characters (about the amount in the PSX and 64 versions of the game), the return of marriage, a greater focus on child-raising, plenty of new characters, and 2 towns to visit, I think the social aspect of this game will be the best of them all. About the 2 towns, the game will connect to the Game Boy Advance version of Harvest Moon, allowing you to go to Mineral Village. Yes! And with the return of the labours of the fields, this could prove very interesting. My only hope is that they don't create a maximum of 20 cows or a whole lot, since they're a lot to take care of and get repetitive easily. As far as game length goes, expect the game to last up to 30 years (on the game) according to sources, as there will be 6 different endings and that much time will have to be taken to achieve just 1! New animals are expected to appear, and according to the front cover, ducks are the biggest suspect.

Graphics wise, this game will be the best looking yet. Sure, Save the Homeland boasted unique cel-shaded visuals, but more polygons will be used in this one, and we'll be getting our cel-shading fix in plenty of other games. The main character no longer wears a hat though. That's quite a surprise. The game looks very detailed and highly texturized. It's similiar in style to the PS2 game: Metropolismania (also by Natsume) but way more detailed and smaller heads. This series was never about eye-candy, but the amazing and addictive gameplay, yet it still looks good and much better than Animal Crossing.

Of all the game series ever released in the world of 3rd parties, Harvest Moon has always been my favourite. But with Animal Crossing literally a few days from release, some may say who needs it? The answer is: YOU DO, YOU MORON! Now's a good time to be camping out for this game. It'll be that good. The main competition will be which'll be better: Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. Animal Crossing doesn't got the graphics beat, for sure, but the main draw will be the gameplay. Both can hook up to the Game Boy Advance. I haven't even for a second considered not getting either of these games, but from what I know at the moment, I'd gladly choose Harvest Moon simply because that series has a proven record for quality and Natsume isn't the gaming giant Nintendo is, so ever game sold counts for them. But if you can, get both. Harvest Moon won't be released until Q2-Q3 of 2003 anyways.