Software:Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness

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Short description: 2007 video game
Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness
Developer(s)Marvelous Interactive
Publisher(s)
Producer(s)Hikaru Nakano
Artist(s)Igusa Matsuyama
Composer(s)Noriko Ishida
Eri Yasuda
Yousuke Agou
SeriesStory of Seasons
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
Release
  • JP: February 1, 2007
  • NA: August 26, 2008
  • EU: December 12, 2008
  • AU: March 26, 2009
Genre(s)Simulation
Mode(s)Single player

Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness, known simply as Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness, and known in Japan as Bokujō Monogatari: Kimi to Sodatsu Shima (牧場物語　キミと育つ島; lit. "Farm Story: The Island Grows With You"), is a farm simulation video game published and developed by Marvelous Interactive Inc. in Japan, and released in North America by Natsume Inc. exclusively for the Nintendo DS. It is the third installment of the Story of Seasons series on the DS. It is the first entry without series creator Yasuhiro Wada involved.

Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness is the second time that the series has branched a protagonist in an ongoing story, as the game no longer taking place in the previous continuity. Alongside its sequel, Software:Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands, they both follow the new protagonists Mark and Chelsea. Prior entries before Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness were all interconnected to a central story of descendants that all carried over the family farm.

Gameplay

Animals

Livestock includes cows, chickens, and sheep, which produce milk, eggs, and wool respectively. Work animals include a dog and horse, which can be acquired after meeting certain criteria. The dog protects livestock, and the horse can be ridden and used for farm work.

Marriage

As in other games in the Harvest Moon series, Island of Happiness offers players a chance to marry. Marriage is only possible once you have met everyone in the game. If playing as a boy, there are six bachelorettes to choose from: Natalie, Witch Princess, Julia, Lanna, Sabrina, and Chelsea. Playing as a girl, there are also six eligible bachelors: Vaughn, Denny, Shea, Pierre, Elliot, and Mark. The couple can also have a child, after a month of marriage. This child progresses only so far as to begin to crawl, toddle, and speak.

Story

In the beginning, the player (playing either as the male character, Mark, or the female character, Chelsea; the character the player did not choose will later appear as an NPC character) is shipwrecked with a family of four and end up on a deserted island. There seems to be signs of past life on the island, but no one knows what happened. By farming, the player will attract new villagers (much like Software:Harvest Moon: Magical Melody), who provide ranching or agricultural services. Some are characters visiting from Mineral Town. The game ends when the player marries one of the bachelors or bachelorettes.

Development

The American pre-order bonus was a limited edition plush chicken that was included with the game when ordered from participating retailers.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic65/100[1]
Review scores
PublicationScore
1Up.comB[2]
Famitsu28/40[3]
Game Informer6.75/10[4]
GameSpot5/10[5]
GameZone5.5/10[6]
IGN5.8/10[7]
Nintendo Power7/10[8]
PALGN5.5/10[9]
Pocket GamerStarStarStarHalf star[10]
RPGamer1.5/5[11]

The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it all four sevens for a total of 28 out of 40.[3]

In Australia, Tracey Lien of Hyper commended the game for bringing "back the addictive elements from previous games." However, she criticized the "clumsy control system that makes even the most basic of tasks feel like a chore."[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness for DS Reviews". Red Ventures. https://www.metacritic.com/game/harvest-moon-ds-island-of-happiness/critic-reviews/?platform=ds. 
  2. ↑ Liang, Alice (August 28, 2008). "Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness Review". Ziff Davis. http://www.1up.com/reviews/harvest-moon-island-happiness. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gantayat, Anoop (February 14, 2007). "Gaming Life in Japan". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2007/02/14/gaming-life-in-japan-71. 
  4. ↑ Vore, Bryan (October 2008). "Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness Review". Game Informer (GameStop) (186). https://www.gameinformer.com/games/harvest_moon_island_of_happiness/b/nintendo_ds/archive/2009/09/22/review.aspx. Retrieved April 11, 2022. 
  5. ↑ Light, Austin (September 8, 2008). "Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness Review". Red Ventures. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/harvest-moon-island-of-happiness-review/1900-6197399/. 
  6. ↑ Romano, Natalie (September 15, 2008). "Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness - NDS - Review". https://www.gamezone.com/reviews/harvest_moon_island_of_happiness_nds_review/. 
  7. ↑ Bozon, Mark (September 3, 2008). "Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness Review". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/09/04/harvest-moon-island-of-happiness-review. 
  8. ↑ "Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness". Nintendo Power (Future US) 231: 87. August 2008. 
  9. ↑ Ghiggino, Adam (April 3, 2009). "Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness Review". PAL Gaming Network. http://palgn.com.au/nintendo-ds/13989/harvest-moon-island-of-happiness-review/. 
  10. ↑ Hargreaves, Roger (November 20, 2008). "Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness [Import"]. Steel Media Ltd. https://www.pocketgamer.com/harvest-moon-island-of-happiness/harvest-moon-island-of-happiness/. 
  11. ↑ Marchello, Sam (July 4, 2011). "Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness - Staff Retroview". CraveOnline. https://archive.rpgamer.com/games/harvest/hmiiguo/reviews/hmiiguostrev1.html. 
  12. ↑ Lien, Tracey (June 2009). "Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness". Hyper (Next Media Pty Ltd) (188): 44. 

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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