Provides good fun
GAMERS WILLING to set aside any preconceived notions they have of what a Harvest Moon game should be like will find Harvest Moon: Mad Dash to be a worthy addition to their respective Switch libraries. Let’s be honest: The truth is that the Harvest Moon brand does little to add to its engagement. It has none of the farming or relational elements of the usual release in the long-running series; it is, in fact, quite short and simple. Still, it has just enough fun and charm to engage those angling for a diversion absent the commitment that,
say, Fire Emblem: Three Houses or Monster Hunter Generations requires.
The Harvest Moon franchise has thrived through generations of consoles; from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom in 1996 onwards, it has engendered a loyal following of gamers that willingly follow platform shifts. It has even survived a potential saturation of the brand. Marvelous’ decision to have subsidiary Xseed Games take over distribution of future titles in North America led to the creation of the Story of Seasons branch. Meanwhile, developer Natsume, which retained rights to the Harvest Moon name, has seen fit to make its own contributions to the series.
As its very title indicates, Harvest Moon: Mad Dash comes from the Natsume side of the equation. And instead of the usual drawn-out story of a newbie farmer in a rural community searching for romance and profit, it features gameplay elements that have more in common with the likes of Tetris and
Columns. To earn points, gamers need to put together fruits, vegetables, or fish of the same kind, rotating pieces to make them fit and form perfect squares (2x2, 3x3, or 4x4), and then “harvesting” them as they mature or grow.
Harvest Moon: Mad Dash has a few monkey wrenches thrown in to add to the challenge of produce and crop sorting. Making shapes that are too large will cause the produce to wilt. Taking too long to put together fish in a bigger body of water causes them to disappear. Even as gamers have their character run around the screen to put the puzzle pieces together, they’re also hard-pressed to feed the animals and get eggs, milk, or wool. Chickens, cows, sheep, and alpacas roam the board lazily, blocking their way or preventing them from creating larger shapes.
Aside from animals out to pasture, Harvest Moon: Mad Dash presents hazards such as ice, coconuts, and volcanic lava that fall randomly. There are also wild boars that barrel through the farm and trample everything in their paths. All these can wipe out crops and delay gamers in a frantic race to accumulate points and fill the power meter. Doing the latter allows for jumps to a temporary time-space continuum where the crops are all ready for harvest and distracting obstacles magically disappear, enabling the accumulation of points needed to pass a level.
In Harvest Moon: Mad Dash, each level can yield up to three stars. At the end of specific stages, gamers will need a certain number of stars to move on. More stars also allow for the tapping of Harvest sprites to help in the form of extra time, power boosts, or healthy harvests. Parenthetically, opening the final stage requires acorns won from the Underworld or Skyworld areas; unfortunately, it’s so short as to be almost anticlimactic. When the credits roll, there is a palpable sense of wanting to go back for more. Thankfully, repeating the stages, whether for the opportunity to improve scores or simply for more fun, is seen as a welcome prospect.
Harvest Moon: Mad Dash allows for multiplayer options (up to four players) but extra Joy-Cons are required. Cooperative play opens up the possibility for higher scores as each player does his or her share of “farming” and “harvesting.” In any case, it pitches to a selective audience. It may not be for all, despite its E rating, and it may even disappoint dedicated fans of the franchise expecting gameplay elements typically carried by previous releases in the series. To those devoid of any preconceived notions, however, it should provide good fun. In this time and age of myriad entertainment alternatives that contribute to shorter and shorter attention spans, it figures to keep them engaged and wanting for more.
THE GOOD:
• Fun for the young and young at heart
• Challenging but not frustratingly so
• No commitment needed
THE BAD:
• Too short
• No narrative to provide context to the proceedings
RATING: 7.5/10
POSTSCRIPT: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020 is exactly as it sounds, which is to say a game that has Nintendo and Sega’s iconic characters participating in the latest staging of the Summer Games. It’s part of a long-running series that taps multiple licenses to generate crossover appeal. That it works, and how, is attributable to its polish; it isn’t simply a product that lops together seemingly disparate intellectual properties for expediency and quick gains. Bottom line, it’s an extremely well-thought-out title that succeeds in making a variety of sports — events, really — accessible to a population of gamers otherwise loath to dabble in the genre.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020 boasts of a Story Mode that, owing to the machinations of Dr. Eggman and Bowser, compels gamers to participate in the 2020 Olympics and the 1964 Olympics, both in Tokyo — albeit with
a twist; the former is presented in three-dimensional format, and the latter in eight- and 16-bit graphics and sounds reminiscent of those churned out by the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. The retro presentation has 10 sports on tap, while the modern one has twice as many; exclusives in each are present, further underscoring the differentiation.
Significantly, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020 gives gamers options in steering their favorite characters. Joy-Cons can be used together or separately, and provide motion, directionalpad, and button alternatives. Regardless of choice, controls are extremely responsive, and at no time do they hold back or interfere with the unfolding action. To the contrary, the technical proficiency of the interface proves a boon, especially in light of the immediacy of the proceedings. If there’s any bane, it’s in the waiting time required to get an online multiplayer session going; apparently, there isn’t enough competition out and about and angling for a quick minigame. And, yes, only one can be set up at a time; after a buttonmashing bout that literally lasts for seconds, there is need to repeat the process.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020 notably brings back the popular Dream Events, over-the-top versions of Olympic sports. Considering their potential for fun, particularly as party options, it’s too bad that only Dream Racing, Dream Shooting, and Dream Karate make the leap to the franchise’s latest offering. That said, the release also doubles as a repository of information on Tokyo, as well as on the characters themselves. If nothing else, they widen the knowledge of gamers and serve to elevate the title to more than mere passing fancy.
On the plus side, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020 puts forth an excellent audio-visual presentation. In fact, no other release in the series looks and sounds better. No doubt, Sega was motivated to put its best foot forward given own ties to the venue of the Quadrennial. Nonetheless, it succeeds in earning its AAA price tag. For all its frailties, it manages to generate interest as a multiplayer marvel, directly involving up to eight, and indirectly keeping more transfixed, in its adrenaline-pumping offerings.
(8/10)
THE LAST WORD: Notwithstanding the ridiculous title, Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? — Infinite Combate
has gamers out West anticipating its localization. Based on the light novel series written by Fujino Ōmori and published by SoftBank subsidiary SB Creative, the action role-playing game developed by Mages will have an Asian release with English support later this week. Play-Asia currently has it on preorder, with fulfillment of early reservations including an English-language slipcase, an A4-size clearfile, and a code for the digital copy of DanMachi de Shootint wa Machigatteiru Darou Ka. The latter has adventurer Ais Wallenstein and a handful of supporting cast mates negotiating five stages of side-scrolling shoot-‘emup action.
PQube Games will be publishing Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? — Infinite Combate
for release on the Switch, Sony PlayStation 4, and personal computer in North America and Europe early next year.