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Natsume?
Natsu-YOU! |
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When
you think entertainment, what comes to mind? Video
games? Movies? Or do you have a more traditional
take on the medium? Perhaps you rather go fishing,
or bake a cake, as a means of stimulation.
For
the video gaming industry, entertainment largely
means, for a wide variety of people, loud noises,
blood covered TV screens, flying limbs, and
realistic looking weapons.
However,
there is one company that turns a blind eye on the
mainstream entertainment in videogames, and
creates time and time again blockbuster hits using
a more traditional take of fun.
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I
am talking, of course, about Natsume. A company
that when the world was moving into the Mortal
Kombat area of gore put down their guns and picked
up their shovels and created the Harvest Moon
series.
When
Harvest Moon was announced for the Super Nintendo
Entertainment System (SNES) many people thought,
"So... you kill animals with shovels?"
Or, "Cool! A game where you dig the grave for
your victims!" It must be said that this was
the early 80's - the 70's were over and people
started feeling sorry about themselves.
But
no. Harvest Moon turned out to be a game of
farming. And a challenging one at that. Anyone who
has ever played a Harvest Moon game appreciates
the difficulty of the series. Who would have
imagined that a farming simulation would be so
much work?
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What
is it about the game that is so addictive? Maybe
it's the fact that gamers can grow crops without
them wilting straight away, and without getting
the police involved? Perhaps it's the non-linear
gaming that has people so interested. For those
who still are unaware of what Harvest Moon is
about, basically you inherit a farm, and must
bring it up from an overgrown wasteland, to a self
productive super-crop.
Natsume
allow you to raise and milk cattle, sheer sheep,
and harvest eggs from chickens. There's no time
limit, but there are competitions in most games
that have you cooking food from your crops and
competing against other townspeople in what seems
to be an uber-bake-off!
The
games also have many festivals which really get
you involved in the town. Most of the games in the
series have you courting a female and even having
children!
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Fishing
games are another that Natsume are famous for.
Reel Fishing and Mark Davis: Pro Bass Challenge
are proven hits. Natsume know that you don't need
to kill someone to make a great, addictive game.
(Mind you, in Harvest Moon your father is usually
dead, and in the fishing games you essentially
kill fish...)
Finny
the Fish, an underwater-fish adventure, shows
again that inventive thinking churns interesting
results. a game where you are a fish, and can die
by accidentally eating fishermen's lures! Who'd a
thought?
Natsume
are also home to the Metabots franchise. These
beautiful, humours games about some boy and his
robots are hugely popular, and show Natusme's
diverse understanding in videogame culture.
The
Lufia series, a cult hit among RPG Gamers also
comes from the talented people at Natsume.
All
these games have one thing in common - anyone who
plays them, can't stop playing them. They are
essentially fun, from the word go. Easy to pick up
and understand, and challenging enough to keep you
coming back for more.
So
as we enter a new generation of videogame
entertainment, we hope Natsume will stick around
and show developers how it's done. Fun,
enthralling and humorous sums up Natsume.
Check
out their website at www.natsume.com!
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