New Harvest Moon titles coming to DS and PSP later this year

Patient DS Harvest Moon fans over this side of the pond have had to wait almost a year for the latest spin-off title, Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming, to cross the Atlantic. Officially, at least.

But no longer. Rising Star Games has confirmed that Frantic Farming (the second out-and-out puzzle game in the long-running series) will finally land on European shores in autumn/winter 2010.

The game features 12 playable characters, who must harvest all manner of vegetables and plants in a co-ordinated and timely fashion.

Three modes of play are offered - Story, Mission, and Score Attack – in this match-three crops style puzzler, along with three difficulty settings.

Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming on iPhone received a mediocre 5 from Pocket Gamer on its release 12 months ago, so there’s room for improvement in the upcoming DS version.

Rather excitingly, the PSP is also set for some Natsume/Rising Star loving in the shape of Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley.

You play the returning hero, charged with protecting Leaf Valley from impending destruction at the hands of an overzealous local construction firm.

As always in Harvest Moon adventures, players will need to grow crops, raise animals, build relations, and mine ores to save the village and the family farm.

"The Harvest Moon series is Rising Star Games' longest standing and most successful franchise," says Martin Defries, managing director of Rising Star Games. "Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming and Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley both push the boundaries of the Harvest Moon series, bringing new challenges and styles of gameplay to the classic collection."